The Reputation of Pitbulls

[:Zelda:Druggie:]

Pitbulls. Can someone explain to me . . . what exactly the problem is? Pitbulls have probably the worst reputation of any dog breed. They're portrayed as killing machines, violent and uncontrollable. In this list of the top 10 most dangerous dog breeds, Pitbulls are listed as number one for no credible reason, while all other dogs listed are given excuses like "they're intelligent and protective, but if bread wrong . . .", Pitbulls are basically stated to be aggressive and deadly with no excuses - http://www.petsdo.com/blog/top-ten-10-most-dangerous-dog-breeds

That represents the view of most ignorant people in my opinion.
Now here is an official, scientific study done depicting the dogs with the greatest percentage of biting, Pitbulls aren't even in the top 6 - http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-Biting-Dog-Breeds&id=1407118
I own a Pitbull, and she has never shown any signs of aggression for the 2 years I've had her. She showed up a our front door one day, with half of her ear ripped off and a bullet stuck in the other one. They say it was likely she was bred to fight, however she never even nipped at anyone who handled her. These poor dogs get looked at as killers and they're just as defenseless as any other dog. It's the trainer, not the dog with the problem. In some states, and even countries, it is illegal to own a Pitbull. To my ears, this is just ridiculous.

What people think when they hear Pitbull -


What a Pitbull can really be -


What are your opinions on Pitbulls? Do you think they are as ruthless as depicted in the media? Have you ever owned/met one, and how were they with you? Please give your input on the topic, as I find it a serious problem in the world that this innocent creature is sometimes banned from entire nations.

 

[Yoda's LSD Dealer]

I think that with all pets, including pitbulls, it depends with the owner, how it's trained, and the habitat it's exposed to. Just a fun fact: Did you know that today's pitbulls aren't the decedents of the pitbulls 20 years ago? They were on brink of extinction, and so they had to be bred back.

 

[Destiny]

No, their reputation is completely wrong. A close family friend has a pitbull, and this dog does not even chase cats, in fact, they even have small children and other pet in there house hold. The dog is the most timid creature ever. The dog showed up at my moms work, as she works at a vet clinic, and was likely breeded for fighting as well. She had a wound on her leg, and after a few months of resting and having a good home, she was back to normal. Despite her background as probably a dog that was fighting on a daily bases, she is one of the nicest dogs I have ever met in my entire life.

In fact, according to my mom who sees over 100 dogs on a daily bases, the only ones that have gone after her are golden retrievers. Despite their family dog reputation, they have a far more tendency to get vicious. Even as I say this, I don't want to pass the blame just to another species, but I'm saying is that the Pitbull gets a lot more hate than it deserves. An animals nature is developed by it's owners treatment, and training, not simply because of the breed. I remember one idiot lady compared having a Pitbull to having a loaded weapon. Any breed has the capability to be a friendly dog, or vise versa.

Now don't peg me as thinking animals can do no wrong, I had my hand ripped open by two dogs, so I of all people should now. The people that pass accusations on an animal just because of their breed, is a very simple minded person.

 

[PK Love Omega]

As with all other types of dog, I don't think they are aggressive by nature, and even if I was to be attacked by one, I would not kill it.

 

[Turo602]

As with all other types of dog, I don't think they are aggressive by nature, and even if I was to be attacked by one, I would not kill it.

Pfft I'd kill it just as I would kill someone who is trying to kill me.

Anyway, yes. An animal isn't a certain way because "that's it's nature". Any animal acts a certain way because of how it was raised. It's the same thing with humans. If my parents raised me to be a criminal then yes, I would most likely be a criminal because I don't know any better and that's all I know.

 

[Conor]

As I see it, the reason people see the pit bull in this light is due to it being "fashionable" with, violent, law-breaking people, or chavs as we call them in Britain,much the same way your stereotypical fashion model has a chihuahua.
Of course this isn't to say all people that own pit-bulls are like this, as is evident by previous posts. A lot of right wing newspapers generally blow this out of proportion when say, a pitbull kills a child or injures somebody it'll be on front page, any other dog, however and it'll be in some small, two-sentence article.

 

[DisappearingMist]

My first dog was a pitbull, and he was a lovable sweetheart. He was never aggressive, and he was great to grow up with. I get frustrated with the stereotype. I believe it depends on the owner(s) and how the animal is treated. Most dogs could be trained to be monsters if they are trained that way, they are not automatically awful animals.

 

[Moonlight]

Unfortunately I have never had a Pitbull...my first dog was a black lab.
But I can say Pitbull's look really friendly. Some people usually assume the worst if they did not experiance it themselves.
When I was little I was scared of Dovermins cause I heard they were mean dogs. But actually they are pretty friendly.