Do you think pitbulls are really that bad?? Or do you think that they just got a bad rep??

Question

There's an article in my local paper talking about a 4 month old pitbull that supposibly ate the foot off a 4 year boy. The dog was put to sleep because of this. There are now several questions about the mother being asked (after the dog is already dead).
I know my beliefs but I was just wondering what everyone elses were.

Answer 1

Pit bulls can certainly be a dangerous breed. However, the danger is in the ignorance of the owners. Too many owners have pit bulls, and refuse to believe that they are any different than the 'other' dog they had..that was just in the back yard, pretty much trained itself, and was never a threat to any one. However, a pit bull MUST be propely Trained and Socialized!.. I firmly believe that the major problem is with lazy or ignorant owners, more so than with mean owners.
IF the pit bull is gently but firmly trained to have respect for others, whether animal or human, they can be ( and many ARE) wonderful and safe family members..

Answer 2

Good breeding and proper training and Pit bull can be an excellent pet. Wasn't the dog in the Little Rascals a Pit Bull?? The problem is too much bad breeding in addition to a lack of training. People get them because they want a big tough dog so they allow the behavior to come out and its alot of work to get a dog back in line once he's become agressive. Bad breeding causes them to have all sorts of problems that sometimes even training can't correct. I think they're beautiful and if I didn't already have 2 small dogs this is a breed I would consider without hesitation.

Answer 3

No pit bulls aren't really that bad. The dog that ate the woman's face in the UK was a black lab! She received the first ever face transplant.

It's statistically proven that more labs, goldens and other "nice" or even small breeds bite out of fear, anxiety, stress and sheer aggression than any of the "protection or fighting" breeds - Pits, Shepards, Rotties, Pincers.

They are good dogs with great dispositions, intellegence, and loyalty.

When you raise any dog to be aggressive, shy or fearful it can turn and hurt someone. When you don't know what you're doing with a large dog, when you don't train the dog, provide discipline, love and exercise YES it will hurt something or someone. But it doesn't matter what breed it is. Something I learned as a trainer and a vet tech...

If it has a mouth it has the potential to bite.

Answer 4

I'm familiar with that particular story, and I think the question we really need to ask ourselves here is where the heck the mother was while this was going on.

ANY breed of dog can do damage - just look up the case of the baby killed by the family Pommeranian! - the problem with Pit Bulls is that they are stronger dogs and therefore can do more damage. However, in most of these cases, you really ought to blame the family who thinks it's okay to leave their dog and their child together unsupervised. Both are members of the family, but no matter how good a dog you have, there are always things that can happen. Dog and child unsupervised together is just an accident waiting to happen.

That as an aside, the other big problem with Pit Bull type dogs (they're commonly lumped together as "pit bulls" but include a variety of breeds) is that there are many irresponsible breeders who purposely breed aggressive or weak nerved dogs for "protection" or dog fighting rinks - these people have no business breeding, and the bad dogs they breed give a bad rap to the ones bred by responsible people who have sweet temperaments.

Answer 5

I own a pit bull I adopted from the SPCA. They are a wonderful breed that has been misused and misrepresented. Bad dogs are created through bad treatment, and then have to be euthanized.

Pit bulls are high-energy and it takes a very assertive owner to responsibly handle such a tenacious breed. They get a bad rep when irresponsible owners forget what their breed is capable of. You NEVER leave your dog unsupervised... whether it's out in the yard, at the park, or in your own home (especially with children!). Pits are like rowdy teenagers... they are natural trouble-makers and escape artists. They should be on a leash or confined indoors at ALL times.

I've never had a problem with my pit bull, but I know that if I let him outside without a leash, he'd run across the street and try to jump on my elderly neighbor. My dog would just want to jump up and lick them, but the old guy would get knocked down, scratched up, and possibly play-nipped. You know what would result? News cameras and a law suit. You have to be mindful!

What I would like to know is... why on earth did that woman leave her child unsupervised with an animal? Everyone knows puppies like to chew, and they don't discern between a shoe and a foot!

That mom should be jailed and her son placed in a more protective home.

Answer 6

I think pitbulls have a bad rep. I even fell for it. We have this family that we are very close with and they have a pitbull, I would not let my kids around the dog, I would not go around the dog. Finally 5 years later I actually went out around their dogs and the woman told me the story of having her since she was a puppy still needing to be bottle fed and I realized she is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. I think it all depends on how they are raised, same with any dog.
As far as a 4 month old puppy eating a 4 year old boys foot, that sounds far fetched, it had to be the mothers fault. I can't imagine a 4 month old puppy taking off a childs foot in one chomp.

Answer 7

The little boy in question had spina bifida and couldn't feel his legs. He was left alone with the puppy, and being a puppy, it found something to chew on-the boy's foot. And as the boy couldn't feel it, he didn't stop it. ANY 4 MONTH OLD DOG WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING, REGARDLESS OF BREED.

The questions about the mother arise because she left the child alone with the dog for a long enough time for this to happen-and it couldv'e taken hours for a dog to chew a foot completely off, especially a puppy that doesn't have its adult teeth yet. This tragedy didn't occur because the puppy was a pit bull, but because the mother was neglectful.

Answer 8

A four month old pitbull?? wow!
I think that if anyone is to blame, that would be the owners. I have a Rotty and they're more apt to having a bit of an attitude problem but my rotty kane is really nice. So according to how the owners train the dog is how the dogs going to act.... wasn't the dog on a leash.
Pitbulls have gotten a bad rep!

Answer 9

Chetco nailed it. The owners need to be knowledgeable about exactly what they have. A pit bull is a terrier, very active and precocious, and needs to be properly trained. And they also need to be properly confined. They are very strong, and can escape fences easily. My pit is 9 years old, and has NEVER been outside my fence unleashed. She loves all people, no matter what, but quickly assumes that any strange animal is her prey. I don't ever give her the liberties that my other dogs get when it comes to being off leash. She can, and will jump a strange dog before I even know what has happened. and I also have to be carefull about any excitement going on when it comes to her and my other dogs. If people pull up in my driveway, and the other dogs start barking and jumping around, she has, on occasion, attacked my other dogs out of pure over excitement. It's her nature to be this way, and I am completely responsible for anything that she does. If your not willing to accept the responsbility, and train your dog to behave properly, then you shouldn't get one. Even after 2 rounds of obedience, she will still act this way if not monitored properly. She was a rescue, and was bred from game bred fighting stock. Even though she was never fought, the idiot that bred her intentionally bred these qualities into his dogs. And it is very hard to control her impulses.

Answer 10

To tell you the truth you would be surprised, many people are teaching Pitts aggression, this has made them be recognized as a protective dog, well to make a guard dog you have to teach it that its the boss, which comes with great respect and your dog starts to feel like its the owner, not you, you then have NO control over your dog. So they disipline you just like you would do. So say if you look into your dogs eyes to long...which makes dogs think you are a t higher level they are going to punish you or other wise show you there the boss not you!!! I have had my pittbulls Abby and Cleo for awhile and they barley bite while playing so this shows you teach them you are the boss... they are just like any other dog! Really any dog could be this way. People just train them this because they are very strong dogs so they stand out....