Cats or dogs?

[pennydreadful]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Um, penny, that's not the bull breed we're talking about. It's this one:

http://spa.fotolog.com/photo/10/26/8...69928415_f.jpg

While they are similar, the pit I'm referring to is larger, and it's head is wider and shaped differently.

That looks like an American Bull Terrier, though I'm no expert. Over here, most folks universally refer to bull terriers (regardless of whether they're Staffordshire, English, American or a cross) as "staffies".

But yeah - I tend to refer to bull terrier breeds collectively for that reason; though we recognize that there are sub breeds, we get so many crosses and they're such a common dog here that it's rare for the full "proper" breed name to be used. I personally don't like referring to them as pit bulls at all, but that's just a personal quirk of mine.

Also, as far as cats acting narky towards people goes - they can pick up on if someone doesn't like them and tend to react accordingly. They're completely different from dogs behaviorally and if they have a stressful home environment where their needs aren't being met, they're going to be more prone to acting out towards visitors. If you've ever watched the tv series "My Cat From Hell", you'll see that in every instance, the "problem cat" actually just has a clueless owner who isn't giving it what it needs (like safe space of its own, non-aggressive treatment from owner's cat-hating partner, a clean litterbox, a scratching post, adequate stimulation/playtime, somewhere it can go to get away from kids, not spaying/neutering etc).

IMO, that show should be required watching for everybody.

We have to remember - animals can't tell us how they're feeling with human words: they tell us with animal words. We have to learn to listen and understand what they're trying to tell us.