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

[Ilovemychicks08]

I have been DEEPLY enjoying learning about dogs and dog breeds, but I haven't been able to find anything consistent on pitbulls.
There is a lot of controversy on pitbulls, because of many stories of their aggressiveness. My understanding was that they were bred to be DOG aggressive, but not at all aggressive toward humans. This agrees with the claim that if you 'treat them right' they are loving and sweet dogs, because if human aggressiveness was bred out, the only reason for aggressiveness toward humans would be improper handling. Is this an accurate understanding? I wouldn't own one anyway (I'm not a huge fan of bully breeds, the only one I have a particular affinity for is boxers (nothing wrong with the breed, just don't like the look or temperament) but I want to make sure that I'm not misinformed and by extent can't spread misinformation.

@Overo Mare You have some knowledge on this, if I recall correctly?
Thank you!

they can be super sweet. If you get them from a shelter, they just need to trust you and have the right care And attention that they need. If you get it as a puppy it’s the same thing.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Any breed of dog can be aggressive. Any dog breed can be abused and suffer long-term affects. I know many people who will not buy from craigslist or the shelter with that fear; there is also no guarantee that a dog, just because their breed personality matches, is going to be the "perfect" dog. I know many people (including myself) who adopted from the shelter or craigslist and end up with a wonderful well-behaved dog (pitbulls included); a lot of times people get puppies and teach the basic skills but, realize there is more to taking care of a dog than just looks, especially when they're no longer this cute puppy.

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

 

[Folly's place]

Also, good breeders will do puppy testing, which helps select the right puppy for it's future purpose.
There are miserable wretches in every breed, and I have met young puppies who were little monsters, in several breeds. Dogs that would take an expert to manage, and no expert would buy such a puppy in the first place. Sad, and dangerous.
Too many pits don't find homes, when they would be lovely pets for many people, because of this fear. However, managing any large strong dog may not be for the first time dog owner. We all started out not knowing much about raising a dog, and have to learn. It's not intuitive, it takes both experience and especially learning, to understand what the dog is actually thinking, and how they process information. And different techniques work, depending on the individual dog.
Mary

 

[Halfpasthen]

One thing that I definitely saw a lot of when I was training was ppl loving their dog into bad behavior. Just because you love your dog and never raise your voice or your hand to them and you feed them every day does not guarantee a well behaved dog. Just like rearing in any species, boundaries, limitations, corrections are all important. It's not enough to love a dog. You have to teach them how to behave and set boundaries and limitations.

 

[BrandySC]

I've had three pit bulls, all rescues, never a single problem out of any of them. All were sweet, happy, friendly and performed well around strangers as well as all farm animals. (For years I've read lists of aggressive dogs, typically topped by little nippers like chihuahuas and dachshunds.) I've heard one of the greatest downfalls that led to the pit's reputation is that they are too forgiving of humans and I think that could be true. My only female pit came from a horribly abusive situation which I witnessed personally. A person repeatedly beat her, trying to force her to attack. As soon as the beating stopped she was her usual docile self with a wagging tail. They want to please humans to a detrimental extent. I have zero experience with former fighting dogs but I've read several cases of full rehabilitation. I disagree with one statement made above: please adopt, don't shop. There are countless shelters full of nothing but pits because of overbreeding. You don't have to find a breeder, you can save a life. Thanks for being open to learning more about this misunderstood breed.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

The one we have in the back yard has been treated like a youngin by my baby girl and she is very loving, unless you are a chicken, then you become a Colonel Sanders delivery to her yard, just saying if you treat them well, they remember.

 

[Folly's place]

@Halfpasthen x2! And it's the 'feed him another cookie and he'll be better' approach; no boundaries, no corrections for bad behavior, just 'ain't he cute', until he really isn't.
Mary

 

[chickentrains]

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.

WRONG

the pit bull is not a "umbrellla term" or "not actually a breed". Thats like calling EVERY yellow colored dog a Golden retriever. The Pit bull is a REAL breed and it is the American pit bull terrier. Period. End of story

 

[chickentrains]

they can be super sweet. If you get them from a shelter, they just need to trust you and have the right care And attention that they need. If you get it as a puppy it’s the same thing.

shelter pit bulls are bully breed mutts and not American pit bull terriers

 

[Halfpasthen]

I do have to disagree just a little bit about the "raise them right" mentality some people have regarding dogs. Like I said before, it's possible to love a dog and treat it well and turn it into a little MONSTER.
It's also true that some dogs are downright mean from a young age. When people talk about breeding for temperament I think that people really don't understand what that means. I hands on deal with over 100 dogs every month. And some of the dogs I get in from little tiny puppies have such joyful and wonderful temperaments. And some have such bad ones that theyre miserable animals. Some downright aggressive. Some so anxious and nervous that they can barely function. They really can't. It's shameful what some breeders do.


You can find a wonderful dog with a good temperament whether you choose to shop or adopt. And I've seen Great dogs come from bad situations.

The worrisome thing about bully breeds in my mind is not that they bite. Any dog can do that. The thing that concerns me is the number of instances I've seen where a bull breed turns suddenly on humans or animals they've lived with long term.
I mentioned my friends dog who bit her child. The dog was reared same as her other pits.

I have another friend who also works with dogs. She has 6 of her own. Her bully mix was raised with her 5 other small dogs from the time she was a puppy. At 4 years old the dynamics changed for some reason and she tried to kill her chihuahua sister. From them on any time she would see the smaller dogs she would see red. Broke through a window getting cut by glass to get to them. During one attack she redirected her aggression on her owner and bit her in the leg quite severely. Another instance she bit a man coming to pick up a lawnmower. They won't give up on her. She lives a very "managed" life.

And I have a half dozen similar stories. All dogs raised in loving homes but suddenly became triggered later in life for really unknown reasons.

I think this is more of an issue where I live bc dog fighting is still a thing around here. And the idiots who do it don't really worry if the dogs are people aggressive as well.... It's hard to find a bully mix around here that is several generation removed from fighting dogs.