Why do people get Pit Bulls? They're vicious killers!?

Question

There are more than 1000 attacks every year in the US where Pit Bulls kill or severely injure humans. Why is this tollerated? Why do people get these killer dogs and put their kids at risk?

Answer 1

You are opening up a BIG can of warms here by making a statement like this. I do not think that pit bulls are vicious killers, but, at the same time I also know that most people are ignarant when it comes to some things. People here will NEVER understand "GENETICS" and it will always be the "owners fault". Never mind what the dog came with, geneticaly. Then they will act surprised when their dog eats another dog or human. This is too long of a subject to go into here, but suffice to say, it is genetics and environment that make up a dog or a human, not just the owner. The bottom line is that you CANNOT make a dog do or not do, be or not be anything that he does not have the genetics for. The dog already knows how to do everything that we humans "train" it to do, we just need to make them do it for us. Good luck with your statement.

Answer 2

Pit Bulls are not vicious killers. They are loving loyal dogs. I have 2 of my own. They are the best dogs I have ever owned. My Pit Bulls would never hurt anyone unless the person was trying to hurt my family. I have 1 year old twins, 4 cats, and a chihuahua. Why did my dogs never hurt them? Pit Bulls are not killers at all. The only reason why there are some bad Pit Bulls is because of their owners. Some people neglect their dogs to make them mean. Others feed them things that they aren't suppose to eat, like raw meat and gun powder. You can feed this to any dog and make it vicious, not just a Pit Bull. They also starve the dog or abuse it. All of these things are wrong. These are probably the reasons why Pit Bulls attack. Most of the time a Pit Bull attacks their owner. I would attack someone if they did this to me too. I really don't think you should talk about Pit Bulls this way, especially if you never spent time with one. I think you are just prejudice against the Bully breed.

Answer 3

Because they are not all dangerous and mean. Why do we tolerate certain people who commit more heinous crimes and they know the difference between wrong and right. People are the bad ones not the dog that is doing what a person taught them to do. Humans and humans alone made some of these dog this way. And even if you did get rid of all the Pit Bulls they would just find another breed to exploit. The dogs are NOT the problem their masters are. My PIt Bull loves adores children and is actually better with them than my Lab.

Answer 4

The real problem you have is the breeders and owners. I live in South Texas and the amount of Pit Bull owners who live to have the biggest, toughest dog is insane. There are too many people who just want to say they have a Pit Bull just as a "toughness" symbol, it is sad and pathetic. I have just rescued one of these dogs, she is a 1 1/2 year old female pit who is wonderful and sweet and LOVES attention. The only bad thing is she has been tied outside her whole life and is pregnant to a Rottie (she was preg. when I rescued her, now I have the dilemma of what to do with the puppies!) Sadly I have to keep her outside, but I think she is in a much better place than she was or could have gone into. I wholeheartedly think that it is not the breed, but these owners that MAKE the breed a bad, aggressive breed are the ones who should be held accountable. I have seen some viscious weenie dogs in my time....

Answer 5

FACT: According to the American Temperment Test Society, the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Stafforshire Bull Terrier, and the Bull Terrier (all considered "pit bulls") ALL have a higher passing rate percentage than the Golden Retriever, the Beagle, the Chihuahua, and the Cocker Spaniel, most of which would, to the average person, be considered a good "family" pet.
(www.atts.org).

Also, I would be interested to know from where you are getting your statistics. I would be wary of ANY statistic that names "pit bulls" as being the aggressor, as there are a ton of breeds of dog that closely resemble "pit bulls" that are often falsely accused of being "pit bulls." Check out understand-a-bull.com and take their pit bull quiz. I bet it will take you a few tries to find the true American Pit Bull Terrier.

Also, I sincerely hope that you are not so gullible and naive as to believe the hype pertetuated by the media. Many times, for the reason mentioned above, the media misidentifies the attacking dog as a pit bull. Check out this link from understand-a-bull.com:

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/MistakenIdentity/WrongId.htm

for a list of media reports where the attacking dog was mislabled as a pit bull.

Before I wrap up, I need to address some of the comments made by people who I believe have good intentions, but are still a bit misinformed. The stereotype surrounding the types of people that own pit bulls still exists, but I just want to make it clear that today (largely in part due to the fact that many people are taking the time to learn the facts about pit bulls) there is a very diverse population of people that own pit bulls. Not every pit bull owner is a drug dealer, thug, or uneducated. I can say this with confidence because I do not engage in drug use or thug-like behavior, and am in fact a doctorate student, studying for my Ph.D. in Psychology. I am also the proud owner of an American Bulldog/ Stafforshire Bull Terrier puppy, who is amazing. He will have his Canine Good Citizen title by the end of the summer.

That being said, I'm off my soapbox. I hope after reading these posts, you will have a better sense of reality when it comes to "pit bulls" and refrain from making such ignorant comments in the future.

Answer 6

If the statistics for dog bites/attacks were accurate, most pit bull types would be very low on the list. The term "pit bull" does not point to just one breed but several, as well as any dog that resembles a pit bull type breed. The people who report the breed involved in an attack is usually either the victim or a witness, and it is highly unlikely they even know what a pit bull looks like. It is a proven fact that all the pit bull type dogs are the most misidentified. Also, if hunting dogs, herding dog, etc. were grouped together in one lump for bite stats, the pit bull types would be lower on the list.
I would also just like to point out that BSL has actually proven that pit bull types are not the problem. Irresponsible owners and breeders are. There is not a single case where BSL has worked. Actually, bite stats have increased in most areas where BSL is active. The irresponsible owners moved on to different breeds that are less stable and the bites/attacks have increased.

One more thing... This "question" shows your intelligence. Nonexistent. You are just like the other morons who believe everything the media tells you. Learn to think for yourself.

Answer 7

First, it's unfortunate that Pit Bulls are labelled as such. This is due to ignorant owners and one-sided media. Let me tell you a story from many decades ago. King World Productions was doing a television show about a group of kids and they wanted some kind of mascot to add to the show....namely, a dog. They tried out German Shepherds, Labs, Spaniels, Terriers, and just couldn't find a dog with the temperament to be around all these kids. That is, until someone brought a Pit with them. This dog loved the kids. He didn't snap at them when they played, nor did he snap when he got startled, like the previous dogs. He was perfect, and he became Pete on the Little Rascals.
If you take the time, you can find so many positive stories on Pitts. There's one where a little girl was sitting on a porch and a stray rabid Great Dane was in the neighborhood. The neighbor's Pit saw this, jumped over the fence, and killed it just in time before it attacked the girl.
There's the story of this family who went camping and the little boy was saved when their Pit got in between him and a rattle snake.
I can go on and on...it's not the dog, it's how they're raised. Unfortunately, some people seem them as some social trinket to parade around, or a money maker in the ring, instead of giving them the loving home they deserve.
My friend had a Pit and a Boxer. They got along better than a lot of kids I've seen. I have a lot of experience with them and they do need a firm voice and gentle hand. They're smart and can be tenacious, especially if they're "gameness" starts to surface. But these dogs aren't any more dangerous than a German Shepherd or Rott...they just get more bad press.

Answer 8

All I have to add is... Does this person know that Labs (dogs that everybody loves) are higher up on the list for dogs that have attacked humans than pit bulls are? just something to think about Dogs behave bad b/c of poor ownership and training...even the sweetest breeds can become aggressive if in the hands of a bad owner.

Answer 9

Where did you get your scource that there are more than 1000 attacks by Pit Bulls in the US every year? Did you happen to check the number of attacks by any other breed of dog?

Answer 10

Pit Bulls, while naturally a more aggressive breed, are not killers unless they are made to be that way. When a puppy of any breed is brought up abused and/or neglected, it will likely be aggressive and dangerous. However, if a puppy, pitbulls included, is brought up in a loving home and treated as a member of the family, there should be no problem. As with any breed, the owner has to respect breed specific personality traits of the dog. Any dog attack is the owners fault, not the dogs. And it is definitely not because of the breed!