I have a question for those who hate pit bulls?

Question

I personally love pit bulls. But for those who hate pit bulls...Have you ever PERSONALLY met a pit bull? I know my mom and step dad HATE pit bulls, based one the news and stories they hear from neighbors. They have never actually touched a pit bull. And my real dad used to be the same, until he met his friends pit bull. He couldn't believe what a sweet dog she was. It took him 52 years to actually Pet a pit bull who was owned by a responsible person, and when he did, he fell in love. I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, and i work at a vet clinic now. I have never met this vicious killing beast so many people talk about. I have only met very sweet family pets. So for people who hate pit bulls..why do you hate them? Have you ever had personal interaction with one??

Pit Bulls can have issues with aggressive toward other dogs. That is why it is SO important to do research before you chose to get a pit bull, or any other dog breed. Pit bulls Must be trained and well socialized with other dogs from the time they are young. And if there are any signs of being dog aggressive this HAS to be addressed, not ignored.

And i agree that people often times do not know how to identify a pit bull. When a dog attacks, it is often labled as a pit bull if the breed is unknown, even if it looks like a lab. My friend has 5 dogs, one is a pit bull, one is a cocker/lab mix. The cocker mix bit her neighbor, and the neighbor reported it as a pit bull attack to the police, because she knew that my friend has a pit bull, and also she wanted to ger More when it went to court. I'm sure there are other people who have done this.

You mention people who get attacked by pit bulls, and i am truly sorry that this has happened to them. But it is NOT only pit bulls that are capable of such trauma to a human. There are many other large breed dogs who can do that kind of damage. I just don't understand why pit bulls get most of the bad attention. I have seen dalmations, golden retrievers, labs, and huskies do the same kind of damage. I have been attacked by a golden retriever who almost tore my face off. And i still have scars on my face from him. But i am not judging all golden retrievers based on this one golden. I know that he has irrisponsible owners. Though she did not teach him to be aggressive, she did neglect the fact that he IS aggressive. After he attacked me, she mentioned that he has done this before. But still refuses to seek behavioral help. In my opinion, that is a bad dog owner, not a bad dog. And same with pit bulls.

Answer 1

There are a lot of things out there trying to point people in the direction of hating pit bulls.
Its proven more than half of the bites that are reported as pit bull bites are not. When a bite is reported the breed involved is almost always reported by either the victim or a witness. There are not many people who can properly identify any one of the pit bull type breeds.
Another thing is, like one of the answers above mine states, people dont realize dog on dog aggression is a completely different thing than dog on people aggression. Just because a dog is aggressive towards other dogs does not make him aggressive towards people. To think that shows complete ignorance.
Pit bulls, specifically American Pit Bull Terriers, are the only breed that has even been bred to specifically not bite people. If a dog in the pit bit either one of the handlers or the ref, he would be immediately disqualified and lose the fight. People biters were culled.
Too many people allow the ignorance around them shape their opinions and thoughts when it comes to pit bull types. Its really sad that there are so many people out there who dont know how to form their own opinions.

-One more thing.... the phrase "pit bull" is a term used to describe several different breeds. So, the already innacurate bite statistics are not for one breed but for several. There is no other type of dog this is done with. If we were to put all the retrieving dogs together and give those stats out, people would want them banned as well.

I edited this to add.... Anyone who has a pit bull that was allowed to run around with other dogs and it end up killing that other dog... It is YOUR fault. Anyone owning any pit bull type dog should already know to not allow the pit bull run around unsupervised with other dogs. Feeding any two dogs together is asking for a fight. Pit bulls were bred to be game and fight other dogs. You should always expect him to be aggressive with other dogs, regadless of how they were raised. If not, you will, sooner or later, come home to a dead dog, and it wont be the pit bull. Morons like that, shouldt be allowed to own any breed of dog.

Answer 2

Pit's have gotten the bad reputation for being fighters, killers and just down right BAD dogs. I worked with Pit's for many years, have handled them many times over. Actually, I only came across 1 Pit that was vicious. The rest were so loving and loyal. The majority of these dogs are trained from puppyhood to fight and kill. They are taught that it is ok to do this, which just isn't right. They are not only very beautiful and smart, but also very, very strong. I walked many Pit's as that was my job, kennel manager at an animal hospital. Get one on a lead or leash and off you go! I didn't walk them, they walked me! lol..... To have a good adult Pit, you have to start from puppyhood to teach them not to show their aggressiveness towards any one, especially little kids. That's the best way and the only way as far as I am concerned to handle this problem. It's not adviseable to get an adult Pit if you have small children around. Because you don't really know the temperment of an older Pit and are taking a big chance on it turining with out even a seconds notice. You can have a nice, serene, well behaved Pit in your house. As long as it is trained while the dog is still small not to show aggressivness or meaness. Pits are very muscular all over their bodies, the jaws pack so much pressure and strength that it is impossible to get out of it's grip if it does bite any thing. I hope this information helped in all of the issues about Pit Bulls. They truly are a unique dog and shouldn't be treated like they are by society. Many people always listen to the "bad" stuff about Pit's, you never hear about the good stuff. I was petrified when I first had to handle a Pit because of the way society had marked them. Once I got near the dog and spent time with it outside, I had no problem at all. Thank you for reading this, I had to voice my opinion on Pit's.

Answer 3

I had one come in my yard about a year ago so we tied her in the back yard. She was really a sweet dog. We put an ad in the paper about her to see if she had an owner but nobody came to claim her. We done everything possible to help her find her owner. I probably would have kept her but if we had of kept her our insurance would have went up on the house and I do good to pay it now. But we had to give her away and it was a sad day because she was such a sweet dog. Whoever did raise her raised her not to be mean. I just don't understand why they didn't want her anymore.

Answer 4

Because of the fact that the breed has a bad rep, I don't like them. Pitbulls and Bull mastifs are the only dogs I am uncomfortable around, and those who know me as "The Biggest Animal/Dog Lover on Earth", would be surprised. Put me in a room full of Rotties and Dobermans, but not one Pitbull. But I have met one that was very sweet. It all depends on how an animal is raised. If you teach it to be mean to people and attack them, than it's definitely not going to find favor in many people's hearts.

Answer 5

I would like to turn this question around a bit and ask, "Have you ever known of or handled a Pit Bull that nearly killed a family member and in the process had torn and bitten nearly every inch of your loved one's body leaving them lying helpless in the hospital for weeks and disfigured for life?" I have and it is a horrid nightmare.

This dog was loved by all and a neighborhood favorite. After she had pups she was left in the yard. My 82 year old grandmother was walking by the home and was visciously attacked for several minutes until witnesses could get the dog off of her.

Maybe it takes a horrible incident involving someone who is known and loved to be convinced that these dogs do not belong in close proximity to humans. I often say, bears, tigers and cougars seem friendly and even affectionate until the day they decide to rip you apart, (for whatever reason they find it necessary to do that) to help people understand.

Pit Bulls have the capacity to destroy a human being in ways that no other dog does. This is why I respect them and would choose to have them removed from areas where people and dogs have an opportunity to interact. Maybe a person can own one for the entirety of the animals life and nothing even remotely similar would happen, but is the risk that it may happen worth what happened to my grandmother or to other people and their family members?

Answer 6

It doesn't help the issue to divide into love or hate, and all sweet or all vicious. I think someone can raise a legitimate issue without hating. I'm not sure what your point is. Pitbulls are SUPPPOSED to be sweet with humans, especially toward the owner. That's the breed's temperment. A pitbull not sweet with humans is more unusual. But it's a BIG mistake to assume that dog will be sweet with other dogs. The pitbull is two-faced. Maybe that's why people can't agree on this issue - they saw different sides.

Answer 7

Very good question. Many times people don't know a pit from another breed anyway. My amstaff is 9 years old and a real people pleaser. Such a sweetie. The second link below is really great!

Answer 8

We had a pit bull that we raised from a puppy. We also had a German Sheppard and a Heinz. After the pit bull got as large as the Sheppard he started to challenge him and eventually appeared to want to challenge any dog within sight. After he killed our Sheppard by tearing the Sheppard's throat I killed him before he started on the other dogs or possibly our children. I firmly believe after listening to pit bull owners on how gentle they are that possibly my family and I are to blame for not doing something or other as the blame has to be put on anyone or anything other than the pit bull.

Answer 9

My brother had a very nice Pit Bull for years and then it became my Mothers dog because he could no longer have it in town. Was a nice dog to people and never bit anyone. Then one day over food scraps it killed my Mom s other dog by violently shaking it. Its not that they are evil dogs but they don't know their own power and sometimes this gets them into trouble. It wasn't the dogs fault that he was put in this position but it is his fault that it shook the other dog so voilently to break its neck and kill it.

Answer 10

It's not the Pit Bull, it's the owner at fault. These dogs are strong and were originally bred to fight, hence the name. The dog is innocent, and the owner has to take full responsibility for it's actions.

I love them too! In fact, I love all dogs.

Good luck,

Nigel. Leeds, UK.