Pitbulls? Don't want to have an incorrect understanding of the breed

[Painted Calls]

I have two pit bull terriers right now, and have two others previously. All shelter dogs: one current dog was very abused as a youngster, came to the shelter with wounds, probably from a fighting dog situation.
All are very good with humans, and will kill any critter in their fenced back yard. Good with our house cats, but no others. They bark and look impressive at the door, a good thing, IMO.
They are terriers!!! Most were developed to kill vermin, and pits were developed first for bear and bull baiting, then for dog fighting. Good with people generally, and animal aggressive. And if one does bite, it is likely a serious bite!
No dog should be left alone with small children especially!!!
Dogs tend to see babies, toddlers, young children, as different issues, and teenagers more like adults. A screaming flailing baby or toddler can trigger aggression in any breed dog.
And many dog bite incidents are with boys, who can be very pushy.
Children, and so many adults, have no idea how to read dog body language, part of the problem.
I did ramble on, sorry.
Never thought I'd like any terriers, but these dogs are pretty nice. And very short haired, so good, no hair bunnies in the house at all!
All of ours have been fine with toddlers and children visiting, and we do supervise.
Mary

Well said, Mary.

 

[chickentrains]

Most people don't own a real pit bull terrier. I would not listen to any "first hand" experience from people on the internet unless they've got a pedigree and papers to prove it.

 

[Halfpasthen]

I have two pit bull terriers right now, and have two others previously. All shelter dogs: one current dog was very abused as a youngster, came to the shelter with wounds, probably from a fighting dog situation.
All are very good with humans, and will kill any critter in their fenced back yard. Good with our house cats, but no others. They bark and look impressive at the door, a good thing, IMO.
They are terriers!!! Most were developed to kill vermin, and pits were developed first for bear and bull baiting, then for dog fighting. Good with people generally, and animal aggressive. And if one does bite, it is likely a serious bite!
No dog should be left alone with small children especially!!!
Dogs tend to see babies, toddlers, young children, as different issues, and teenagers more like adults. A screaming flailing baby or toddler can trigger aggression in any breed dog.
And many dog bite incidents are with boys, who can be very pushy.
Children, and so many adults, have no idea how to read dog body language, part of the problem.
I did ramble on, sorry.
Never thought I'd like any terriers, but these dogs are pretty nice. And very short haired, so good, no hair bunnies in the house at all!
All of ours have been fine with toddlers and children visiting, and we do supervise.
Mary

I die inside when I see how people allow their children to act around animals.

The incident I refered to for reference was truly unprovoked and mom was standing right there. Child stood up and dog charged from across the room. Surely the dog was triggered by something but the child wasn't near the dog, looking at the dog, or engaging with the dog. The dog had lived with the child all their life. Scary that something like that can have such consequences.

But 100% agree that most times the kids are really asking for it and don't know it and that's where parenting comes in. But one thing I have learned after working in a pet store is a surprising amount of humans can't read animals worth a crap.

 

[MetroMutt]

All the pitbulls I have met have been dealt shit hands with life but are still sweethearts regardless

 

[Artichoke Lover]

First off Pit Bulls aren’t a breed. It is a catch all term for a group of bully breeds and various crosses between them. There is a Breed in that group called an American Pit Bull Terrier but the term Pit Bull can refer to many different breeds. Pit Bulls as a general group.
Depending on your sources pit bulls make up 5.8% to 20% of the dog population in the U.S. and are responsible for 25% of all dog bites in the U.S. Mixed breeds which make up 53% of the population are responsible for 21% of all bites. German Shepard’s make up at least 6% of the population and are responsible for 17% of all bites. The biggest deal with pit bulls is that when they bite they often cause much more severe damage than other breeds do to how they were bred. The design of their jaws and the determination they were bred to have when attacking. Whether or not someone chooses to own one is their personal choice. However this is not a good breed for someone who is inexperienced with dogs, has small children or simply cannot control it or won’t have the time and money to make sure it is properly trained and restrained.
As with any dog breed I recommend that no one ever get a dog big enough that they cannot control it on a leash. This is not specific to aggressive dogs because there are plenty of other reasons dogs will get out of control while on a leash. There are safe humane ways to control large dogs on leashes such as no pull harnesses and martingale collars which tighten so they don’t slip off but don’t risk choking the dog.

 

[Folly's place]

Did you know that there's a documented case of a Dachshund killing a person in the USA? And I met one who really tried, too. Sometimes it's not so much about size, as attitude!
Terriers in general were bred to be enthusiastic killers of smaller animals, and aren't usually suitable for protection work because, while it can be easy to train 'forward', the 'back off' command is much harder.
So, GSDs, who are herding dogs originally, are aggressive, but interested in listening to their handler, and so are more controllable. A huge oversimplification, but not far off.
Agree that most pit bull terriers are defined by looks, not written pedigrees, and certainly many who land in shelters fit that description. Mine are obviously 'purebred' by looks and temperament, and come with varied backstories. And reasonable shelters won't rehome seriously human aggressive dogs, and shouldn't.
The only dog we've ever had who bit people was a Dalmation, who would be in guard mode, and people thought he was cute and harmless, thanks to that awful movie (101, you know).
Mary

 

[PepsiCatt]

after some research, i think it just depends on how the dog was raised, right?

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

I love pitbulls but you'll always get a mixed answer.

A good friend of mine was adopted by a lazy pit who walked into their house one day, climbed in their couch and never left.

Legend says, he's still on that couch.





No, but seriously... that was 10 years ago and they still have him. Total lazy love bug.

 

[Folly's place]

It's both genetics and management. Ideally meeting parents is good, because then you can avoid puppies who have difficult parents, especially the mother. Then, raising a nice puppy up right is always important, whatever the breed. Rewarding good behaviors and redirecting bad behaviors, from day one. So many people encourage 'cute' puppy behaviors, and then have to fix things as the dog matures. Never better!
And realize the genetics does matter, in that terriers have a different focus than pointers or herding types, or hounds.
Our GSHP watched anything flying, including passenger jets far overhead. Our pit bull terriers are all about critters on the ground. The Chessies watched birds, and looked out for the bad guys, and our whippets just ran for the joy of it!
Mary

 

[Artichoke Lover]

after some research, i think it just depends on how the dog was raised, right?

Yes and no. It also depends on breeding. A responsible breeder will breed for temperament. An irresponsible breeder won’t and there are still people who fight them illegally and still select for aggressiveness.