Sick of my family hating Reggin

[Squishy22]

As all of you know, Reggin is a pit bull. One of the most feared breeds in existence today, but yet the most loving in reality.

I knew getting into this breed there would be haters and I was prepared for that, but my own family??

The other day at my aunts house, all my family was there visiting, my mom overheard someone talking bad about reggin when she left the room. One of my aunts said to everyone "I dont trust Reggin around that baby." my other aunt replies... "I know, I dont either". After that was said another family member said "He showed his teeth and growled at my husband".

This really pissed me off and most of all it HURTS. Its hard hearing hateful things about someone I love... reggin. He is my baby boy. My daughters best friend. My mission is to prove to the world that he is the most loving dog you could ever ask for.

The sad thing is that people in my family have met reggin and have seen how much of an amazing dog he is, but they ignore all that. He WILL turn on you, when he gets older.

About the growling thing. Yes, he growled at my uncle once. I have no license, so my mom had to take him to my aunts house to hide him from the landlord for a few hours. Reggin has never met my uncle, because he was gone when my mom dropped him off. Well, my uncle shows up and pops in the garage when reggin is in there. YES, reggin growled at the strange man, like any dog would. After the initial growl, he came over and was his happy ol self wanting to play, realizing that my uncle was friendly. My uncle even tied him up outside to go potty.

THAT gave my family the fuel to hate on reggin even more. Time and time again. I kick myself for letting this happen. I am so angry with myself for puting reggin in a strange situation where he had to act like a DOG.

I now have this horrible anger towards my family. I dont even want to go to family get togethers anymore, christmas, thanksgiving, etc. Stupid me, I am so used to chaz and I confuse all you pit bull loving people with the real world. That is a bad mistake, as most people do not like this breed.

 

[bubbatd]

I'm sorry for you , you know your dog , But I must admit being a Grandparent I would be concerned too without seeing their interaction . My neighbor has a lab/pittie mix who growled at me at first and headed into Ollie . When she had her newly crawling granddaughter for the weekend I was scared to death for her . Luckily all went well . Don't be bad at them ... they love Bev . ((( Hugs ))).

 

[Boemy]

I'm really sorry to hear that, it's so depressing when it's your own family because . . . well, they're your family. And it's not like you can trade them in for a new family.

I hope eventually they'll learn to be more open-minded. ((hugs))

 

[Dawni]

I'm sorry, Reggin. Families have a way of being a pain that way. From where I sit, the best you can do is prove 'em wrong by raising a well-mannered dog. Without much fuel for the fire it can't burn long.

 

[Toller_08]

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this. (((hugs)))

My relatives used to be that way too, and were always angry at my parents for putting my brother and I in "danger" of the Rottweilers we had growing up, and were even more upset upon hearing we now have Dobermans. They're slowly coming around though (and I mean slowly... it's been 18 years), and can see that we all survived our "vicious dogs". They'll probably never like our breeds of choice, but I can't do anything about it aside from make sure they have nothing but good experiences with our dogs.

 

[Lizmo]

Don't let it get to you. I know it hurts like nothing else. You just have to ignore it.

YOU know you have a well behaved dog. YOU know your dog is not going to "turn on you". YOU know how well he does with Madison. YOU know.

Thats all that matters.

I'm sorry ((((hugs)))) It does hurt

 

[Maxy24]

People are stupid and ignorant, I would have walked in and burst their bubble myself. Grammy, how can you say, after seeing all the good pitties here that you would be fine and dandy with any golden around an infant and not a pit bull? It's either a lack of knowledge or it's just stubbornness PIT BULLS ARE NOT MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY OTHER BREED AROUND CHILDREN. *sigh* I'm sorry but I cannot stand it anymore.

All you can do is love your dog and your daughter and maybe when she's older she'll show them what a good dog Reggin is when she hears them talking poorly about her best friend.

 

[Renee750il]

Oh, I feel your pain . . .

I heard every myth and misconception out there when Tallulah came to live with me.

Now, my mom and dad think she's adorable and sweet and smart, but every so often my mother will get that "look" and I can see the doubt in her eyes. Sometimes she'll even vocalize it, but I have to give her credit, when she does, it's mainly to get reassurance that she's wrong. She's grown to love the little Monster.

I just wish your family could see Reggin the same way. Bright, funny, loving, loyal, smart . . .

But - you know we'll always be your and Reggin's family

 

[shadowfacedanes]

Sorry to hear that, and I know it sucks. My family has always been against me owning danes for some reason, and my Dad makes little comments now and again and you're right, it does hurt.

All that REALLY matters is that you love Reggin and he loves you. You have done a great job with him and anyone that can't see that doesn't understand dogs and isn't worth worrying about.

Chin up...

 

[bubbatd]

Maxy , I understand your point . I've been close to Goldens for over 60 years and until joining Chaz 4 1/2 years ago really only saw the bad side of Pitties through the media and hearing of fight rings . A never even saw Pitties until I moved here 10 years ago . They were " Gangsta dogs " , tied out on huge chains . I've learned alot !! But my gut feeling with some ( like my neighbor's dog ) be careful . Bless the good owners here for helping with the stigma !

 

[Zoom]

Maxy, I've met the dog Grammy is talking about and I"d be a little wary of it around small children as well. I'm not sure if it's actually a pit mix or something else, but it's...a little off.

Reggin, just prove them wrong through actions. Don't respond to the negativity.

 

[Squishy22]

My mom was also against Pit Bulls until she lived with Reggin. Now she realizes that they can be great dogs. Its taken months and months of actually living with him to come to that conclusion.

My family has met Reggin, but they still think... some day... some day he will turn. Hes too young for that right now. Lets see what they say 5 years from now. He is a year and a half right now and has not shown one sign of aggression towards us. Not even a growl, and I've handled his food while he is eating... nothing.

Its just upsets me to hear bad things from my own family. It irritates me and makes my blood boil. And then saddens me.

I am glad my mom is not on the same boat as them anymore. She talks good about him when she visits. I rarely visit.

I think they are up-tight because my mom was attacked and nearly killed from a GSD as a kid. A retired police dog. My family just says he turned for no reason. Or he was a jealous dog.

 

[Romy]

I hate how people are so closed minded *hugs* Reggin is a great dog, you're a great owner. Your daughter has one of the greatest protectors and friends that a child could have. Maybe they need to see Mia's video.

 

[Zoom]

Eh, my dad told me if I ever brought a pitbull home he would shoot it on sight. I still have plans on changing that.

 

[Jules]

It is sad. But you have to see that some people truly believe what they see and hear from the media.

And now that incident with your uncle, it is small things that can make big waves.. that's exactly what is happening with all the BSL enablers. It is your job as a pit owner to cancel out any situation that might go "bad" to not only protect your dog, but also protect the breed.

I may not be the most pit bull savvy person and I have SOOOO much catching up to do... but I know, that with my dog, I always, always have to think one step ahead. One more: what could go wrong here and what could go wrong there? And then I try to cancel everything out that might go wrong so I don't put T-Bone in the situation of having to be faulted for being "just" a dog because of her breed. It might sound paranoid, I am sure to a degree it can be considered that, but it is what needs to be done. One more incident could mean one more person thinking pits are evil and that one person, with that one vote could mean the suffering for dogs in my city, county, or state.

While I do not understand close-minded people, you (generally speaking) need to take proactive steps, take CGC classes, for example to try to convince people about the good nature of your dog. Don't set your dog up for failure, even though he is not acting bad and "just" being a dog.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I am so sorry about that too! My mom hates pitbulls as well. She is renting our other house out and refuses to allow anyone with a pit bull to move in. Her ad even said "NO Pitbulls". And she tries to debate with me about the issue, and says they are MEAN and AGGRESSIVE dogs. I just hate people who are one sided about the issue.

 

[corgi_love]

I am so sorry. That's so, so terrible. I would be so upset, hurt, and angry if my family talked about Regis like that- I wouldn't want to go to family get togethers either.

My Mom has that attitude about Pitties and I keep telling her over and over how WRONG she is. But she won't listen.. It's like some people set their minds to something and refuse to change it, even if they are proven wrong.. *sigh* It's a terrible thing how mean and close minded people can be- even when it comes to dogs!

 

[wishbone]

I feel terribly sorry for you and Reggin, not all can understand about dog behaviors, even they are relatives.

 

[SmexyPibble]

Uggh. Trust me, I know. My grandma tried to convience us to bring Buddy [brindle pit bull] to the pound because she thought he'd attack us. And while she said this, Buddy was lying under the table licking toes.

I'm sorry you have to go through this. When I get my pit bull next year, it's gonna be really tough. And I do know how much it hurts. I feel like crying because when I walked Roscoe [red pit bull] around, people would grab their kids, yell at their kids to come to them, and scuttle away.



It is really, really upsetting...

 

[HoundedByHounds]

It's not just PB's if that makes you feel better. Some folks say stuff like that about anything bigger than a Chi.


Reggin is a good boy...and I am sure your supervision is adequate and you are not one of those bubble heads who lives in the realm of "how cute she's riding Fido like a pony and he loves it..." as the dog is growling under it's breath LOL.