Pitbulls

[April]

What is your opinion?

 

Are they naturally more aggressive or is it all in the ownership?

 

I've always wanted a pitbull, but unfortunately at a family dinner I had an argument with my parents/grandparents about it. (I live on my own, but it was brought up and immediately I was attacked for this.)

 

It got me wondering what people honestly think about these dogs. I've heard so many great stories about them.

[Jadey]

I think every dog has the ability to turn on you, but it all comes down to how they're brought up. I always look at someone's dog and I can immediately tell what kind of person they are.

 

If you really want to get a pittbull, no one should stop you because it all depends on the owner of how the dog will turn out :)

 

Just my belief anyway.

[Lozzie]

I think people forget that dogs are a subspecies of wolf, thus should be treated with respect. I find it astounding that someone can blame it on the dog, when it's the owner that first sets up the parameters for that animal's aggression. Be that mollycoddling and treating the dog like a child/baby (which it's not), going to work and leaving the dog unattended all day, not exercising the dog regularly... there's a lot of factors. I've always found that the worst dogs for misbehaviour and aggression were neglected as a puppy.

 

A pitbull is no different from any other dog, in my opinion. I've seen many, many well behaved pitbulls before. They were originally bred for working terriers; I think it's the sad fact that it's generally pit bulls that are associated with illegal american dog fighting that gives them such a bad reputation.

But that's nothing to do with the dog; that's the people.

 

Yes, there's been studies that show a higher percentage (91%) of attacks on children by pit bulls were unprovoked versus a 41% by other breeds. However, another study showed:

Several studies have determined that pit bull owners and owners of other "vicious" or "high risk" breeds (most commonly identified as Akita, Chow Chow,Doberman Pinscher, Pit Bull, Rottweiler, and Wolf-mix) are more likely to have criminal convictions and are more likely to display antisocial behaviors. A 2006 study comparing owners of "vicious" dogs to owners of "low risk" dogs determined that the former group had nearly 10 times as many criminal convictions.^[55] A 2009^[56] and a followup 2012^[57] study generally supported these conclusions.

So what does that say about the group of high risk breeds, being brought up by such people? Dogs draw emotions from their owners, and if the 'vicious' breeds are attracting those with criminal convictions, then dear lord, of course the dog's going to be given a bad reputation.

 

I heard on the news a while ago that down south, a jack russell killed a baby (link to article); but the first thing that jumped to my attention; what was that baby doing unattended, at the grandparents house with a dog?!? Surely, that is just asking for trouble.

Dogs are pack animals, and when a baby arrives on the scene, absorbing a lot of the attention that was once directed towards the pet, low and behold, they do get jealous. What do creatures do to one another in the wild when they're in each others way?

Now, that dog has been put down for an act, that could have been entirely avoided altogether. I don't see that as the dog's fault, whatsoever.

 

So yeah, at the end of the day, a pit bull's no different from any other dog; I believe a lot of it's in the stereotype that we create for the dogs, given how they've been brought up in the first place. But if you're bringing a pet up from a puppy, you can significantly train that dog, and with the right level of respect, will have a happy household with your pet, regardless of the breed.

[Jadey]

I think people forget that dogs are a subspecies of wolf, thus should be treated with respect. I find it astounding that someone can blame it on the dog, when it's the owner that first sets up the parameters for that animal's aggression. Be that mollycoddling and treating the dog like a child/baby (which it's not), going to work and leaving the dog unattended all day, not exercising the dog regularly... there's a lot of factors. I've always found that the worst dogs for misbehaviour and aggression were neglected as a puppy.

 

A pitbull is no different from any other dog, in my opinion. I've seen many, many well behaved pitbulls before. They were originally bred for working terriers; I think it's the sad fact that it's generally pit bulls that are associated with illegal american dog fighting that gives them such a bad reputation.

But that's nothing to do with the dog; that's the people.

 

Yes, there's been studies that show a higher percentage (91%) of attacks on children by pit bulls were unprovoked versus a 41% by other breeds. However, another study showed:

 

So what does that say about the group of high risk breeds, being brought up by such people? Dogs draw emotions from their owners, and if the 'vicious' breeds are attracting those with criminal convictions, then dear lord, of course the dog's going to be given a bad reputation.

 

I heard on the news a while ago that down south, a jack russell killed a baby (link to article); but the first thing that jumped to my attention; what was that baby doing unattended, at the grandparents house with a dog?!? Surely, that is just asking for trouble.

Dogs are pack animals, and when a baby arrives on the scene, absorbing a lot of the attention that was once directed towards the pet, low and behold, they do get jealous. What do creatures do to one another in the wild when they're in each others way?

Now, that dog has been put down for an act, that could have been entirely avoided altogether. I don't see that as the dog's fault, whatsoever.

 

So yeah, at the end of the day, a pit bull's no different from any other dog; I believe a lot of it's in the stereotype that we create for the dogs, given how they've been brought up in the first place. But if you're bringing a pet up from a puppy, you can significantly train that dog, and with the right level of respect, will have a happy household with your pet, regardless of the breed.

 

That's really interesting the study that shows that again it's the type of person that owns the dog. I love that fact that someone actually can show that statistics sometimes need to be looked into further!

 

Your answer is great!

[April]

Great answers guys!

 

I've always thought that a great owner could turn out a great dog, regardless of species. I was just really shocked to hear my parents and grandparents start throwing out 'facts' and such. I'm just not sure how much of them were real. >_>

[Spritzie]

I've personally only had experience with one Pit Bull. It was my sister's boyfriend's dog. It was a female, about 85 lbs of pure muscle. It was seriously the most meek/mild dog I have seen in my life.

 

They always tell you not to take food away from an animal. You could take her food away, while she was eating, and she'd just look up at you with theses pitiful "why'd you take my food?" eyes. (I'm not a fan of large dogs, so I would never dream of doing this, but her owner would do it to demonstrate how calm she was.) When playing tug-of-war, if she was playing with a male, she'd playfully growl and tug as hard as she could. As soon as a female took the other side, she'd all but stop, barely exerting any effort. She would take treats from his mouth. It was just incredible. (And that matched the owner's personality. He was a very kind, thoughtful, laid-back type.)

 

I really believe though some dogs just seem to have some sort of personality issue, it's mainly on the owner and how the owner acts and treats the dogs. And it's not just "high risk" breeds. I had a friend that had a Shiba Inu (Which are similar to Akitas. Both are Japanese hunting dogs) They're known for being complete terror puppies for awhile, then straightening out. My friend's was way past the stage where she should have straightened out and she hadn't. And with my friend's personality, that doesn't really surprise me. She never abused the dog or anything like that, but her personality is rather impatient and high-strung. (And generally not overly friendly)

[-Ryan]

Its how they're raised.

 

 

I currently own a pitbull that we found in the desert. She was aggressive at first, but now shes just a lovable, aging dog.

 

Was Hitler a horrible person because he was German, or because of live events that made him turn out how he did? -shrug-

[Batman]

I have wanted a rottweiler for years, and the first thing my dad said when I told him was "I guess I am never coming over to your house then". This immediately gets me annoyed. When I was growing up there was this rottweiler that lived down the street where we would vacation. That dog was the most lovable albeit stupid dog I have ever met, not aggressive or mean at all. When I reminded him of this he just said yeah well he was an exception. Like just about everyone here I am a firm believer that it is all the way you raise your pet although I do have one concession; the main reason why you hear about rottweilers and pitbulls in the news is that if they feel their owners or themselves are in trouble they are large enough to hurt someone. I have seen viscous small dogs but they aren't going to get as much hype if they just bite at your ankles and are bouncing around like a maniac. Don't get me wrong, any breed can be mean and hurt someone but when you hear about an attack from a yorkie or a pitbull, the pitbull will most likely do more damage.

[hrtbrk]

I don't think they're more aggressive than any other dog, but I do feel like they have a shorter fuse than a lot of other breeds.

 

Have you ever watched Pit Bulls and Parolees? It's honestly one of my favourite shows and even they don't hide the fact that something could happen at any given time. It's a dog.

 

My cousin has a one-eye pit bull. He's a totally sweetie-bear but she faces a lot of hate just because of his breed. His sheer size alone is extremely intimidating, even to big dogs. A lot more comes with it than just getting a new dog, unfortunately, and it's tough for first time Pit owners.

 

That said, totally do it! lol

[Zorse]

Definitely ownership and poor handling skills. There's a lot of poor handling and poor care going on when it comes to dogs of all breeds and that can bring out another side of the dog.

 

People always have to jump on the bandwagon and bash a specific breed it seems. My mom said it goes in cycles; when she was younger, it was always rottweilers and German shepherds being labeled as dangerous. Now it's pitbulls. GSDs still have a reputation but not as big as pitbulls anymore. We've always had working GSDs and they're easily provoked because they have a HUGE prey drive, and that's how they should be. You can't treat them like a kitten or else they'll take advantage of you; they're pack animals and there's always a hierarchy going on. It's the same with pitbulls. Some breeds naturally have a higher prey drive than others and there's nothing wrong with that until you have a clueless owner with one. Also like another poster mentioned, there are tons of other factors that go into the way a dog behaves.

 

I'm not a big fan of dogs (too hyper for me lol) but it really bothers me when someone blames a dog for something they do naturally when allowed.

[~Xandria]

I just want to mimic what another person said: All dogs have the ability to turn! People will talk all day long about how "dangerous" these dogs are... but nobody mentions the other side. These dogs are also police dogs, actors on TV, search and rescue dogs, seeing eye dogs, etc. This is proof positive that if they are taken care of and trained in the proper way, just about any dog will make a great companion.

 

I'm not worried about the dog as much as I am the owner. Lots of dog owners are just plain stupid to me and shouldn't have a dog in the first place! I mean I know A LOT of my male friends who are my age want a pittbull so bad. They say as soon as they get there own APARTMENT they are going to get one. This just shows the level of maturity some of the owners have. A pittbull locked in a tiny apartment all day while you are at work? Yeah, that doesn't sound like trouble....

 

Also, it's my personal opinion that a lot of male teens THINK they want a pittbull but I can bet money it's just so they can have a "show dog" and come off as cool. -_-

[LillytheGrundo]

I believe all dogs can turn no matter the breed or how they are brought up. I think it depends on the dogs own personality. All dogs can bite. My boyfriends eleven year old son has been attacked by his dog (a sheep dog) that has been in his life since he was born three times over the last five years, all unprovoked. My own dog(Beagle/Terrier Mix) has bitten that same kid twice. That was unprovoked as well and a complete surprise to me seeing as my dog has been around children since he was eight weeks old without incident. Another rescue dog I know(schnauzer/terrier mix) bit one of the students at a camp I was running. When I asked the group of about seven 8-12 year old who had been bitten my a dog in their lives every single one of them raised their hand. And, all of them had been bitten my their family pet. My sisters West Highland Terrier just doesn't want to be pet. She has never been in a bad situation or been hurt by a human ever, but she will bite you if you try to pet her.

 

Growing up on farms I have known a lot of different types of dogs. All of them had at one point or another bit their owner or someone else. I feel like, dogs bite and people need to understand that and keep an eye on their animals moods and behaviors. They don't understand "family" they understand "pack" and sometimes that means they try to move up in the hierarchy, be it through you, your kids, or your friends. You just have to be vigilant and make sure they know you make the rules and they need to follow. :-)

[Zombiiesque]

There was a better image that I wanted to show, that I saw and reposted on Facebook quite a while ago - but I can't find it now, which shows ALL the dog breeds he's talking about, but:

 

 

 

This pretty much sums up my feelings. I don't know how there will never be people who will breed dogs just for fighting each other, but I keep hoping because this breaks my heart. I'm quite a bit older than many of you and when I was growing up, we had neighbors up the street who had a backyard full of dobermans - probably four or five of them, and we kids were all terrified of them. We were told that dobermans were bad dogs, y'know? Now I know differently. I've had my share of German Shepherds and they are possibly my favorite breed on the planet, so I'm glad that the perception of them is changed, but it breaks my heart for the other breeds who have had that shadow cast on them. And I have to echo what I've read here in that I firmly believe that it's totally how you raise them, and a dog takes on that personality that you have with them. Honestly, cats are obviously far more independent than dogs, but I am more of a cat person (I love both, I should say that!) and the way I raise cats is different than the way my mother did, and you can TELL by their personalities. My cats are sweet and loving and laid back with their humans - I can put my face on my cats' bellies and not get my face sliced off. :P Seriously, though. I say if you want to get a pit bull, get one. It will be YOUR baby, taking on a personality based on the way YOU raise it. All dog breeds have characteristics though, so it's important to know what you're dealing with regardless. For instance, pomeranians have been bred down in size and because of this have developed health problems such as brain tumors. There's a saying about labs that if you can make it through the first two years, you'll have a fantastic companion, but the first two years can be tough puppy years. So, I always tell people (if they ask my advice) to do a lot of research about the dog type that they want, so they know going into it what they can expect.

Whew, long winded - sorry for that! I've been around dogs a lot in my life, and my dad and stepmother raised and bred dogs, so I've had a bit of experience.

Edit: I just read what Lilly said and I do want to say that dogs are still an animal, no matter how long we humans have had them, they still came from the wild. We should always respect that about them, and be aware of it. Also, you have to be in charge of your dog - YOU establish the order, not them. I've been around dogs my entire life and I've seen very rare instances of biting, so that kind of surprises me to hear.

[April]

I have wanted a rottweiler for years, and the first thing my dad said when I told him was "I guess I am never coming over to your house then". This immediately gets me annoyed. When I was growing up there was this rottweiler that lived down the street where we would vacation. That dog was the most lovable albeit stupid dog I have ever met, not aggressive or mean at all. When I reminded him of this he just said yeah well he was an exception. Like just about everyone here I am a firm believer that it is all the way you raise your pet although I do have one concession; the main reason why you hear about rottweilers and pitbulls in the news is that if they feel their owners or themselves are in trouble they are large enough to hurt someone. I have seen viscous small dogs but they aren't going to get as much hype if they just bite at your ankles and are bouncing around like a maniac. Don't get me wrong, any breed can be mean and hurt someone but when you hear about an attack from a yorkie or a pitbull, the pitbull will most likely do more damage.

 

That's exactly what set me off. My mum said "well, I'm never going to visit you ever again." It aggravated me.

 

I think that's also partly true. We hear more about Pitbull attacks because they're a larger breed and do more damage when they do attack. :/

[LillytheGrundo]

Also I think choosing a dog that your family is comfortable around is key. If your family is nervous or scared around him it could affect how he interacts with them. Some dogs read fear as a weakness and try to dominate the fearful person. I know when my boyfriends son and my dog were first interacting after the bite it was difficult for all of us to remain calm. This kept my dog on edge and more apt to strike again. We had to work really hard but everyone is fine now. :-)

[~Xandria]

Also I think choosing a dog that your family is comfortable around is key. If your family is nervous or scared around him it could affect how he interacts with them. Some dogs read fear as a weakness and try to dominate the fearful person. I know when my boyfriends son and my dog were first interacting after the bite it was difficult for all of us to remain calm. This kept my dog on edge and more apt to strike again. We had to work really hard but everyone is fine now. :-)

This is very very true not just for dogs but for most animals. :) I agree completely! Even my cat does this. -_- Lol.

[Guest JussttBre]

Dogs do have a little bit of it bred into them, BUT I think 90% is how they are raised. Try to raise them with the least amount of aggressive as possible and they should be fine. But any dog does have the ability to turn. I've had 3 pittbulls, and one randomly did turn one day. Me and my friend were watching a movie and my dog was looking at my friend and randomly attacked him and my friend had to get surgery. Don't know why it happened but it can. Had 3 rottweilers and a german shepard too but no problems with them. I loved my rottweilers so much they were great dogs!

[Tyler.]

Saw this topic and had to post, since I feel passionately about it.

 

Over the summer I volunteered at an animal shelter nearby. There was recently a police raid of a dogfighting ring in a bad neighborhood nearby. There were over 30 pitbulls total found. I worked with them and found that they have potential to be great dogs, just like any other breed. These dogs in particular were extremely friendly to humans, but were aggressive towards other dogs, since that was the way they were raised to be. There was one dog, named Buddy, huge dog, pure muscle, that could not stop barking everytime he saw or heard another dog. However, when I spent time with him myself I found he was one of the nicest animals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

 

The sad truth is that pitbulls are great dogs, but because of their strength and nature of being easily trained to be aggressive they have gotten a bad reputation they don't deserve.

[The_Warblers]

I personally think that pitbulls are dirty and ugly. However, I believe that their aggressiveness is not quite nature, it has more to do with bad owners

[blondeeakajamie]

I'm honestly not sure what to think entirely. My family doesn't like them; my dad automatically characterizes them as "predators" and things like that. My friend has one and, although I haven't met him, he seems to be the sweetest thing! I do think a lot of it does have to do with the owner and how the dog is taken care of and trained, although there is also the possibility that they have a very short fuse, as someone else said above.

[rinoa812]

My friend owns two pits and they are the sweetest dogs Ive ever met. That being said I do believe any dog has the ability to turn on the owner but I dont think that even happens that often. Its all in the way you raise your animals. I have met inceredibly mean labs and they have the reputation of being super friendly. I love dogs and think that any breed is a worthwhile animal <3

[brynchilla]

I think a big reason why people are scared or think certain breeds of dogs are scary is because they were either taught so, or the had a bad experience with one when they were younger. My mother, although I love her to death, is quick to say that bull dogs and rottweilers are mean because of what she has heard on the news. It's rather agrevating.

 

There used to be these 3 huge rottweilers that lived up the street from where I live. I used to be terrified of them, because not only were the huge, my mom had also told me that they were dangerous. Then, one day, they came running up when I was walking home from school, and I was terrified. I just stood there clutching my viola case, not knowing what to do. When it came up to me, it just sat down and stared at me, tongue lolled out to the side. It was so cute, I couldn't resist and I started petting. The dog was so friendly and nice. I became a lot closer to the dogs, and found out that they're no where as dangerous as my mom said they were. It's quite nice to be walking along and having a big dog walking with you when you're younger. You feel like that because you have such a big dog, you're untouchable.

 

 

Like people said, I do agree that the dog's attitude depends on the attitude of the person who raises it. It's like kids, they will grow to immitate your actions and behavior.

[anthropologicalworld]

I was going to go on a passionate rant about this, but this about sums it up:

 

 

 

The sad truth is that pitbulls are great dogs, but because of their strength and nature of being easily trained to be aggressive they have gotten a bad reputation they don't deserve.

 

They are great dogs. I LOVE pit bulls, and hate how misunderstood they have become.

[yasha]

I personally prefer big dogs over little dogs. Like people say, it's all in how they're raised and handled. My mom worked in a vet clinic for 6 years and I've worked there a little bit myself, and small dogs are often way more aggressive than big dogs. I think it's because, like someone said, a big dog can do more harm than a little dog, and thus say when a big dog tries to test you and growls and show it's teeth, you let him know that's not acceptable in whatever way necesary, where as with a small dog, its like " lol what are you ganna do?" and you pretty much just shove it aside and ignore it. At least that's why I think small dogs are more aggressive than big dogs. But no one really cares since they can't really do as much harm as a big dog.

I've been around big dogs all my life, we used to have a german shephard who was the best dog ever to his family. Of course, as any dog should imo, he would attack any stranger that would hurt us. He was great with little kids too as my mom used to run a day care.

A friend of my brother had a pitbull as well who was just as sweet. She brought him over all the time, he was gentle with food, listened really well, was great towards our cats as well. But of course since he was a pit he wasn't allowed at so many places and people judged the dog before they even knew him... it's really sad.

Right now we have a black lab/akbash mix who's about 11 months and already bigger than our german shephard ever was. I'm about average height and I already have to go on my tiptoes when he decides to walk between my legs. He's a big boy and he can make people fall down with just his weight but he'd never harm us. I'm assuming he will try to test the boundaries and try to move up when he reaches a certain age, which I think is acceptable for any dog, and any animal, especially herd animals but if you handle it right when they do test the limits, they'll turn out to be great dogs. You just gotta be consistant about the rules and stay calm but assertive.

 

Any breed can be a great companion.

[Oganagey]

It all depends on the training, if dogs are mistreated by humans they may mistreat them back.... understandable really