BAD RAP (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls)
May 20, 2013 at 11:00am ·
It's Dog Bite Prevention Week. Did you know that there was never such thing as a 'Nanny's Dog'? This term was a recent invention created to describe the myriad of vintage photos of children enjoying their family pit bulls. While the intention behind the term was innocent, using it may mislead parents into being careless with their children around their family dog - A recipe for dog bites!
https://m.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399
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“PIT BULLS USED TO BE NANNY DOGS”
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“PIT BULLS USED TO BE NANNY DOGS”
The Myth:
To explain vintage black and white photographs that depicted children and pit bulls together, a story was created that back in the Victorian age the pit bull was the “nanny dog”. These so-called nanny dogs were said to be so good with children parents relied on them to babysit and protect them.
To explain vintage black and white photographs that depicted children and pit bulls together, a story was created that back in the Victorian age the pit bull was the “nanny dog”. These so-called nanny dogs were said to be so good with children parents relied on them to babysit and protect them.
The Reality:
One fighting breed advocate created this “legend” in 1971 to distance her breed from its fighting origins.This mention was picked up by a newspaper in 1987 and has since been promoted as historical “fact.”
One fighting breed advocate created this “legend” in 1971 to distance her breed from its fighting origins.This mention was picked up by a newspaper in 1987 and has since been promoted as historical “fact.”
At no point in history were pit bulls ever “nanny dogs”. There has not been any proof ever given to make this myth a reality. The pit bull advocacy group “BADRAP” (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls) recently admitted that pit bulls were never nanny dogs and that this myth was dangerous to children. The retraction of the “nanny dog myth” has been highly publicized. Despite the retraction, the myth has lived on and pit bull advocates still repeat it regularly
Read more: http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/
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The pit bull apologia would have you believe that their fighting bred dogs are just like any other dog in many ways, but so superior in their unparalleled love and devotion for children they were commonly known as "The Nanny Dog" throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If pit bulls are held in low esteem today, it is only due to ignorance and the gullible acceptance of biased news reporting because, once upon a time, pit bulls were the most beloved dog in England and the United States.
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The pit bull apologia would have you believe that their fighting bred dogs are just like any other dog in many ways, but so superior in their unparalleled love and devotion for children they were commonly known as "The Nanny Dog" throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If pit bulls are held in low esteem today, it is only due to ignorance and the gullible acceptance of biased news reporting because, once upon a time, pit bulls were the most beloved dog in England and the United States.
A google search brings up 77,100 results for the term "nanny dog." While some sites bestow the Nanny Dog mantle on the American Pit Bull Terrier or the American Staffordshire Terrier and some lead you to productions of Peter Pan, most of the results lead you to 21st century blogs and news articles about the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
"About 7,970,000 results (0.40 seconds) "
Nanny Dog Breeds
Almost any large but gentle breed or mixed breed of dog can be a nanny dog if it possesses the right combination of affection, strength and intelligence. Breeds commonly associated with the nanny dog designation come from the AKC gun dog, herding dog, and working dog groups. Using Stanley Coren’s dog personality-based groups, nanny dogs appear in both the friendly and steady groups.
120 sites dedicated to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier include this phrase in support of the fighting nanny dog mythology,
"These dogs were renowned for their courage and tenacity and despite their ferocity in the pit were excellent companions and good with children. In fact it was not unknown for an injured dog to be transported home in a pram with the baby!"
Frankly, even if this anecdote were plausible, let alone true, this doesn't support a nanny dog claim so much as it supports a sociopathic, baby abusing, dog abusing parent claim.
Dig as hard as you want, the pram story is all you'll find to support the Nanny Dog myth in any of these sites. You won't find a single citation, quote or reference of any kind to a 19th century, or early 20th century text. Since the Staffordshire Bull Terrier enthusiasts didn't see fit to support their claims, I decided I would have to find the origin of the Nanny Dog myself.
Meet the Nanny Dog - the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, England's ultimate fighting dog and, inexplicably, the supposed dog of choice to care for England's children in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A Brief History of Dog Prejudice, by Keith L. Kendrick
Various breeds of dogs have been demonized since newspapers became more popular after the Civil War. First it was the Blood Hounds of Uncle Tom's Cabin that struck fear into the hearts of people throughout America. This dog was portrayed throughout the country as a savage, bloodthirsty, man-killing beast in vaudeville productions of Uncle Tom's Cabin towards the latter part of the 19th century. It didn't help that Bloodhounds had been used to hunt down runaway slaves and escaped criminals.
Then the public gradually realized that Blood Hounds were actually just another breed of dog with qualities similar to other dogs of about the same size.
Then the public gradually realized that Blood Hounds were actually just another breed of dog with qualities similar to other dogs of about the same size.
http://www.dogbreedprejudice.info/
Pitbulls Used to Be Considered the Perfect "Nanny Dogs" for Children -- Until the Media Turned Them Into Monsters
For most of the 114 years since the American pitbull terrier was first recognized by the United Kennel Club, the breed was rightly seen as the perfect “nanny dog” for children because of its friendly nature, loyalty and stability. As the ASPCA notes, the pitbulls were “once considered especially non-aggressive to people.”
Today, as any owner of a “pitbull-type” dog* can attest, parents often recoil in horror when they spot one of these animals, pulling their children close as if to protect them from a marauding werewolf. Fanciful myths about the breed abound, and some public officials have compared their bites to those of sharks and tigers.
Since the 1980s, the media have falsely portrayed the pitbull as a bloodthirsty monster, inherently more dangerous than other strong breeds of dog. There is absolutely no factual basis for that narrative,
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