Why does it seem so many good pitbulls snap?

Question

I mean... I love Pitbulls, and I DO think they get a bad rep... but maybe some of it is deserved? I mean, you hear all about it, everywhere. "My Pitbull just snapped, and went berserk on some little kid." Yes, some of the sweetest dogs I have ever met in my entire life were Pitbulls. I believe they can manage to be great pets. But it seems that so many Pitbulls just snap at people for no apparent reason.

What's up with that?

Yeah, that's 400 years ago. And that's wrong anyways. Staffordshire Bull Terriers were bred to bullbait, and they are one of the earlier ancestors of what is now a Pitbull.

But those were BULLS not people. Pitbulls were not trained to grab onto peoples faces, and hold their mouths closed.

And alot of it IS the medias fault. But some of it's not. I mean, just the other day, I was looking through some forums, and someone was talking about how their Pitbull got put to sleep, because it just snapped, and went berserk on this guys son. And some of you just finished reading about the same thing, and that womens Pitbull being put to sleep, because it snapped at that kid.

Rob... they have been bred to fight DOGS not HUMANS. They don't have an inherentness to be aggressive towards humans. Because if you were a dogfighter, and you were trying to train your Pitbull, it would be very good if you were trying to train it, and it decides to rip your face off. They're bred to be people friendly. Not people aggressive.

And Pitbulls AREN'T big dogs... they wouldn't be as good of dog fighters if they were big, because they'd be clumsy, and less agile.

Answer 1

that's because that is what they are breed for. Like I have a yorkie(yorkshire terrier) ans he was made for the miners to have these little dogs go and kill the rats.

Answer 2

First I want to say that Pit Bulls probably do not snap at people, for no apparent reason, more than any other dog. Like you say it is a more interesting story to say "I had a Pit snap at and I don't know why" then to say "I had a Daschund run up and bite me on the knee for no reason", which really happened to me.
I will say I did know anything about Pit Bulls other then what I read in the paper or what was on TV. Pretty bad dogs. Then my grandson brought home a 2 month old Pit puppy. I took one look at it, with the big head and slanted eyes, and thought, what am I in fore now. I was scared. I just knew it was going to grow up and kill one of my other dogs or maybe me. The vet. did not help at all when I took her in for her shots. The vet. said the Pit can be very aggressive and needs to be trained and gave me some pamphlets for trainers in our area.
So what did I do? Threw away the pamphlets and raised her the same was I raised my other two dogs. The dogs settled everything. It seems there is not one of them that is dominant. I am, and that is it. They seem to play pretty rough, with the Pit grabbing the Beagle by the ear and the Beagle grabbing the Pit by the leg. The little Terrier mix taking up rear barking. But none of them have ever been hurt.
All of my dogs are people dogs and very ill mannered, they jump around everyone and want attention. The Pit is the worst as she will jump on people. But she never jumps on children, just wiggles around them.
"Nanny Dog"? You bet! When my daughter brought my, one month old, grandson over for the first time and sat him on the floor in his carrier the Pit went over and sat by him the whole time he was on the floor.
I have since read a lot on the net and here on Yahoo Answers and with my own experience have decided that a Pit Bull has to be the greatest dog there is.
Oh, here are the stats on my dogs.
The Terrier mix, Bear, is 9 years old, 19 lbs.
The Beagle, Snoopy, is 4 and a half, 39 lbs. Not fat, just big.
The Pit Bull, Honey is 4 years, 55 lbs.
If I had to pick a "Top Dog" it would be Bear. He will growl at the othe two if they get into his space. It works with Honey. But Snoopy doesn't pay any attention.
They are all house dogs and go out any time they want, I have a dog door.
They all sleep with me on my bed, "Three Dog Night".
I figure if we are going to be a pack, we all have the same rights. Just as long as they know I am "Top Dog".

Answer 3

It's simple, people get a pitbull and don't understand what needs to be done when they are training it. For one, from puppyhood through adulthood, you CANNOT let them get angry or show any agression - even when playing. They don't have an "off" switch once they get mad and they WILL NOT QUIT. The other thing is that a pit must understand that their master is God and cannot be allowed to challenge that. They are dominant by nature. They have to be socialized with kids right away and learn that they cannot get mad at a little kid's constant pestering, ear pulling, etc. If you are considering getting a pit, just do your research. There are different strains of the breed and some ARE just more aggressive than others and you need to know the difference.

Answer 4

Pitbulls were originally bred to be very people friendly so that their handlers could control them in the fighting ring. They were not bred to be aggressive towards people.
Despite their bad reputation, pitbulls are very popular right now. I think that is the main problem. They are being over-bred by irresponsible people which results in dogs with questionable temperaments. Plus, the media will jump all over any case where a pitbull bites or attacks someone. I'm sure that there are many instances, involving other breeds, that are overlooked by the press.

Answer 5

I have Owned and Trained Pit bulls for years
Some of them can be mean, but most are sweet
it has a lot to with the training and ownership of the dog

i got two pitbull puppies a couple of years, they were sisters
i did all the train with them. They were great dogs
However they come from breeder who breeds to fight

Long story short one had to be put down and the other was placed on a farm in WY
After about a year, I was unable to control them at all!!!
They ganged up on my other older dog and tried to kill her
I was unable to stop the fighting and got hurt myself
After a couple really bad fight and $5000.00 in vet bills, not including my the damaged to my house and myself

I had to give them up
They were sweet, loving puppies they something changed, it happen over night

But I Love Pit bull and have owned many, NEVER having problem with children, other dog or people, but I really think it has to do with the breeding and the Dog
If a Dog has a good temperament it should be breed, but if they dog shows any kind of aggressive, it should not be breed


but this it the same with any dog

i have been bite by a lot more little dogs then pit bulls, but i did not get hurt , by the little dog, but the one time i was bite by a pit bull, i got hurt

they get bad raps because when they bite they bite

EVER dog gives some sort of sign before they bite
from poodles to pit bulls, the problem is knowing the signs your dog giving off

Answer 6

In short: breeding. They are bred and kept by many people ,probably with inferiority complexes... hoping that owning a big, mean dog will generate fear in people as a substitute for respect. (not generalizing, I'm sure there are many owners who just love the dogs). So, they are bred for an aggressive nature. On top of that, the demand causes puppy mills to inbreed them. This leads (in some cases) to a naturally aggressive dog that is mentally unstable.

Answer 7

I don't really know why, but I don't think that people really tell the whole story. I also think they're heavily inbred, and that can cause a lot of problems.

Unfortunately, APBTs were never meant to harm people. They're very dominant dogs though, and I think some people just aren't dominant enough and can't control them. They were bred to fight other dogs, but I think it's gotten a little out of hand.

I think it has the most to do with how much power they have. They have the POWER, to tear anyone apart, and that's why when they do bite it's really bad. Any breed of dog can go berserk on any kid, you just hear about it more with pits because they have such incredibly strong jaws.

Answer 8

It’s the media’s fault. Labs, German Shepards, and even poodles bite far more than pit bulls do, only the news isn’t interested because those bites aren’t as sensational. Pit bulls do have more strength, so unfortunately when they DO bite they usually cause more damage.

Unfortunately pit bulls also have a bad reputation for being abused/neglected. But even the greater majority of those dogs can be rehabilitated and adopted into loving homes. They are very human-affectionate dogs by nature.

Edit - there's somewhat of a social/psychological factor when it comes to pit bull conversation. People hear "pit bull attack" and remember it. They hear "dog attack" and they forget five minutes later. People who know someone who has been bitten by a pit bull talk about it. People who know someone who was bitten by a Labrador know that no one is interested in hearing the story. So when someone is posting that their pit bull bit someone, they are doing so because they know people will respond. If that person's Lab had bitten someone, they wouldn't have bothered.

Answer 9

Pit bulls were bred to be war dogs by the Romans. Although a lot of their aggressiveness has been bred out of them over the centuries as they evolved they are still a fairly aggressive dog compared to other canines.

Answer 10

dogs don't just "snap." something has to provoke an attack.
but think about this. there are around 6 million or maybe even more pit bull types in this country. if they were really the problem, and they just randomly attacked, you would hear an epidemic of dog attacks. But you don't because they don't. It is actually very unusual for a pit bull to be human aggressive because in the fight pits of old the owners would pull them off of each other. any dog that bit a person would immediately destroyed. it comes down to irresponsible ownership almost exclusively not the dog.

Answer 11

All dog breeds have had dogs that "snap" - you just hear more about it in pit bulls.

However, one HUGE issue in these breeds is the breeding. Because BYBs (Backyard breeders) continue to be allowed and people buy from them, proper temperament is not being selected. Good breeders breed good tempered dogs. Bad breeders breed either mean dogs or dogs that they think are ok (without knowing jack about the breed). Breed enough bad tempered Labs together enough times and you'll get nasty labs as well.

I may be harsh sometimes, but this is one perfect example of how backyard breeding has ruined a beautiful bunch of breeds and why it should be outlawed. http://www.pbrc.net/