January 21, 2025 • 41 mins
🐾 Ever felt judged for the dog you love—or for who you are?
This week on Straight Up Dog Talk, Em is joined by Rob and Laurel for a raw and meaningful conversation about breed discrimination, human judgment, and the deep-rooted stigmas in the dog world.
✨ In this episode, we unpack:
The reality of living with misunderstood breeds
How human stereotypes mirror dog breed biases
Why kindness is more powerful than correction
The bravery it takes to ask for help—and offer it
Whether you're a pet parent, a professional, or someone who's felt unseen in the dog space, this episode invites you to step into advocacy with compassion and courage. Let’s rewrite the narrative—together.
Follow Laurel & Rob on Instagram @mythologicaldogs
Stay Connected: Follow Straight Up Dog Talk for more insights and updates on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.
#dogadvocacy #breeddiscrimination #humanconnection #kindnessmatters #straightupdogtalk
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:45):
Welcome to another episode of Straight Up Dog Talk.
I'm EV and I'm bringing back a duo that everybody loves.
I have Rob and Laurel with mythological dogs here.
How are you guys doing tonight? Great.
Thank you. We're.
Really excited to have you back on the podcast.
Tonight's topic is a little bit different than what we usually
do on the podcast here, but witheverything that's been happening
(01:07):
in the world lately, it really felt like this was least that we
could, as friends, sit and have an open and honest conversation
about some of the stigmas and the discriminatory factors that
come in as not only dog owners, but as people too.
This all really started because of what happened over in the UK
with the bully ban and talking to people over there and just
(01:32):
hearing how much awful stuff they were experiencing having
some certain breed of dogs. But when you add having a
certain breed of dog to being a person of color, that puts a
completely different lens on things.
And Rob, you are kind enough to be open and having this be an
episode, and I really appreciatethat.
(01:54):
So I'm just going to let you have the freedom of taking over
this episode of the podcast and just having an open and honest
conversation about what life with the Pitbull and
discrimination looks like. Yeah, so definitely drawing up.
I, I talked about this in the last episode, but I had
pitbulls, I had different animals as well and different
other dog breeds. But the stigma behind the black
(02:17):
man with the Pitbull is just onethat I feel like should be
played out by now. But it's still around.
And hopefully through our page and other pages that are out
there, we're slowly getting to apoint where people are kind of
understanding, OK, just because this guy has a pit bull does not
mean anything just or just because anyone has a pit bull,
they're they're dangerous. You know, and unfortunately, I
(02:38):
have experienced a lot of thingslike I talked about in the last
episode. I had to run it in a store where
I was kind of pushed out earlierthan I wanted to be just because
I was there with a pit boy. Even though my dog is the
friendliest dog you're ever. Me and one of the friends dogs
we have, he was kind of just discriminated against because of
his breed. Even though they didn't get a
chance to meet him or talk to him or ask and not pet him or
(03:01):
could you tell me about your dog?
They just kind of immediately just saw me pushing a pit bull
and we're like, Yep, this is notcool anymore for me.
I'm going to make a decision to get this person escorted out.
In the perfect world, I would like to be able to go places and
do things with my pit bull and not being second guessed or not
just for me but for him as well because he doesn't understand,
(03:22):
he doesn't know and he is just being discriminated against.
And I think that it's very unfortunate and the the way that
our society looks at me and alsohim.
And I think it's even more ridiculous because those of you
listening who know what Thor looks like, could you imagine
Thor being pushed around in a Home Depot car and see that as
threatening? It was.
(03:44):
It was and it was an eye openingexperience for me.
Like I said, that was the first time I'd ever been in a
situation like that where I was upfront.
Of course I've been in situations where people probably
like cross the road or turned around and walked the opposite
way just because they saw I'm gunman.
But being that I'm just going about my way, being an old
person, just going there everyday thing and that
(04:06):
happening, it really caught me off guard.
And I wish I would have handled it differently, but you know, I
can't go back. But it was definitely a learning
experience for me. When it happened to me.
I really started to think more about, OK, if it happened to me,
how many other people are experiencing them?
How many other people are in South Florida or being told
something this that were third because they are a certain range
(04:27):
or a certain color with a certain type of goal.
And I feel like the stigmas all around should be broken, that
you can't always judge a book. That's what get to know the
person, you get to know the dog.You never know who you might be,
never know who might run into, and you never know this person
might become your friend later, or this dog might be the next
dog that you take your dog in a place.
So I want to just take this opportunity to raise awareness
(04:49):
of the fact that you can't just immediately rule out or make an
assumption. I have 100% on board with you
because I think that that is what happens in so many
situations, whether it's a dog misbehaving on a leash or isn't
somebody running with a pit bullor any breed that has a bad
(05:10):
stigma around it. But usually it is the bullying
breeds, it is the pit bulls. There are other breeds we talked
about on the other episodes, Rottweilers, German shepherds,
Malinoise Dobies. A lot of breeds get bad rap, but
the Pitbull bully breed in general, they get to works.
They always get at the worst, which I find fascinating because
back in the day you guys can Google this, it's on Internet.
(05:32):
Pitbulls used to be considered the babysitting dog.
People used to leave their children home alone with the
Pitbull as the babysitter because they are gentle and
caring and protective of the people that they care about.
And now they have this awful stigma that's connected to them
because people use them to fightand for entertainment.
(05:55):
It's disgusting that it happens.I have a dog that was a bait dog
that was used in one of those fights and he's 12 lbs.
He's lucky he survived. And I just don't understand one
how people can immediately judgejust based on the way that
something looks but also the dogdoesn't know.
How is the dog supposed to know?It's just the same thing when
(06:18):
you're talking about training a dog.
You have to teach the dog step by step how to sit, how to lay
down, how to stay, how to walk on the leash, all of the things
dogs don't. Just know I'm the people not
liked by people. It's the same thing we have to
teach our children as we're growing up.
Just because somebody has a different color skin or hair or
(06:39):
eyes or because they're a different gender, it shouldn't
matter what we look like on the outside.
On the inside we're all the same.
Do we all think the same? No, and that's what makes it so
special and makes us all so unique.
I can't imagine going through life and being completely
oblivious to the fact that otherpeople exist.
(07:01):
And I feel like, unfortunately, that's kind of the way that a
lot of people seem to live theirlives, that they're so focused
on themselves that they miss thebigger picture of what's
happening around them. You said that if you could go
back, you would handle that situation at the Home Depot
differently. How would you do it differently?
So that specific place I had been before with the other dogs,
(07:23):
so I knew a lot of the workers there and I probably would have
given a little bit more pushback, but if I was very just
like reluctant, I was like, OK, no problem.
Like grab myself and I'll leave.And I feel like me not giving
any pushback, not to make a scene or anything, but just
giving a little bit pushback andbeing like, yeah, it's kind of
not fair. I've been here with my other dog
before. I just kind of rushed it off and
was like, OK, yeah, I'll grab myself and leave.
(07:44):
I feel like that gave the personor people, whoever told the
workers that they I was making them feel uncomfortable.
I feel like that gave them that sense of that they could do it
again. And that is not the way that I
would want that situation. I don't want them to have any
idea that that was in any way OKto stereotype a dog and a person
because the greed or color. And if I could go back, I would
(08:07):
change the way I handled it 100%in that way.
You also said that you've had pit bulls all your life, that
because that's your breed of choice or is that because that
was the breed that your family picked and now you just, you
know, stumbled upon door and it was kind of a repeat because the
other, the other three dogs are we'll do the air quotes here.
Family friendly breeds or breedsthat people associate as not
(08:29):
being as aggressive. What is it that attracted you to
that breed or that put you in that category with the breed
originally? I think it was just I always had
great experience with them. We did have other dogs we had,
we had a German shepherd. We had a great day.
At one point we had two leader dogs.
Like we had a good array of different types of dogs and
(08:50):
animals in general. My first shepherd dog down here
is like, OK, we're getting you apuppy.
We think you're ready. This is going to be your dog.
It was a pit bull and it was a rescue and she was one of the
best dogs I think ever. She was just super easy to
train. You could leave food on the
table. She wouldn't touch it.
She was awfully great. Recall.
It was she was almost like matchmade in heaven.
(09:11):
My first dog was an amazing, perfect experience.
I, I guess was drawn to them because I had such an amazing
experience. I never really heard the stigma
until more of my friends would come around and they would see
my dog and oh, they'll be kind of scared.
And I'm like, why are you scared?
Now it's a pit bull, they're going to bite me.
I'm like, no, she's sweet. And then that's when I kind of
learned more and did more research and I was like, OK, so
(09:32):
people just think my dog is I bite them.
Great. That's the opposite.
She just wants you to better. So to answer your question, yes,
that's why I gravitated towards them because my first ever dog
that was a completely mind what it.
And after that dog passed and she was a blue nose Pitbull,
when we first started talking, Robin always tell me how badly
he wanted another blue nose Pitbull.
(09:53):
And I think that's why when we got to go see Thor, he just
melted because Thor was a blue nose and it was just kind of
like that reunion of another blue nose in his life.
And there's such a special breed.
And Thor shares all of those qualities.
And many, yeah, Thorin in many ways is just like, he's very
loving. You'll lay down when you want to
lay down or you'll go out and party and play with you or
(10:14):
whatever you want to do. I always pick him up.
He loves to be picked up. He loves to be piggyback ride.
He loves to dance. He loves to do all these things.
And he's like so much personality out of the breed
that I that's why I like. They really do have a lot of
personality. And I just have to say this, I
have so much respect for your parents, for teaching you
responsibility with a pet, teaching your child how to care
(10:36):
for something, how to respect something, to learn the
boundaries of a dog and understand the language of the
dog at a young age as part of your responsibility growing up.
Good job. Great job to your parents.
That was an excellent. I mean, look, it's made you such
a genuine, kind human being thatpiggybacks pitbulls around on
(10:56):
his back. It's more amazing than that.
And I also think that it was interesting and again, applaud
to your parents for the fact that your dog was a Pitbull
because I know growing up, like you said, you had no idea that
there was that stigma, which is interesting to think about that
that's so hot. And the way that I grew up, we
never had a Pitbull. And I remember watching Pitbulls
(11:18):
and Parolee is on TV and being like, oh, fitting, like they're
just bad until I met Pitbulls for real and then obviously fell
in love with the Reed. But it's just interesting how
taut that is. Well, it's so.
Funny because when we start assigning these stigmas people
of color, pitbulls, let's talk about the negative association
that people have with muzzles. What's wrong with muscles?
(11:40):
That is a tool that is protecting people or the dog
from a harmful or scary situation.
Just because a dog has a muzzle does not mean that that dog
bites. It doesn't mean that that dog
bites. It could mean that that dog got
bit. It is a little bit reactive and
the owner is smart and taking safety functions.
It could just mean that the owner said, you know what?
(12:02):
I think it would just be better if I never had to risk this at
all. Like you said in your other
episode, lawsuit, right? Big dog walking around with a
muzzle immediately negative stigma there shouldn't be such a
negative feeling about certain things that people have negative
feelings about handling your dogpeople have negative feelings
about E collars. People have negative feelings
(12:23):
about prowl collars. But one in reality what we're
talking about here is we have been taught negative things
about each of these things because of how we were raised
because of how we grew up because of those examples being
used in a negative way. Now, that being said, as a
trainer, do I think every dog needs the prong collar or an E
(12:44):
collar or a muzzle? No, absolutely not.
But is there a negative downsideto training your dog with those
kinds of tools? Not if they're used properly,
Not if they're used in moderation.
Not if they're used for other people's safety.
I think that, like you said, getting rid of all of these
negative stigmas and biases against people and breeds is
(13:08):
what this world really needs. And we just really need to bring
people together. And I think that in the dog
community, it's very easy for usto do that if we would stop
trying to categorize. I grew up the same way.
We helped golden retriever. We had a lot of mutts.
We had dachshunds, so we had a Dalmatian.
We had a bunch of different dogswhen I was growing up and we
(13:30):
never had a pit bull. And I do not think that my mom
would never have a pit bull. That's something I'm going to
have to ask for now because I don't think that she would ever
want one because she doesn't even like, because he's got too
much energy. He's he's a big dog.
Or when I came home initially with my two dogs, when I moved
back from sex education in Fiona, they were 90 and 120 lbs
(13:52):
dogs. And she was not thrilled about
that. But that's again, somebody who
grew up a certain way. And I don't think that they ever
had dogs growing up. I know they had cats.
My grandpa had a dog later in life, but my grandma never likes
dogs. So we try to, we put people in
boxes, we try to put dogs in boxes and in my opinion, I think
(14:14):
we should be breaking down boxesand trying to work together as a
community. I think that's why your platform
and our platform and the podcastin the videos that we post are
so important as well because thesame thing with my parents.
We never had a pit bull and I didn't know if they had
adversions or not. And they both are in love with
Thor. And I don't know if inside
(14:35):
either of them were nervous whenwe brought him over for the
first time. He is 70 pounds of pure muscle.
He's 2 feet tall. He's a thick boy and you can see
all of his muscle and his huge mouth.
So I think there was some hesitation coming up.
Adults in my life, older people who grew up with those stigmas,
and now they'll cuddle with him and they'll kiss him and they'll
(14:55):
hold him and it's just great. And my little sister, who's 7,
when she first met him, he was so sweet.
But I think just the way he looked and whatever she's seen a
lion or heard or whatever, she was terrified of him.
She would make somebody hold herevery time that he walks by.
And then the last time she saw him, I showed her a bunch of
videos we had been posting before and she said, OK, I'll
meet him. And she did.
(15:17):
And they just cuddled for days. So I think it's so important to
have these. Positive Bully breed influencers
out here as well. I think it's breaking down those
barriers and showing people justice.
Breed is so sweet. There's another account that
does a really good job of this. My mentor is Sailor and Jerry,
and she does a really great job advocating for herself and for
(15:38):
Bully breeds with her dog and so.
But she also just started working with sweet Gigi, Aaron
and Gigi. And I think that that's another
account that does an amazing jobadvocating to breakdown these
stigmas and really kind of expose the treatment and
attitude people on the other side of the leash are getting
(15:59):
just simply because they're a person of color and they have
greed that is associated with a negative connotation of
behavior. Just a general negativity stigma
placed around. I mean it because in my opinion,
I've seen pitbulls that are not the best.
I've seen aggressive. Yeah.
But we have, like, I also have seen little dogs just be
(16:21):
completely feral. And me, I'm awful.
Toby came from a really bad situation where he was a bait
dog and he was not a nice dog when I got him.
He'd been people, he bit my son,he bit my sister, he bit my
sister's boyfriend, he bit some of my friends like, well, no,
and he doesn't have all of his teeth, so people are less afraid
(16:42):
of him. My sister, she still has kind of
a frenemy relationship with Toby, even though he's the
biggest lover of a dog you can ever find now.
But she's hesitant because she had that bad experience with
him. And unfortunately, that's what
carries over. That one negative experience
carries over and then it carriesdown the and then your mom told
(17:04):
her mom told their kid, told their kid, and it just has us on
throughout the years. I don't know how we stop that.
In your opinion, what do you think that we can do to bring
this kind of awareness and stop those stigmas in their tracks?
I believe with things like this where it's mainly just a lack of
information and a lack of knowing, I believe that fear is
(17:27):
taught when it comes to dogs. There are some instances where
he has somebody may have gotten or chased or whatever, but for
the most part I believe that fear is hot.
And once we stop teaching that dogs are scary or specific
breeds are scary, a lot more people will open their eyes and
understand the dogs who they arebecause every dog is different.
Like you said, there could be a 12 LB Chihuahua at least.
(17:47):
Crazy and then the biggest GreatDane is the nicest thing in the
world. So our tag, every dog is
different and every owner is too.
That's the podcast tagline. So I love it because it's true.
I mean, they're going to always be dogs and bad dogs, and that's
just how it is. Like you said, the dogs don't
know. The reason that there are good
(18:08):
dogs and bad dogs is because there are good owners and bad
and it's something that's sad. It's sad, it's really sad.
But if you're not going to put the time and effort in and
you're just going to get a dog and put it on a chain and leave
it in your yard because you think that's going to protect
you, you got the wrong idea and you're creating the people of
you are the problem. You're, you know, the person
(18:30):
across the street walking their their pimple is not the problem.
You chaining the Pitbull to the tree in your front yard, that's
the problem. That's the stigma.
That's where all this negativitycame from in the first place,
yeah. Definitely, Yeah.
I just had to think about especially, and I think that the
answer to your last question about how do we break this
cycle, I think a big part of it is a lot of people who have
(18:51):
these bad experiences with this select breed changing that and
giving them a good experience with this breed.
So like people who come up and I've had kids come up to Thor
and they'll be like, hey, can wepet your dog?
And then the mom will be like, no, you can't pet that dog.
And I'll be like, yeah, you can.And the kid does it anyways.
And the mom watches and she's like, wait.
And she'll pet Thor and I'm like, yeah, it's OK.
So I think that really is like kind of breaking that cycle and
(19:13):
seeing, OK, this dog looks like that dog that bit me.
But he won't. And it is sad to think about how
many people will pet other dogs.And we'll watch and he'll look
at them pet the other dog and not pet him.
And he'll get so excited and they'll walk by.
And that's heartbreaking to think because he has no idea
that it's because of the way he looks.
It's not like Thor looks in the mirror and he can see.
Himself and go, oh, I'm scary. He doesn't know.
(19:37):
He looks in the mirror and he goes.
Handsome. You look at me face on a wiggle,
right? I'm over here.
She's a big boy. But that's because he has good
owners. And that's, again, I think
that's just a huge point here. And you guys have some other
dogs that are way more difficultthan him and reactive and don't
do well with other people. And it's so sad that just
(19:59):
because he looks the way that helooks, he's not getting lovings
because people automatically assume all that dog's going to
bite me. This is 2024.
It might be 2025. This episode comes out.
Who knows? I'm just saying why are we still
doing this? It just doesn't make sense.
I mean, do you find yourself avoiding certain situations or
(20:19):
places for activities because ofyour situation with Gore?
Definitely not. So I've I'm a big believer that
I try to break the stigma a little every day.
So right now we're more secluded.
But when we're in the city, I try and take them as many places
as I can. He's my my passenger all the
time on my right hand man, as I like to say.
(20:41):
So I take them as many places aspossible.
When I'm heading to my friend's house or if I'm going to like a
restaurant or something, I'll sit outside with them.
And it's surprising like the more people people see and they
see like other people come up and pet him, then I like, OK,
he's OK, we can go up and pet him.
And it's like the amount of people that take the chance I
think will be happily surprised to realize that, oh, this dog is
(21:02):
not me because he's not. So I try and like I said, I try
and break the stigma every day. I try and take him out and let
people pet him and get him interacting with other people so
people can realize that pit bulls bullies are not mean dogs.
That's like, there's not that. That's fantastic.
I love that. And that's, I mean, that's The
thing is that we need people doing exactly an active.
(21:23):
I'm taking my dog out. I'm trying to show you that
we're doing the work. He's doing the work and that he
is safe for you guys to be around.
Now, that doesn't mean just run up to every pit bull and them,
but this wasn't me just run up to every dog and pet them
either, because there are a lot of dogs that have aversive
reactions to people that they don't know.
Fitz does not like people that he does not know, so he doesn't
(21:46):
go out in public places the way that some people can take their
dogs because he is not comfortable enough or confident
enough. Are we going to try to change
that? Yes.
But he's always going to be a work in progress.
Every dog is always going to be a work in progress.
It doesn't just stop because yougot them to the point that you
wanted them. You have to continue training
(22:08):
and implementing that behavior in them every single day because
if you drop the consistency, then their behavior consistency,
he also drops. And I think that that's where a
lot of people get lost. I think that they go, well, they
made it to this point, now we'regood.
And then they just hit the snooze button and then
everything falls into a disarrayand they're going what the?
(22:30):
Heck, just Yep, I've had many more people come up and try to
pet Brea while she was actively growling at them than people
that try to come up to pet Thor while he just sits and waits
for. The poor guy, I mean.
So Can you imagine being cast over, you know, like, I would
love to be inside of a dog's brain for one day and just be
(22:50):
like, what is he thinking? What is he?
What is he wondering? Why does he see this is
happening again? Like, how does he interpret
that? I would love to know what the
dog was thinking in some of those situations because they
definitely don't always understand.
I mean, we talked about the human dog language barrier in
several episodes and how being able to read body language is so
(23:12):
important. But dogs can smell emotions.
They can smell sickness, they can smell anxiety.
They can smell. That's why they make such great
search and rescue dogs with because dogs can smell so much
more things than people can smell.
He can probably smell that fear and that anxiety around him and
then see these people passing him by.
(23:34):
So I always kind of had wondered, maybe he does.
Maybe they do know a little bit.Maybe they know that those
people are just avoiding him because he can smell it.
Does that make him feel bad? I don't know.
I feel like dogs feelings shouldbe taken more into account than
they are. Definitely yeah cuz at the end
of the day, like you said, he doesn't know.
Every time I see people pass himup, I usually try them and
(23:55):
reinsure. I'm like yeah you're a good boy
for sitting and waiting. I know they didn't come that
cheap, but it's. I just, I think that your
approach here is the right approach.
And I think then again, this is just another one of those areas
where we need to be vocal about it and we need to have more
people shown their dogs and showing up for their dogs.
And think this community, it's still, we call it dog ISM
(24:19):
because that's the best term that we can come up with.
You know, racism for dogs is dogISM.
So how do you think people in this community who have bully
breeds, pit bull or even other like working dogs, German
shepherds, Rottweilers and all that kind of like area of dogs,
in your opinion, what are ways that people can show up and help
(24:41):
deescalate this thing? I think it really just comes
down to not being embarrassed orafraid of the interaction you're
going to have with your dog out in public and just taking the
reef off. Obviously do it safely.
So maybe make sure your dog has on a collar that has a handle or
harness that has a handle just in case the situation does go
South. But I think it really comes down
(25:02):
to like putting yourself out there in public and showing
that, OK, my dog is a good owner.
I'm going to showcase my dog andI know that my dog can break
these sticks. And then all it takes is like
one person at a time. You might meet someone who was
terrified of drummer shepherds or Rottweilers or pimples or
whatever, and if they come up toyou and ask you to pet their dog
(25:23):
and you let them do it, that might just break that whole
generational fear that they've had.
And I mean, another one of thosethings that I've seen company
across the Internet, one of the accounts that I've followed for
a long time is Marley's. And they have a program where
they have is like, like you saidearlier, like a pit bulls and
(25:45):
parolees program. But it's, it's this positive
change program and they they rehabilitate these dogs and
prisoners together and then these dogs become adoptable and
they get to go out into the world and have a life that they
wouldn't have been able to have previously.
And I think that there's kind ofa lot of that needs to be
(26:06):
involved in areas like that, butalso shelters too.
If we had people stepping up andvolunteering time and training
to some of these dogs that are less adoptable and seeing more
aggressive or unapproachable, I think that we.
Could really balance some thingsout for some of these dogs
because we'd be giving them a better opportunity.
(26:28):
And I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, I'm just saying
that it doesn't happen on a big enough scape, Definitely.
Yeah. I think that's a goal that we
have when we are back in a placewhere we can go work with
sheltered dogs again. Especially now having a platform
where we can talk about them andpost them and get more eyes on
these dogs than these things. I can't wait to go back to the
past and take dogs for doggy days out and stuff and get your.
(26:51):
Lives and get to work on that more love those accounts that do
that where they take the dogs and they make like a almost like
a Tinder post for them on their Facebook pages or they have I
saw one recently where it was a bunch of ballerinas that post
with all of these different dogsand every single one of the dogs
got adopted because they were like posing with these
(27:13):
ballerinas. I just think there's so many
things that we could do to be creative in these areas that
could potentially open in people's eyes against the breeds
and also just people. Because there are things that
happen and there are assumptionsthat are automatically made on
the Internet just because we're behind a camera and we're behind
(27:33):
a screen. And people kind of just think
that they can say whatever they want to say.
And this is where I'm going to bring in that stupid real thing
that went viral of me feeding Fitz cake on a floor.
And honestly, this goes both ways.
But I'm not trying to diminish anybody here in any way.
But you can't, I can't expect people to be nice to you and not
(27:53):
be nice to other people. Like you always have to be
putting that good energy out there.
And on this post, I got to in somany ways that if I had said any
of those comments on anyone else's page, somebody probably
would have come and burned out the house or, you know, try to
cancel me on the Internet or just, you know, just being
something to say to somebody else.
(28:15):
And, you know, putting my race and my gender out there as a
negative thing for feeding my dog off of a fork.
And I just really think that youcannot go out there and do those
things to people and then expectother people to turn around and
be nice to you, which is why I didn't respond to any of those
comments. I didn't fight any of those
(28:36):
comments. I didn't say anything negative
to any of those comments. Now, were there a battle in my
comments with other people between fights over dishwashers
and people eating at restaurantsand dog germs?
Yes, there surely was. And I sat there and I read all
of the but I didn't let it affect who I was as a person.
(28:56):
And I'm not going to think negatively those people because
maybe they had a bad day. Maybe they just needed somebody
to take it out on. Maybe they just felt the need to
feel superior for a moment. But I don't understand why
feeling superior always looks like pushing.
Yeah. Yeah, we get our fair share of
awful comments every single day too.
(29:18):
And also the end. So we get a lot of people in the
end and people will send us and I've seen it from a lot of
people this same screenshot thatfake statistics on it about pit
bull, right? And and they're wrong all of the
statistics and they'll send they'll send paragraphs and say
just wait till your dog lol somebody or not get comments
too. Rob's not in the social media
(29:38):
accounts at all. Actually.
He has no idea what goes on, butI'm saying, but I'll get
comments friends about him and our relationship and so they and
it's awful that people take the time out of their Dang to.
People that was sent to you personally because like you
said, he's not active on the accounts and you're the one that
kind of takes in all of this negativity and has to deal with
(30:00):
it. Do you guys talk about that or
is that just something that you are able to wipe away and say?
You know what those that's theirRob.
I am the opposite of Rob in the way that he has called.
I am so all we're trying people all day.
I'll play with them. I don't I don't ever get
bothered because I'm saying it behind the screen, like say it
to my face. I don't get bothered.
(30:21):
But he wouldn't handle everything.
He ignore everything in the mosttall way.
I've replied to people like whenthey comment and then like wait
till that dog walls a child and I've taken that comment and made
a video tag and then a thorn left loving on children I think.
That, you know, proving people wrong and there's nothing wrong
with that if you can absolutely be like, oh, here's some
definitive said my dog being anychildren.
(30:43):
I just think that if you have those opportunities and you have
the willpower to do it, I just Idon't have the willpower to
fight with people on the Internet all day long.
I just. I don't have it.
But there are certain things that if somebody came at me or
tried to attack me about, there are probably things that I would
get defensive about. That's definitely an area where
I'm probably with Rob where I would have to pick my battles.
(31:06):
Yeah. So that being said, like I'm
definitely not going to get likeinto a whole lot of fights on
the Internet just because I feellike that's one of those
situations where it's just kind of a lose situation.
You can't fight with people on the Internet.
You have to do it in person. Like you said, you have to take
the dog out. You have to be visually seen.
You have to get people to interact in a in a more positive
(31:27):
way in person. That being said, what do you
think your limit is, Rob? Like where would you say we're
drawing a line there? That's not happening.
I have to say something. I think it would be more
personal attached most of the time is there are personal to
Thor, but like Thor is not goingto he doesn't care.
That's it became like a personalattack thing.
Then I'll be like, OK, maybe this is this is going too far.
(31:49):
But for the most part, like at the end of the day, everyone
knows the keyboard warriors likethey're just going to they're
always there, they're always going to be there.
You can't please everybody. And that's just my mantra.
I. Think that's probably a really
good way to look at it because yes the keyboard warriors,
keyboard trolls, just the peoplewho get on the Internet to
spread because they're not braveenough to go out and stand up
(32:10):
for themselves in public or maybe they were bullied or maybe
they have a bad family situation.
And it's again, where I try to be as open minded as I possibly
can be about all of these thingsbecause you need to know what
somebody else is going through. But it still doesn't give you
the right to be just in general,it doesn't give you the right to
be. So breaking down this whole
(32:33):
episode and the whole point of this episode here was to just
really give us a place where we could talk as three people about
the kind of stuff that we're experiencing now.
I know Rob, you don't see a lot of the stuff because you're not
on the social media platforms that that seems to be kind of
the way that a lot of guys are. They're definitely in the dog
(32:56):
community. There are definitely larger
population of female dog accounts than there are male
owner dog. Good chance.
So my question for you is on that is why do you choose not to
be active on social media in that way?
For me right now, it really justcomes down to like a time thing
because I work, but I do at somepoint want to be more active in
(33:17):
the social media side of things.With the dog account.
We've been talking about some plans when we move back to the
city of doing different things with the dog.
So I'm definitely going to have to be more active.
At the end of the day, I love tobe active with the dogs and
recording and stuff. I would do this even if we
weren't recording. I still be playing with them and
dancing and piggyback rides and everything, but definitely this
coming year I want to be more active on the account as far as
(33:40):
like interacting with people anddoing more things.
I think that's awesome. I think that you're following
will appreciate that, and I think that you're following will
grow because of that. I think that you 2 United as a
team sends a big message to people because not only are you
guys supporting reactive dog owners and people of color and
Pitbull and bully breed owners, you guys can cover a whole range
(34:02):
of categories and really bring alarge group of people together.
And I'm really excited to see what you guys do with your flat
over the next two coming years. Very, very excited to see it.
I think that you guys are going to do great, yeah.
Thank you so much. We absolutely need more accounts
like you guys who are out there in the trenches showing the real
(34:22):
stuff. And I love that, you know, you
show the good stuff, you show the bad stuff, and you even show
stuff like where you have had a flirt full and played with the
dogs with a flirt full. Yeah, what kind of reaction you
got to that? Because a lot of people, there's
another thing that has a negative stigma attached to it
is people are like, you're goingto make your progressive, oh,
(34:43):
you're going to trigger instincts, oh, you're going to
trigger rage, all that kind of stuff.
It's a tool. Again, causing them to chase,
you're causing them to interact.You're, you know, stimulating
them. Yes, you 100% are.
But there are reasons to do thatfor a dog.
And if you sit down and read a book and learn something about
how dogs brains work, you would understand that that mental and
(35:05):
emotional and physical stimulation for them is what
keeps them young. It keeps them healthy, it keeps
them engaged, and it also helps with behavior.
Yeah. And I think the biggest thing
that especially is like when, and I guess it's because I've
had such a long background with animals, is you always have to
have an A safe off switch. And so before I do anything like
(35:28):
playing flirt polling or playingwith the rope and stuff where I
know they're going to be like going after it a lot, I make
sure that I set the president's OK.
This is the word like with your stop playing.
If I get serious, we're stopping.
So it's all about just having that off switch to make sure
like you're being safe with the dog and the dog understand, OK,
we're having fun, we're playing,but we're not going to continue
this outside of this area, this controlled area and.
(35:50):
We start pulling for since we'vehad the dog, so two years right
now and we've never had any issues stem from it.
And it's our favorite tool for getting that pent up energy out
and for there's nothing that anyany of our dogs would prefer to
do than sport pole and Thor would go all day.
It's favorite tool for getting them tired and didn't work.
And it's it's a great tool. We didn't receive any negative
(36:14):
comments at the time we posted it, but we also didn't really
have a lot of eyes on our clunchand at that time.
So maybe we will just to talk about that.
Yeah, I would. I would love to see what kind of
reaction you get now based on the larger following that you
have. And just because of the way that
social media works and how things spread, it would be
really interesting to see because if you repost older
(36:36):
content or repost something new in regards to that, because I've
seen other accounts get brutallyattacked for using flirt poles.
And again, it's just another tool.
And like you said, your dog and you know what the off switch is.
And now I'm not saying again as trainer here, do not just get a
flirt pole and start playing with your dog.
(36:57):
This is something. Yeah.
Definitely, yeah. That's a huge trust area and
that's a huge, huge practice area.
And that's absolutely something that talk to somebody that knows
how to do it. Reach out to Laurel and Rob,
reach out to a trainer, reach out to a specialist.
I mean, there are bite and protection trainers that
specialize in that kind of and you can have a consultation, you
(37:19):
can have your dog evaluated. You can do all kinds of things.
Don't ever try to do something that you don't know how to do
with your dog by yourself. Come to the podcast, ask for
resources, reach out to people like Laurel and Rob, ask for
help. But we have a plethora of
trainers that are associated with this podcast.
We have a plethora of nutritionists and just everyday
(37:43):
accounts. There are people out there who
have answers to the questions that you have and we're
encouraging you to ask them. Don't sit in shame.
Don't sit in wonder. Don't sit in questioning your
whole belief system in your dog and your relationship with your
dog help. There's nothing wrong with
asking for help, and there's nothing wrong with being nice
(38:06):
when you ask for help. Especially when you're asking
for help and also not making snap judgement just because you
see somebody using something on their account that maybe you've
never used or are unfamiliar with, or maybe you're just
adverse to it and it's fine. Because again, everybody's
different and everything is not the same for everybody else.
(38:27):
So just be careful what you guysare doing and be careful how
you're approaching things and also just be careful how you're
treating people. This is an area that we can all
do better in every single day ofour lives.
And it really does not take thatmuch to to be nice.
To say something nice to someonecost you absolutely nothing.
(38:49):
That has nothing to do with who you are as a person.
In fact, it makes you a better person.
If your ego is keeping you from being to somebody else, that's
on you, not on that. Yep.
And I think a lot of people don't understand, you say it's
either that digital footprint exists.
All of these things that you're saying online are are there
forever, You're trackable. For everything that you're
(39:12):
saying, yeah, 100%. I mean, that's why I left all
those comments up on that, that cake post because that's them.
That's not on me. I'm not going to get involved in
in all that negativity because there's no point in it.
This is about spreading kindness.
This is about spreading love. This is about spreading
education and awareness. And we are here for everyone.
(39:32):
I don't care if you had a bad past or a bad experience or you
were not a great person previously.
If you're trying to be better and you're trying to do better
for yourself and your dog, we want you here and that's all
there is to it. Yeah, we agree.
Definitely. We love the variety of people
that being online has allowed usto connect with and the
(39:54):
different people's stories and experiences and all different
types of people that reach out to us and in our community that
we interact with. It's just very special to see
all these people come together over admiring just a Pitbull.
Yeah, all over the world. I think that's the coolest part
about it is that the reach that you get and the people that you
get to interact with that you would have never previously
(40:16):
gotten to interact with just because they saw your video and
they went, Oh my gosh, that dog is so cute.
My favorite part is when somebody has a dog that looks
similar to Fits and they're like, Oh my gosh, I've never
seen another dog that looks likemy dog.
And they send me a picture and it looks so much like Fits and
I'm like, Oh my gosh, how cool is that?
And they live in a different state or a different country and
(40:37):
it's just, I don't know. I think that dogs are a really
easy way to connect with people in a really easy way to learn
how to treat other people just by respecting another person's
dog and another person's methodsthat they use with their dogs.
Definitely. Yeah.
Well, is there anything else youguys would like to say before
you wrap this episode? Up.
I'll just like to say as a reminder to go back what I said,
(40:59):
being personable, be a person and just be kind.
And that's exactly the way to end this and completely agree
with you. Kindness matters, and that is
the only thing that should matter.
And I appreciate you guys for coming on here and being
completely raw and vulnerable and sharing our love for dogs
and our love for people and justspreading the message for the
(41:21):
better world for everyone. So thank you guys so much for
being here. Yeah, absolutely.
You guys are always welcome. We're going to wrap this episode
of Straight Up Dog Talk book, and we will see that Straight Up
Dog Talk was created by Emily Breslin.
It is edited and produced under the supervision of Straight Up
Dog Talk, LLC and Emily Breslin.If you're enjoying this podcast,
(41:42):
follow or subscribe and be sure you don't miss an episode and
leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Looking for more honest and relatable dog content?
Check out our sister show, Unpacked with Jerry Sheriff and
Madison Simpson. Thanks for listening to Straight
Up Dog Top. See you next week.
Welcome to another episode of Straight Up Dog Talk.
I'm EV and I'm bringing back a duo that everybody loves.
I have Rob and Laurel with mythological dogs here.
How are you guys doing tonight? Great.
Thank you. We're.
Really excited to have you back on the podcast.
Tonight's topic is a little bit different than what we usually
do on the podcast here, but witheverything that's been happening
(01:07):
in the world lately, it really felt like this was least that we
could, as friends, sit and have an open and honest conversation
about some of the stigmas and the discriminatory factors that
come in as not only dog owners, but as people too.
This all really started because of what happened over in the UK
with the bully ban and talking to people over there and just
(01:32):
hearing how much awful stuff they were experiencing having
some certain breed of dogs. But when you add having a
certain breed of dog to being a person of color, that puts a
completely different lens on things.
And Rob, you are kind enough to be open and having this be an
episode, and I really appreciatethat.
(01:54):
So I'm just going to let you have the freedom of taking over
this episode of the podcast and just having an open and honest
conversation about what life with the Pitbull and
discrimination looks like. Yeah, so definitely drawing up.
I, I talked about this in the last episode, but I had
pitbulls, I had different animals as well and different
other dog breeds. But the stigma behind the black
(02:17):
man with the Pitbull is just onethat I feel like should be
played out by now. But it's still around.
And hopefully through our page and other pages that are out
there, we're slowly getting to apoint where people are kind of
understanding, OK, just because this guy has a pit bull does not
mean anything just or just because anyone has a pit bull,
they're they're dangerous. You know, and unfortunately, I
(02:38):
have experienced a lot of thingslike I talked about in the last
episode. I had to run it in a store where
I was kind of pushed out earlierthan I wanted to be just because
I was there with a pit boy. Even though my dog is the
friendliest dog you're ever. Me and one of the friends dogs
we have, he was kind of just discriminated against because of
his breed. Even though they didn't get a
chance to meet him or talk to him or ask and not pet him or
(03:01):
could you tell me about your dog?
They just kind of immediately just saw me pushing a pit bull
and we're like, Yep, this is notcool anymore for me.
I'm going to make a decision to get this person escorted out.
In the perfect world, I would like to be able to go places and
do things with my pit bull and not being second guessed or not
just for me but for him as well because he doesn't understand,
(03:22):
he doesn't know and he is just being discriminated against.
And I think that it's very unfortunate and the the way that
our society looks at me and alsohim.
And I think it's even more ridiculous because those of you
listening who know what Thor looks like, could you imagine
Thor being pushed around in a Home Depot car and see that as
threatening? It was.
(03:44):
It was and it was an eye openingexperience for me.
Like I said, that was the first time I'd ever been in a
situation like that where I was upfront.
Of course I've been in situations where people probably
like cross the road or turned around and walked the opposite
way just because they saw I'm gunman.
But being that I'm just going about my way, being an old
person, just going there everyday thing and that
(04:06):
happening, it really caught me off guard.
And I wish I would have handled it differently, but you know, I
can't go back. But it was definitely a learning
experience for me. When it happened to me.
I really started to think more about, OK, if it happened to me,
how many other people are experiencing them?
How many other people are in South Florida or being told
something this that were third because they are a certain range
(04:27):
or a certain color with a certain type of goal.
And I feel like the stigmas all around should be broken, that
you can't always judge a book. That's what get to know the
person, you get to know the dog.You never know who you might be,
never know who might run into, and you never know this person
might become your friend later, or this dog might be the next
dog that you take your dog in a place.
So I want to just take this opportunity to raise awareness
(04:49):
of the fact that you can't just immediately rule out or make an
assumption. I have 100% on board with you
because I think that that is what happens in so many
situations, whether it's a dog misbehaving on a leash or isn't
somebody running with a pit bullor any breed that has a bad
(05:10):
stigma around it. But usually it is the bullying
breeds, it is the pit bulls. There are other breeds we talked
about on the other episodes, Rottweilers, German shepherds,
Malinoise Dobies. A lot of breeds get bad rap, but
the Pitbull bully breed in general, they get to works.
They always get at the worst, which I find fascinating because
back in the day you guys can Google this, it's on Internet.
(05:32):
Pitbulls used to be considered the babysitting dog.
People used to leave their children home alone with the
Pitbull as the babysitter because they are gentle and
caring and protective of the people that they care about.
And now they have this awful stigma that's connected to them
because people use them to fightand for entertainment.
(05:55):
It's disgusting that it happens.I have a dog that was a bait dog
that was used in one of those fights and he's 12 lbs.
He's lucky he survived. And I just don't understand one
how people can immediately judgejust based on the way that
something looks but also the dogdoesn't know.
How is the dog supposed to know?It's just the same thing when
(06:18):
you're talking about training a dog.
You have to teach the dog step by step how to sit, how to lay
down, how to stay, how to walk on the leash, all of the things
dogs don't. Just know I'm the people not
liked by people. It's the same thing we have to
teach our children as we're growing up.
Just because somebody has a different color skin or hair or
(06:39):
eyes or because they're a different gender, it shouldn't
matter what we look like on the outside.
On the inside we're all the same.
Do we all think the same? No, and that's what makes it so
special and makes us all so unique.
I can't imagine going through life and being completely
oblivious to the fact that otherpeople exist.
(07:01):
And I feel like, unfortunately, that's kind of the way that a
lot of people seem to live theirlives, that they're so focused
on themselves that they miss thebigger picture of what's
happening around them. You said that if you could go
back, you would handle that situation at the Home Depot
differently. How would you do it differently?
So that specific place I had been before with the other dogs,
(07:23):
so I knew a lot of the workers there and I probably would have
given a little bit more pushback, but if I was very just
like reluctant, I was like, OK, no problem.
Like grab myself and I'll leave.And I feel like me not giving
any pushback, not to make a scene or anything, but just
giving a little bit pushback andbeing like, yeah, it's kind of
not fair. I've been here with my other dog
before. I just kind of rushed it off and
was like, OK, yeah, I'll grab myself and leave.
(07:44):
I feel like that gave the personor people, whoever told the
workers that they I was making them feel uncomfortable.
I feel like that gave them that sense of that they could do it
again. And that is not the way that I
would want that situation. I don't want them to have any
idea that that was in any way OKto stereotype a dog and a person
because the greed or color. And if I could go back, I would
(08:07):
change the way I handled it 100%in that way.
You also said that you've had pit bulls all your life, that
because that's your breed of choice or is that because that
was the breed that your family picked and now you just, you
know, stumbled upon door and it was kind of a repeat because the
other, the other three dogs are we'll do the air quotes here.
Family friendly breeds or breedsthat people associate as not
(08:29):
being as aggressive. What is it that attracted you to
that breed or that put you in that category with the breed
originally? I think it was just I always had
great experience with them. We did have other dogs we had,
we had a German shepherd. We had a great day.
At one point we had two leader dogs.
Like we had a good array of different types of dogs and
(08:50):
animals in general. My first shepherd dog down here
is like, OK, we're getting you apuppy.
We think you're ready. This is going to be your dog.
It was a pit bull and it was a rescue and she was one of the
best dogs I think ever. She was just super easy to
train. You could leave food on the
table. She wouldn't touch it.
She was awfully great. Recall.
It was she was almost like matchmade in heaven.
(09:11):
My first dog was an amazing, perfect experience.
I, I guess was drawn to them because I had such an amazing
experience. I never really heard the stigma
until more of my friends would come around and they would see
my dog and oh, they'll be kind of scared.
And I'm like, why are you scared?
Now it's a pit bull, they're going to bite me.
I'm like, no, she's sweet. And then that's when I kind of
learned more and did more research and I was like, OK, so
(09:32):
people just think my dog is I bite them.
Great. That's the opposite.
She just wants you to better. So to answer your question, yes,
that's why I gravitated towards them because my first ever dog
that was a completely mind what it.
And after that dog passed and she was a blue nose Pitbull,
when we first started talking, Robin always tell me how badly
he wanted another blue nose Pitbull.
(09:53):
And I think that's why when we got to go see Thor, he just
melted because Thor was a blue nose and it was just kind of
like that reunion of another blue nose in his life.
And there's such a special breed.
And Thor shares all of those qualities.
And many, yeah, Thorin in many ways is just like, he's very
loving. You'll lay down when you want to
lay down or you'll go out and party and play with you or
(10:14):
whatever you want to do. I always pick him up.
He loves to be picked up. He loves to be piggyback ride.
He loves to dance. He loves to do all these things.
And he's like so much personality out of the breed
that I that's why I like. They really do have a lot of
personality. And I just have to say this, I
have so much respect for your parents, for teaching you
responsibility with a pet, teaching your child how to care
(10:36):
for something, how to respect something, to learn the
boundaries of a dog and understand the language of the
dog at a young age as part of your responsibility growing up.
Good job. Great job to your parents.
That was an excellent. I mean, look, it's made you such
a genuine, kind human being thatpiggybacks pitbulls around on
(10:56):
his back. It's more amazing than that.
And I also think that it was interesting and again, applaud
to your parents for the fact that your dog was a Pitbull
because I know growing up, like you said, you had no idea that
there was that stigma, which is interesting to think about that
that's so hot. And the way that I grew up, we
never had a Pitbull. And I remember watching Pitbulls
(11:18):
and Parolee is on TV and being like, oh, fitting, like they're
just bad until I met Pitbulls for real and then obviously fell
in love with the Reed. But it's just interesting how
taut that is. Well, it's so.
Funny because when we start assigning these stigmas people
of color, pitbulls, let's talk about the negative association
that people have with muzzles. What's wrong with muscles?
(11:40):
That is a tool that is protecting people or the dog
from a harmful or scary situation.
Just because a dog has a muzzle does not mean that that dog
bites. It doesn't mean that that dog
bites. It could mean that that dog got
bit. It is a little bit reactive and
the owner is smart and taking safety functions.
It could just mean that the owner said, you know what?
(12:02):
I think it would just be better if I never had to risk this at
all. Like you said in your other
episode, lawsuit, right? Big dog walking around with a
muzzle immediately negative stigma there shouldn't be such a
negative feeling about certain things that people have negative
feelings about handling your dogpeople have negative feelings
about E collars. People have negative feelings
(12:23):
about prowl collars. But one in reality what we're
talking about here is we have been taught negative things
about each of these things because of how we were raised
because of how we grew up because of those examples being
used in a negative way. Now, that being said, as a
trainer, do I think every dog needs the prong collar or an E
(12:44):
collar or a muzzle? No, absolutely not.
But is there a negative downsideto training your dog with those
kinds of tools? Not if they're used properly,
Not if they're used in moderation.
Not if they're used for other people's safety.
I think that, like you said, getting rid of all of these
negative stigmas and biases against people and breeds is
(13:08):
what this world really needs. And we just really need to bring
people together. And I think that in the dog
community, it's very easy for usto do that if we would stop
trying to categorize. I grew up the same way.
We helped golden retriever. We had a lot of mutts.
We had dachshunds, so we had a Dalmatian.
We had a bunch of different dogswhen I was growing up and we
(13:30):
never had a pit bull. And I do not think that my mom
would never have a pit bull. That's something I'm going to
have to ask for now because I don't think that she would ever
want one because she doesn't even like, because he's got too
much energy. He's he's a big dog.
Or when I came home initially with my two dogs, when I moved
back from sex education in Fiona, they were 90 and 120 lbs
(13:52):
dogs. And she was not thrilled about
that. But that's again, somebody who
grew up a certain way. And I don't think that they ever
had dogs growing up. I know they had cats.
My grandpa had a dog later in life, but my grandma never likes
dogs. So we try to, we put people in
boxes, we try to put dogs in boxes and in my opinion, I think
(14:14):
we should be breaking down boxesand trying to work together as a
community. I think that's why your platform
and our platform and the podcastin the videos that we post are
so important as well because thesame thing with my parents.
We never had a pit bull and I didn't know if they had
adversions or not. And they both are in love with
Thor. And I don't know if inside
(14:35):
either of them were nervous whenwe brought him over for the
first time. He is 70 pounds of pure muscle.
He's 2 feet tall. He's a thick boy and you can see
all of his muscle and his huge mouth.
So I think there was some hesitation coming up.
Adults in my life, older people who grew up with those stigmas,
and now they'll cuddle with him and they'll kiss him and they'll
(14:55):
hold him and it's just great. And my little sister, who's 7,
when she first met him, he was so sweet.
But I think just the way he looked and whatever she's seen a
lion or heard or whatever, she was terrified of him.
She would make somebody hold herevery time that he walks by.
And then the last time she saw him, I showed her a bunch of
videos we had been posting before and she said, OK, I'll
meet him. And she did.
(15:17):
And they just cuddled for days. So I think it's so important to
have these. Positive Bully breed influencers
out here as well. I think it's breaking down those
barriers and showing people justice.
Breed is so sweet. There's another account that
does a really good job of this. My mentor is Sailor and Jerry,
and she does a really great job advocating for herself and for
(15:38):
Bully breeds with her dog and so.
But she also just started working with sweet Gigi, Aaron
and Gigi. And I think that that's another
account that does an amazing jobadvocating to breakdown these
stigmas and really kind of expose the treatment and
attitude people on the other side of the leash are getting
(15:59):
just simply because they're a person of color and they have
greed that is associated with a negative connotation of
behavior. Just a general negativity stigma
placed around. I mean it because in my opinion,
I've seen pitbulls that are not the best.
I've seen aggressive. Yeah.
But we have, like, I also have seen little dogs just be
(16:21):
completely feral. And me, I'm awful.
Toby came from a really bad situation where he was a bait
dog and he was not a nice dog when I got him.
He'd been people, he bit my son,he bit my sister, he bit my
sister's boyfriend, he bit some of my friends like, well, no,
and he doesn't have all of his teeth, so people are less afraid
(16:42):
of him. My sister, she still has kind of
a frenemy relationship with Toby, even though he's the
biggest lover of a dog you can ever find now.
But she's hesitant because she had that bad experience with
him. And unfortunately, that's what
carries over. That one negative experience
carries over and then it carriesdown the and then your mom told
(17:04):
her mom told their kid, told their kid, and it just has us on
throughout the years. I don't know how we stop that.
In your opinion, what do you think that we can do to bring
this kind of awareness and stop those stigmas in their tracks?
I believe with things like this where it's mainly just a lack of
information and a lack of knowing, I believe that fear is
(17:27):
taught when it comes to dogs. There are some instances where
he has somebody may have gotten or chased or whatever, but for
the most part I believe that fear is hot.
And once we stop teaching that dogs are scary or specific
breeds are scary, a lot more people will open their eyes and
understand the dogs who they arebecause every dog is different.
Like you said, there could be a 12 LB Chihuahua at least.
(17:47):
Crazy and then the biggest GreatDane is the nicest thing in the
world. So our tag, every dog is
different and every owner is too.
That's the podcast tagline. So I love it because it's true.
I mean, they're going to always be dogs and bad dogs, and that's
just how it is. Like you said, the dogs don't
know. The reason that there are good
(18:08):
dogs and bad dogs is because there are good owners and bad
and it's something that's sad. It's sad, it's really sad.
But if you're not going to put the time and effort in and
you're just going to get a dog and put it on a chain and leave
it in your yard because you think that's going to protect
you, you got the wrong idea and you're creating the people of
you are the problem. You're, you know, the person
(18:30):
across the street walking their their pimple is not the problem.
You chaining the Pitbull to the tree in your front yard, that's
the problem. That's the stigma.
That's where all this negativitycame from in the first place,
yeah. Definitely, Yeah.
I just had to think about especially, and I think that the
answer to your last question about how do we break this
cycle, I think a big part of it is a lot of people who have
(18:51):
these bad experiences with this select breed changing that and
giving them a good experience with this breed.
So like people who come up and I've had kids come up to Thor
and they'll be like, hey, can wepet your dog?
And then the mom will be like, no, you can't pet that dog.
And I'll be like, yeah, you can.And the kid does it anyways.
And the mom watches and she's like, wait.
And she'll pet Thor and I'm like, yeah, it's OK.
So I think that really is like kind of breaking that cycle and
(19:13):
seeing, OK, this dog looks like that dog that bit me.
But he won't. And it is sad to think about how
many people will pet other dogs.And we'll watch and he'll look
at them pet the other dog and not pet him.
And he'll get so excited and they'll walk by.
And that's heartbreaking to think because he has no idea
that it's because of the way he looks.
It's not like Thor looks in the mirror and he can see.
Himself and go, oh, I'm scary. He doesn't know.
(19:37):
He looks in the mirror and he goes.
Handsome. You look at me face on a wiggle,
right? I'm over here.
She's a big boy. But that's because he has good
owners. And that's, again, I think
that's just a huge point here. And you guys have some other
dogs that are way more difficultthan him and reactive and don't
do well with other people. And it's so sad that just
(19:59):
because he looks the way that helooks, he's not getting lovings
because people automatically assume all that dog's going to
bite me. This is 2024.
It might be 2025. This episode comes out.
Who knows? I'm just saying why are we still
doing this? It just doesn't make sense.
I mean, do you find yourself avoiding certain situations or
(20:19):
places for activities because ofyour situation with Gore?
Definitely not. So I've I'm a big believer that
I try to break the stigma a little every day.
So right now we're more secluded.
But when we're in the city, I try and take them as many places
as I can. He's my my passenger all the
time on my right hand man, as I like to say.
(20:41):
So I take them as many places aspossible.
When I'm heading to my friend's house or if I'm going to like a
restaurant or something, I'll sit outside with them.
And it's surprising like the more people people see and they
see like other people come up and pet him, then I like, OK,
he's OK, we can go up and pet him.
And it's like the amount of people that take the chance I
think will be happily surprised to realize that, oh, this dog is
(21:02):
not me because he's not. So I try and like I said, I try
and break the stigma every day. I try and take him out and let
people pet him and get him interacting with other people so
people can realize that pit bulls bullies are not mean dogs.
That's like, there's not that. That's fantastic.
I love that. And that's, I mean, that's The
thing is that we need people doing exactly an active.
(21:23):
I'm taking my dog out. I'm trying to show you that
we're doing the work. He's doing the work and that he
is safe for you guys to be around.
Now, that doesn't mean just run up to every pit bull and them,
but this wasn't me just run up to every dog and pet them
either, because there are a lot of dogs that have aversive
reactions to people that they don't know.
Fitz does not like people that he does not know, so he doesn't
(21:46):
go out in public places the way that some people can take their
dogs because he is not comfortable enough or confident
enough. Are we going to try to change
that? Yes.
But he's always going to be a work in progress.
Every dog is always going to be a work in progress.
It doesn't just stop because yougot them to the point that you
wanted them. You have to continue training
(22:08):
and implementing that behavior in them every single day because
if you drop the consistency, then their behavior consistency,
he also drops. And I think that that's where a
lot of people get lost. I think that they go, well, they
made it to this point, now we'regood.
And then they just hit the snooze button and then
everything falls into a disarrayand they're going what the?
(22:30):
Heck, just Yep, I've had many more people come up and try to
pet Brea while she was actively growling at them than people
that try to come up to pet Thor while he just sits and waits
for. The poor guy, I mean.
So Can you imagine being cast over, you know, like, I would
love to be inside of a dog's brain for one day and just be
(22:50):
like, what is he thinking? What is he?
What is he wondering? Why does he see this is
happening again? Like, how does he interpret
that? I would love to know what the
dog was thinking in some of those situations because they
definitely don't always understand.
I mean, we talked about the human dog language barrier in
several episodes and how being able to read body language is so
(23:12):
important. But dogs can smell emotions.
They can smell sickness, they can smell anxiety.
They can smell. That's why they make such great
search and rescue dogs with because dogs can smell so much
more things than people can smell.
He can probably smell that fear and that anxiety around him and
then see these people passing him by.
(23:34):
So I always kind of had wondered, maybe he does.
Maybe they do know a little bit.Maybe they know that those
people are just avoiding him because he can smell it.
Does that make him feel bad? I don't know.
I feel like dogs feelings shouldbe taken more into account than
they are. Definitely yeah cuz at the end
of the day, like you said, he doesn't know.
Every time I see people pass himup, I usually try them and
(23:55):
reinsure. I'm like yeah you're a good boy
for sitting and waiting. I know they didn't come that
cheap, but it's. I just, I think that your
approach here is the right approach.
And I think then again, this is just another one of those areas
where we need to be vocal about it and we need to have more
people shown their dogs and showing up for their dogs.
And think this community, it's still, we call it dog ISM
(24:19):
because that's the best term that we can come up with.
You know, racism for dogs is dogISM.
So how do you think people in this community who have bully
breeds, pit bull or even other like working dogs, German
shepherds, Rottweilers and all that kind of like area of dogs,
in your opinion, what are ways that people can show up and help
(24:41):
deescalate this thing? I think it really just comes
down to not being embarrassed orafraid of the interaction you're
going to have with your dog out in public and just taking the
reef off. Obviously do it safely.
So maybe make sure your dog has on a collar that has a handle or
harness that has a handle just in case the situation does go
South. But I think it really comes down
(25:02):
to like putting yourself out there in public and showing
that, OK, my dog is a good owner.
I'm going to showcase my dog andI know that my dog can break
these sticks. And then all it takes is like
one person at a time. You might meet someone who was
terrified of drummer shepherds or Rottweilers or pimples or
whatever, and if they come up toyou and ask you to pet their dog
(25:23):
and you let them do it, that might just break that whole
generational fear that they've had.
And I mean, another one of thosethings that I've seen company
across the Internet, one of the accounts that I've followed for
a long time is Marley's. And they have a program where
they have is like, like you saidearlier, like a pit bulls and
(25:45):
parolees program. But it's, it's this positive
change program and they they rehabilitate these dogs and
prisoners together and then these dogs become adoptable and
they get to go out into the world and have a life that they
wouldn't have been able to have previously.
And I think that there's kind ofa lot of that needs to be
(26:06):
involved in areas like that, butalso shelters too.
If we had people stepping up andvolunteering time and training
to some of these dogs that are less adoptable and seeing more
aggressive or unapproachable, I think that we.
Could really balance some thingsout for some of these dogs
because we'd be giving them a better opportunity.
(26:28):
And I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, I'm just saying
that it doesn't happen on a big enough scape, Definitely.
Yeah. I think that's a goal that we
have when we are back in a placewhere we can go work with
sheltered dogs again. Especially now having a platform
where we can talk about them andpost them and get more eyes on
these dogs than these things. I can't wait to go back to the
past and take dogs for doggy days out and stuff and get your.
(26:51):
Lives and get to work on that more love those accounts that do
that where they take the dogs and they make like a almost like
a Tinder post for them on their Facebook pages or they have I
saw one recently where it was a bunch of ballerinas that post
with all of these different dogsand every single one of the dogs
got adopted because they were like posing with these
(27:13):
ballerinas. I just think there's so many
things that we could do to be creative in these areas that
could potentially open in people's eyes against the breeds
and also just people. Because there are things that
happen and there are assumptionsthat are automatically made on
the Internet just because we're behind a camera and we're behind
(27:33):
a screen. And people kind of just think
that they can say whatever they want to say.
And this is where I'm going to bring in that stupid real thing
that went viral of me feeding Fitz cake on a floor.
And honestly, this goes both ways.
But I'm not trying to diminish anybody here in any way.
But you can't, I can't expect people to be nice to you and not
(27:53):
be nice to other people. Like you always have to be
putting that good energy out there.
And on this post, I got to in somany ways that if I had said any
of those comments on anyone else's page, somebody probably
would have come and burned out the house or, you know, try to
cancel me on the Internet or just, you know, just being
something to say to somebody else.
(28:15):
And, you know, putting my race and my gender out there as a
negative thing for feeding my dog off of a fork.
And I just really think that youcannot go out there and do those
things to people and then expectother people to turn around and
be nice to you, which is why I didn't respond to any of those
comments. I didn't fight any of those
(28:36):
comments. I didn't say anything negative
to any of those comments. Now, were there a battle in my
comments with other people between fights over dishwashers
and people eating at restaurantsand dog germs?
Yes, there surely was. And I sat there and I read all
of the but I didn't let it affect who I was as a person.
(28:56):
And I'm not going to think negatively those people because
maybe they had a bad day. Maybe they just needed somebody
to take it out on. Maybe they just felt the need to
feel superior for a moment. But I don't understand why
feeling superior always looks like pushing.
Yeah. Yeah, we get our fair share of
awful comments every single day too.
(29:18):
And also the end. So we get a lot of people in the
end and people will send us and I've seen it from a lot of
people this same screenshot thatfake statistics on it about pit
bull, right? And and they're wrong all of the
statistics and they'll send they'll send paragraphs and say
just wait till your dog lol somebody or not get comments
too. Rob's not in the social media
(29:38):
accounts at all. Actually.
He has no idea what goes on, butI'm saying, but I'll get
comments friends about him and our relationship and so they and
it's awful that people take the time out of their Dang to.
People that was sent to you personally because like you
said, he's not active on the accounts and you're the one that
kind of takes in all of this negativity and has to deal with
(30:00):
it. Do you guys talk about that or
is that just something that you are able to wipe away and say?
You know what those that's theirRob.
I am the opposite of Rob in the way that he has called.
I am so all we're trying people all day.
I'll play with them. I don't I don't ever get
bothered because I'm saying it behind the screen, like say it
to my face. I don't get bothered.
(30:21):
But he wouldn't handle everything.
He ignore everything in the mosttall way.
I've replied to people like whenthey comment and then like wait
till that dog walls a child and I've taken that comment and made
a video tag and then a thorn left loving on children I think.
That, you know, proving people wrong and there's nothing wrong
with that if you can absolutely be like, oh, here's some
definitive said my dog being anychildren.
(30:43):
I just think that if you have those opportunities and you have
the willpower to do it, I just Idon't have the willpower to
fight with people on the Internet all day long.
I just. I don't have it.
But there are certain things that if somebody came at me or
tried to attack me about, there are probably things that I would
get defensive about. That's definitely an area where
I'm probably with Rob where I would have to pick my battles.
(31:06):
Yeah. So that being said, like I'm
definitely not going to get likeinto a whole lot of fights on
the Internet just because I feellike that's one of those
situations where it's just kind of a lose situation.
You can't fight with people on the Internet.
You have to do it in person. Like you said, you have to take
the dog out. You have to be visually seen.
You have to get people to interact in a in a more positive
(31:27):
way in person. That being said, what do you
think your limit is, Rob? Like where would you say we're
drawing a line there? That's not happening.
I have to say something. I think it would be more
personal attached most of the time is there are personal to
Thor, but like Thor is not goingto he doesn't care.
That's it became like a personalattack thing.
Then I'll be like, OK, maybe this is this is going too far.
(31:49):
But for the most part, like at the end of the day, everyone
knows the keyboard warriors likethey're just going to they're
always there, they're always going to be there.
You can't please everybody. And that's just my mantra.
I. Think that's probably a really
good way to look at it because yes the keyboard warriors,
keyboard trolls, just the peoplewho get on the Internet to
spread because they're not braveenough to go out and stand up
(32:10):
for themselves in public or maybe they were bullied or maybe
they have a bad family situation.
And it's again, where I try to be as open minded as I possibly
can be about all of these thingsbecause you need to know what
somebody else is going through. But it still doesn't give you
the right to be just in general,it doesn't give you the right to
be. So breaking down this whole
(32:33):
episode and the whole point of this episode here was to just
really give us a place where we could talk as three people about
the kind of stuff that we're experiencing now.
I know Rob, you don't see a lot of the stuff because you're not
on the social media platforms that that seems to be kind of
the way that a lot of guys are. They're definitely in the dog
(32:56):
community. There are definitely larger
population of female dog accounts than there are male
owner dog. Good chance.
So my question for you is on that is why do you choose not to
be active on social media in that way?
For me right now, it really justcomes down to like a time thing
because I work, but I do at somepoint want to be more active in
(33:17):
the social media side of things.With the dog account.
We've been talking about some plans when we move back to the
city of doing different things with the dog.
So I'm definitely going to have to be more active.
At the end of the day, I love tobe active with the dogs and
recording and stuff. I would do this even if we
weren't recording. I still be playing with them and
dancing and piggyback rides and everything, but definitely this
coming year I want to be more active on the account as far as
(33:40):
like interacting with people anddoing more things.
I think that's awesome. I think that you're following
will appreciate that, and I think that you're following will
grow because of that. I think that you 2 United as a
team sends a big message to people because not only are you
guys supporting reactive dog owners and people of color and
Pitbull and bully breed owners, you guys can cover a whole range
(34:02):
of categories and really bring alarge group of people together.
And I'm really excited to see what you guys do with your flat
over the next two coming years. Very, very excited to see it.
I think that you guys are going to do great, yeah.
Thank you so much. We absolutely need more accounts
like you guys who are out there in the trenches showing the real
(34:22):
stuff. And I love that, you know, you
show the good stuff, you show the bad stuff, and you even show
stuff like where you have had a flirt full and played with the
dogs with a flirt full. Yeah, what kind of reaction you
got to that? Because a lot of people, there's
another thing that has a negative stigma attached to it
is people are like, you're goingto make your progressive, oh,
(34:43):
you're going to trigger instincts, oh, you're going to
trigger rage, all that kind of stuff.
It's a tool. Again, causing them to chase,
you're causing them to interact.You're, you know, stimulating
them. Yes, you 100% are.
But there are reasons to do thatfor a dog.
And if you sit down and read a book and learn something about
how dogs brains work, you would understand that that mental and
(35:05):
emotional and physical stimulation for them is what
keeps them young. It keeps them healthy, it keeps
them engaged, and it also helps with behavior.
Yeah. And I think the biggest thing
that especially is like when, and I guess it's because I've
had such a long background with animals, is you always have to
have an A safe off switch. And so before I do anything like
(35:28):
playing flirt polling or playingwith the rope and stuff where I
know they're going to be like going after it a lot, I make
sure that I set the president's OK.
This is the word like with your stop playing.
If I get serious, we're stopping.
So it's all about just having that off switch to make sure
like you're being safe with the dog and the dog understand, OK,
we're having fun, we're playing,but we're not going to continue
this outside of this area, this controlled area and.
(35:50):
We start pulling for since we'vehad the dog, so two years right
now and we've never had any issues stem from it.
And it's our favorite tool for getting that pent up energy out
and for there's nothing that anyany of our dogs would prefer to
do than sport pole and Thor would go all day.
It's favorite tool for getting them tired and didn't work.
And it's it's a great tool. We didn't receive any negative
(36:14):
comments at the time we posted it, but we also didn't really
have a lot of eyes on our clunchand at that time.
So maybe we will just to talk about that.
Yeah, I would. I would love to see what kind of
reaction you get now based on the larger following that you
have. And just because of the way that
social media works and how things spread, it would be
really interesting to see because if you repost older
(36:36):
content or repost something new in regards to that, because I've
seen other accounts get brutallyattacked for using flirt poles.
And again, it's just another tool.
And like you said, your dog and you know what the off switch is.
And now I'm not saying again as trainer here, do not just get a
flirt pole and start playing with your dog.
(36:57):
This is something. Yeah.
Definitely, yeah. That's a huge trust area and
that's a huge, huge practice area.
And that's absolutely something that talk to somebody that knows
how to do it. Reach out to Laurel and Rob,
reach out to a trainer, reach out to a specialist.
I mean, there are bite and protection trainers that
specialize in that kind of and you can have a consultation, you
(37:19):
can have your dog evaluated. You can do all kinds of things.
Don't ever try to do something that you don't know how to do
with your dog by yourself. Come to the podcast, ask for
resources, reach out to people like Laurel and Rob, ask for
help. But we have a plethora of
trainers that are associated with this podcast.
We have a plethora of nutritionists and just everyday
(37:43):
accounts. There are people out there who
have answers to the questions that you have and we're
encouraging you to ask them. Don't sit in shame.
Don't sit in wonder. Don't sit in questioning your
whole belief system in your dog and your relationship with your
dog help. There's nothing wrong with
asking for help, and there's nothing wrong with being nice
(38:06):
when you ask for help. Especially when you're asking
for help and also not making snap judgement just because you
see somebody using something on their account that maybe you've
never used or are unfamiliar with, or maybe you're just
adverse to it and it's fine. Because again, everybody's
different and everything is not the same for everybody else.
(38:27):
So just be careful what you guysare doing and be careful how
you're approaching things and also just be careful how you're
treating people. This is an area that we can all
do better in every single day ofour lives.
And it really does not take thatmuch to to be nice.
To say something nice to someonecost you absolutely nothing.
(38:49):
That has nothing to do with who you are as a person.
In fact, it makes you a better person.
If your ego is keeping you from being to somebody else, that's
on you, not on that. Yep.
And I think a lot of people don't understand, you say it's
either that digital footprint exists.
All of these things that you're saying online are are there
forever, You're trackable. For everything that you're
(39:12):
saying, yeah, 100%. I mean, that's why I left all
those comments up on that, that cake post because that's them.
That's not on me. I'm not going to get involved in
in all that negativity because there's no point in it.
This is about spreading kindness.
This is about spreading love. This is about spreading
education and awareness. And we are here for everyone.
(39:32):
I don't care if you had a bad past or a bad experience or you
were not a great person previously.
If you're trying to be better and you're trying to do better
for yourself and your dog, we want you here and that's all
there is to it. Yeah, we agree.
Definitely. We love the variety of people
that being online has allowed usto connect with and the
(39:54):
different people's stories and experiences and all different
types of people that reach out to us and in our community that
we interact with. It's just very special to see
all these people come together over admiring just a Pitbull.
Yeah, all over the world. I think that's the coolest part
about it is that the reach that you get and the people that you
get to interact with that you would have never previously
(40:16):
gotten to interact with just because they saw your video and
they went, Oh my gosh, that dog is so cute.
My favorite part is when somebody has a dog that looks
similar to Fits and they're like, Oh my gosh, I've never
seen another dog that looks likemy dog.
And they send me a picture and it looks so much like Fits and
I'm like, Oh my gosh, how cool is that?
And they live in a different state or a different country and
(40:37):
it's just, I don't know. I think that dogs are a really
easy way to connect with people in a really easy way to learn
how to treat other people just by respecting another person's
dog and another person's methodsthat they use with their dogs.
Definitely. Yeah.
Well, is there anything else youguys would like to say before
you wrap this episode? Up.
I'll just like to say as a reminder to go back what I said,
(40:59):
being personable, be a person and just be kind.
And that's exactly the way to end this and completely agree
with you. Kindness matters, and that is
the only thing that should matter.
And I appreciate you guys for coming on here and being
completely raw and vulnerable and sharing our love for dogs
and our love for people and justspreading the message for the
(41:21):
better world for everyone. So thank you guys so much for
being here. Yeah, absolutely.
You guys are always welcome. We're going to wrap this episode
of Straight Up Dog Talk book, and we will see that Straight Up
Dog Talk was created by Emily Breslin.
It is edited and produced under the supervision of Straight Up
Dog Talk, LLC and Emily Breslin.If you're enjoying this podcast,
(41:42):
follow or subscribe and be sure you don't miss an episode and
leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Looking for more honest and relatable dog content?
Check out our sister show, Unpacked with Jerry Sheriff and
Madison Simpson. Thanks for listening to Straight
Up Dog Top. See you next week.
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