Do you really believe pitbulls are vicious and a dangerous breed?

Question

If you have never been around a pitbull or no nothing about them then don't bother answering because i dont want uneducated or answers based soley on what u hear in the media. I'm asking people who own, breed, or spend lots of time around pitbulls and know their true personality. Please don't judge the dog based on his appearance or its breeds reputation.

i just got a pitbull and i want as much information on the breed so i can know what to do and what NOT to do. Yes, i already know socialization is important. i have a lab who is very social thanks to me and a bit of training. I want to know about personality, habits and other things about the breed.

Answer 1

Pitbulls certainly do have a reputation for being a dangerous breed and some countries have banned them. It seems as though there are some misleading information about them though as mentioned in the link below. For instance, "Pit bulls are classified as having an average temperament with breeds such as the golden retriever actually being known to be more aggressive". There is also information on this page to help you know what precautions pitbull owners should make.

Answer 2

I believe that pitbull owners determine the kind of adult they will become.

With proper socialization and training pitbulls can be a real sweet dog. They are fast learners, eager to please but need a lot of early socialization. With good breeders, good parents, early socialization and lots of training these dogs make great pets. Unfortunately there are those owners that are still breeding to develop the meanest baddest dog in the ring. PitBull fighting is an underground sport in many areas.

Recently in some major cities have banned APBT. Forcing owners who have been responsible and never had any problems with their pitts to give away their friends. Another problem with Pitts is that some home owners insurance are requiring an underwriter if a pitt is kept on the premises. They don't ask if it's a good dog or not, to them it's a liability. I have heard of some insurance providers that will waive the underwriter if the dog has earned his AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certificate.

Answer 3

I own a rednose female pitbull named Emily. She is 4 years and I rescued her from Orange County Shelter when she was 6 months. She is wonderful, VERY smart, alert, and calm. She is not dog aggressive and great with kids. I love her so much and wouldn't want any other dog.

I believe pitbulls are a very powerful breed, and the bite from a pit is alot more serious than from other breeds. The number one rule I tell people is to be a RESPONSIBLE PITBULL OWNER, and watch them like a hawk. If you leave a pitbull to do whatever it wants, you are asking for trouble. They are not killers, they are just not the type of dog that is easily intimidated or backs down. This is what gets alot of people into trouble, because they do not do their research and think they can own this amazing breed. I know that if anything bad were to happen, I would almost always be at fault because I own a "dangerous breed".

If you would like to talk more with pitbull owners, please take a look at www.PitbullForum.com and check out the pics too!

Congrats on your new pitty!

Answer 4

Some pitbulls are vicious and dangerous, but like any dog this is due to poor breeding, poor genetics, and not being trained, socialized and raised correctly. Just like any other breed, a lot of things contribute to the temperment of the dog.

That being said, a tempermentally sound pit bull IS NOT human aggressive!! This is an unacceptable trait for pit bull type breeds, and any human aggressive pit bull should be humanely euthanized for the protection of the dog, the owner, the general public and the over all reputation of pit bulls all over the world.

Be sure to have both of your dogs neutered or spayed. This will lessen the chance that they will get into a fight. Animal/Dog aggression is common for the breed.

Your two dogs may get along famously now, or for years. One day, this could end over anything...a toy, piece of food, a vehicle that the dog does not like the sound of...and if you are not their to supervise and they are left together, you may come home to a bloody mess and major injury or death of one of your dogs.

Make sure to crate these dogs in separate rooms when you are not home or able to supervise. This will eliminate the chances that a deadly fight will break out.

Never feed them together. Make sure to remove any aggression triggers such as toys, beds, treats, chews, or anything else that may cause friction between the two dogs.

Click on the link below to read my article on this topic.

Answer 5

I have been around pit bulls my entire life. I have owned one, and though I adored that dog, I probably will not own another one. It's not that I think they are a bad breed, it's that it's just not the right dog for me. I think that a potential pit bull owner needs, as with any other breed, to consider what fits best in their lives. As an owner, there are a few things that you can do to help keep your dog mild mannered. Socialization, of course, is key, but make sure that you are socializing with adults, children, dogs, and cats (if possible). Try not to chain the dog and exercise him every day. Consistently pull on your dogs ears, tail, etc, to get him used to the things a child might do to him. When the dog is eating, pull his food away, stick your hand in it, etc, to cut down on food aggression. Also, you have to establish yourself as leader, and do not allow the dog to "over-protect" you. This is the biggest mistake. Some owners think it is cute or cool or great that every time a person comes near them, their pit steps between. You are encouraging the behaviors that lead to aggression. Don't worry about protection, if you really need it, he'll be there. He does not need to protect you from everything.

I believe that the breed, on a whole, is not bad. I am, however, not convinced that there aren't a few bad eggs out there. But, consider this, it is probably the most popular "aggressive-type" breed in america. And though most owners are wonderful with the dogs, it also leads to tons of owners who do not know what they are doing with the breed. Also, more of a breed means more reported bites from that breed. Because it is a large breed, these bites are terrible. But, consider this, do you really think it's that many more than, let's say, a chihuahua or a yorkie. It's just that those bites cause no more than a band-aid to repair. However, as an owner of a pit, it is your responsibility to know your dog, know the breed, and take no chances.

Answer 6

Any dog can be a dangerous dog if there if no training. My mother was bitten by his sisters chow chow that just snapped and bit another person and had to be put down. Pitbulls and bulldogs and some other breeds have fighting in their blood so there is more aggression that needs to be properly trained. And the reputation of the pitbull has people afraid of a tame dog that has no intention to do them harm. Also most people don't know what a pitbull looks like, so almost every dog they see is a pitbull.

Answer 7

I used to own 3 pitbulls. A male and 2 females. I raised them from puppies. They were wonderful dogs and made great companions until they got older. At age 13 years, one female attacked my husband one night while he was watching TV.
For no reason, she sprang up from across the room and tore into his leg. She tore a major vein and he almost bled to death. He needed over 200 stitches. The vet diagnosed
age related dementia. He said it was characterised by sudden aggressive behavior. he said medicine only would work to control her for a very short period of time and that
it would get worse. We put her to sleep.
At 14, the other female, attacked me for no reason. The vet diagnosed the same thing.
At 15 years, our male pitbull attacked a neighbor's child with no provocation, while the child was at our home. The vet diagnosed the same thing age related dementia.
After that, I did a lot of research and found out that Pit Bulls are geneticly prone to age related dementia because of a missing chromosome in most of their DNA. I've read that most pitbulls have an 80 percent chance of getting dementia
by age 10 years. The chances increase with age.
Some research has been done to try to control the symptoms with drugs like humans take for Bi polar and other mental disorders, but most of the drugs only work to control the symptoms for a few months.
Yes, i'm sorry to say I do believe pitbulls are a very dangerous breed when they mature because of the high risk of dementia.
As wonderful pets as my dogs were when they were younger, I
will never own another pitbull do to that risk involved.
There are many other breeds of dogs out there that do not carry such a high risk of age related dementia.

Answer 8

My friend has a pitbull Goliath which may be the sweetest dog i have ever met. What makes him even more amazing is that Goliath was abused and left abandoned and they adopted him when he was 2 years old. They were careful not to play tug of war with him or allow him to nip on anything. Goliath is a very cuddly dog and i have never seen him be violent or even the slightest bit aggressive to another person or dog. As long as you raise him to be loving i'm sure you will have a great dog. Read alot of books about the breed so you know what you are getting in to and the best ways to raise a gentle dog. Good Luck!

Answer 9

You want someone who is around a lot of Pit Bulls? I would be the one to ask. I am a Dog Training Instructor and I would at least say that 40% of the dogs in our area are Pits or Pit mixes. They can be dangerous, in the wrong hands or if they have been misbred. So can a lot of other dogs...Cane Corsos,German Shepards,Chows,SharPeis, Rotties,etc.... It is very important that they are with the right owner. An owner who has studied up on the breed, knows what their dog is capable of, and is able to stay calm and assertive with it when they need to be. Just like you need to study up on any dog and know you can handle it's strengths and weaknesses. I don't think it's right for them to constantly go on about this breed being "the most agressive of all". Whatever. I had a Chocolate Lab attack another dog in class, she wanted to go after every dog. She had me more worried than any Pit that ever came in. Pits can be so sweet and loving. They are big clowns with these amazing eyes that are so full of wisdom. They are as good of a dog as any dog. I love them all, really. Anyways....... a really good site that I recommend to people is
www.pbrc.org

another one to check out is

gprime.net/flash.php/thepitbullproblem

after this video, they give you a bunch of different places to check out information on Pits. I found it very helpful. In fact, I hand out a paper with a bunch of these websites whenever I have a new class starting up. I do that to help show people the good side of Pits. I figure even if only one person checks out the information, they will pass it onto another person and so on. The only way to take away fear is knowledge. One of my favorite things that happen in class is when I have someone who was scared of a Pit open their minds up and pet one, makes me want to cry. All you ever see is the bad stuff on the news, in the papers, and you hear from people who have had a bad experience with them and don't understand how to not judge every dog because of a bad experience. If we banned a dog breed every time someone had a bad experience with a dog, we wouldn't have any breeds left. Also, so many dogs look like Pits, people mistake them and say that it was a Pit that was agressive.
Anyways, sorry about the novel. This is a big subject for me. I am always sticking up for the underdogs, be it an animal or person. I must say thank you so much for being one of the responsible owners by studying up on the breed and doing right by it. You are one of the reasons they will get a better name. : )

Answer 10

Absolutely not. They are a powerful breed and it would be irresponsible to own any powerful breed or any breed for that matter, and not know how to handle them, socialize them to pets and people and train them to basic obedience commands.
I have one I rescued at 2 1/2 weeks old. The owners were taking the litter to the SPCA because they were overwhelmed by the puppies and didn't want to take care of them. The SPCA in my town will euthanize any dogs that are pit bull or pit bull mixed, which affects more than one breed, btw.
My little AmStaff mix is a big teddy bear at 52 lbs. She barks in public and gets a bit overboard with that around water, but is not aggressive and has been obedience trained and socialized to people. She is the safest around kids when relatives visit at my home. I have three dogs, she is the only one that has any pit in her and she is very safe, after all, the breed used to be bought for the purpose of being "Nanny dogs" or guardians of children.
She sure cleared my mind up about the breed. They are highly intelligent and easily trained, too! That is my experience.