Maybe I should begin with the simple fact that my dog, Paisley, is an XL blue nose pit bull. She is a short muscular build and I can see how she would look slightly intimidating. I have socialized her and trained her since she was just a puppy and in many regards she still is. She enjoys walks, fetching, and being held like a lap dog. Never once have I heard her growl or bark unless begging for attention. She is the most gentle dog and allows little kids to look in her ears or poke at her teeth. She snores louder than any man I've ever met and she doesn't understand boundaries with people.

Recently, we adopted another dog from the humane society. Only a few months younger than Paisley, Shadow is a nine-month-old black lab. She is already larger than Paisley in height and will bark at and jump on anyone that walks by. She shows no signs of aggression besides when forced to share toys with Paisley and even then Paisley is incredibly patient and knows not to snap. Shadow needs to be taught to be gentle, she bites too hard when going in for treats and often goes too quickly and grabs your hand.

Whenever I take Paisley for walks I find that people cross the street, walk at a distance or stand off to the side and let me go by. If Paisley were to ever pull at someone - something she understands not to do - they would absolutely lose their minds. Periodically, I will have a friendly person come up and ask if she is aggressive or not and if they can pet her and of course I agree, she loves the attention. Shadow, on the other hand, pulls at people and has even jumped on strangers before and people seem to think it's the cutest thing. Most people passing by come over to pet her and kiss her without even asking. I don't want to say that shelter dogs are bad dogs, she's one of the sweetest puppies I've met, however, I am much more nervous when the dog who's had a rough upbringing is being squeezed by a stranger than I am when a toddler has their hands in the mouth of my well trained, gentle pit bull.

A few myths about pit bulls that strangers have told me as Paisley sits patiently by, tail wagging:

• “They’re only bred for fighting, you can’t beat it out of them.”Yeah, you’re right. If anything you’re going to “beat it” into them. I taught my dog the same exact way that you train other dogs. Take food out of her mouth while she’s eating, roll her on her back to show dominance, reward her for good behavior.
• “Their jaws lock you know if she decided to turn on you there would be no way to get her off.” No, old man walking his tiny ass Pomeranian, their jaws don’t lock, they just have a lot of power in their bite and they still don’t even have the strongest bite out of all dog breeds. Also, turn on me? I have put my face in this dog's mouth, pulled her tail to get her attention, bit her leg playfully, and sat on her and she has done nothing but wag her tail and offer me her bones.
• “They may be smart, but they will never be a good family breed.” You’re right, they’re very smart. Paisley might have lost a bit of that around the ninth time she ran head on into the cupboard because she was so excited that my siblings were coming into the house. You know, loving kids and all is a big problem with her.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we seem to do the same thing with dogs that we do with people. We categorize them and say "these are safe and these are not." Staying cautious is always good because yes, some dogs are unfriendly, but please do not ostracize my dog because of the name of her breed. Her character is gentle when you get passed the shape of her body. Before you assume that my dog is bad for being a pit bull and my other dog is good for being a lab, assume that I will probably mess you up before Paisley does if you say anything. I am incredibly lucky to call my PIT BULL my best friend.