Do people look at pibull owners different?

Question

I'm an animal lover and really like dogs. My girlfriend wants to get a dog, and I want a pitbull. Pitbulls are extremely intelligent and dedicated to their owner (if trained properly) She doesn't want a pitbull or a rotweiller. I dont want a rotweiller either, but I really think pitbulls are beautiful animals. She said she wouldn't mind a bulldog. I wouldn't want to get a dog that she didn't approve of, although she too is an animal lover, and I know if I brought home any dog, it would be cute and special. What should I do?

Answer 1

Maybe you could ask her about fostering a Pit Bull puppy from a rescue org. or something for just a few weeks. If anything, the pup will win her over and you will end up adopting the breed you want. I know if she was around the breed, even to foster for a short time an adult, she would see what a great breed it was and be HOOKED on the breed.
That happened to me. I was wary of the breed at first because I had seen people who owned dogs that I knew they fought. I had the common misconception it was the dog breed that was dangerous though these dogs were not aggressive acting towards people. Then I fostered a 2 1/2 week old that turned 2 1/2 yrs old in March. That is when I learned what an amazing breed APBT's are! I couldn't imagine her not being part of our family! She has the best personality of any dog I have ever owned.
When people first see us, they either like the dog right away or they are fearful without reason. Then we are friendly to them and ask them if they'd like to pet her. They don't usually even think about it the first few times in passing, but now the complex is won over and people who have feared dogs in GENERAL even pet her now.
So it's sad some are afraid of what they do not know and I think your girlfriend would just be so in love with the breed if you got one to foster and she could see what they are like.

Answer 2

I think they are. They need to be very responsible and be breed ambassadors. They need to make sure they have a well-mannered, well trained dog. Everyone should do this, but the burden falls on bully breed owners more so.

I think you and your girlfriend need to go to the local HUmane Society and walk through the halls, looking at alllll kinds of dogs. See if you can find a loving dog in need of a home there. And maybe she will come to see pitbulls really and truly CAN be (they aren't always are, but neither are labradors!) wonderful sweet dogs.

Owner of an aggressive lab and two sweet as pie pit mixes.

Answer 3

Shawn is a complete idiot so don't listen to him. I have owned a Pit for 2 years now and he has been the best dog i ever had. It really does depend on how you raise them, just like any other dog. Dogs are really what we make them, for the most part, if you want to raise a monster, then that's what you'll get no matter what type of breed. A lady down the street from me has a Pomeranian that is so mean you can barely go near it without getting bit. The lady's mom told me that she never disciplined the dog and let it rule the house, and now she has a monster that she can't control. It all depends on how you raise the dog. As long as you let the dog know who's boss, and show them love at the same time, then you won't have any problems. Shawn is talking out of ignorance and he really needs to be educated about Pitbulls.

Answer 4

Well, first of all, you need to research the breeds you are interested in and make sure they will fit into your lifestyle. Pit Bulls and many other bully-type breeds are very high energy and must be exercised vigorously daily or they can become destructive. They also chew a lot! All bully breeds need extensive obedience training and socialization to become exceptional members of your community. I would tell you to look into the Staffordshire Bull Terrier if you like that type of dog, but more socially acceptable. They are known as the "nanny dog" in their native England and are very loveable and sociable. They are a little smaller, more compact with a broader, more defined head than the Pit Bull. Staffies are the original pit-fighting breed from England. Wonderful dogs if they fit in with your lifestyle. Check out http://www.akc.org/breeds/staffordshire_bull_terrier for more info on them. Also look around the AKC site, you may find another breed that suits you and your girlfriend better. Good Luck.

Oh my, just had to edit to add:
I cannot believe the uneducated answers some people give. Pit Buls were originally bred to be DOG Aggressive, NOT human aggressive. They were bred to be extremely handleable so that the owners could break them apart in the heat of a fight. If you idiots would do research and LEARN about the pit type breeds maybe you would know this! A Pit Bull is simply a DOG, they just happen to have extreme strength behind their bite(no locking jaws, that's a myth) and can inflict serious damage if they do bite. Personally, I have seen many many more aggressive(to humans) Rottie, GSD and Lab mixes than a Pit Bull....and I work at a very large, 8-doctor vet clinic. It's all in how a dog is raised and trained. I also knows former fighting dogs that are loving family pets now...they are innately human-loving animals. My Staffie and Pit mix are wonderful dogs that love everyone they meet, cats dogs, humans...

Oh, I would definitely steer clear of Bulldogs. They have tons of health problems( breathing, eyes, hip dysplaysia, heart problems, gastrointestinal problems, etc etc) and many have obsessive tendencies. I see a lot of them that are so messed up, it's a shame.

Answer 5

First of all these people do not know jack. The bully breed came from england from breeding the old english bull dog with the old english white terrier to be the ultimite fighting dog which that dog is know as the staffordshire bull terrier. When these dogs came with there owners from england to america people from here breed them with a bigger terrier type dog because (americans think bigger is better and stronger) and that is how we got the pit bull. These dog are just like any other dog out there that people (man) made to do his beding. Pit bulls were never breed to hert man there were breed to fight other dogs sad to say. But the best part abought this breed is its strong drive to please its owner the person that this dog thinks is his god. The pit bull if you take care of it right will be a loven dog and loyal one to have around your life. If you really want this type of breed do your home work from where you are buying the dog from because if the parents of the dog are real aggerisve then the puppys will be the same way. But that is not the dogs fault it is the person that made the parents that way.

P.S. For all you people that do not like this breed because of what the media tells you. You guys should do your home work first before you point the finger. Because there are more people dieing in car crashes, killed by guns, drowning, parents killing there own children then there are people getting killed by a pit bull. You do not see people protesting that you should take cars off the streets and guns away from trigger happy teens and cops and only sane people should have kids, and people that make pools for homes should be throwen in jail for premediated murder of a drowen. So the real question is who should you be mad at the breed of dog (pit bull) are us humans for makeing certien pit bulls the way they are.

Answer 6

GOO you had a bunch of idots answer you..... If you're willing to get a dog and take care of it for the next 10-15 years, get what you want, who knows if the girlfriend will last that long.... With that being said. You are absolutely correct about Pitts being intelligent and dedicated. They are also absolute cuddlbums. My best friend's husband (boyfriend at the time) brought one home after months of reasearching, she DID NOT want a pitt AT ALL and he did it anyway. She has completely fallen in love and says she will never own another breed. Both of her unneutered males live together peacefully without ever having an incident they are 8 & 6 now and havent had a problem before now and probably never will. I was wary of pittbulls until i met her dogs. They exemplify the APBT personality when raised right in a loving home ( I love curling up on the couch with them! and they snuggle in the bed with us when we watch movies). Anybody that says all pitts are vicious is an idiot. And anybody that believes the stories they hear about "family dogs" attacking children is an idiot. I've said it before and I'll say it again. NOBODY on this earth is going to ADMIT that they abused, neglected, instigated or trained their dog to be mean NOBODY. I've seen people baiting a pitt puppy, when that dog grows up and turns on them, they are going to say they never mistreated it, it was always a sweet family pet... I'm sorry but thats COMPLETE BULL S H I T. If you will give me ONE example of a dog attacking someone and the owner admitting that they either trained their dog to be vicious or abused or neglected that animal or that mommys pooow widdle baby was poking the dog with a stick through the fence or harassing it in some other mean fashion I will shut up about it forever.

I dont own pitt bulls, I love them , i just thought my dobermans were more "elegant" lol. But the ones i know that were raised CORRECTLY have been the sweetest mellowest well socialized dogs i've EVER met... If only my dogs end up half as good as they are I wll be in heaven.

Get one, if your girlfriend doesnt like it, that's her problem.

And for the record. Bulldogs only scored a 68.8% on the American Tempermant Testing Society list... Pitt Bulls, Scored 84%.... They're 4th highest on the list for good temperment..... I know more agressive (people and dogs) bulldogs than pitt bulls.


Oops to answer the question, yes people will look at you differently, it's the owner of the breeds responsibility to show what wonderful dogs they are and to prove everyone wrong...

Answer 7

Don't worry about what other people think. It is up to you and your girlfriend what kind of dog to get. Do some research on different breeds and find one that fits your lifestyle. I am a pit bull owner and my dog is like another child to us. She is a part of our family and I don't know what I would do without her but, I can tell you that pit bulls need a lot of attention and love. If you can't provide that then don't get one. Seriously, pit bulls are not the kind of dogs that can be left home for long periods of time. They seem to have separation anxiety or something.
You really shouldn't get a dog that your girlfriend don't approved of. Since you are a pit bull lover, I think that a bulldog would be a good compromise.

Go to www.akc.com
and check out the different breeds and their needs before you make your decision.


Edit: Going back and reading some of your other responses....Some people out there are just idiots. EVERY DOG that has teeth, has the potential of biting. What people should be saying about a pit bull is that they have a lot of strength, which is why when they do bite, they get media attention. You never hear about other dogs biting because it don't do as much damage as a pit bull but it happens everyday. The only ones we hear about are the pit bull bites and that is why they have a bad name. If you heard about every dog bite that happens everyday, you wouldn't like any breed.

I have an 8 year old daughter and a 2 year old daughter. My 8 year old sleeps with our pit bull every night. Our pit bull watches over my 8 year old when she is outside playing. I can be in the back yard and my daughter in the front, I can tell my dog ( minnie )..."Minnie go check on Ashley" and she will run around to the front and stay there with my daughter until I get there. I could not imagine my life without my dog. I would never own another breed. I will try to post some pictures on here tomorrow of my kids and my dog.
To all of those people who won't give pit bulls a chance, I guarantee that if you were around my dog for 10 minutes, you would completely change the way you think about this breed.

Answer 8

Yes, people look at pit bull owners differently and it`s not with admiration. It`s the question as to whether that person is training his dog to fight as is so often the case or is he going to make a pet of the dog. No one will ever convince me that a domesticated dog is born mean, humans make them that way. Because of unscrupulous dog owners, the pit bull now has to bear the brunt of everyone`s fear and intolerance. And they say man is the superior species, what a joke.

Answer 9

I usually don't, because they are just like any other dog, but some owners make themselves look like fools. We had our Am Staff/Rotti mix out walking last year and we met up with someone with a younger Pit. The guy immediately pulls it away and says it's not overly friendly and not good with other dogs. It was like 8-10 weeks old! I admit I looked at that guy like he was an idiot and should not own any breed of dog!

Answer 10

I know you've had tons of answers on this one.....(and most have been sooo crappy putting it nicely) but I thought I would offer another suggestion.

If your serious about your girlfriend, and have future plans....the dog needs suit both your tastes. So if you can't work it out with her to get a pit, have you ever considered a Boxer or American Bulldog? (American bulldogs look like a large pit and are often mistaken for one). Google 'em.

Wish you the best!