Dad Stands Behind Decision To Let His 1-Year-Old Nap With Their Pet Pit Bull

Feb 06, 2023 by apost team

Jarad Derochey of Los Angeles, California, is a breeder of American Bullies, XL-XXL dogs, and puppies, which are a type of pit bull. A debate sparked online after he had posted some photos and videos to his Instagram, where his very young children were seen cuddling and playing with their rather big family bully dogs.

Pit bulls are often at the center of debate when it comes to a child’s safety around dogs. Some feel this particular breed is dangerous and a menace to society as a whole.

While the video elicited smiles and laughs from some viewers, an equal amount was outraged and scolded the father, which highlighted the age-old question about pit bulls as a breed: dangerous or lovable?

As a local pit bull breeder for MVP Kennels in Los Angeles, Derochey is a regular poster on the MVP Bullies Instagram account. Much of the content shows Derochey’s kids interacting with pit bulls, including playing, cuddling and petting. The video that sparked equal parts outrage and likes was featured on Inside Edition. It showed Derochey’s 1-year-old son cuddled with their pet pit bull.

According to the American Kennel Club, the pit bull actually includes several breeds, including American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American bullies and Staffordshire bull terriers. The breed is labeled as good-natured, courageous, confident, and intelligent. When bred and raised responsibly, they’re trustworthy and social dogs.

Still, people were divided following Derochey’s social media post and were unsure how comfortable they felt knowing that a baby was allowed to nap alongside a dog.

Bronwen Dickey is a Columbia University-educated author and lecturer on the subject. She authored “Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon,” and she spent over seven years conducting research on pit bulls. She said that pit bull is a word that separates opinion but that they’re “just dogs” and often serve as a “proxy for our own prejudices,” as reported by The Cut.

Within the mythology, supporters and naysayers both get many facts wrong, Dickey explained. For example, a pit bull’s jaws do not lock. Likewise, Dickey pointed out that there’s also no evidence that pit bulls are nannies with children.

She further warned against the assumption that a pit bull with scars and injuries doesn’t automatically mean that they’re the victim of abuse; it’s more likely that it suffered an accident.

Banning the breed will do nothing in regards to the people getting bit by dogs, and she pointed to Multnomah County, Oregon’s leash laws as an example of positive solutions.

The county has a very successful potentially dangerous dog program that allows Animal Control intervention when a dog becomes a menace or nuisance. The agency would recommend undergoing training for the dog’s owner and keeping contact to ensure things don’t escalate. The result was less bite occurrence.

Regarding the video Derochey posted, social media posters were split. Some pointed out that bad dogs are the result of bad breeders and owners and that pits aren’t aggressive unless taught to be aggressive. Meanwhile, others were still highly concerned for the kids.

Derochey offered his own defense, and it was clear that he trusts his pets with his children unconditionally. “My dogs are sweet, intelligent. It’s like I live in a day care because they play with my kids so much,” he said.

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What do you think about mixing small children with any dog, particularly pit bull breeds? Do you trust your pit bull to cuddle your small child? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family, friends and any dog lover you know!