Are Pitbulls born mean or are they the result of bad owners?

Question

Are there "good" ones and "bad" ones? I know this is an emotional topic. Please support your answers with credible facts.

Answer 1

Where does the genetic factor come into play here? Why are people refusing to take that into consideration? Until that factor is taken seriously there can be no discussion. Certain breeds are born with certain inherent tendencies, abilities, desires and traits. Good owner, bad owner, good training or bad training, they are there, for better or worse. Do not be blind to those tendencies and inherent characteristics of any breed, it only helps to destroy it.

Answer 2

Pit bulls (proper spelling).... Which means the dog can be a number of different breeds as well as any mutt that has even a slight resemblance to any one of those different breeds.
It is of my opinion that any breed of dog can be mean, and there are a lot of reasons of why they can be mean.
I believe an American Pit Bull Terrier (the specific breed, not all dogs considered pit bulls) is the one dog that will take being mistreated a great deal longer than any other dog before "turning" mean. They take a lot of punishment from irresponsible owners but still almost always love people.
That being said.... Breeding and bloodlines have a lot to do with whether or not a dog will be mean or not. If you breed a people mean dog the chances of the pups being people mean greatly increase. Think about it.... look how dogs are bred, for their traits, which have been passed down by generations. APBTs are not people biters by nature and I would bet anything if the bite statistics could actually be accurately tallied that APBTs would be the breed with the lowest amount of bites.
So, the answer to your question is both. Irresponsible owners of poorly bred pit bull types and irresponsible "breeders" of pit bull types are the problem(s). BUT, it is a problem that exists with every breed, not just pit bull types.

Answer 3

It's like any other breed of dog.. It can either be a dog that was raised to be mean, or it can be a result of bad breeding, or a combination of both.

You cannot forget bad breeding, because it's an issue in any breed that is over bred, or bred for colour, or anything else, neglecting to take the whole dog into consideration..

You can breed the most gorgeous lab, but you can also breed the gorgeous lab who has a screw loose... If people don't take more care in the dogs that they are breeding and take temperament and background into consideration, you can train and teach any breed, including the pitbull to be as nice as possible, but if it's not all there, then it's not all there.. Raising it nice isn't going to do you any good..

How else do you explain the pitbull that was raised by the family and they'll tell you how wonderful it was with the baby, and how it watched the kids and everything else, then suddenly one day it bites.. Did they all of a sudden start to train the dog to be aggressive?? NO, it was a product of bad breeding.

So get ready to vote me thumbs down, but if you guys continue with your head in the sand pretending that it's only the way they are raised, you'll wake up one day with a pitbull who has bitten someone.. If you don't take into consideration who is breeding these dogs, and their lack of concern over temperament and everything else, then you will have your own horror story one day.. You cannot just take any pitbull no matter where it was born, or who bred it and raise it in your family and pretend that it's going to be perfectly fine if you raise it to be nice..

If you can buy a chihuahua that people can't stop from biting, and you can buy a Rottweiler that won't stop biting, then you can also buy a pitbull that has a bad genetic make up, lack of temperament and it's going to be biting too... It can happen in any breed.. With the strength of the pitbull, temperament is something that needs to be taken into consideration when breeding and chosing a dog for your family.. Just like with ANY breed of dog.. If you don't buy from someone who is specifically taking care with temperament, and just breeding for flash, you are going to have troubles..

Answer 4

Yes, there are good pitbulls.

The majority of the ones that give all pits a bad rap are, bred from poor quality dogs to begin with by a back yard breeder. Someone that does not know what they are doing, they just know the demand for pitbulls is on the rise and feel they can cash in on poorly bred dogs. They will sell a pup to anyone that flashes the money first! Having no idea what type of home that pup is going to, and probably bought for $200 just to start producing their own pups in 6 months!

Most pitbulls are bought as a status symbol by people that have no idea how to properly raise one.

Neglect & abuse.

If people don't plan to have a dog in the house (at least 50% of the time), they shouldn't have one. Dogs are social animals, once cast out, or banished to the yard, yes they will do whatever it takes to survive.

Answer 5

It's all about the owners, my friend has a pit bull, it's a huge baby. Animals may occaisionally have a genetic defect that may cause them to be more aggressive but that defect stretches across the breeds and is not exclusively for pit bulls. That being said, it often happens that a certain "class" of owner tends to own a pit bull due to their reputation, in my experience they are one of two things 1/ trying to prove the reputation is ridiculous or 2/ want a mean dog and will train it to be that way. If all the pit bull bans go through, then the #2 group will turn their attention to another breed, probably rotties, which are just as innocent of these issues as the pit bulls are. Also, the pit bulls supposed locking jaw is a myth according to the pamphlet the spca put out.

Answer 6

I belive all dogs behavior is a direct show of the owners. My friends have a pit bull who was rescued as a puppy from ashelter who said that the parents were made to fight and had bad tempermens so they should be careful. They raised her good, and are always careful just in case but this is the sweetest dog, and I gladly allow my 1 year old son to play with it. However my father got a boston terrier, he checked everything out the parents had sweet temperments and all that, but 3 years later I will not bring my son to his house because his dog is too aggressive and out of control, as is he. I belive any dog, no matter it's bad or good reputation, can be a great family dog, or a not so great dog in general all depending on how the owners treat and raise it.

Answer 7

Pitbulls are not born mean. No dog is born mean. They are a very headstrong, demanding breed. You can teach ANY animal to be aggressive or mean by treating the animal that way. By definition, pits are very loving and patient dogs. They make excellent family dogs for an experienced dog owner. They do not make good guard dogs because of their natural fondness for people. They do tend to be animal aggressive the same way that sheepdog tend to herd. A properly socialized pit will behave just as weel, if not better, than any breed. Mine is perfectly fine with dogs as long as they do not act aggressive towards her. Pit bulls will not back down from any fight, that is just their "wiring". I FULLY trust my pit with any child. She even lets my god daughter who is 3 ride her. I think she actually enjoys it. They are not a tempermental breed. They are one of the sweetest, funniest, loveable breeds. They need to know who is boss or they will get quite pushy and demanding to get whatever it is that they want. I think if everyone had a properly bred and trained pit bull, they would have no other breed.

Answer 8

No Pit Bulls are not born born mean. Bad dogs are the result of bad owners and improper training and socialization. Our Family Pit Bull is one of the greatest dogs. He is the sweetest most even tempered dog you will ever meet. But from day one he was socialized and trained. He has always been around other dogs, and when he was 3 I got my Lab. My Lab terrorized him morning to night and he never cared. Now the two are inseperable and adore each other. They even eat from the same bone. Our Pit Bull was also raised around kids and he can not get enough time around them he adores them. Just like people dogs are a product of their raising and environment. Yes Pit Bull are terriers and have a high prey drive but with proper training and raising they are fine. Several of our friends have Pit Bulls and they are all great dogs. They all live in homes with kids and other dogs with no problems. But that is how they have been raised. My statements are based upon my experiences with PIt Bulls and dog rescue. Some of my most aggressive dogs were NOT Pit Bulls, actually of all the dogs I rescued some of the Pits were the sweetest. My most dangerous rescue was an Akita ( a breed known to be tempermental) but he was dangerous because of the way he was raised and not because of his breed.

Answer 9

My parents show dogs for a living and when I was younger they'd drag me to every single dog show. I've seen lots of people who show and breed pitbulls and I've met my fair share of them. I can honestly say I've NEVER seen a "bad" pitbull.

The sad fact is pitbulls have a reputation of being mean and people who want a mean dog will get a pitbull and train it to be aggressive. Truth is you can train any dog to be aggressive with enough training.

I've heard allot of stories about pitbulls who were purchased for their mean qualities but their so call trainers would just beat and abuse the dog. Allot of time this causes them to become submissive and fearful of everything which leads to allot of them becoming abandoned. When a dog becomes abandoned like this is when they're most dangerous because people will try to help the poor animal but they dog no longer trusts humans and will bite those trying to lend a helping hand. Dogs like this need to be rehabilitated and put in a loving home.
Hope this helps.

Answer 10

i think of Lola being in warmth brought about the habit. An animal continues to be an animal and would have instincts no rely what the breed. That fragrance while a canines is in warmth can set off those organic instincts. canines will additionally act in yet differently while their proprietors have their era. My boy canines are extra protecting of me and somewhat extra jealous of another, like that's their interest to observe over me (they are the two extra territorial over me). i know what is going on so I artwork with them and prepare them to grant me extra area so as that they'd't be suited next to me. the concern that your chum is what would reason a difficulty. If she is afraid, the canines will take over the area of chief and your chum turns into submissive to the canines. The canines would not know that your chum is afraid via incident, they only know which you're scared.