ravendarat
Well-Known Member
So in preparation for my forthcoming puppy I started looking at classes today to enrol in. Last puppy I had I tried training myself and long story short, I want help with this puppy and having structured classes for him to meet other people and dogs also is appealing. So I decided that I would look at my local shelter. I know people that have done classes there before and their dogs are very happy polite puppies. So while looking I notice that they have specific classes for Pitbulls. I didn't really think anything of it but then I was talking with the desk worker there getting some more information like what methods they do, general time the classes run and stuff like that. She asked what kind of dog I was getting and I said it was an English Mastiff. She kind of stopped in her tracks and asked if I could wait for a second. She disappeared in the back and then came back to the desk and said that he had to be enrolled in the Pitbull class.
Normally I wouldn't care but then I asked her out of interest why he needed to be in that class and she said that it was the case that all bully breeds needed to be in that class due to their aggressive nature. Now red lights and sirens started going off in my head. I didn't say much else to her, just thanked her for her time and left but my problem is that I am not sure I am comfortable going somewhere where they think EM are these aggressive giants. I have no problem with pit bulls and actually would own one but the laws here make it more troublesome than what I want. But to me it seems like they don't have any idea what these dogs are like. I personally have not met a EM that I would consider to be aggressive, more just slimy sucks lol. If they had told me that they want them in that class because other members could be scared of their size or whatever than I could accept that but the reasoning they gave me kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. Am I blowing this out of proportion or would you all feel the same way about this?
Normally I wouldn't care but then I asked her out of interest why he needed to be in that class and she said that it was the case that all bully breeds needed to be in that class due to their aggressive nature. Now red lights and sirens started going off in my head. I didn't say much else to her, just thanked her for her time and left but my problem is that I am not sure I am comfortable going somewhere where they think EM are these aggressive giants. I have no problem with pit bulls and actually would own one but the laws here make it more troublesome than what I want. But to me it seems like they don't have any idea what these dogs are like. I personally have not met a EM that I would consider to be aggressive, more just slimy sucks lol. If they had told me that they want them in that class because other members could be scared of their size or whatever than I could accept that but the reasoning they gave me kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. Am I blowing this out of proportion or would you all feel the same way about this?