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Pit Bulls have a fearful reputation that instills fear initially into people that have no experience with the species.  I, myself, admit that I'm not that familiar with the breed and have never owned one.   What I do know though is that they seem tremendously faithful to their owners and most seem to be very protective of their human owners.   

I'm sure that there are facts that back up the fearful reputation and it's no accident that insurance rates on homeowners that have pit bulls in the household are higher but after seeing a lot of stories like the one here I have come to respect the breed a little more.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/...&ocid=spartandhp

Sometimes it is all in the training and I suppose if a breed has been trained to fight then it takes a long while to breed out that instinct from them or that's the best I can come up with.  I still wouldn't want to cross the path of a Pit Bull but I also respect them far more than I did and don't feel that the breed should be totally eliminated.  That doesn't apply to all pit bulls though for I know some are bred to be destructive fighters or killers and for them there are not that many redeeming traits and values.  At least that's my current opinion.

Be as the Bereans ( Acts 17:11 )

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I suspect that it depends on the dog. A neighbor has a well natured one that might slobber people to death and I get along with him very well. A former "neighbor" had a Rottweiler that was a hell-hound who tried to ambush me a few times. He had a change of heart when he tried again when I walked out to the mailbox and the watch cat met him half way and beat his ass.

a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.  I have two mix pit bulls. and have been around several. they are friendly fun dogs. Yes they are loyal and protective. However they are great around kids. They were given a bad name due to idiots training them to fight, bad owners is the challenge not the dogs.  I don't care what type you talk about there will always be some bad examples. 

Maybe we should muzzle people, and get rid of them? look at all the violence they create.  

I guess coming from a family that owned and bred pits for 15+years counts as a "little bit of knowledge". The dangerous part are the people who sing the praises of the pits and gullible people think all the others are wrong, and the pit really is just a lovable teddy bear. Own one if you want, take it around YOUR kids and grandkids, but keep it away from others and if it does kill someone's pet or bites and injuries them or a person, man up. Don't be like the rest that cry, "he never did that before, they must have provoked him". And, it's takes no training to get them to fight, that's why they are so popular among that group.

Last edited by Bestworking

The pit bulls were bred to be formidable foes to a much bigger animal in confined areas(bull in a pit). Yes they are very docile to their owner and most people in general, but, once they are not under their master's control, they are like (mad dogs) especially if there are more than one, each one wants to get his share of the bounty. They are determined to be the dominate factor in any situation and will make prey out of something much smaller and less capable than they are such at a helpless child or woman who is (in their way).

 With all this said, I have never had a threatened encounter with a pit bull myself, but do not want one on my property for the liability issue possibility involved. I know many people who wish to have these dogs just for the comfort they are protected, but they don't realize the potential liability of harm that may be unnecessarily caused to other's they may have to answer for.

Many city's ban the ownership of these dogs simply because of the potential of injury they have. 

For years, Mr. Mutt McCord ran a dog obedience school in Sheffield. He once said the most unpredictable breed was the Chow Chow. As someone who goes into many homes with dogs, my opinion is one of the most vicious is the Chihuahua. Yet due to its small size, we never consider it. As long as you keep your fingers above waist level and don't wear sandals, you're all right.

They are working on the Pit's genome and hope to remove the "vicious" gene, but leave its faithful tendencies.

Well the three breeds that I fear the most are the Chow, Rottweiler, and the Pit Bull and I don't know if they can ever not be to the point that they don't pose a severe threat to anyone but their owners and I have heard of several turning on the family members. 

If I wanted a watch dog or one for protection I think I'd go for either a German Shepard or Doberman but even those dogs are no match for the Pit or Rottweiler due to, as said in a post above, their huge mouth that was bread for destruction of other animals.  They are fighting dogs but some people have been able to train them, or so it seems. 

Well the three breeds that I fear the most are the Chow, Rottweiler, and the Pit Bull and I don't know if they can ever not be to the point that they don't pose a severe threat to anyone

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Out of those, we hardly hear about Chow and Rottweiler attacks. I rarely have. Maybe their owners are more responsible, or it's true, pits are just more dangerous. I'd be for banning the breed, along with any "mix" where people try to "sneak" the pits in by claiming they are just "mutts". Any dog can bite, but a pit is a "killing" machine. Like a shark it has no purpose except to kill or maim another animal or person. I have heard of pits that "disappeared" when the owners refused to keep them up/contained. There are bans going on in some Canadian cities now. We can see how that works out.

Last edited by giftedamateur

I still think that it's more the owners fault and all the dogs that have bared their teeth at me have not been pit bulls. I might also add that roaming dogs including feral dogs can be a public menace and a large cost to those with livestock when the pack mentality takes hold.

https://www.dallasnews.com/new...efore-police-arrived

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2...y-wild-dog-pack.html

http://www.academia.edu/121036...in_the_United_States

 

1130 posted:

sounds like GRBK you are afraid of dogs.  pits and chow are great dogs, I don't know much about Rotts.  How they are treated by the owners is the key

Fear and/or  respect call it what you want but I am more careful and suspect of some breeds more than others.  I don't go around walking up to a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix to pet it like I would if it was a Sheltie or Poodle or Border Collie.  I also am more cautious around German Shepherds and Dobermans.  I think animals, all of them, can sense fear if it exist so I just tend to stay away from some breeds because of my suspicion of them. 

That said I'm not familiar with the breeding aspects of the Pit Bull breed but I'm more inclined to side with "Best" regarding elimination of the breed because I don't know that they can ever be trusted or bred into a peaceable breed as I have read far too many reports of family dogs that have turned on children and ended up mauling them or killing them.   I do admit that when I see an article like the initial one I referenced in the start of this thread I wonder if they can be better domesticated and have the attack nature bred out of them but my inner fears regarding that breed tends to wonder if there is a reason to ever trust them.

More than 700 US cities have already enacted breed-specific legislation — which typically regulates or bans pit bulls — and in the Big Apple, they’ve been banned from NYCHA housing.

“They were selectively bred to execute the killing bite — to attack without warning,” said Colleen Lynn, who runs DogsBite.org. “No growl, bark, or direct stare, and they will continue until death. Those are the three keys that make them more dangerous than other breeds.”

Between 2005 and 2015, 360 Americans were killed by canines — and pit bulls were involved in 64 percent of the fatal attacks, according to DogsBite.org.

Many New Yorkers have experienced firsthand what it’s like to be attacked by a pit bull.

Little Jeremiah needed 2,000 stitches after being maimed on Saturday by a pit bull his father was temporarily caring for at their East New York home.

His dad, Joel, woke up from a nap to find Jeremiah choking on his own blood.

“He didn’t have a face,” the devastated father said. “Just teeth — that was all I could see.”

 

http://www.dogsbite.org/legisl...s-state-by-state.php

http://www.dogsbite.org/legisl...ous-dogs-alabama.php

Last edited by giftedamateur

I had a beautiful AmStaff for about 10 years.  He was a rescue dog.  Ole Harley was a great dog if you were a person.  Only problem was he didn't like other dogs.

I had to manually walk him all those years--rain or shine.  But he was a very vigilant fellow, and he really loved us.

Now, we've got a really sweet 3 year old female Rottweiler.  Our big male died last Christmas of cancer.  She's just a doll.

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