Mid Florida ABTA President's Message RULES

Mid Florida family, friends, & event participants,

It’s the goal of MFAPBTA to once again have another successful year growing our organization to serve the needs of our community, as well as striving to preserve our breed. With that being said the time has come for MFAPBTA to reiterate and more strongly enforce organization rules. Not only did I personally observe behavior and conversation unbecoming and debilitating to our organization, but I have also received several telephone calls from participants who attended our January Fun Show sharing these same concerns. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

We should all know, understand and appreciate the history and heritage of our breed and certainly never be embarrassed by it; from ratting, to bear and bull baiting, to dog fighting, to “nanny dog”, to war dog, all the while being the awesome American family dog, is what made our breed of today. Balancing all this while attempting to truly preserve the integrity of the breed for which it was originally developed, in today’s society, is certainly akin to walking a tight-rope. Simplified the subject matter is high prey drive and dog on dog aggression (which is NOT to be confused with dog on human aggression.)

Because MFAPBTA does not discriminate against any pit bull; be large, small, blue, red, papered or not, natural ear or cropped and etc; we also do not discriminate against the pit bull who shows the characteristic of dog aggression. If you wish to train and channel the drive in a new direction, we have an awesome trainer to introduce you to…..Duane Bryant. Point being all dogs and owners are welcome here. What we do expect is that dog aggression and high prey drive dogs be managed properly at our events.

So, here’s the nuts and bolts of it…..crates….bring them and use them. Crates are for the safety of all dogs and the convenience and courtesy of all humans. They are not optional, they are a requirement at our fun shows; one dog per crate. Certainly bring your dog out of the crate to show off to friends and other participants, walk your dog for “potty” breaks, and have your dog in the holding area preparing to enter the show ring. But please do not stand with your dog on leash at the sides of the show ring as this is a distraction to those dogs being judged, please do not allow your dog to “nose-up” to another in a crate or on leash, and absolutely under no circumstances will the facing-off of dogs be permitted or tolerated.

We also need to issue a reminder that MFAPBTA Fun Shows are family events. With that being said we ask you to conduct yourselves accordingly. Please be mindful of your language and courteous to both children and adults around you. The choice of our subject matter is all the more important. Under no circumstances will discussions about illegal activities, concerning or not concerning the dogs, be tolerated. We are all working hard to dispel the negative image of our dogs and the manner in which we talk and conduct ourselves as a whole is paramount.

MFAPBTA hopes to be as diversified as our dogs where everyone can come and enjoy themselves and the dogs for a day out. Every month we have registered conformation show dogs, registered weight pull dogs, rescue dogs awaiting their forever homes, cherished family pets, trained performance dogs, trained obedience, agility fly ball dogs and more. It is important we be respectful of each other, but more important to always represent these dogs in a positive and enlightening fashion….never allowing anyone the opportunity to look at any one of us or our dogs and say, our state would be better off without this breed. Breed Specific Legislation is closer than many might think. Our every word and our every action when they negative rather than positive brings us ever closer to BSL.

If anyone has any questions about what is written here please give me a call or sent me an email. We appreciate your coming out each month and look forward to another great year.

Lisa Hutches
President
Mid Florida American PIt Bull Terrier Association
9005 Esthel Road
Tampa, FL 33637
813-335-0708
www.midfloridapitbulls.org
www.meetup.com/Mid-Florida-American-Pit-Bull-Terrier-Association/
www.myspace.com/midfloridaapbta
midfloridapitbulls.blogspot.com/

A Responsible Owners Group