I have a dog. He's been with me for a couple years now. I got him from a shelter when I was single and living in Arizona. I named him Chicago to remember the city I came from, not expecting to be moving back. When I first saw him he was practically skin and bones. I thought he wouldn't be around much longer if no one adopted him. When I took him home he had a severe kennel cough. He warmed up to me very quickly though. He is a pit bull/ lab mix. It saddens me that pit bulls get such a bad rap. He is the sweetest most loving dog. He was easy to train even though he had a few years on him. His favorite game is fetch. He would literally play that game until he past out from exhaustion, that's how much he loves it!
My dog hasn't always barked at children. In fact, he used to never bark at all. Dogs tend to pick up on things, and he picked up the barking from out neighbor's dogs. His bark is frightening and ferocious. I have him chained up outside and kids will try to come up to him, he scares the hell out of them. LOL...This kinda makes me laugh because most of the kids in the area are such brats. It does bother me though that these children just run up to my dog. They should know that you never go up to a dog, especially if you don't know them, to pet them without asking permission from the owner. Why is it that more parents are not teaching their children this? You don't know what kind of dog he is. I'm delighted to have my dog teach these children that lesson, especially if it prevents something else from seriously happening. My Chicago would never harm anyone, and I trust him alone with my 18 month old daughter. She sometimes terrorizes him when I'm not looking, and he responds like a champ. It's not his nature to be aggressive or bite.
So, to other parents.... Please teach your children that it is not safe to go up to dogs, and pet them without asking the owner. You never know what can happen, and this is something so easy to teach. You would never let them go up to a stranger, so why let them go up to a stranger that is a dog?
One last note...
Adopt shelter dogs! They are so loving and need a good home:)
Be Safe!
