Why are pit bulls labeled vicious and dangerous??

Question

Alot of people judge pit bulls to be that way and its really getting on my nerves!! I mean maybe if some people would look at how their treated, they would know why some are vicious!!! My friend has a pit bull, catahoula mix and she is the most gorgeous and well trained dog ive met!!! I mean the first night I spent the night at my friends house, my friend was upset and she was sitting in her dogs tie up space and I made the mistake of walking into her space well my friend was upset... dont worry I didnt get hurt but the next that dog was leaping over me and playing.... it was amazing. I never held a grudge against the dog and me and the dog are best friends!!! So why are pit bulls labeled vicious and dangerous??? I honestly think they are miss understood!!!

Answer 1

I rescued a pit bull from a large family. [Living in a 2 bdrm apt. very poor living conditions for people- let alone a dog.]
The male owner (in his 20's), used to "punch" this dog on the top of his head & yell "Sit the F-- down"!!
The owners sister,(whom i have known thru work) wanted a better life for this dog & gave him to me, hoping I could save him & provide him with the life he deserved.
[ I have always loved dogs & she knew this ]
I tried to re train this dog. I had a large house, large yard. Private in the woods (no neighbors or risk to public)
This 20 something yr old "boy" trained this dog aggressively to attack ppl in uniform.
I did not want to see him euthanized, so I took it upon myself to try hard to save this poor dog from death.
I gave this dog LOTS of TLC. never raised my voice, 2 avoid startling him.
After 6 months, he did get a little better.
Then one day he saw the UPS man & almost hung himself, on his dog run trying to get at him.
I saw ALL his teeth.
he looked like he was ready to kill.
The final decision came when,
I had come home from work one day, forgot to knock (to let him know it was me)
I opened the door & he went for my throat!! this short dog was at my throat,
I stand 5 ft 5 "
This was very sad, he had to be euthanized, no rescue groups wanted such a dog!
I have seen other vicious breeds its how the animal is raised.
I saw a Beagle attack a relative.
A BEAGLE of all dogs.....

***Remember*** dogs were once ALL wild, they were domesticated by humans. Any dog can attack. Even as small as a Chihuahua!!
Note to all:
If you own a vicious dog, you are responsible for your dogs actions. & all costs related (legal & medical)

Answer 2

Contrary to popular belief Pit Bulls were not bred to fight.

They were bred to keep bulls under control (hence the name).

And Pit Bulls are labeled as vicious and dangerous because some people in the world don't take care of them or don't raise them right.


My sister owns a pure bred Pit Bull and the dog is the biggest baby around! It can't even hurt a fly! (Seriously, a fly landed on his nose and he couldn't even get it off!)

But, that is only because she raised him right. There are even times when Pit Bulls are kind and sweet, even when they were mis-treated and ill!

Not that many people care about that. They think the problem will be solved by banning the breed. That won't stop anything! Dog Fighters will just move on to the next thing (maybe your Boxer, Husky, Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever)

I know what you're thinking 'Golden Retrievers would never hurt anyone!' But, the thing is, they could harm people as much as Pit Bulls could.

In a test; dogs were tested on different things, and the Pit Bull ranged in the same area as the Golden Retriever! While the cute, little Cocker Spaniel and Border were placed lower then the other two breeds.

At the bottom here, go to the Atts web site and see where your dog placed compared to the APBT!

Answer 3

I totally feel what you're saying. I think it is so wrong that people label Pit Bulls as evil and vicious killing machines. That is on the OWNER'S part, and it has never been the dog's fault. It's just that some stupid people buy pit bulls and make them all mean so THEY themselves look tough. It is completely wrong, and the only reason that Pit Bulls are mostly getting that kind of false labeling and attention is because of too many PEOPLE training their pits to be that way and then other people reporting the DOG, not the PERSON.

Answer 4

They are labeled vicious and dangerous, because of irresposible owners. They are like any OTHER dog, they will do as they are trained. They are very loyal, and pleaseing to the owner. SO if they get in the wrong hands, then thats when they become a danger. My neighbor has a little maltiese. And it has bitten over 3 kids, and including the owner in which it took the tip of his finger off. And i have a 11 yr old pit bull, and people are more scared of mine. I think it is ridiculous, considering mine doesnt even bark or care less what people are doing. What makes me mad most of all, is that animal control doesnt do anything about thier dog, whose leash reaches the road, and bites every one and anyone who comes within reach.but yet, i buy a cable for my dog, and the neighbor sees her out and doesnt think she is leashed and calls. And they come right out, because it is a loose pit bull. 99% of the time you cant even tell my dog is outside. She just lounges and enjoys the sun. I really wish people would get over the whole thing, because they make the best family dogs. IMO!!!!!

Answer 5

American Pit Bulls are registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act in the U.K (I'm not sure in the U>S) This means it is illegal to own a purebred one. The Pit Bull was registered because initially they were bred as fighting dogs. The characteristics such as the large jaws, powerful muscles and quick temperment were all chosen to make them better fighters. Pit Bull are now so inbred that it's hard to train the fighting instinct out of them and a lot of them tend to be over-boisturous and dominant which can lead to aggression. This is the same way in which German Shepard or Dobermans were bred to be guard dogs. All these dogs have the guarding instinct in them, but it is all about how the dogs are trained.

Pit Bulls are unfortunately a unpredictable breed. I'm a strong believer that any dog can be loving and well behaved under the care of good, responsible onwers and good training. But alot of Pit Bulls are kept as a status symbol and not always well trained and sometimes even encouraged to fight and once a bull breed becomes aggressive to either dog or person it is very hard to change that dog.

Answer 6

Pit Bulls are labeled this way because of the people who own them most of the time. Pit Bulls are usually left alone to fend for them selves once someone gets tried of them or simply doesn't want it anymore.

Many times Pit Bulls are left to defend a property but are not socialized at any point not every to give praise for doing a job. Some ignorant people also target Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Cane Corsos to fight one another for money.

This act is stupid and really is done for money illegally because its most likely illegal is every state and if not they should step up to the plate and ban it. And that may not stop the fighting but at least the authorities can step in and punish the people who do these things.

-God Bless,
Hope this answer Helps
Taralyn

Answer 7

It is the bad owners of these dogs that make it hard for good owners to raise them, I had one for many years she was a great dog loved everyone, the worst she would have done was beet you with her tail and she didn't mean to do that she would just get excited, I no longer have her because I had some bad kids in my area that liked going down the street opening gates and letting every ones dogs out, they not only opened my yard fence but went in and opened her pen gate and let her out I was at work, I got home to have many voice messages on my home phone from neighbours saying they saw her playing with some kids down the street, I searched all night for her but didn't find her the next morning I got a call from the animal shelter that they found me by her tags but she had been shot by a police officer after someone called saying a pit was on the loose, the police officer said he shot her because when he got out of the car she came running up toward him, I'm sure she did run up toward him she loved everyone and wouldn't have hurt anyone she thought everyone was friendly. So the label should not be for the breed of the dog it should be for individual dogs and owners I know of poodles that would have took your leg off. Its not right.

Answer 8

The APBT was (historically) never bred to be human aggresive, they were created to be hunting and fighting dogs. Any reputable APBT breeder would quickly cull a human aggresive dog. Sadly there are far too many BYB's that have gotten their hands on the APBT and have bred the true qualities out of the breed. The dog you speak about is most likely a mutt breed that somewhat resembles the APBT.

Regards,
D.

Answer 9

Pit bulls are not bad dogs, it's humans who make them that way. They are not born viciuos thay are taught to be mean. I have a pitbull at home and the little kids in my complex play with her all the time. They are sweet dogs. With any dog you should be careful, not just pitbulls.

Answer 10

They are labeled as dangerous because of their owners. Alot of people train them to be attack dogs because they are actually very good at that. However a pitbull IN THE WRONG HANDS, is a very dangerous dog. Their instincts are to hunt protect and kill, but if raised from a pup they learn, just like any other dog to be gentle, playful, and compassionate. Their history of attacks is due to abuse of the particular dog, same goes for rottweilers. Any dog will act as it was trained, as all dogs are eager to please and want nothing more than to make there own owner happy.