What do you think about Pit Bulls?

Question

Yesterday I watched an episode of Law and Order at 4:00 on TNT. This pit bull almost killed a child, as did the one on the news in Philadelphia this week.

They said that pits were originally used to keep bulls in line. They also said that a pit can pull a sleigh with weight of 2,00 lbs. They can put the head of a human in their mouth and take if off.

With all the attacts, why are these dogs still in circulation. You can say you have a good one. The show also said that it is not the way the dog is trained. They can become violent at any time for NO reason.

I have two that live a block away, while walking my golden retreiver one came out the door and attacted my dog. I did not report this because of who owns it. (retalliation) A week later the pit was being walked in front of my house on a rope. No tags, no leash. It came up on my porch to the front door and my dog went after it. It took 4 people to get this dog off.

Answer 1

Truthfully, I'm afraid of them..
I won't go out of the gate if I see a loose one running around.

Thats one dog that even turns on it's Master!

Answer 2

You can't honestly believe that everything shown on tv for ENTERTAINMENT purposes is true!

"Pit bulls" originally had a lot of purposes, including dog fighting. But we're talking about a different kind of dog fighting than the illegal sort going on today. When the pit fighting breeds were developed, the dog's handlers actually went into the ring WITH the dogs and would pull the dogs apart once a winner was decided. The dogs that were aggressive towards humans were eliminated from the breeding pool. These people were cruel in their pursuit of the sport, but they were even less tolerant of dog bites than today's public.

Secondly, I'm not really sure that "all the attacks" that you're talking about are legitimate. Of course the news media is going to sensationalize "pit bull" attacks! People are ignorant, and because of this they are afraid. Which leads to point number two, a lot of the so-called "pit bull" attacks may actually be a different dog. Many people who are afraid of "pit bulls" have never actually seen one in person. The following websites illustrate my point. Can you pick out the American Pit Bull Terrier?
http://members.aol.com/radogz/find.html
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
In all fairness, many of the dogs on these websites are in fact pit-bull type dogs (but there are several distinctly NOT pit-bull types in there that are commonly confused with "pit bulls"). Which leads to another problem...Pit bulls are a TYPE of dog, not a single BREED! Several breeds fall into this category, some of them recognized by reputable breed registries and some of them are not. So when you pass laws banning pit bulls, how do you ensure that you are actually banning pit bulls and not other breeds which are commonly considered benign (like boxers, labs, danes, etc)

Dog bites and attacks are not a breed specific problem...the number of incidents has grown faster than the dog population. Between 1991 and 1998 the number of owned dogs only increased by 2%, but the number of dog bites increased 36% (between 1986 and 1994). However, the number of deaths resulting from dog bites and dog attacks has remained fairly constant...approximately 20 per year. And pit bulls are not the only dogs that kill people. There have been at least 25 different breeds that have been documented in cases involving human death...including dachshunds, beagles, pomeranians, labrador retrievers, and west highland white terriers.

ANY dog has the potential to bite and ANY dog has the potential to kill a human being. The media eats up "pit bull" attacks because the public is uneducated about the real reasons behind dog bites (most dog bite victims are children, and many could be prevented entirely if people would just teach their children not to run up to strange dogs) and are afraid of "pit bulls." It's sensationalist news media at it's worst.

Answer 3

The problem with pit bulls is not their innate behavior, but with their upbringing. I have spoken with someone who works at an Animal Shelter about this, and she said that people frequently adopt pit bulls and then try to make it the "toughest dog on the block". A lot of these dogs end up re-circulating into abusive/neglectful homes and soon end up right back in the pound.

I have seen the effects of a well-reared pit bull - I've given many pit bulls belly rubs (with my pomeranian present), with no problems.

It is the unfortunate reality that you really *should* be wary of strange pit bulls unless you know the owner is decent. You probably encountered one that was improperly raised.

Answer 4

First of all let me just say that you need to do some more research on the breed. It is just too bad that they have such a bad reputation. You can get bad seeds in any breed. You never hear of good things in the news. News people are only concentrated on getting the crappy (sad) news stories in circulation because it sells. As for the pits that you hear about attacking......Mostly it is due to the OWNER and the way the dog has been raised and treated. Like all dogs they have a territory. And that territory isn't marked by lines or boundaries. Their territory is as far as they can see in the location that they are in. As far as your dog being attacked. You were in what is considered to be that other dogs territory.
And vice versa when your dog attacked the pit. Please don't believe all of the horror stories that you read. And do a little studying up on the breed before you pass judgement.

Answer 5

Pit Bull is a term that describes several breeds of dogs with similar physical characteristics. The American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier commonly fall under the category of "pit bull." There are several other breeds that are sometimes included under the rubric of "pit bull", including the Indian Bull Terrier, Argentine Dogo, the English Bull Terrier, the American Bulldog, and the Perro de Presa Canario due to some physical similarities between the breeds. These breeds are usually not included by breed name in any Breed Specific Legislation (see below), but are sometimes included because of a broad definition and confusion as to what a pit bull actually is. [1] All of these breeds as well as many others (including Great Danes, Newfoundlands and Rottweilers) are members of the Molosser family of dog breeds.

Answer 6

It is exceptionally ignorant to think that it is the dogs fault that there are aggressive dogs in the world... not to mention the fact that people focus on the breed... if a Pit attacks headlines read "Pit Bull Bites..." if another breed attacks it becomes "Dog Attacks....."

It's a cyclical process, but it's a process created by PEOPLE.... Pit Bulls are extremely strong and have an amazing bite force so idiots use them for dog fighting or just for having a mean or aggressive dog... so the dogs are abused in unspeakable ways to make them aggressive. (I've got a newsflash for you here- ANY dog will become aggressive if treated this way)... but because Pits are so strong, when they become aggressive, it can be deadly... So, the pit get out, bite someone because they've been trained to be aggressive, more idiots see this and think they're cool, so they buy one and train it be aggressive.... cyclical...

The answer to this problem is NOT to ban a breed of dog... Pits by nature are very loving, gentle natured dogs... The Answer to this problem is to create and enforce laws that would severely punish people who mistreat their animals. [side note, did you know that someone who abuses an animal is 130% more likely to commit a felony]... so I'd like to know why we don't lock up people who abuse dogs??!?!?!

Besides, banning a breed will not do any good... if the people who mistreat these dogs want them, they will still get them... a law like this will only punish people who love, take care of, and properly socialize their animals...

Answer 7

These dogs are human friendly. These dogs were bred for DOGFIGHTING, not people sleighing. And even still, a well socialized pit can do well around other dogs. Sounds like where you live the owners aren't smart enough to keep their dogs on a leash...please blame the owners, not the dogs.

Answer 8

Personally I don't like Pitbulls. I don't even like the way they look. I have seen one clamp down on another dog and refuse to let go until someone jammed a huge screwdriver into him mouth and pried his jaw open. That same Pitbull attached 2 more dogs and killed a full grown steer before being put down.
Pitbulls were breed to be fighting dogs. It's in their blood. It's really sad because it is not their fault but I would never allow one around my kids!

For these people that are going to tell you "it's the way they were raised" or "you can get that with any breed"...
Have you ever hear of a poodle, basset, maltese, yorkie, lab., ect... attaching for no reason at all? I haven't!

I also don't think that everything you see on Law and Order is a fact or even true. Don't beleive it just because you saw it on a made up television show.

Answer 9

SOme people don't treat them right that is why they are so violet. SOme owners are mean to there pit bulls so the pit bulls take there anger out on innocent people. But other then then that I love them. Cute and stupid is how I describe them

Answer 10

I own 2 pit bulls and they are very love able and great with kid's...I don't care what breed of dog you have it is all in how you train them..You can turn a chihahua into a killer..

Answer 11

You should have called animal control and the police.
This is a prime example of how a good dog can be ruined, in the wrong hands.
I disagree with what the "show" said about pits, they are TAUGHT to be violent and vicious.