how should I handle this?

[marisa]

Does anyone have ideas about how to handle my neighbor/friend's sister's stupid comments? They have what they consider a pitbull (it's definately a terrier and probably has SOME AST in him). Besides the fact that I'm sick and tired of hearing from them "My pit bull... we have this very aggressive pit bull... my pitbull is worse than most other pitbulls.... our pitbull comes from a long line of fighting dogs... my pitbull is dangerous..." it's as if by saying "pit bull" a lot, the dog will somehow transform into a "SuperPit" overnight. Anyway, one day I was sitting outside with my dog, they tried to come and see me - along with their "ferocious pit". Well, Baby did not like it one bit. I told my friend "You know she ain't gonna like this, you're on her turf" "Oh no, they'll be all right, they grew up together, they used to play together when they were pups, they'll be fine." As soon as she let her dog near Baby (he was wagging his tail, I must say), Baby with no warning whatsoever - none that I could see anyway - hurled herself on my friend's dog and he want rolling down the slope. She decided then "Oh well, guess they haven't played in a while, I'd better take him home". One minute later her sister is here, yapping like a little chihuaua" I heard they didn't get along. You know Baby you'd better watch it because he's a pit and he can put you in your place" Well, I really do NOT like that kind of talk and finally I said "You know, you talk like those stupid people that actually deep down hope for a dog fight to see whose dog can kick ass. Maybe your pit could kick Baby's ass and maybe she could kick his, but who wants to find out? so please quit talking s--t". Well, she just pouted a bit. This is not the first I hear about their dog's supposed ability to keep Baby in line. I keep her on a leash in our front yard, it is part of her training (remember she has problems with rollerbladers, bikers). I would never think of going into someone else's yard with her. She does her business in our yard (they let superdog do his in the neighbors'). It ticks me off to witness so much disrespect (the traspassing and the pooping - no, they'd never think of picking it up!!), but those repeated comments drive me nuts
Their dog has never attacked another dog. Once we had a rott on the loose and they tried to let their pit go to him and chase the rott away from their property. The rott just looked at him, the dogs sniffed each others' butt and actually started to play together. My friend was both disappointed and embarassed and it is only then that she remarked "What kind of pit are you? You went up to the rottweiler and PLAYED with him!!" :D
So, to recap, I like them as friends but am getting very annoyed with their comments. How should I handle another "Our dog can put her in her place" comment?

[rottendawg]

call the SPCA and tell them that your neighbor keeps trying to instigate fights between their pit and other dogs, yours being one of them.

[Carina43]

Originally posted by rottendawg
call the SPCA and tell them that your neighbor keeps trying to instigate fights between their pit and other dogs, yours being one of them.

HA! Great idea.

If these people are "friends", just tell them to knock it off with the dumb comments in your presence. A decent friend will comply, someone who isn't worthy of being a friend will disrespect you...
then it's your choice. You could always downgrade them from friend to acquaintance.

Personally, I wouldn't spend much time in their company.

[RottiMomCT]

1. Tell them that you do not want them bringing their dog around yours anymore. Tell them that if they do not care for their dogs safetly and well being, that is fine, but YOU care about yours.

2. Report them to the local police and Animal COntrol Authorities that they are trying to get dog fights started to 'prove' how strong their dog is.

3. Even though you take your dog out on a leash and let her do her business in your own yard, that won't stop the idiot pitbull owner from allowing their dog loose into your yard - carry pepper spray if you have to, and use it. Their big tough pit bull will survive a spray from that .

4. Don't associate with them if they continue this garbage talk - it's not worth the friendship if they continue to try to get your dog to defend itself because their dog attacks it.

5. If you see them heading your way, and they have the dog, go in the house - don't pay attention to them.

5. There are a MILLION things you can print, for free, from the internet that you can leave in their mailbox about fighting dogs, and proper training and socialization, etc....they might not get the message, but they just might read the stuff and a light bulb just might go on in their fogged up little heads about the danger they are subjecting their dog to by not training it...they are sentencing that dog to death.

[Greg_1111]

From reading your post, it sounds like you have already figured out what kind of person she is. So I guess the dicision is..what kind of people do you want to hang with. Someone that gets their kicks from having a tough dog? My question is; how much does she care about the well being of her dog? because if she did care, she would do everything in her power to make sure that it never gets into a fight, even if it is a pitt bull, it could still get hurt badly. But as a caution,, always remember this..pitt bulls are bred to fight other dogs, it's as much a part of their nature as it is for golden retrievers to retrieve things. given the irresponsible attitude of this person, I would give that situation a wide berth.

[Rott-Wiley]

Find new friends! Quick!