I had no idea how much pit bull are hated. I would like to know are people just dumb?

Question

I have worked for the county welfare for over 20 years. I help handicapped people just getting ready to go back home to get ready and have the things they need lined up for them. One of those things in a number of cases are service dogs. In the past 5 years I have placed over 200 service dogs in handicapped persons homes. I can tell you about 25% of them have been pit bulls and pit mix. Not one time have one of these dogs ever turned or attacked someone unproved. In 5 cases these brave dogs have given up their lifes for there masters. One from a fire he help get the woman who owned her out of her burning house. She was so badly she had to be put down. One was shot during a home invasion, one a car jacking, the other two died protecting thier owners in hold-ups were they worked. Pit are the smartest of all the breeds for this kind of work and as you can tell loyal to the point of death. Using pit for this is comman and have been for over 5 years.

Dose anyone think they would use them if they were ticking time bombs. Is one aware of this breeds histroy and how they were thought of in this country for over 100 years. They are not a new breed nor have they just come here from another country. They have been used to protect childern and homestead. They have been used as the symbol of courge and natioal pride, They are police dogs, detection, SAR, do you think any city or goverment would risk using them if they were as dangerious as some here think. I guess I need to keep up with things more and start fighting for these dogs for the sake of the people I work with. Some of them would never had been able to go home if not for thier pit bulls.

Answer 1

Most people only hear the negative that the news has to say. They like to play on peoples fears. People aren't intelligent enough to find out the facts for themselves. More people are bitten by toy sized dogs yearly than pitbulls. No one thinks about that though. All the pits I have known were great dogs.

Answer 2

Here is the side of the Pit Bull breed you will never read about in the newspaper:http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/pospress.html
When I worked I a shelter years back we had to put down 3 black labs that attacked and killed an elderly woman. The were reported as Pit Bulls in the paper. Patricia, however unfortunate your attack was, the idea that they all be put to death is nothing short of ludicrous. I was attacked by a police dog, should they all be killed? Pit Bulls are one of the more popular dogs in the US right now (according to licensing records, much more accurate than what the AKC puts out) so why aren't the streets running with blood if they are all so vicious. You'll never hear about the thousands of good ones. Mine has her CGC certificate and will be a Therapy Dog soon. Most dogs don't have a good enough temperament or enough basic training to pass a Canine Good Citizen test. I long for the days when the monster dogs were those Nazi German Shepard's, then came the Dobermans who were vicious because their brains outgrew their skulls and it made them craaazy, then there were evil Rotties who were "cool" because they consorted with Damien in the omen and every ****** who saw the movie had to have one. Anyone who truly has knowledge of these breeds, including Pits, knows this is all BS. All the rest are just making noise for the sake of making noise. The only real vicious animal is Homo sapien. Look how much they destroy. There isn't enough bleach to clean THAT gene pool.

Answer 3

Unfortunately b/c of irresponsible breeding and the underground dog fighting ring, Pits have gotten a horrid rep.
People who fight the dogs inbreed them causing serious mental defects, mainly the one that triggers the "prey/fight" drive.
I believe that a pit mix, or one gotten from a reputable breeder produces a great pet. They are very intelligent, loyal, and loving. Granted they are a strong willed dog w/ a hard working drive and do need good structured training, but they excel wonderfully in the right environment.
But the really sad thing is, that on the list of dogs a person is most likely to be or has been bitten by, is an American Cocker Spaniel. But you don't see THAT in the papers or on tv. Or people liking them less.
It is prejudice and ignorance.
And the biggest bit of ignorance are the people that get a pit from a buddy of the guy that lives down the street and that don't know jack about the breeding. THAT is what has really brought the breed down hill, irresponsible breeding.
Oh and I would like to add to what lizzy said about "finding another breed" I do not know if any of the groomers, vets, or vet techs have noticed the arrival of the Cain Corso, but it is a fabulous family pet! Protactive when need, loyal, and loving. But also very work and will driven, I am worried that the faye of the Corso will lie w/ the Pit Bull in a few years

Answer 4

The media always has to have something to pick on, and now they are choosing pit bulls. Most people hate pit bulls because of the stories they hear on the news. The problem is that most of these news stories of 'pit bull attacks' are exaggerated or completely UnTrue!! And it has gone so far that some countries and cities have banned them all together. I live in an apartment that restricts pit bulls, or any dog that looks like a pit bull. Little do they know, the lab that lives a few doors down is statistically a lot more likely to bite a person that a pit bull. Statistics have shown that pit bull are NOT the most likely dog to bite a person, and they excel in obedience and temperament tests. I wish people would open their eyes and go out and actually meet a pit bull who is owned by a responsible person. Terrible things are happening to these dogs all because of hear say that stemmed from a few bad dog owners. A lot of shelters will not adopt out pit bulls, and immediately euthanize them when they come in. I have worked with dogs all my life, and i have honestly NEVER met an aggressive pit bull. They are generally sweet dogs, and i have NEVER heard of a pit bull turning on their owner. There are no bad dogs, just bad irrisponsible breeders/owners. I just don't get it, i hope it is just another phase that will pass...

Hey, Dumass...I was attacked by a GOLDEN RETRIEVER! He nearly tore the right side of my face off. And i still have scars on my face. And it sounds like a similar situation. You said that the dog had to bite a child THREE times before it was actually addressed. Well, same with this dog. After this dog attacked me, the owners said 'oh, yeah, he has done this before.' And she still hasn't done anything about the problem. This is the same as that pit bull. They ignored the problem. And even though i was bit by this ONE golden retriever, I understand that not all golden retrievers are aggressive. Or maybe i should be like a lot of other people, and request that Golden Retrievers should be banned, because one attacked ME, i feel they are dangerous dogs. How would You like to lose your loving companion to BSL? I'm sorry your son got bit, i really do hope he is okay. But it is really not only pit bulls that can bite. ANY breed can bite. It has everything to do with the owners, and it sounds like the owners of that pit bull were very irrisponsible to allow it to bite a child three times before doing something about it...

Answer 5

It is not that people are dumb. Pits have earned this rep because of their instinctive nature to team up and go after certain "targets" for lack of a better word.
Their rep is not always warrented, though. I have worked at a vet for 5 years and I have never seen a pit try to bite a staff member.
However, I have seen many many small dogs brought in that were attacked by pits. In many cases, their was more than one pit involved in the attack. This is just a fact that cannot be ignored.
Pits are very responsive to people in a positive way, especially adults. I feel that they are an extremely misunderstood breed.
But I don't blame the dog. I blamed the morons who have bred the aggression into the breed.
Pits are very smart and are very loyal to their owners. I could really see them being great for this job.

FYI-It has been my most unfortunate experience that pits are the most commonly abandened, most commonly abused, most commonly mistreated, most commonly neglected dog.
Maybe this could explain a thing or two....hmmm

Answer 6

Any dog, no matter what breed, can become a biting machine., if they are not trained or socialized well. The media loves bad news, people are more apt to be drawn to bad news. So when they hear a story about a good pit noone wants to listen, noone wants to tell about it, but when they hear a story about a pit who bit a kid the news are all over it. If a chihuahua bites a kid, noone wants to hear about it, they only wnat to hear about pits killing and it is not fair. I once knew a pit bull named Suzy Bee. She was a love bug, she would drown me in her drool from her sloppy kisses. One day some thugs broke into her yard and stole her. They then threw her into the fighting ring to try to make her fight. Needless to say, she got her @$$ handed to her. She was alright but she was badly hurt. She had no clue what to do. To own such a strong breed takes responsibility, people who get strong breeds sometimes have no responsibilty and the dog gets to be too much for them. So they leave it alone and the dog doesn't get he proper training it needs. It isn't fair and if the media would stop feeding into the stereotype and do start telling stories about good pits, then we wouldn't have this problem. But that will never happen.
I was attacked by a pack of chihuahuas, does anybody care? No because "It wasn't a pit" That's not cool. People need to stop believing everything they hear, learn for themselves nad not genetralize all breeds to be the same. Each dog has a different personalty.
Pit bulls aren't bad breeds. There is no bad breed, just bad people.
To finish I believe that people should be screened and tested before they are allowed to get a dog that wya we wouldn't have this problem.

Answer 7

Basic ignorance. The problem with pits has nothing to do with the breed itself, but with the fact that the breed is popular among violent ignorant thugs at the moment, idiots who think it's a good idea to make a dog vicious and think dog fighting is fun. I am a LVT and have only ever met 1 pit bull that I wouldn't want to go near, and it happens to belong to an idiot redneck neighbor of mine, an idiot who thinks he should have a mean dog "to protect his property". Well, 1) you don't need to teach a dog to protect, that comes naturally (as in your 5 cases) and 2) the guy is a drunk moron with nothing worth stealing anyway. So really, my problem is not with the dog, but the neighbor. The dog didn't choose to be shot with a BB gun at random, the owner made that choice. But a lot of people don't think it through, and say "Let's ban all pit bulls!" in a knee jerk response. The thugs will just pick another breed if that happened.

Answer 8

Yes, as a couple already said, it's only when they've done something negative that the breed will get attention in the news media, which is what most people will watch. After they only see negatives, they'll begin to believe they're bad-tempered dogs. All breeds, even the sweetest, have their ill-tempered dogs. If people really wanted to know about the breed, or any breed of dog, they'd look them up themselves and watch Animal Planet shows.

Answer 9

I know that pitt bulls are hated, and I don't think that is right. This is coming from a girl who has every reason to hate them. I was attacked by one when I was in first grade, and I nearly lost my arm and my life. But I don't hate them at all! I get nervous around them sometimes, but other than that I'm fine. I even have a boxer that's bigger than the pittbull that attacked me. >_< I think that is why people are so afraid of them though. That there have been so many attacks by pitt bulls. That's not to say that other dogs haven't attacked people, but pitt bulls are largely bred among the african-americans in the projects to fight. They are a fighting breed, but now they're fighting for something entirely different; their life.

Answer 10

yeah, pit bulls have never ever been mean ever. i wonder why people think they are mean.
i do have one, and according to the old saying "with much power comes much responsibility"
My dog is a well balanced any any other dog i have lived with, but i also understand his instincts and drives are different than a golden retriever. he adores time with his human family and we have a great time together. he rides to work with me and sits around the jobsite. i understand that i am responsible for his actions and that i must stay alert to his posture and body language. they are not "sweet", they are well bred, well muscled machines that require responsible owners who can read their emotions and respond/prevent situations that could cause harm to another dog or human and lastly they, like any dog breed should spend most of their public time on a leash. its just good dog ownership