PIT BULLS! What do you think?

Any dogs can be 'killers'.. I had a shit-zu X maltese, and it was a complete psycho! And attacked soo many people.. It wasn't the way I brought her up, it was because when my sister was walking her, two other much larger dogs attacked her, because their gate was open, close to her death. And she was my dad's little angel after that, when she started going a bit crazy from the attack. Then my dad passed away, and the dog was un controllable.. Could not help the dog no matter what we tried, she attacked so many people, old and young- it was so heart breaking because before all the trauma she was an amazing dog..
Now ive got a rottweiler X bullmastiff, and he is AMAZING, a complete gem.. He got out of the house one day- cos he's unbelievably sneaky haha, when my mum was leaving the house he just quickly quizzed passed out the front door, and got slightly hit by a car, no stitches were needed but boy it shocked him, REAL bad.. he's now scared of cars, and when i walk him on main roads he hides between my legs with his tail between his legs,but even though has fears, he still is not violent and has never hurt anyone, attempted to hurt anyone, or any other animal, he's still totally gentle.

So having 2 complete different dogs, and them be so strangly different- I strongly believe it has NOTHING to do with the breed, it is just it's way of coping with bad things that happen- not just the way its brought up. Because i called the rspca on a dog that was never fed, was hit, recieved minimal food every few days, and completly ignored- which i believe is the worst crime to a dog, they need so much love.. and this dog ended up being a GREAT pet, i used to walk him to get him out the house and he is such a beautiful beautiful dog.. and he is also, a pit bull.. and he is now is a great home, being treated very well, and although the way he was brought up was terrible- he is still an amazing dog with a beautiful temper!

Sorry about my spelling mistakes   I was in a rush!

I believe they should continue to be a restricted breed- not because I feel they're dangerous dogs, I feel and know that not everyone should be able to own one because they don't know how to train them.

I wish more dogs were like this; the breed that comes in the most at the shelter are american staffies because people think they're just backyard dogs and they can leave them there. They can't. And this is the problem people had with pitbulls. They thought they could just keep them in the backyard and walk them every few days, but the dogs need to be active, they need to be trained. They need to be familiar with different situations and not put in a state that they're so bored that they'll just bark at everything.

Most of the time, the dogs in the shelter are noisy and defensive because of their previous owners, because they didn't train them. Once a rescue group comes in or we have a bit of time to train the dogs they're gorgeous!

There's a big difference with a defensive dog and an aggressive dog- defensive dogs can usually be trained out of their instincts and you'll notice a lot of these "bully" breeds will turn defensive when left in the wrong hands. Aggressive dogs are harder to train and I really wouldn't even try..they're the ones who are just angry.. who will bite at you as soon as possible- we've only had one aggressive dog in the shelter so far this year.


But like I said, it needs to be more regulated with who these dogs go to- its not the dogs fault, its usually the owners.

There's no such thing as an aggressive breed. Just stupid owners. In the US Pit bulls are the number one dog for best temperament. They are also known as 'nanny dogs' because they love children!

My neighbour has a staffy, he's probably the best temperamented dog I've ever met. He loves sitting on my lap and getting cuddles. He might look scary to some, but he's really just a big baby. Looks can be decieving...

I had a staffy. The thing is they seem to be very intelligent. They know that they're tough so they know to be careful. Other dogs I've had have been too rough with children or when play biting. But my staffy was the most trustworthy dog I've ever known.

But then, they are bred for fighting. Not just their bodies but their character and style of fighting. They often go for the legs.
I could see instinct take over with my staffy and when he was hyped he could rip a car tire apart. I think his own strength  frustrated him. Like when he could hear a dog outside and he wanted to kill it, he would go nuts.

It's a bad idea to breed a dog for the purpose of fighting. I dont think they should ban them but people should at least be conscious of this. Kind of like a "buyer beware"

I think allot of these pit bulls who attack are probably from backyard breeders who might even favour the aggressive dogs for breeding.  

It's like insurance. Buy a WRX and your insurance will be thousands. Not that your a bad driver, but most people buy those car because they're hoons. And the cars are very powerful, they are made to be aggressive cars.
I think the same should happen for pit bulls. Maybe they could allow them under strict conditions.
does anyone know what states they are legal in.

when i did work experiance at the vets last year there was a staffy in there and he was the most beatiful dog ... i wanted to take him home! . he wouldnt let the vets touch him and when i sat next to him he came a snuggled up to me and i took him for a walk and he was a angel

it doesnt help that people are purchasing them specifically for pig hunting and things aswell. and then to top it off you get the same men having a problem with desexing them because of their manhood (or some crap) which means more testosterone, which means more aggression - for any breed.

I definitely agree, the metaphor for insurance is perfect!

"A dog is as good as it's owner" if you want your dog to be aggressive, you will train it to be aggressive, or neglect it, or belt it. Either way, you're doing it wrong. (of course there are always exceptions, and breeds which are 'more aggressive') but people who get these dogs should be aware and have done their research, and take the appropriate measures IE: properly socialising their puppy and training it properly, to stop this from happening.

Too add to your insurance analogy: If you don't make a claim on your insurance, the premium goes down.

I agree so much! When the owner gets sick of pig hunting, they get rid of the dog. But the dog is now trained to kill other animals that run so its definately not suitable with other families with animals of any kind. We had this issue when a member of my mother's work was going to put down their dog because they didn't want to pig hunt anymore. We took the dog (obviously we didn't realise the implications) and we had a female samoyed. That night our samoyed was attacked, it wasn't a critical attack but still, if we had let him he would've killed her. We gave the dog to my uncle who also pig hunts which I really regret now Im not so young but yeah.

I had a Rotty and she was the gentlest, sweetest most beautiful soul I've ever known.

It always bothers me that the media would always portray them as dangerous or aggressive. You'd always see on the news it was either a dog attack or a rotty attack. And having Midian I'd take it quite personally.

I heard an interview on the radio once with a pediactric surgeon who said the most common dog bites he treats in kids are from jack russels and labradors!!

There should be restrictions on people getting any dogs, not on dogs or breeds. Everyone should have to apply for a dog licence and prove they can take care of them properly!