why do people give pitbulls such a bad wrap?

Question

dont people relize that the only thing that makes a bad dog is a bad owner

Answer 1

i LOVE pit bulls. i own one know and owned 2 others b4. they are the best dogs. not all will bite. mine never did. the one that i have now is a BIG BABY. and hes 4. he loves everything and every1. he loves dogs more than people. one cuz he aint fixed. lol. but he loves kids, i have a baby sister who is 1 1/2yrs old and she sits on him, hits him, pulls his ears, his tail. he loves it. he just layes there. i think that they are really cool dogs. i never met a mean pit bull. people who have heard of pit bulls bitting people or killing other animals is cuz of the owner. and they never met a pit bull. they just read what they see and they think that there mean. i think that people should get to know one. then see how big babies they r. i just gets me mad to see people talkin about a nice breed.

Answer 2

Most of the time a dog, of any breed goes 'bad', it is indeed the owner's fault, in one way or another..I am against any breed specific bans, however, I do understand why they putting them if force..You can not legislate good, educated, responsible ownership.
.Over the many years that I have been breeding dogs, from the nations top lineages, I have produced 3 puppies that were actually dangerous from the time they were infants...There is mental illness in dogs, just as there is in humans..

But, if you are actually asking 'why', and not just posting the question to defend the breed, here are the reasons 'why'.

In the 6-year study published in the medical journal PEDIATRICS (Vol.97 No. 6, 891-5), Jeffrey J. Sacks, M.D. and associates reported the finding of 109 bite-related fatalities. They found that 57% of the deaths were in children under 10 years of age. 22% of the deaths involved an unrestrained dog OFF the owner's property. 18% of the deaths involved a restrained dog ON the owner's property, and 59% of the deaths involved an unrestrained dog ON the owner's property.

The researchers also found that 10% of the dog bite attacks involved sleeping infants.

The most commonly reported dog breeds involved were pit bulls (24 deaths), followed by rottweilers (16 deaths), and German shepherds (10 deaths). The authors point out that many breeds, however, are involved in the problem.
THIS ONE FROM THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL 2002.
At least 25 breeds of dogs have been involved in 238
human DBRF during the past 20 years. Pit bull-type
dogs and Rottweilers were involved in more than half of
these deaths.

Answer 3

In my mind, it is because of irresponsible breeding (like backyard breeding) where dogs are bred to be fighting dogs. People often buy pitbulls for the wrong reason (such as they want a fighting dog/aggressive dog/dog to make them look tough). It is always the owners responsibility to control their dog and it is nine times out of ten the owner's fault for the dogs bad behaviour. However if you buy a dog from an irresponsible BYB then of course it is probably going to have a bad temperment, that can lead to the dog becoming aggressive.

Answer 4

Hi Bullwinkl... J. Moose!!!
Pitbulls maybe are dangerous because irresponsible people care for them. There have been bad experiences with Pitbulls whose owners obviously didn't take on the additional responsibility of training them and socializing them.
Not everyone can should raise Pitbulls if their intentions aren't good. Some people raise them because they love Pitbulls, others raise them just as guard dogs. My son and I both have owned Pitbulls and their as sweet as chocolate. So it's really how the dog is brought up.
Pitbulls are truly quality companions for quality owners only!!! They can be dog aggressive as a result of irresponsible breeding!!!
Jason Homan

Answer 5

APBT's long history has seen most dogs used as farm and stock dogs or pets, some people in America and elsewhere illegally fight dogs, though these are a tiny fraction of the total breed population. Yes, these criminals have internet sites with horrific details. The internet is difficult to regulate and crime is hard to prevent, but it is not customary for democratic governments to penalise innocent people because other people commit crimes. These dogs have not been bred for fierceness, but for a drive to fight other dogs. Even dog fighters have families and don't want their children mauled by their dogs. Fighting dogs are known for their friendly temperament towards people, as selection for this trait has been as strong as selection for dog aggression. Even the breed's enemies concede that.
In any case, dogs cannot be bred to be vicious. Behaviour of complex animals is an end product of several interacting influences of which is the actions of genes. Though the breed was developed to fight, at least as many individuals are not dog aggressive as are dog aggressive. This is because genes cannot produce an effect without appropriate environmental and other input. APBTs can have any character and behaviour depending upon their overall environment, and it is folly to attempt to end a certain type of dog behaviour by trying to eliminate a small segment of the dog gene pool. This is not possible anyway, as dog breeds have no reality in discrete units within overall species genetic variability.
When you say fiercest, you mean gamest. It may be true to see such dogs after careful socialisation and training as machines for killing other dogs in pits. However it's silly to see them as killing machines in general. They don't kill their owners or handlers, and their aggression is target species specific, as is that of terriers or hunting dogs that were developed to kill a wide range of animals

Answer 6

Pitbulls give pitbulls a bad rap. Explain to the parent of a 5 year old girl that was killed by one that it was the first time the dog ever reacted that way. I do understand that any dog can turn at anytime, not just pitbulls. It's just that you always hear about the pitbulls which just go to reason that there must be more attacks by them.

Answer 7

Well I used to have a neighbor that had pit bulls and one day one of the female dogs had broken down my fence and attcked and killed my dog for no damn reason. Of course my dog went down fighting trying to protect his turf. He was a Yorky. I do believe owners play a part in raising a attack dog but this one female pit had a family with children and there was no reason to attack. I think pit bulls are violent by nature and are more easily prone to be attackers. I live in Houston and there have been many cases where a pit bull attacks or kills a child or adult. You can't trust any dog with a child but with this particular dog i just do not like.

Answer 8

There is rampant, ignorant speculation about "out of control inbreeding" regaurding the breed.

This, of course, is nonsense. It is PART of the OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY to make sure they are getting their dog from a QUALIFIED BREEDER.

After this is done, it is the environment and upbringing of the dog that makes him nasty or nice, and Pit Bulls do not have any sort of tendancy to be nasty. This is a rumor brought on by previously mentioned ignorant fear.

Educate, don't eradicate.

Answer 9

Bad rap came comes from what they have been bred for { to Fight]
When this inbred instinct is combined with bad breeding, bad owners,Bad care and improper training you can expect some bad behavior which always gets news coverage.
I have seen pits with excellent temperment as family pets. These and only these should produce offsprings.

Ihave been a breeder of german shepherds for 30 yrs,show in AKC events,member GSDCA OF AMERICA ,The AKC And local GSDC.
Elmer E

Answer 10

Ignorance breeds ignorance. So when people are so ignorant to take the media for what they say as gospel ,it creates fear.The populus falls right into it.This is what has happened to the APBT ,ignorance that has created fear from the media.

Then of course there's other factors to ,bad owners ,bad breeders , macho thugs , unsocialized dogs.It creates bad enviroments for these poor dogs.Some of these poor dogs can not bounce back from these very bad situations.