What can you tell me about Pit Bulls? Are they good pets?

Question

We recently adopted an 8 week old puppy from an Animal Orphanage. The women who sold it to us told us it was a Staffordshire/Australian Sheperd Cross. After a week of falling in love with it we found out that his mother was a full bred Pit Bull. Anybody have any experience with pit bulls?

Answer 1

I have a staffy. Mine is ALL staffy. As with any breed if they are treated well and trained properly they make very loving pets. You do have to teach children not to mistreat them and when the dog needs down time from the attention, respect the dogs need. Of course that also holds true with any breed. Socialize this dog while it's young.Also inroll in obedience classes. It will be money well spent. They teach you how to train your dog. These are stubborn bundles of energy. He will need plenty of exercise, both physical and mental. Besides obedience training teach him some tricks. He will bore easily. If you don't know how to teach tricks you canuse your handy search engine and type in "teach dog tricks" and get a wealth of info. Good luck. If you have questions feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

Yes. They are great dogs. They just have a bad rap. If you are considering getting one you should do some research first. I own a Pit and have studied up quite a bit. Pit bulls are responsible for less than 2% of all dog bites in America. Considering that they are one of the most populated dogs in this country that number is very low. Pit bulls are also the number one abused and neglected dogs in America. Also while given temperament tests (to see if they are suitable for adoption) for adoptions Pit bulls scored an average of 86%, that is higher than the golden retriever at 73%. Yet about 60% shelters in america will not adopt out pits because of the misconception people have for them. Pit Bulls have a zest for life and are the biggest clowns you will ever meet. I love this breed with all my heart.

Go to badrap.org to learn more

Pit bulls can be animal aggressive. Yes that is true. They have a high prey drive... and in the past (and illegally now) they were fighters. All dogs have there own personalities... some are more aggressive than others... just like people. You just have to know the difference and be responsible.



PIT BULLS ARE NOT HUMAN AGGRESSIVE! IF A PIT ATTACKS A HUMAN THAT DOG WAS NEVER STABLE TO BEGIN WITH! Pits will not just turn on you at any second like some people are suggesting to you. That is ridiculous. They are not vicious unless made to be... and actually Pits are KNOWN for there kindness to children. They love kids. They have a very high pain tolerance so children can climb all over them and they do not care.


PS just so you know Staffordshire Terriers are pit bulls. There are about four or five different breeds that are all considered Pits. The American Bull dog, The Staffordshire Terrier, The American Pit Bull Terrier, The American Staffordshire.

Answer 3

Pit Bulls can be very good pets. ANY dog can turn (become agressive, bite), even a Yorkie. I have a friend who has owned three pits and they all were loveable protective pets. The only "flaw" one of them had was that he loved to be petted and would become so relaxed that he would lean up against the person petting him. This would usually end with the person petting him on the floor because the dogs weight alone would knock the person down. The second one thought he was a lap dog and loved being in someone's lap. The third was a big baby, literally, he didn't like loud noises, would hide under a bed and everytime he heard a siren he would run to his human mother and whine.
I can forsee no problems with your pit mix that is as long as you treat the dog decently, with love and care. And remember that no matter what breed of dog you own it is still an animal and any animal is unpredictable. Had a friend with a Yorkie...the Yorkie bit my friends nose off...

Answer 4

That's exactly what Staffordshire means.... a pit breed.

They are AWESOME dogs and great with kids. I've been around many pit bull type dogs and everyone has been a total softy. The only way to make a pit breed mean, is to abuse it and make it that way.

They are naturally superb with people and kids and only occaisionally have dog relationship problems. Most of them, if socialized with other dogs well, will enjoy their company as well.

Your dog will probably grow to be an excellent dog, with a sweet temperment and superior intelligence, so if you don;t want him to get into too much mischief, get him into a puppy obedience class asap.... a smart dog will create his own games, if you don't do it for him.

Good luck with your new baby and don't worry about the "hype" surrounding the pit breeds. The horror stories you see on the news are caused by those cruel selfish humans not these poor abused dogs.

There aren't any bad dogs, just bad owners.

Answer 5

Pit Bull is the generic term for an American Staffordshire Terrier or Am Staff. They were bred as hunting dogs and are very active and need room to play. Some of the rumors about them are true, at least the good rumors. They do have a high tolerance to pain which makes them an amazing family dog (kids tend to pull on ears and tails). They are very strong and can be hard to control if you have an Alpha, females tend to be more strong willed than males. Some strong points about Am Staffs is they are amazingly intelligent and learn quickly and they love people. Their temperament is actually comparable to the Golden Retriever according to the American Temperament Test Society.
We have two "pits" that are both strays that have shown up at our house and they are very good dogs. One even brought a baby squirrel with it's eyes still closed to me without a mark on it. They are gentle but can be vocal when playing and rough housing. One word of caution, if you have other dogs, particularly females, they may try to dominate him as male Am Staffs tend to be submissive (the mix with the Australian Sheppard may help with any submissiveness). In short, if you have room or are willing to exercise the dog a lot, he should be a great addition to your family just do not leave him, or any dog, alone with small children.
At this point in time, the "pit" is the choice of dog for the macho thug. If you check previous records of dog attacks you will find that the popular dog of the time is responsible for the majority of attacks, 60's was German Sheppards, 70's was Dobermans, etc. Places that have banned this breed have done so due to political pressure and not due to safety concerns. Numerous vets and dog experts have voiced opposition to breed specific bans. Research done by the Center for Disease Control have shown these bans do not work and are politically motivated.

Answer 6

The pit bull was originally bred to be more of a guard dog so naturally, they were trained to be very aggressive. Although that trait will never leave that breed, there are ways to down it down a LOT. When they are puppies, socialize them by constantly having a lot of people and other animals around them. Show them lots of love and affection, but make sure they are disciplined. When they do something wrong, then need to know and should be punished for it. They have to understand who has the upper hand in the house. NEVER use your hand to punish them. use a empty paper towel tube or rolled up news paper. Animals have difficulty understanding why the same hand that feeds them is also hurting them. Also, when they are good and have done something right, reward them with treats. They are very intelligent dogs. The dog should grow up to be gentle with people and animals unless they pose a threat to it's family, territory, or food. I've known plenty of pit bulls that are very sweet and loving. You shouldn't have anything to be concerned about.

Answer 7

Okay, you can definitely take my advice on this...I live in Canada where pit bulls are not banned and my sister is the owner of three of these beautiful and very friendly dogs. You are at an advantage because you have this dog as a pup, so you can start the socializing process right now. First of all let your puppy meet as many dogs and cats as possible...take it to an off leash park on a regular basis and let the dog run with other dogs and make lots of dog friends. If you are planning on ever having a cat, get one now...as you will not be able to introduce a cat to your home once your dog is grown because the pit bull has a strong prey drive and will not be able to be left alone with a cat if he has not grown up with one. Also, if you want to have children, or you already have children make sure your puppy spends alot of time around kids...let them hold and pet him while he is small, but if you do not introduce your dog to children, you will ALWAYS need to muzzle him if there are kids in your house or yard...again due to the strong prey drive. And when your dog is grown, even though he has been socialized with children, you should still NEVER leave the dog unsupervised with kids. A pit bull has the same tendencies as a german shepherd, or rottweiller....they can be awesome family pets, just make sure you put them in all kinds of situations when they are young...and get your dog fixed at 6 months, so it doesn't develop any nasty territorial habits! Since your puppy is a mix it will be an even better dog...make sure you take it to puppy classes and never, ever treat a pit bull as an outside dog...make it part of your home and family...take him for car rides and lots of walks...because if you lock that dog out in the yard or make it live in a run outside, you will never be able to trust it with ANYBODY...because he won't know about love and gentleness.

Answer 8

Dep on where you live - the lady who sold you the dog maybe breaking the law by cross breeding a pitbull with another breed?!

Pit bulls - like any other dog are only as paitent and as calm as they are trained to be.

i wouldnt panic too much, just because they were orignally bred for fighting doesnt mean its in their nature to do so everytime.

i grow up with Staffordshire Bull Terriers, again bred for the same reasons and they have been nothing but great dogs!

Like I said dont worry too much, just make sure your dog is disciplined right and trined correctly and you'll be fine.

Investigate that woman though - it is wrong what she has done adn may need reporting

Answer 9

do not let the "we hate pits" change you from a puppy you obviously like. The aussie will factor in too. The pup will need consistency and discipline but yes they are awesome dogs.
They have been banned in many areas - in Ontario Canada a ban meant many dogs who had never done ANYTHING aggressive in their life - were slated to be destroyed or moved. Some of those were taken in by lawdogs and are now trained explosives dogs - yes the dogs that we call when there's a bomb threat. They are good with people and other animals. One of the dogs, one of the top dogs, is Popsicle who was found in a raid, in a freezer, nearly frozen to death. He is now a K9. If there is any dog with a reason to dislike people surely he is one. There are also MANY pits who are certified therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs, etc.
The media picks up on them as evil and people add to it when one who wasn't properly trained goes bad.

they were NOT btw originally bred for guarding. They were bred for controlling bulls before there was physical confinement of animals to treat them. As agriculture evolved some then used them for the 'sport' of bull baiting; when that was not an option then fighting was. Not all of them are aggressive and not all of them are dangerous. As noted on the lawdogs site...a higher % of the pits passed the temperment test than golden retreivers...and few call goldens vicious and land sharks.

Answer 10

Every problem Pit Bull I have been able to research traces back to the owner. Make sure to take your puppy to a training class and get it socialized with both people and other dogs. The more situations you bring your dog into and the more times you can do it the less that dog will be afraid of life in general.

Fear is your only enemy and that goes for the owner of any animal.

Answer 11

every dog has its own personality.I have a friend who has 2 full grown pure breed pits the female is like 6 years old and wouldn't hurt a fly. The male is 1 years old and is very hyper and like to play and jump on things.u just might have to watch him around other dogs.I have another friend who had a pure breed like 1 or 2 years old sweet dog loved the kids and they also had a small mut a dog from next door got in the yard and was fighting with the mut and the pit tore both of the up and killed them then was crying after looking for the mut. They had to get rid of him because they were afraid he might turn in the kids.But that can happen with any breed of dogs mut or pure breed.I had A mut who was good to me and my sisters when we were little but bit a few people walking buy the yard.then I have a friend who has a full breed german shepard and he killed a puppy and bit another one.All animals u have to watch just like people just because thier nice dosn't mean thats thier true self.Never judge a book by its cove.