How Can I Tell My Mom That Pit Bulls are GREAT Dogs?

Question

I've always wanted a Pit Bull, and I'm sure to get one when I move out and a bit older. I see everyone's Pit's and they're gorgeous.

She keeps saying, "You never know! They will turn on you! I know someone who's had one since a puppy, and it turned on her 5 years later! The top aggressive dogs are Labs, Pit Bulls, Border Collie, German Shepherds, Doberman's, Dalmations, and many more!"

She is SO WRONG! I've shown her YouTube videos, told her about the breeds, yet she is still convinced that these dogs will "turn on you" eventually .. It bothers me!

How can I convince her?

To the users who say, "Your mom is right, they will turn!"

YOU ARE MISUNDERSTANDING THE BREED!

BTW: I don't want to own the breed right now, just later when I've moved out.

Answer 1

Well, here is a little story for you (and your mom):

I have worked with countless pit bulls. As a rescue volunteer, I see pits that have been mistreated, starved, neglected, beaten...whatever you can imagine. Not once have I EVER been bit by one. One pit lady we had was so terrified of going outdoors (she was a fighting dog, later used to breed more fighting dogs, then turned into the shelter when she lost her worth) that she had to be carried out. Once she was outside, she would lean up against me and try to get picked up again.

As a grooming assistant, I also get into situations where dogs are much more likely to bite (as opposed to simply taking them for a walk). I have never been snapped at by a pit bull. I have never even been GROWLED at by a pit bull. In fact, today I was grooming a sweet American Pit Bull Terrier named Ozzy. Another groomer had a Yorkshire Terrier on the table next to Ozz. Ozzy and the Yorkie were both VERY difficult to groom, but for very different reasons. The Yorkie constantly snapped at the other groomer's hand whenever she tried to brush him/clip his nails/touch him in general.

Ozzy, on the other hand, constantly tried to lick me. When I pushed a brush down his back, he would place both paws on my shoulders and lick my face until I pushed him down and attempted to brush again.

Which would you prefer?

Pits are NOT aggressive dogs. There is NO such thing as a bad dog, just a bad dog owner.

Ask your mother to do some more research. The best research is experience, so it may help if you volunteer at a local rescue that focuses on helping out bully breeds.

Answer 2

About the dogs... To start, pit bull is not a breed of dog, it’s a term typically used to group 3 breeds of dog, the American Pit Bull Terrier (ABPT), American Staffordshire Terrier (AMSTAFF) and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (STAFFIE). The Pit Bull is probably the most misunderstood dog in the United States. People see them and cross the street out of fear and try to ban them from their cities. Why? Simply stated, lack of education on the breeds. The public only sees negative stories in the news. Pit Bulls are wonderful dogs in the hands of responsible owners just like any other breed. As with any dog, there will always be irresponsible owners and poorly bred dogs. That does NOT mean that all of these dogs are evil! The majority of domestic violence in the US is caused by men, are all men considered evil and dangerous, No. Then why would all Pit Bulls be dangerous because of a few bad owners? For hundreds of years Pit Bulls were bred to fight dogs, certain traits were bred into the bloodlines for that purpose, high pain tolerance, high prey drive, etc. However a quality that was never bred into Pit Bulls was human aggression. Human "aggressive" dogs were undesirable as these dogs required extensive handling prior to and during their fights AND most of these dogs were also family pets so no human aggression was ever tolerated. Dogs that exhibited human aggression were typically killed, meaning that only human friendly lines were perpetuated and desired. It has been said that a Pit Bull never met a stra

Answer 3

Remind her the dog on Our Gang is a Pit. Also tell her the history of the breed means that they are the most people oriented of all dogs. They identify with people, not animals. They only turn on people when they are taught to do so and improperly socialized. You can also point out to her that the National rescue screens their dogs for temperment issues.

Next you need to check to see if your mom has other issues against the breed. Like will having a pit cancel your home insurance, is it a fobidden breed in your city, how about in your building or neighborhood...

Answer 4

well its cause it all depends on the owner you know. cause any dog can turn on you if you treat it bad. but 4 real pit bulls are great dogs. I know cause i have one and its 11 months old and its the best dog i ever had. i got it when it was just 7 weeks old. what you should do is bring friends to your house who have pits and show your mom how good the dogs are. thats what i did cause my mom thought the same thing and now she loves my dog. and pit bulls are not bad dogs. here is the thing though with pit bulls. they have alot of energy and are really strong and stubborn. it took me a while to train mine. and people are gonna be scared of it when you are walking your dog and your neigbors might not like the dog and complain. you got to think of all these things. when i walk my dog everyone moves out of the way cause they are scared of it but its really a really nice dog. im 16

Answer 5

you may have to wait to get out and on your own, PEOPLE fault dogs all the time, when in truth it is the Humans faults as to why dogs attack and this is any dog, my mom lived in fear of tesshem until I brought mine around, she grieves still over him, you can say MOM you really are being unfair to the breed when it all rests on the hands of the hUMAN's way of raising them even a toy poodle can be aggressive if the owner is nasty to them.
This may not change her mind now or ever some people are more thick headed and well no pun intended when I say thicke skulls than a pitbulls.

Awe I guess a Pitbull hater thumb down me, But ANYONE with half a brain would know who is at fault for the so called bad rep these beautful dogs have put on them, and another thing is 9 times out of ten an American BULLDOG has done the attacks and the Pitbull who is a smaller cousin to these gets the blame.
You might ALso want to take into account that when these attacks happen 9 times out of ten the owner has allowed these dogs to run at large, whos fault is it.... THE OWNERS

P.S. Pitbulls and Bulldogs are beautiful breeds, and NOT agressive in fact they were never intended to be BREED to be human aggressive, they were intended to be loyal family members NOT even bred for Guard Dogs.
Haters need to do serious searching of the breeds and that means BOOKS about PITBULLs NOT THE NEWS AND ITs DRAMA RATING CRaP

Answer 6

Well, I got a Pit Bull when I got married. My Dad was always against them. He ended up loving my dog! That is something your mom will have to learn after she gets to know the dog. They are VERY great dogs if raised by the right people. If you get one and, raise it right she will eventually see that the reputation of Pits are caused by the owners not the dogs. Good luck! You will love the dog!!!!

Answer 7

most pitbulls are aggresive because they are raised that way! ask for a new born puppy and raise it right!
or maybe you can ask to keep one of your friends pit bull dogs (if they have one) but just for a couple of days and show your mom that they are not all bad.
i asked for a puppy Chihuahua and i got her for my b-day. (i know its not the same) but what i am trying to say let your mom bond with one and get use to it, and you never know she might fall in love with it and HAVE to keep it.
good luck

Answer 8

Try these websites, www.pitbulllovers.com www.workingpitbull.com www.understand-a-bull.com www.pitbullsontheweb.com www.pbrc.net www.realpitbull.com www.badrap.com
Try getting mom to read these and maybe she will have a better outlook on the breed. Or try going to a responsible apbt breeder and have the breeder give mom information about the breed. Hope these help good luck.

Answer 9

They are great dogs but in the right hands.

Maybe you should wait till you can move out on your own.

Answer 10

Here is some info for you:

http://badrap.org/rescue/breed.cfm

http://badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

http://badrap.org/rescue/owning.cfm

http://badrap.org/rescue/responsible.cfm

NO dog "turns" on you.

This is the problem with people today - they're ignorant, and they spread it around because they don't know any better.