Pit Bulls: Yay or Nay?

[Elise]

I voted 'yay' because I don't believe they are all bad simply because of their breed but I probably would never get one myself, simply because I prefer other breeds. It all comes down to personal preference I guess.

I agree with most of what you said, by the way. However, I do think there are certain breeds of dogs that are more dangerous when they are not trained, due to their size and natural instincts. For example, I think pit bulls naturally have stronger instincts to be aggressive when untrained than golden retrievers or labradors would and if it did attack someone it would cause a lot more harm than a pomeranian. It still mostly comes down to the way the dog is treated, how well it is trained and even the individual temperament of the animal though.

 

[Winkyccat]

I have one so I voted yay! xD
If someone broke into our apartment Jezebel could kill them if they aren't armed, which is why we have it.
She does like people though, like if she's seen you a few times and knows your ok she's very excited that your here. My little cousin kicked me in the face lightly by accident and since then Jezebel can't be out when my cousins are around. (she was about to attack him but I stopped her)
She's actually the most well behaved dog I've had. She's never chewed anything up or ruined anything.

 

[KarlaKGB]

i liked his song with kiesha

 

[MishMeesh]

One of my neighbours had a pit bull when I was growing up and she was a very sweet dog. They had children and the dog would let the children lay their heads on her and she would play with them all while seemingly being very conscious of her own muscular head and the kids' little hands. She wore little booties in the winter so that her feetsies wouldn't get cold. u3u She was A+ cute.

That said, I definitely would not let my kids use a pit bull as a pillow (or any dog, to be honest). But pit bulls get a yay from me as long as they are raised properly. That goes for all dogs. I've gotten a couple of dog bites, one from a shih tzu and one from a shar pei (the shih tzu was just mean, but the shar pei was so old he didn't have any teeth, thank goodness).

 

[Dustmop]

I voted Nay because personal preference. I like soft, fluffy, and long-haired things. Pitbulls are none of these things.

We've had Alaskan Malamutes, Malamute/wolf hybrids, and wolf puppies, though. They were soft and fluffy. <3

But srsly, anyone that blames entire breeds on a few improperly trained dogs - usually ones belonging to drug dealers, kay, let's be real here - is dumb. That's a dumb concept.

ALL animals need to be raised a certain way and trained a certain way to behave a certain way -- whether that was by their mother or by the humans in their lives. Most of the things they do are not innate. Even their prey often needs to be 'imprinted' in some fashion before they accept it as food and try to kill it. If that were instinct, cats and dogs could never live in the same household together.

If it bit someone without provocation, it was conditioned to do that. And that's the worst part.

"My kids are around pit bulls every day. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull." - Cesar Millan

 

[Brackets]

I have one so I voted yay! xD
If someone broke into our apartment Jezebel could kill them if they aren't armed, which is why we have it.
She does like people though, like if she's seen you a few times and knows your ok she's very excited that your here. My little cousin kicked me in the face lightly by accident and since then Jezebel can't be out when my cousins are around. (she was about to attack him but I stopped her)
She's actually the most well behaved dog I've had. She's never chewed anything up or ruined anything.

She's the best behaved dog you've ever had, yet she can't be around when your cousins are there incase she attacks them? Riiiiight.

 

[HeyPatience]

I think it depends all on training and what the situation is that would bring an attack.

I agree ^ Any dog can be aggressive, and provoked to be aggressive as well. It all depends on how the dog was raised and handled by its owner. I remember talking about this in a psychology class in high school. Granted people are in many ways different than dogs, but learned behavior is a big factor for both.

For me I really like Pit Bulls. All of the ones Ive ever encountered have been the most cuddley and loving dogs ever. A friend of my grandfather adopted one last year, and we think she was abused by her previous owner because any time it got really loud she would cower in a corner and shake. But after a few months she wasnt cowering anymore, and would get excited if it got loud.

Its really sad to see that they have such a negative stigma, but I think that a lot of people reinforce this stigma on purpose because of the breed.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I voted 'yay' because I don't believe they are all bad simply because of their breed but I probably would never get one myself, simply because I prefer other breeds. It all comes down to personal preference I guess.

I agree with most of what you said, by the way. However, I do think there are certain breeds of dogs that are more dangerous when they are not trained, due to their size and natural instincts. For example, I think pit bulls naturally have stronger instincts to be aggressive when untrained than golden retrievers or labradors would and if it did attack someone it would cause a lot more harm than a pomeranian. It still mostly comes down to the way the dog is treated, how well it is trained and even the individual temperament of the animal though.

I agree with this as well ^

 

[Mekan1]

I love them, I feel that they are very unfairly treated

 

[Margot]

Pit bulls are beautiful. It's people with bad intentions that are the REAL problem..

 

[Goth]

Pit Bulls Are love Pit Bulls Are Life

 

[Meijin Kurito]

Nay not really my type

 

[Mints]

a total YAY. especially babies, they're the cutest ;-;

 

[Lady Timpani]

Yay! I have one pit and one that is a pit- plot hound mix, and I love them both dearly. They're both very sweet dogs.

 

[Kaiaa]

Training is everything with dogs, it doesn't matter what breed. I had two pit bulls before and they were the sweetest, most wonderful dogs I ever had.

 

[Nanobyte]

Yay! I mean, have you even seen the puppies!?

 

[Tao]

The only reasons I dislike the breed is that I personally think they're a bit ugly as well as the morons usually associated with owning them.

As for them being violent? I don't believe that at all. Again, I put it down the the morons usually associated with owning them. It's all about how a dog is raised and treated, not that they're inherently violent.
Hell, Rottweilers have a similar reputation, yet I'm yet to personally see a Rottweiler that is nothing more than a lovable ball of adorableness simply because their owners actually look after them properly.

Do not make eye contact or have "staring contests". It's a sign of dominance or challenge.

I know this is a thing...But my dog just licks my face when I do it.
I guess it's a tad different when you've owned a dog for a while and they know you're being playful/affectionate rather than trying to start a fight with them xD

 

[TheGreatBrain]

Pit bulls are the reason i have been afraid of dogs for most of my life.One almost attacked me and my sister when we were kids.The dog next door rushed over and saved us.Went to a friends house and her sweet pitbull that wouldn't hurt a fly would have attacked me if her mom hadn't come to my rescue.My brother was bit by a pitbull while riding his bike.Pretty bad bite on his leg.The nieghbor had a pitbull and it got out of the yard.It was running around trying to bite people.The pound came and took it away.

I know there are pitbulls that are good natured and other breeds that can behave viciously,but i personally would never own one.Especially with young kids around.

 

[mob]

pits are adorable, but can be kind of intimidating from time to time. ^^

 

[oranje]

I view pit bulls like any other dog: They are capable of being sweet dogs or can be violent depending on their training, if they have a history of abuse/neglect, who their owners are, ect. Pitbulls get a bad rap because people who want "tough" or "mean" dogs are more likely to buy pit bulls and raise them to be anti-social and mean. I personally think pit bulls are cute (same with boxers, mastiffs, ect).

And I hate to say this, but sometimes people don't think about how much responsibility is needed when owning a dog. I've seen people own dogs and never give them enough exercise and the dog ends getting bored/frustrated and ends up being self-destructive. Some dog owners allow their dog to run around off-leash in areas where their dog is supposed to be on leash and they think that they're dog is so well-trained (when they didn't even bother to train it) and are surprised when their dog attacks a kid/dog or runs away or gets hit by a car. It's the mentality of "Oh my dog would NEVER do that" when they did nothing to minimize bad habits or didn't even bother to train their dog that leads to attacks, not the breed of dog.

Dog behavioral cues aren't always that obvious either as this video demonstrates:

In general, it's always a good idea to research dog behaviors and find places where you can train your dog, regardless of what kind of dog it is.

 

[ShinyYoshi]

And I hate to say this, but sometimes people don't think about how much responsibility is needed when owning a dog. I've seen people own dogs and never give them enough exercise and the dog ends getting bored/frustrated and ends up being self-destructive. Some dog owners allow their dog to run around off-leash in areas where their dog is supposed to be on leash and they think that they're dog is so well-trained (when they didn't even bother to train it) and are surprised when their dog attacks a kid/dog or runs away or gets hit by a car. It's the mentality of "Oh my dog would NEVER do that" when they did nothing to minimize bad habits or didn't even bother to train their dog that leads to attacks, not the breed of dog.

I see this so often. I had a rat terrier from when I was really young until I was almost out of high school. We bought her from a store in our mall and she was just a puppy. We raised her and trained her. She was the sweetest dog I have ever met. She loved absolutely everyone. When she passed away we rescued another rat terrier that had been given up by her owner and was about to be put down before we took her. She was already 2 years old and had been raised by another family. If you just pet her the wrong way she snaps at you. If she rolls over and exposes her belly to you and you try to rub it, she snaps at you.
She's a sweet dog, but you have to be reallllly careful around her.

TL;DR
Please train your dogs and ALWAYS keep them on a leash while outside. If your dog runs off to someone, you have no idea if that person is terrified of dogs or not.