Pt Bull Owners?

Question

Ok i keep getting into arguments with people saying that pit bulls are unpredictable and will attack for no reason at all.

My question is...has your pit even done so much as growl at you? or nip at you?

If you have a pic can i see it?

I just want to know if pit bulls are unpredictable.

Answer 1

If you think about it this way, If All Pit Bulls REALLY turned on their owners, then there would not be so many Pit Bull owners and lovers, we would have already been attacked. They are no different than any other dog. If raised with love and discipline, they make excellent pets. I could not ask for a better dog than my American Pit Bull Terrier. She is absolutely SO sweet, and she is extremely obedient. She listens to every word I say. If I even mutter something like "eh" she stops what she is doing to look at me to if it is okay, or if she should walk away. I take care of seven cats on the weekends at the vet clinic where I work. I take my dog with me, and she is soo good with the cats and any other dogs that might be there. But if you get a pit bull, or even voice that you like Pit Bulls, you are going to hear negative comments from family and friends. It almost becomes daily routine to try and defend your dog. I hope my answer helped!!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q135/welbelowzero/Picture069.jpg

A lot of people on here are posting info from the media about 'pit bull attacks' Here is a little information about the media...They no nothing about dogs or dog breeds. They print what gets them ratings. Here are cases of mistaken Identities:
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/MistakenIdentity/WrongId.htm

Here is a game to play, "Find the Pit Bull" Many people don't know what a Pit Bull looks like, so they classify it as any Big dog with a short coat and big head. http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

Here is a cnn report about a "Pit Bull Attack!" You will hear in the story that a 130 pound Pit Bull tried to attack a baby. Anyone who knows anything about Pit Bulls knows that it would be impossible for a Pit Bull to grow to be 130 pounds. Average weight range is more like 35-55 pounds. This was Not a pit bull attack!! http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/09/06/bloom.pit.bull.attack.kron

Answer 2

My pit bull is my service dog, one out of many pits now being train for this job. They are also used as police, SAR, therapy, and detection dogs. They would not be used for these jobs if they were unpredictable as the media hype would have you believe. All dogs can be unpredictable under the right kind of pressure The large and more powerful the breed the more damage that can be done. A study done with people that work with dogs, Vets, walkers, groomers, and AC officers show more are bitten by small breeds than large ones. Most vets said they have almost no trouble with pits but tons with poodles cockers ect. Enjoy your dog, train it well you well then have a great friend for a long time. I would like to tell about my niece's lab. She had him from 7 weeks. Train and took care of him. Loved him with all her heart. He was never hit or treated badly. One day he turned and attacked her son and put him in the hospital. Dogs are dogs and can bite. The most viscous aniaml we keep as pets is the house cat. They 250 prey items and will kill just to kill. Agin any dog can turn most never do. It really dose not matter what breed

Answer 3

I have 1 pit bull mix that we found wandering the streets at 6 months and 1 most likely purebred pit that we got from a shelter right before she was about to be euthanized at 4 months. Both of my girls are sweet little angels and I love them to death. They get along fine with each other even though they are both females and they have no problems with other dogs. They also roll around on the floor and play with my 7 & 9 year old neices and we've never had a problem, nor will we. I don't think pit bulls are upredictable at all and they have a great temperment, according to the American Temperment Testing Society, atts.org, which has tested every dog breed and found that Pit bulls passed more than many other dog breeds including the golden retreiver. I just think the breed has been extremely abused by humans and for some reason they've been condemned for that.

Like all pets, my dogs are a lot of work. They are high energy animals and need to be exercised at least 45 minutes a day. (All dogs, every breed, need to be walked on a daily basis to avoid behavior problems and keep them happy.) Unfortunately it seems that pit bulls are often owned by people who are not willing to work with them, train them, and give them what they need. Any untrained animal will act like a wild animal.

One of my favorite Pitbull information websites is www.understand-a-bull.com, check it out!


Oh and by the way "Stetson" I just looked up the so called pit bull attack you are talking about. First of all it was reported as an American Bulldog and then a Bulldog by the press, not a pit bull so you probably need to get your facts straight. Secondly, part of the reason pits have such a bad reputation is because people automatically report any dog bites a pit bulls, no matter what breed they are, even if they are labrador retriever. The link below is to a website showing 26 different dog pictures, one is a pit bull, I bet you don't get it right. http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

Answer 4

I'm ashamed to say that I was once one of those ignorant people that thought pit bulls were some sort of monsters that could not be trusted. That was until I met Bones. She was the smallest pup out of a mistreated (neglected) litter. The first time I seen her, my heart sank. She was so skinny, you could literally count her ribs. The biggest thing on her body was her head. Maybe, it was my motherly instinct, but I knew I had to help her. I was concerned about taking on the responsibility of raising a miss treated pit bull. Because I have two daughters, and I didn't want to put them in harms way.

Needless to say, she has become the best dog we have ever owned. She never growls, (even when we feed her...she sits patiently, and waits on her food) and she is so smart. She has made a believer out of me. Just because you own a pit bull, doesn't mean you own a dangerous dog...that could be any dog! Personally, I think sending your dog to doggy behavior classes makes a huge difference. Especially when you have a dog with a bad rep, like a pit bull.

I'm sure you will get some ppl commenting about all the pit bull attacks on the news, or in the paper. I read one of those just yesterday, but in the picture, it was a German Shepperd...the author had mistakenly called it a pit bull. People need to seriously wake up, and realize ANY breed of dog has potential to be dangerous.

I would leave a pic, but I'm not sure how...lol sorry.

Answer 5

First of all, I have a response to Stetson. The studies that I've seen have shown that there are more bites by dalmations or golden retrievers than pit bulls.

The only reason why pit bulls are always seen on tv is that when there is a pit bull that people have trained badly [as ANY dog could be], they have the most powerful jaws and have more pain tolerance, so they do the most damage when they bite something. So yes, the most fatal dog bites are given by pitts or rotties, but the most common aggressive dog? Not a pitt, suprisingly.

There are some pitts who are beat into being aggressive, yes. But it's because their look is so tough, and these wannabe gangsters want to look bad-a as well so they want a tough looking, mean spirited pitt bull to make people think that they're cool. Being prejudiced on pitts would be like being prejudiced against cars because people get killed in car accidents! Who's responsible, the car or the driver/manufacturer? Any car can be deadly in the wrong hands or if built with defective parts. Same thing with dogs... ANY dog. Pit bulls are no more responsible for the way they are bred, raised and trained, than cars are responsible for the way they are designed, built and driven.

Personally, I have NEVER met an aggressive pitt. I love all dogs, but they are honestly my favorite breed. I have met several aggressive german shepherds, chows, dachsunds, golden retrievers, poms, poodles, etc. But no pitts. In fact, some of the sweetest, most gentle dogs I've met were pitt bulls.

You can't judge by everything you see on the media, guys! Just because something looks tough and mean doesn't mean that they are tough and mean. Think for yourself! It's much more fun that way.
;]

Answer 6

I owned a male pit bull, I got him when he was 8 weeks old. I loved that dog treated him right...NEVER mean to him, took him to the vet, took care of him, Did everything a responsible dog owner does....but he turned 4 months old he started to be dog aggressive so much so that any dog passing by our house, he would launch at the fence and start chewing on it non-stop and would make his gums bleed. I took him to a trainer and and seek other professional help that didn't work! One afternoon on a nice sunny day I decided to bathe him outside everything was fine then all of the sudden he started growling at ME, he just had this stare in his eye as he was ready to attack me. Lucky I yelled "NO" and he stop the growling BUT after that I didn't trust him. There were times when my dad would feed him and all of a sudden would start growling at him. One night the dog attacked one of our other dogs. Unfortunately, his aggression was sooo bad that he had to be put to sleep. I wasn't going to have a dog that posed a threat to my nieces and nephews and the public, as I would be held responsible for anything the dog did. Thank God he didn't bite anyone! He did display all signs of an aggressive dog.

I have a couple of pictures, but no scanner. Sorry!

Answer 7

I am looking to hear good things. I think I just got a pit bull. Or an American Bulldog. Who knows. We may never know. It looks like a pit bull. She really is a great dog, and she will probably stay with us, as our shelter is not really equipped to re-home this kind of dog, and the only other shelter is full of pits and pit mixes.
Is there a Yahoo! group to talk to other pit owners????

Give me a few minutes and I will see if I can get them where you can see them. I am NOT computer friendly...they all hate me.

OK...giving it a try:

http://picasaweb.google.com/torbaynewfs/Lily

Answer 8

Yes they can be as can any dog that isn't treated right or isn't socialized.....I have a pit bull and he is one of the best dogs I've ever had. Pit bulls when raised correctly are extremely lovable dogs, big lap dogs that love to cuddle under blankets. He has never shown any aggression to my, my kids, our cats or our other dog. I wish people would just stop bad mouthing them.

Answer 9

Pitts are just like any other dog. Consider this- until recently, who had even heard of a pitt bull? The "dangerous dog" stereotype changes with the decade, its been german shepherds, airedales, rotties, dobermans, and even great danes and mastiffs. All of which are perfectly wonderful dogs. What happens is a dog gets in vogue as promoting a "tough guy" image and you get alot of dogs in that breed who have either
a. been bred for agressive tendencies because its "cool" or b. been mistreated so they will be "meaner" by the people
wanting to project this image.
Pitbulls are currently the dog of choice with drug dealers and dog-fighting NFL players
Does this mean the breed itself is inherently bad? NO. Working in the pet industry I have heard of MANY more people bitten by Labradors than pitts. And, I've stopped believing all those reports of "perfect, friendly pitts" who "suddenly" turn on thier owners. I've seen so many dog owners who are simply oblivious of thier dogs potentially dangerous behavior. The things people will forgive in thier pets is astonishing (have you seen the dog whisperer or "its me or the dog" lately? ). These animals were not perfect before they "suddenly attacked", thier owners were just blind to the danger. The trouble is, a pitt bull (or rottie, dane whatever) is ALOT of dog, and because of thier original purpose they are capable of doing ALOT of harm if somthing goes wrong. There are WAY more unstable yorkies, chi's, and poodles in the world, but they simply aren't big enough to kil someone so nobody notices. Pitt Bulls are GREAT dogs. They are extremely loyal and lovely. Don't believe anyone who tells you different. -Neb

Answer 10

I was terrified to get a pit. We went to the pound and fell in love with this brindle puppy named "Bella". Then we found out she was part pit. But, she has the sweetest personality and I have a 3 year old and they do great together. She is even good with my cat :) chases her some but has never been aggressive. she needs training and plays a little rough some times but it is only because she was never properly trained.