Regarding Pitbulls?

Question

I am trying to explain to my daughter that Pitbulls are completely evil. They are never to be trusted. My Sister In Law thinks that it is just because they are misunderstood or that the owners are bad...
However, we recently had a pitbull attack that was a Puppy who ate the toes off of a one month old. If it was the owner who taught the puppy (6 weeks old) to do this... he must be an amazing and sick trainer.
I believe these animals are EVIL and belong in the wild.
What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

First of all I don't take time to explain things to my child or argue with them, I just make a decision. I would say, NO pitbull. That is all the explanation she needs (unless your daughter is an adult).

But on the second part about pits being evil? I think they were bred to be a fighting breed. That is what humans bred into them. They are dogs. They live by instinct. Their instinct is to fight. You can't reason it out of them or train it out of them. And the breed should be completely eliminated. Breeding them should be completely banned. And forced sterilizations of those that are alive should take place. If one of them shows any aggression, then it should be destroyed. I don't mean to sound mean, but it's just not safe to have a complete breed of dogs that were created simply to fight. So we probably agree on that. But they don't belong in the wild. They would cause havoc if they were feral.

Answer 2

I think all dogs have the potential to do harm. It seems that today's attention is being drawn to pitbulls. I don't know what to think anymore. There is too many different examples to draw the conclusion that they can be dangerous, and, yet at the same time, there are many pitbulls that are very good dogs. On YouTube, I save many videos of those dogs being wonderful with ducks, chickens, kittens, other dogs, and children. And I've had renters who lived in my basement house who had a well-behaved, loyal, friendly pitbull. They had a young daughter and many cats, and two small dogs. Sampson was good with my dogs as well. He never so much as said boo to any strangers. I'm starting to suspect it's owners who have a big part of the blame. It would appear that these dogs need to be part of a family who knows what they are doing. Good training. Unfortunately, I don't think many owners are qualified.

In closing, we know there are cases of many different kinds of breeds causing harm and even death. Are the pitbulls EVIL? No, that is a human trait. However, I personally would never let any small children or dogs go near one. It's a very powerful muscled animal.

Answer 3

Wow, terrible attack. But most dogs are just misunderstood. All dogs get aggresive to a point, as do humans. You can get any dog to be good or bad, its just how u treat it. Any way i dont think u fully understand what the owner has 2 do with any attack. Yes some are bred to be very aggresive ( to win fights) but some are loved and are great pets. ( For example a teenager can get very aggresive and violent, but that doesnt mean the parents made them that way) But the owner doesnt exacly have to train it to be aggresive. If the owner does not give the dog enough attention (love it enough) or the dog is left alone alot, the dog itself will make the attack, ( if we go back to the teenager example, a teenagers can and do go comit crimes to make the selves stand out.) Anyway u can train any dog to be good, its all a question of the time u put into it and the love u give it. ( By the way im not saying all teens are like that, for god sakes that is far from what i mean)

Answer 4

As a "pit bull" owner (Am Bulldog/Staffy mix), of course it is disheartening to me to hear other people make snap judgments about them. From your post, it seems that you are basing your opinion on ONE media-hyped incident. I agree with the others who have suggested doing a bit more research on pit bulls. One of my favorite pro-pit bull sites is understand-a-bull.com. There is a link called Mistaken ID, and it contains a bunch of media reports (TV, newspaper, internet, etc.) that have falsely identified an attacking dog as a pitbull. In fact, there are over 25 breeds of dog that resemble pit bulls in look, but are very different genetically.

Also, regarding your use of the word "evil": This word implies intent. What you must understand is dogs ARE NOT self-conscious (self-aware) and so therefore cannot perform actions which are evil. In addition, if you do a seach on the history of the breeds, you will see that amidst their fighting history, they were also raised to be family pets, and have a strong need to be with people. Bully breeds bond hard and fast with their owners.

My advice to you would be to do some research, even if it only validates your own opinion. But at least you will have researched both sides to the controversy. Also, let your daughter make up her own mind about the breed. Or research the breed together and share what you have learned. The best thing to do would be to spend some time with well behaved and well mannered pit bulls, if you have acces to them. Do not let an incident which happened to someone else affect the way you view the breeds. Get out there and see for yourself!

You are most certainly entitled to your opinion. And I've heard worse, to be honest, such as all pit bulls should be shot along with their owners. But you will be in a better position to form an educated opinion if you do your own research and have your own experiences with pit bulls. Then at least you can say you hate them from personal experience, rather than basing that judgment on an incident which may or may not have even involved a pit bull.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

Im sorry but a 6 week old puppy? are you sure it was a six week old puppy they dont even have all there teeth in yet at 6 weeks.. also any puppy should be supervised around lil kids,PUPPIES CHEW! I have a pitbull and i had gotten him at 6 weeks all he did was sleep most of the day! my puppy didnt start chewing untill he was about 7-8 weeks old.. Pitbulls are not bad dogs! They are very well around kids,but have to be watched, cause like any other puppy likes to chew everything. its all in the way you handle your pitbull! my pit is 8 weeks and knows how to sit shake and laydown! very fast learners and are so loveable!

Answer 6

Pitt bull are not evil. I have a pit that will never hurt anyone unless they did something to her family or she sat on them. The thing bout the puppy and the baby (If it was the same story that I heard), it was concluded that the pit puppy did not chew the toes and was most likely the ferret that did it.
I will be the better person and not attack you for your opinions, but I think you should study the breed more. These dogs are actually make very good pets and are great with children.
Plus, I would like to tell you that "Pitt bulls" scored one of the highest on temperament tests.
AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER 84.1%
AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER 83.9%
BEAGLE 79.7%
GOLDEN RETRIEVER 83.8%

Answer 7

Well your explaining something you have no clue on obviously. They are not evil and you don't know that for a fact that they can't be trusted. I'm sure you never have owned one to even know. And that puppy that ate off the toes of the baby is OLD news!!! That was on the news mths ago. And you can't train a dog to eat off toes!!!!. Your opinion is your opinion and it is useless.

Answer 8

You are completely wrong. Educate yourself on the breed. Do actual research. Any dog has the capacity to bite. A tiny Pomeranian mauled a baby to death in recent years. Any dog can bite, any dog can be trained to be vicious and attack. When placed in the hands of a responsible owner, the American Pit Bull Terrier is a wonderful dog. I have one myself and know several others who have well behaved, loving pit bulls. My dog actually plays with bugs, she wont even eat them. And you call that a killer?

Answer 9

Any puppy will chew on everything it can get it mouth on, as an owner you have to supervise and teach them what is proper to chew on and what is not. Haven't you ever seen a litter of puppies they will chew on each other while they're playing. The owners obviously were not supervising the baby while the dog was in its presence. My dog isn't a pit but when I first got him at 9 weeks he would attempt to chew on my fingers and toes, but I had to refocuse that type play on toys.

Answer 10

As a longtime Pit Bull owner I can heartily agree with those who have written to tell you how misinfiormed you are on this fine breed. The media has done a shamless job on demonizing these animals over the years- almost as shamless as their attempts to convince Americans that Christians are an enemy of Democracy. However what concerns me even more than your aggressive ignorance towards American Pit Bull Terriers is your failure at parenting. Why teach a child fear? You have a responsibility to school your child in how to deal effectively with dangers in life not to just be afraid. That attitude creates victims. There are ways of dealing successfully with agressive dogs, no matter their breeds-just as there are ways of dealing with strangers. Don't teach your child to be afraid - give them strategies to be confident. God Bless and good luck to you.