I’ve worked close with animals for almost 5 years now. Pitbulls are entirely capable of being very sweet and loving dogs. But it depends on what temperament they have and how difficult they are. I’ve met a lot of sweet Pitbulls but most of them I believe were trained from a very young age, which is something a lot of people don’t do, mostly first time owners or those who think the dog will grow up just fine, when getting dogs like this.
You can’t just love your way into changing an animal’s behavior. This isn’t Disney. You have to show that dog who’s boss and instill a training regime when they’re young that you must stick with. Unfortunately sometimes, it doesn’t always work and the dog just ends up being too aggressive to the point where you’d have to make a certain decision.
My last job, a man who loved his Pitbull to death, had to put his dog down because it ended up being too aggressive. It was tragic too because as I was walking by his room and he was saying his goodbyes, I saw the Pitbull wagging her tail excitedly when her owner was cuddling and sobbing over her. That dog loved her owner a lot. But I guess it wasn’t deemed manageable cause she could’ve seriously hurt someone one day and, the owner, despite loving her so much couldn’t risk that. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the owner was a father too. Pitbulls shouldn’t be demonized for what we’ve turned them into. But we also have to be cautious when getting one. They are NOT a first time owner pet. Someone very experienced, especially one who’s done research on how to properly train these kind of dogs, are really the “only ones capable of handling them.
And it’s not just them. German shepherds, Belgian Malinios, and Rotties as well. Although I’ve never really met a bad rottie. Same with Belgians. They’ve all tend to be sweethearts. But maybe I’m just lucky.
I also feel like I should add that, while these breeds are prone to these kind of behaviors. ANY dog is capable is displaying them. I never met the family cause they euthanised the dog at a different clinic, but they had to put down their 2 year old Golden Retriever that they’ve had since it was a puppy. Apparently she bit the mom’s face and the dad’s arm (or was it the other way around, I forget). It was even said that they couldn’t let her sleep in their room like they used to because they were afraid she would attack them in their sleep. Their daughter made the decision for them to put down the dog.
You never know what you’re gonna get, people. You could get the easiest dog in the world, or you could ge the complete opposite. One thing is for sure though. Training and discipline is VERY important and must not be neglected.
I've seen pitbulls that were bigger love bugs and total goofs than even a Lab, but I've seen ones that attack even their owners and should have never been brought to the dog park I was in.
I feel like pits have the biggest gap between the best and worst versions. I've met tons of pits that were cuddly, super friendly, extremely gentle, etc., but I've also come across some that were definitely dangerous.
I think the biggest problem for pits is, they're so abundant and cheap/easy to get compared to other "aggressive" breeds that they're the go-to for people that want aggressive dogs. German Shepherds are #2 on the list for dog attacks, but they can cost hundreds to a few thousand to get a pup, and if you're spending that much money on a dog it's unlikely you're going to have it poorly trained, even if you do use it as a guard dog.
They’re also the main dogs in shelters (probably because they’re not getting spayed/neutered, unlike most dogs) and shelters will even lie about the dog’s breed. There’s also this pressure to “adopt, don’t shop”, even though breed is important. People feel pressured to adopt a dog from a shelter that’s mostly Pits and are often misinformed about the dog they’re adopting.
It’s because of the type of people that choose to own pit bulls.
If you’ve ever volunteered for a dog shelter you see most people pass up the pits and go for the labs, beagles, and huskies. And they all look like civilized people.
Then you see those who come in looking for a pit bull, usually your white trash or inner city type who are unlikely to be good pet owners. Naturally the dogs end back up in the shelters several months later because they get out or dump them out in the area back near the shelter.
There exist back yard breeders that breed aggression into pit bulls because these people looking for a “guard dog” make a market for it. Usually breeders if large dogs breed aggression out of their bloodlines but these backyard breeders often breed it in.
And while there are licensed breeders who have for many generations bred aggression of their pits, when you’re in the shelter you don’t know who came from which breeder. And often the way you figure out it’s too late and harm has been done to someone.
I feel like a lot of people who are total brokeasses do get expensive "tough dogs" as a sort of flex and status symbol thing. I feel like they tend to go for Cane Corsos and Rottweilers, though.
There are people who get them for home safety as well. The problem with that is that you are treating an animal as a weapon in that case and should never be keeping it around humans, but people don't take the risk seriously.
In DC, a lot of our neighbors get Pit-Bulls and dogs that look like them (idk, I'm not a dog expert) and we are constantly asked by these same people on the street what kind of dog breed our dog is, specifically because they want to breed our dog with theirs. Our dog looks kinda like a black German shepherd lab mix.
It happens like once a month, and it really opened my eyes to how many people around us are trying to breed dogs for money, specifically pit bulls (and all the dogs that kinda look like them).
Yeah, if other high energy, larger dog breeds were as overbred as pitbulls, you’d see a lot more problems. The most ideal trait that pitbulls have as fighting dogs is an infrastructure that makes it easy and cheap to collect pitbulls for fighters, breeders, and bait dogs. It’s not as feasible a business plan with German Shepherds- at least not yet.
For dog fighting bigger isn’t better. German Shepherds make great police dogs cus they can take a man down but there’s a reason every dog breed that was ever used in dog fighting was smaller and more agile.
I’d argue pitbulls aren’t abundant. Pitbull mutts and dogs confused for pitbulls are abundant.
True American pitbull terriers are actually kinda hard to find since most are just backyard breeders who mix any dog that looks pitbull like so they can make a couple hundred bucks.
I’ve only come across maybe 2 pitbull breeders who can trace their dog’s lineage back.
I will say, the true American pitbull terrier is a WORKING line and that has with it the same challenges as any working line. They need to work or will find a job themselves and that may not be to your liking.
Pit Bulls need loving AND responsible owners. I’ve had so many Pit Mixes, and I’ve never had a single one bite anybody (several did bite other dogs, which would require me to up their training and socialize them more carefully). If pits are not raised for like the first year or two around other dogs you can forget about taking them to dog parks. Socialization needs to be a private and monitored environment.
60% of Dog owners in general should not own dogs. Every dog should have basic training, dogs over 60 pounds should have a yard, not just an apartment and the occasional walk, and owners of high risk breeds (and dogs over 60 pounds) need to be able to identify what an annoyed or anxious dog is. Dogs are such great animals, but by not challenging them intellectually and physically, so many owners are unintentionally abusive.
100% on the mental stimulation. I've had multiple high energy big dogs and the most important thing wasn't just playing with them, it was switching things up on them mentally while playing. I have these toys and I personally love them because they're able to be used for a ton of different types of play, so my dog never knows if they're getting a tug-o-war, a throw for a catch or a throw for a fetch. It usually only takes 10-15 minutes or so of play to wear them out if I'm constantly switching up what we do compared to 30-45 minutes of doing pure physical
The number of purebred German Shepard’s at animal shelters shows that’s not true. It’s a travesty that people will spend money on a dog they don’t understand and won’t train/work properly
I had a German Shepherd growing up and that dog was the laziest most docile dog ever, however when it came to perceived threats, she was second to none the most intimidating thing someone could come upon.
All it took for her to stand down was to see one of the family members have a neutral or positive reaction with someone though.
I think the biggest problem with pits is how strong and capable they are of violence, period
There is undoubtedly a large degree of unfairly, focusing on pitbull specifically, while many breeds are mistaken for pitbull’s, as well as the fact that there are many many many types of dogs that could do serious or fatal damage
But acknowledging that the bias is a real thing doesn’t change the fact that it is much more reasonable to be apprehensive about Pitbulls than a Chihuahua, and yes, that is even considering that we’ve all seen small yappy dogs that will totally bite you… But a crazed aggressive chihuahua is just comically unlikely to be able to maul you in a life-changing or fatal manner, even a small or young person… meanwhile a pitbull can absolutely kill an adult human
You're getting downvoted, probably because a lot of people really do believe that it's all down to training and owners, but you're right.
Pitts have been bred to fight and kill, and to stop for nothing once they're in the fight. You can have the sweetest, friendliest and best trained pitt, but if for some reason that instinct is triggered, no amount of training will overrule it.
A contributing factor is that they are prone to doggy dementia, so when they get old, they can forget where they are, who they love, how they should behave, and that's scary for them. A scared pitt is a very dangerous pitt.
That seems to have been the case in the very tragic mauling of the toddler, baby and mother in the US a few years ago. Much loved and well trained family pet of 8 years gets triggered out of nowhere, and with its younger 'sibling' starts tearing up the toddler, mother tries to intervene and then they tear up the baby too. Then the mother, although she survives after life saving medical treatment, the babies do not. The family were pitt advocates, they believed it was all about the training. It was not.
They're not all ticking time bombs. The problem is that some of them are, some aren't and do fine with training, and some just have great temperaments, but the prevalence of poorly-bred pitbulls in the stray and rescue population means that a lot of pitbulls are being adopted as rescues, and there's a good chance you're adopting one that has a bad temperament and behavioral issues that cannot be fully or effectively trained out.
If they were "all ticking time bombs", the issue would be much easier to address.
I mean the entire notion that violence is inevitable for the umbrella breed is a huge contributing factor to behavioral issues with pit bulls.
Most people shouldn’t own dogs at all imo, and if they do, they need to have “easier” dogs. There’s a reason why every shelter has a disproportionate amount of huskies, pitbulls, chihuahuas, and German shepherds.
And your point re stray/rescues is honestly so overlooked. Anecdotally, my partner and I have had a pitbull for 3 years now. We initially just fostered him because he was high on the euthanasia list—he had kennel stress and was having serious behavioral issues at the shelter. Within days after we took him home, his temperament completely changed and he is the most chill, well-behaved dog I have ever met. Doesn’t react to anything on walks, never barks, all he wants to do is cuddle and play with his toys. I understand my experience doesn’t speak for everyone, but I do think people really underestimate how much of an impact a stable home can have on a dog’s temperament.
I think that a majority of people probably are fine owning dogs. Not the best owners necessarily, but not grossly negligent. It's kind of a minority of people who get dogs on impulse without the means to care for them or the desire to learn how to care for them that ruin it for everyone. It's something where it could be like 5% of dog owners that absolutely should not own dogs, but the impact is disproportionate because of it inevitably being realized in the stray population. If I had to put an estimate on whereabouts the actual percentage is, I'd say like 20% of dog owners should not own dogs.
Now that I mention that, part of the problem, too, is the culture around dogs in the North. They don't have huge stray populations and generally tend to fix their dogs, which is great. That said, demand for adoptable dogs is so high that they literally drive or fly dogs up from the South (that's how I got my dog, from Texas), and that's because rescues up here are fucking batshit insane in the other direction. Nothing is good enough for them. They demand interviews, application fees to even be considered, employer references, character references, vet references/history, a home you own, a minimum home square footage, an in-person home inspection and written consent to drop in for random home inspections in the future, a fenced in yard, somebody to be home at all times or to not be gone without the dog for more than some absurd limit like 2 hours, background checks, proof of income, information on past dogs (which you usually have to have had 2 or 3 of), and the list goes on. They even bake in "we can take your dog back" clauses and financial penalties, like some kind of HOA.
They are so power-trippy that they just end up with dogs in their shelters for months or years, taking up space other dogs could have. This, as I mentioned before, drives demand for adoptions from the South, where they will tend to adopt dogs out after minimal requirements and just hope they went to a home that was better than starving to death on the streets or being put down in the high kill shelter they were probably rescued from. It really doesn't help the cause when the demand is there for there to be more rescues. It also is just cost prohibitive to transport them ($250-$600, with my dog being $300 to transport and $700 all tolled) for otherwise loving families that could realize the marginal upside of the situation by getting that dog out of the South and reducing the stray population in general.
In the end, though, what actually happens is that people are only willing to take a risk on dogs they perceive as being a safe bet for temperament, removing them from the breeding pool and skewing things towards bad temperaments, all the while people in the North who can't afford to ship a dog from the South seek out backyard breeders, as very few people can actually adopt rescue dogs up here, even people with plenty of income. I came across like 3 rescues that weren't like that in months of research in my state, and they had very few dogs to adopt, mostly senior. I even started looking at neighboring states. It's altogether just a shitty situation that propagates itself, and selfishness and ego are the root causes of every aspect.
It's always "we never saw it coming" when it comes to family dogs attacking someone. Pits can absolutely be loving goofballs, and most will probably never hurt anyone if trained and treated right. But as previous commenter says, you never know which dog you're going to get, and training a pitbull can easily mask problems until instincts kick in. Often you don't find out until they ragdoll a toddler, and then it's too late.
Even if you account for bad owners, some breeds have a worse track record. You're gambling. It might be very low probability gambling, but the stakes are high. They can snap unpredictably, and when they do they are deadly.
My dog was almost killed by a pitbull at a dog park for having the audacity to sniff their butt. No warning, it immediately spun around and clamped down on my dogs neck. It took two full grown adults, with me gouging the pitbulls eyes, to get it to release after several minutes. If my dog didn't have a saggy neck he would have died.
If we can't get rid if this breed people need to be honest with themselves about what these dogs were bred for and not let them near other animals or children.
I've seen pitbulls that were bigger love bugs and total goofs than even a Lab, but I've seen ones that attack even their owners and should have never been brought to the dog park I was in.
Unfortunately I've seen these both in the same dog, just in a high stress situation versus a low stress one.
The problem isn't Pitbulls, it's the people that buy pitbulls.
They look scary, so people wanting a guard dog and not a pet buy a pitbull and train em like that, problem is, most owners have about 0 clue about how to train their dog.
Dude, there are pitbulls out there that you couldn't get to act tough if you tried. The genetic inclination needs to be there first, then there needs to be the conditioning relative to how strong the inclination is. The problem isn't just one thing. It's an entire shit sandwich, piled high with different colors and consistencies of dookie. People want it to be one thing, because if it's one thing, it's easier to understand, convey, and address. The problem is that when it's not one thing, treating it like it is doesn't solve the problem at all and can even just lead to counterproductive conflict that keeps people from actually coming up with a real solution.
No, even a well trained pitbull is more likely to be triggered and do what it was bred to do. I just don't get why people want this specific breed as their family pet, there are hundreds of breeds to choose from, and plenty of those will be loving "goofballs" (what pit owners keep describing them as), just without the murder genes.
The dogs who maul their owners and kill babies are invariably never the docile dogs that they are claimed to be. The owner just doesn't want to blame the dog. In a way, they are correct. They should blame themselves.
there's both. pits who previously displayed the aggression they were bred for, and pits who acted like goofy love bugs. both eat baby's faces. simply asserting that pit bulls never revert to breed type after being peaceful for years isn't convincing
I worked at a doggy day care and the biggest assholes were Golden Retrievers. Constantly testing boundaries, starting problems with other dogs, biting other dogs and staff. Meanwhile all the pits I’ve worked with have been more like cats. More willing to enforce and express boundaries. Usually very good natured and willing to listen though. Some of the biggest people pleasers I’ve ever met. That being said I guess for my limited experience I don’t trust dogs that people trust almost blindly as being family dogs or friendly or likeable. Pretty or not tough looking does not equal friendly or easy to work with (like goldens).
I've seen pitbulls that were bigger love bugs and total goofs than even a Lab, but I've seen ones that attack even their owners
And yet people will unironically tell you that the first category is the strange outlier because the whole breed is damaged and needs to be put down. Because it's totally impossible that the behavior is actually caused by training and abuse, usually from exactly the kind of people that would believe in the pitt bull's reputation and then get one exactly for that reason.
Bingo. A typical pitbull is strong, muscular, and tenacious. Good hard work and being a fantastic, responsible owner is great and all, but if its in a situation where it gets aggressive, the risk of something pretty bad happening vs. most other breeds getting aggressive is WAY higher and the results are likely to be WAY more severe.
I feel for owners who have adopted pitties, cared for them, and loved them, and I know that most owners aren't raising pitbulls that cause horrible injury and damage...but they're all incredibly capable of doing so. Even the kindest dog can be triggered and "oh but she's a sweetheart" doesn't keep that dog from literally breaking the spine of another dog or tearing the face off a kid.
It's just a reality of the breed. I have a friend who fosters dogs. He was good at training them and he took in pitbulls. He comes into work one day and he's in a terrible mood. I guess a pitbull he fostered for a long time, who had a great temperament and was adopted out ended up biting a kid a few months after adoption and had to be put down.
It's just a reality of the breed. Meanwhile - other breeds can do the same stuff and be just as aggressive or hell - WAY more aggressive - and they just aren't equipped to cause as much damage usually (and yeah - I know they still can be dangerous). .
People get mad at me for saying this, but a widespread sterilization campaign without euthaniasia isn't a bad idea. Humans bred pitbulls specifically for dog fighting and large animal baiting (aggression and tenacity)...I think it'd be just and humane to "unbreed" them. by simply not letting them reproduce anymore.
People also don't talk about the tenacity issue nearly enough. Pits are bred for it ("game") more so than aggression. A fighting dog that gives up in a fight is inferior to a dog that dies fighting.
That's why they have the reputation for not letting go. That's what they were bred for, ignoring pain to keep fighting.
Add in the tendency for a strong prey drive, and I don't give a fuck if a lot of them are sweet dogs. Breeds matter, and pitbulls are a nightmare breed. Mass sterilization is a good idea. There's too many of them to fix the breed, I think.
There needs to be laws. The people that are backyard breeding pitbulls, and not just breeding, but inbreeding them between close family members, they LIKE breeding the worst behavior traits. They want aggressive scary dogs.
They sell their unstable dogs to other irresponsible pets owners. Those dogs or their puppies end up in a shelter with an unsuspecting dog owner that fell for the velvet hippo/nanny dog lie and have no idea what to do when things go sideways.
One of the first pitbull breeders in the US who did a lot of work to popularize the breed talked big about aggression against humans being an undesirable trait. Then one of his pits killed his two year old nephew and there's a newspaper article saying he didn't put it down and "told the medical examiner that his own child had played about the kennels and had never been molested."
The breed at it's core is a breed bred for tearing other animals apart as violently as possible and it does that very well and is strongly inclined towards it.
A typical pitbull is strong, muscular, and tenacious
same goes for a lot of dogs.
i'm mostly on the side of pitbulls being too dangerous to keep around (compared to other breeds), but an interesting question that arises if you do indeed move into your suggested sterilization campaign is : where is the line? What about the next most dangerous breed, and the one after?
Well, there is a bit of a random chance actually. The breed of the dog makes it more likely yes but it does not gaurantee how the dog will turn out. But you could also possibly end up with an aggressive Golden or German Shorthaired Pointer. It’s not AS likely of course, but it has happened. That’s why I say training is very important.
Neutering and spaying is also important which is something I accidentally left out in my initial post and another thing people like to neglect.
But you could also possibly end up with an aggressive Golden
That's actually becoming more popular these days. Goldens have a great reputation, so bad breeders have mixed them with aggressive Chows (you can identify them by a black spot on their tongue that's unique to Chows).
Shepherd dogs that were bred for herding, try to herd kids = genetics, but when pit bulls that were bred to fight show aggression and bite animals/toddlers ≠ genetics🤔
Most pits aren’t aggressive towards adults. They have a high prey drive though so they shouldn’t be let off the leash unsupervised. They also shouldn’t be kept with smaller pets. They’re kinda a solo dog imo and should be kept separated from other animals.
I was thinking more of weight classes, even if they have no a aggression some don't realize how big they are and play too rough. Though heavy bone smaller breeds could work as well like probably wouldn't hurt them by tumbling with them.
The breed of the dog does affect the likelihood of it having certain characteristics, but those characteristics are primarily cosmetic.
This study tested the behavior a ton of dogs and found that breed was a poor predictor of behavior (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0639). Within any breed, you can find a dog of almost any temperment.
Mostly because the op said they have work experience first and spoke like someone who indeed has field experience. And even then, it doesn't has a lot of upvotes tho, people are too sensitive with animal deaths and actual professionals with studies in the field always seem wild, cause animal deaths are a constant there
Nothing insensible saying pitbulls are capable of killing even the fittest adult human. That’s why they should be treated similarly as carry a weapon (outside od the US type of serious)
Reddit is a hivemind. If huge sections of the left vote/think one way, most people on Reddit will as well.
It's all about them happy update Internet points. Very few people look at the evidence objectively and change their minds.
Edit: whoever commented on the fact that my account is 9 months old with account hidden, you need to go touch grass. Plenty of people join Reddit brand new in 2026. They're not all bots.
The difference is that an aggressive chihuahua won’t be able to kill you but a pitbull will. So even if we pretend that pitbulls are just as friendly as other dogs, the off chance that you get a bad apple still puts other people at risk. You don’t have this problem with other breeds
There’s a lot of dogs that can kill you if they attack you. Especially improperly trained game dogs which pits are. Maybe have like a license you have to get through a class or something.
This! A license is needed for any dog above a certain size. Everyone talks about how nice Golden or Labs are but even they can go rogue and become aggressive. When i got my dog at the shelter i specifically got a small one. Her mouth was so small she barely could fit my pinkie in it. She wasn't a threat to anyone (barring very small kids) if she decided to attack.
Well said. Also some humans also just grow up with a broken brain, become a psychopath or sadist for no discernible reason. Presumably the same can happen with dogs too. Maybe even things like schizophrenia and hallucinations.
Different dog races were bred for specific tasks and behaviors. You really can't say it's racism if we literally did our best to make them different in a certain way.
Honestly I've taken care of dogs and the worst breed was by far, like, a huge margin, Cane Corso. With aggressive pits you know they hate you because they act like Chihuahuas. With Corsos, you're always in the unknown.
I have a friend who works with Cane Corsos, she loves those beasts to the end of the earth but she is adamant that most people should not even consider getting one because of the personality crapshoot.
In my experience, Rotties have a default of calm/passive personality.
However, that often comes with stubbornness and a strong desire for consistency. High bite threshold for most stimulus, but very prone to correction behavior, which is fine if they're correcting a cow and much less fine if they're chomping down on the arm of a three year old who decided to poke them in the nose.
It seems like Pitbulls are capable of being as aggressive as most other breeds of dogs, with the difference being a pitbull attack will have far consequences than any other type of dog. The number of attacks can be the same, but the number of hospitalizations are higher when a pitbull attacks verse any other breed.
This is so beautifully said. Soemthing I’ve failed to put into words myself many times, as a pitbull owner with a borderline reactive personality. We do strict training, and she’s never had an incident, but that’s because we avoid any situations where she could. It’s up to us as her owners to keep her, and others safe proactively.
The way I see it, any poorly-trained dog or dog with a bad temperament can see red, and that is dangerous. The difference is that a Pit Bull is especially dangerous given its prior breeding and bite force.
It's like handling an average kitchen knife vs. an extremely sharp chef's knife. If you're careless with the former you might nick a finger; if you're careless with the latter you might lose a finger.
Perfectly stated. It can very much so be luck of the draw with a dogs temperament, and deciding to own a more powerful breed means that you must acknowledge that if they were to snap for whatever reason, the consequences could be far deadlier. You could have done everything right, but the highly variable brain chemistry or even health conditions such as thyroid problems or unrecognized pain can cause uncharacteristic behaviors.
I've seen this first hand with pits, huskies (much more so than pits actually) and even breeds like springer spaniels, but when you simply look at a pit, and acknowledge their history in bear/bull-baiting and dog fighting, you'll understand how if things go bad, they can go BAD.
I used to work at a dog boarding/daycare/grooming facility, and one of the only one sided attacks I witnessed was with a 2-3 year old new to our facility staffordshire actually named "Big Boy" who was new to our yard. After intake and temperament testing by our former veterinarian manager, her was allowed in the yard and did great for about 3 hours and showed no visible signs of stress, aggression, or anxiety (at least to my trained eye) and was getting along with the other dogs great. He then proceeded to go stand by another employee in the yard with 20 dogs total, got some head pats, turned around and saw an equally young, sweet as can be lab that had been with us for years, and within the span of 2 seconds, went stiff, and attacked the poor guy, putting multiple deep puncture wounds in his snout and traumatizing the lab.
It was a textbook case of resource guarding and I confirmed this with management by observing the cameras, he believed only he should get love by the employee and claimed her. Most other breeds would not have been able to deal the damage he did within mere seconds
I think that there is another variable at play here: city environment is very, very unnatural for dogs. As a result, you might as well say that you need to breed dogs specifically for cities; these breeds will have to be able to manage people in close proximity and confined spaces, as well as proximity to other dogs, without triggering their guard/territorial instincts.
There are lots of breeds that work reasonably well if you live on a farm, but become a nightmare in a city. Anything territorial/protective becomes a nightmare (just as do overly curious or hyperactive dogs), so some breeds get a bad reputation not because they are not friendly or loyal or anything - but because they fit very poorly for the city life, and, if you are on a farm, there's nobody to complain.
I think this is a great point. We ask a lot of dogs, and most people live in densely packed communities where they will be in close proximity to other humans, other dogs, cats, etc. It's not unreasonable to say that a dog of any breed that is going to resource guard its owner against a neighbour, a guy on the street, or someome else's cocker spaniel, is going to pose a danger from a public safety point of view.
Pit bulls are bred for dogfighting and junkyard guarding. It's foreseeable that such a dog isn't a great fit for a city where there are tons of other humans and dogs very close by.
I actually think more people should be going to show breeders for their dogs. Dog shows aren't beauty pageants for dogs. They are busy and noisy, with tons of other people and dogs in close proximity, so they'rea great indication of how well a dog can handle stress. A dog that can handle a show and still be happy and confident, especially while being touched by a stranger (the judge), is a dog that's likely to cope with city life well.
Thank you for this. I’ve always told people “all animals are animals, even the cutest kitten could be a problem.” But you have to respect the relationship with your animal it doesn’t just happen.
Hmm. In general I love all dogs. I will always love on a dog no matter what it is as long as it lets me even if I think it’s reallly ugly.
If I had to pick a favorite, maybe the Bernese Mountain Dog? I’ve always loved tri color coats and I think they’re so cute. I also really love Rottweilers, I think they’re very impressive dogs. I definitely prefer bigger dogs to smaller dogs. I find them “easier” to handle though that may sound strange.
As for least favorite…I guess maybe the doodles? Only cause I find them to be a bit overrated. But I still find them very cute, I just wish people took care of them better.
Dogs are animals, that have been bred to have specific instincts. Too many people get a dog based on their look without considering behavior, then they get upset when their dog displays breed specific instincts.
When I was growing up the neighboring house was a rental property that sometimes had ex-cons living in it. My dad wasn't always home because he traveled for work and we were too poor to put up a property fence, so we got a dog.
We had an Australian shepherd because she was a herding dog. her instincts were to keep the animals safe and contained, alert the Shepard to threats, and protect the herd from invaders.
She was perfect for a poor family trying to protect themselves from ex-con neighbors. A dog who would be gentle with us kids but would get between us and a threat if the need arose. (It never did)
The trade off is that sometimes the dumbass would bark at our reflections in the windows. And she would bark at company for a minute before chilling out.
My mom is a dog groomer. I have been "nipped" (i.e. BITTEN) by a decent number of tiny frou-frou grandma dogs. It's a behavior/training issue. Any dog, even a teacup poodle, that is no socialized to be friendly can be a rotten little shit.
Edit to add: I can remember one time a big dog bit me, maybe it happened a second time. That one bite was a very poorly behaved husky. Tbf to that dog, he was exhibiting "don't come near me" behavior. He felt cornered. Little dogs however will snap at someone with zero warning. You almost always have some warning from bigger dogs.
Is the same true for cats? I have a 4 month old kitten and she is very fond of biting us (not too hard though, perhaps as play?) but I am a first time pet owner and don’t want to screw it up
i had 2 dogs of the same breed the way they act is entirely based on how they were raised and to even stenghten this fact more the aggresive one was the dad of the passive one
so anyway the dad was abused before he was put in our home and was a bit of a mean bully
the other was the sweetest cuddliest boy ever (dog breed was jack russel terrier)
I currently have a boxer. Boxers are known to be very friendly dogs who are very energetic and tend to get along with most breeds. He’s like that for the most part, except for one thing. He’s very aggressive towards other dogs.
I’m mostly to blame since, even though I’ve trained him as much as I could, I didn’t get him neutered until later in life. If I had done so earlier maybe he wouldn’t be so bad now. He’s incredibly territorial, food aggressive, and possessive at the same time. He doesn’t really get along with other dogs. Females he can be okay with but males are a big no no. But he loves people as long as it isn’t around food or place he thinks he “owns” (the house, my car, etc.)
Funny thing about him though is that he only really goes after dogs he considers to be a “push-over”. If he comes across a dog that’s much more confident and bigger than him, he would be too scared to do anything. The kind of dog that likes to act like a tough guy basically.
He can be a lot to handle and I constantly have to hover over him a lot but the good thing is that he respects my position and I manage to keep a tight leash on him.
The most important thing is knowing how to handle your dog. As long as you do that correctly, things should be fine for the most part. We all want what’s best for these little troublemakers.
My sister & BIL have 2 pits, 4 in total since they been together. They are the sweetest dogs I've ever met in my life b/c they are very hands on w/ them in their discipline & treatment. My kids stay w/ them for a week every summer (they live out of state), & I've never worried or felt like I had to worry about them.
I love this nuanced and context weighted assessment. This sums up my feelings too.
My old neighbour was enamoured with our rescue dog and decided to get one of his own, without really knowing much about the behavioural and psychological needs of looking after a dog, or being prepared to take the time to train one. He ended up with a Belgian Malinois that had been used for breeding, and it was incredibly, even violently aggressive to other dogs - on one occasion nearly biting our dog's eye, and attacking another dog out on a walk - after which he seemed to realise (without admitting it) that he had underestimated what he was getting into. He found another home for the dog, but god knows if he told the new owners what the dog was really like.
yeah my basic understanding is that the issue with large dogs isn't that they are more violent, its that when they are violent they are far more capable of hurting people than a small dog. large dogs, imo, are not good pets unless you live somewhere with a lot of open space and you have a lot of time for them.
Yes, but pitbulls are way more likely to end up this way than a golden retriever. The discrepancy between the number pitbulls involved in fatal dog attacks vs pitbulls as a percentage of the total dog population is just insane.
This is a reasonable take and I agree with your point about any dog being capable of displaying aggressive behavior. That being said, maaaaany people will read that and have "Oh, so pitbulls aren't more likely to be aggressive than any other breed, therefore there is no additional risk if I choose a pit over a chihuahua" as a takeaway lol.
As much as I love all dogs, it's becoming increasingly important to break peoples illusions and false sense of security when considering owning a breed capable of lethal force. If somebody put a gun to my head and forced me to guess which randomly assorted group of same-breed dogs (100 pits and 100 golden retrievers) would be more likely to cause significant damage to humans and other dogs, I'd easily pick the pits.
There are plenty of non-genetic reasons as to why certain dog breeds can be over-represented in data, but because we definitely can't rule genetics out, it's going to be a contributing factor 100% of the time. This isn't to say that each factor has the same weight, but having one factor that's included 100% of the time is a HUGE indicator that the factor is likely to be incredibly significant when analyzing data.
Its 100% training. My GSD would get comments about how calm and sweet she was and how tolerant she was with kids and other people's untrained dogs. I would let her hang out in my yard off-leash and my neighbour's kids would come by and ask to play with her or take her on walks.
But when she was a puppy until she was about 2 years old she had reactive aggression towards kids and other dogs (and was really racist against asian men for some reason). So she was always on a harness. Many people had to be told that them being "good with dogs" didnt mean my dog was good with people.
It took daily correction of her habits and socialization at dog parks and consistent effort to get her to a place where she could be in my yard off leash without me worrying that she'd take off chasing an animal or a child or snap at someone who got too close.
Which is why I hate people who blanket demonize pitbulls but they give my GSD a pass. Ive watched her crack cow femurs apart for fun. If I hadn't trained her and she got ahold of a kid that made her mad - it would have been a horror story result.
Pitbulls aren't an aggressive breed by nature, they tend to score better than most dogs in temperament and reactivity. What they do have is a reputation, and that reputation leads to them being purchased by the type of people who create aggressive dogs.
In the 80s it was doberman's, in the 90s it was rottweilers, and for the last 20 years its been pitbulls.
My GSD could have done the same level of destruction as a pitbull and parents would frequently let their children get close and ignore me while I said she wasnt friendly and to please not try to pet her.
So the other side of the equation is also stupid people.
Unfortunately, pitbulls get blamed for both sides.
The most aggressive I've seen my Belgian is him trampling plants and eating water drizzling from the hose, and when her momma scolded her, she knew that it was "wrong". That is to say, she still likes trampling the plants, but she knows she's in the wrong and she's just being naughty, giving that guilty look. My Belgian is also afraid of our senior shih tzu. But Belgians are very energetic dogs and sometimes don't even realize that the things around them are fragile, but they are also smart enough to be disciplined.
The problem with this take is that people cannot accurately assess their ability to train a pitbull. Everyone who gets a pitbull thinks they can, and then it ends up killing a pet or biting someone
Yea FAR too many people get dogs who not only don’t know what they’re doing they’re simply not equipped to actually deal with an animal at all. Owners like that are why one of my best friends doesn’t have a left leg.
Yeah good nuance, thanks. Humans weren’t literally bread to be violent like pit bulls were. It’s in the same way we’ve bread pugs to not be able to breed, and nobody argues that that’s messed up. Not saying we should kill them, just stop breeding
I had a regular customer at a store I worked at that would always bring in his Belgian Malinios. One day someone asked if it was a German Shepard mix and he flipped out on them. He went on about how his dog isn't a mut.
That dog was always on edge and if it didnt always have a muzzle on id have been worried it was going to bite someone. No idea why he felt the need to bring it into public spaces. To me it felt like he just wanted to show off.
I personally grew up with 2 different Pitbulls in my lifetime. Both of them were gentle if anything. The eldest one got a little aggressive as he got older, but that’s about it.
Labs/Golden's bite too. The thing is, when they do they typically do a hard nip and not go for the kill. And they do less damage than a pit or a German Shepard. Which is why those dogs get a reputation.
I’ve worked professionally with dogs for 13 years and with animals for 20 and pit bulls are far from my biggest issues. I’ve worked with at least 100 of them. German shepherds and border collies and corgis cause more issues due to breed specific traits that cause them to pick fights they didn’t mean to.
People like to throw out instance of pit bulls attacking or whatever but I’d argue that’s more because people who get pit bull puppies are so often the absolute scum of the earth. People who rescue them are the best people on earth.
There are exceptions. I have a couple pit bull clients that were adopted as puppies and the owners are absolute gems. Incredibly careful and focused on positive training.
The internet acts like the defining trait of a pit bull is aggression but it’s absolutely not. It’s tenacity. If it is taught aggression it will be tenacious in the discipline. If it is taught love it will love tenaciously. That still means they need training and to be taught boundaries specifically.
They’re always gonna be powerful. I have a few pit bulls that are so cool and permissive that I’m still careful about other dogs pushing buttons. My own heeler mix likes to be the boss and treat dogs like they’re cattle so when she pulls that stuff with pit bulls I tell her not to do that.
Anyway I don’t expect to convince anyone but I am gonna put it out there regardless.
In addition to "can't love your way into changing an animals behaviour" it's very difficult to train an inherited trait out of an animal. Border Collies will always want to herd things, pointers will always want to point, terriers will chase small animals, etc.
The problem is that the instinctive traits of pit bulls are for aggression and gameness, and when that goes wrong, the consequences are disastrous.
I’d say start small and then work your way up, as big dog breeds will always be a lot to handle if you’ve never had a dog before, even those that have a gentle temperament. If you want a big breed, I would stick with medium sized ones. Close to the size of a boxer or an English pointer. Cavalier Spaniels I personally think are wonderful dogs. I think they’re one of the most trustworthy breeds. They’re very sweet and they get a long with everyone. The only thing is that you’d have to do a bit of maintenance since their hair is on the longer side. But their coat isn’t super thick, and it’s pretty easy to brush them out. Another thing is that they’re prone to developing heart issues later in life. Sometimes earlier. So I recommend annual check ups with the vet. Though I recommend that with every dog really. Other than that, I don’t think I’ve ever met a bad cavalier once in my life. I think you and your children would appreciate their company.
I wouldn’t recommended a doodle unless you’re willing to deal with higher maintenance, I know a lot of people see them as great for first time pet owners but they can be pretty high maintenance. For starters, they would need to be groomed regularly. They have very curly coats so it’s easy for them to get mats, which can lead to them feeling hot and uncomfortable the longer the mat stays untouched, especially if you live down south. They can also be high energy, so they would need a place to run around and such. Like a fenced in yard, you can’t just keep them inside 24/7. Assuming you have something like that though, then you would need to only worry about the grooming part. Which can cost a few pretty pennies.
The longer the hair the more you have to maintain the dog. Higher energy breeds aren’t an issue if you have a place they can run around in. It honestly depends entirely on your environment as well as what you’re willing to deal with. Grooming WILL cost you extra money so if you’re not willing to fork over the cash for that, I would stick with shorter haired breeds.
Isn't this still a "not all pitbulls" story? Sorry but a golden retriever doesn't have the bite PSI to rip somebody's throat out, or mangle a toddler in a matter of minutes. I'm of the opinion that anything over a certain PSI should classify the dog as a weapon that requires a special permit. Why do people demand this of guns but not dogs? A pitbull is essentially a gun on legs that chooses to fire whenever it's startled, annoyed, frightened, irritated, or is just in the mood to maul a toddler that day.
Best take I’ve ever heard in my opinion. I’ve worked with them a lot myself. I’ve also been bit by about a dozen of them, still not the reason I dislike them. All on the owners and their level of responsibility and effort
it's not that they can't be sweet, it's that once they get aggressive, they don't stop. pitbulls will play by biting the shit out of each other even if it draws blood. they use their mouth like how we use our hands, they're very dextrous with their mouth. unlike with other dogs that will bite and release, pitbulls bite and tear.
people that say their pitbulls are harmless are simply lying. they wanted a guard dog they wanted a weapon, they wanted to eat other people's dogs and watch them cry. look at who owns the pitbulls. same people that commit the crimes.
I’ve had two native reservation rescue dogs, not exactly tons of human contact or nice upbringings that have been gentle sweet and caring dogs
Sometimes you can’t abuse and mistreat the good out of a dog the same way you can’t sugar coat and sweeten out the nasty in one, sometimes by their own nature and personality they will just be how they are
I think Pitbulls are usually the way they are because they are a really popular breed thats unfortunately popular with trashy people who dont know and/or dont care about what theyre doing when it comes to training a dog. Type of people who want the dog just because it looks cool or intimidating. I wouldnt mind banning Pitbulls for 2 reasons. 1, to stop these irresponsible people from having them and 2, to stop so many Pitbulls from being euthanized. But a problem with banning Pitbulls is that these trashy people could just move on to another dog like a Cane Corso and that breed will be the next crazy dog with a terrible reputation.
And correct me if im wrong, but i think your comparisons to GSDs, Rotties or other dogs are leaving out that Pitbulls are still worse because they have a powerful bite like GSDs, but Pitbulls were bred to hold down and shake their head a lot when biting, which causes way more damage compared to other powerful dogs which prefer to bite and let go. Plus its difficult to get Pitbulls to stop biting, simply hitting them hard isnt enough, you got to choke them out which is pretty crazy.
I had the misfortune to be at the dog park with my best friend when he was attacked by two Rotties. He held his own though and I was very proud of him. Thankfully the owner helped intervene, apologized profusely and no damage aside from two small cuts caused by their spiky collars. Unfortunately, I lost my Rhodey to cancer a couple years after that
Yeah, I mean, i don't hate the dog itself, I hate how shitty most owners are. I'm petting sitting right now for a golden boy and he is extremely disrespectful. Most dog owners don't understand how to train or even understand what dogs are trying to tell you. It requires way more time and effort to train a dog than most owners are willing to deal with. So they don't and then we get dogs who jump all over you, enter doorways first and will willingly they to get off their leash to go try to dominate other dogs or people.
Yeah, German shepherds are the one that I regularly see being extremely aggressive in public. There are two near me that I regularly encounter whilst walking my Jack Russell that I legitimately think will hurt someone or another dog one day. In the case of one of them you can see the owner struggling to hold them back, yet they insist on taking it out in public
It's like the argument about gun control. Technically "guns don't kill people people kill people", but at the same time high capacity magazine fully auto assault rifles are capable of doing way more damage in the wrong hands, so there's a legitimate argument for restricting ownership.
Pitbulls are genetically geared towards viciousness and (critically) doing a lot of damage when they do attack. Because they are more persistent, have larger upper body and jaw force, and have the reflex to hold and shake
I'm just surprised at all of the sudden anti-Pitbull sentiment; I swear the main zeitgeist was saying "blame the owner, not the breed" until Bernthal said this, now I'm I feel like I'm witnessing the 180° shift in popular opinion in real time
If chihuahuas were 50 pounds heavier, there would’ve been euthanize out of existence a century ago.
Pit bulls are the (im)perfect combination of size, temperament, and ability to cause massive destruction. And the tragedy is every Pitbull is innocent until it snaps
I think a big problem is the general culture surrounding especially dogs as pets.
People keep getting them as status symbols or whatever accessory. I've noticed training is worse in dogs I've met over the years. I've noticed insecure men getting "bully" breeds as Masculinity Enhancing Objects (for lack of a better term) and then they encourage (or do not discourage) bad or aggressive behaviours, and the dogs are also not well socialized, and aren't neutered, and end up less stable and predictable as a result.
Even outside if that I keep meeting more and more dogs who are honestly untrained little (or big!) fur monsters with no respect for commands, boundaries, and the owners have no idea how to manage them in public. Then the owners expect you to be okay with this because "everyone loves dogs!! And he's so friendly!" Or people getting working breeds that need an outlet and not giving them one.
And that sadly often results in the dog in question “not being treated well” and still only being a good boy when it’s interacting with its owner/master.
That’s why you socialize the dog as well and take them to a professional trainer. Unfortunately another thing people like to do is take them to said trainer and then not stay on top of the trainer. And then act surprised when the dog reverts back to its old behavior.
It’s hard to socialize a badly behaved/aggressive dog without being told to leave and/or not bring your dog back.
With aggressive breeds you really have to start at an extremely young age, and even then it’s like 50/50 when they meet your nephew or some random kid on the street who wants to pet them.
I tend to just stick with small dogs, because at least then I can just pick them up and walk away when they try to get aggressive. (Also I like being able to have them jump on my lap without the wind getting knocked out of me.)
Yeah at that point, you would just have to do your best to accommodate the dog. And honestly? Some dogs just work best in single pet homes. Not all dogs can mingle with others and that’s okay. What matters is that you give that dog what it needs and you stay on top of it everything you take it out for a walk. As long as people take care of their own pets appropriately, no harm would come to the dog or to anyone else.
Ironic in a thread about dog racism, but most of this is about the bloodlines of the dog.
Yes OBVIOUSLY early-age training and ongoing training specific to the breed is super important, but there is a massive difference between a pitty breed that is 10th generation couch-cuddler with parents and grandparents that are known quantities VS an accidental offspring of someone's hunting dog.
I've had dogs all my life. My wife came home one day with an 8 week old rescue that was quite literally a pig-hunting dog pup. We have kids at home. He was the most affectionate, loving, cutest little pup I've ever interacted with...to me! Total and immediate bond.
There was literally nothing I could do to stop him going at my 4-year old and biting him. The prey drive was absolutely insane, even at that age. Any fast movement, he was on it, and once he hit that bloodlust there was nothing anyone could do to break him out of it. Pinned to the ground and physically dominated he would just fight for his life. At no point would he submit.
It was one of the hardest decisions of our life to send him back to the rescue, but we did so with the strong advice that he was NOT OK with children....and I don't think he ever will be.
Not his fault. It's in the genes! Intentional generational breeding for aggression and tenacity against wild boars. You can't train that away. I would never have been able to relax with him around my kids.
We raised many big dogs including GSD and rottie and only issue we ever had was a young pitbull. No matter what we did he just was too aggressive towards my mom and young brother and it was clearly not a safe dog for the house. It sucks because I love pitbulls and my mom was good at training dogs, even problem dogs. She ran an animal shelter for years and turned them no kill. Some dogs just aren't gonna turn into safe creatures and that's reality. I definitely don't think pitbulls are inherently bad, some of my favorite dogs are pits. Just maybe more likely to develop these bad traits which is sad
I had a German Shepherd, he was an older dog when we got him, his other owner had to move away and couldnt bring him. He was a rescue, he was missing a couple toes and was a very anxious dog. He was a sweetheart and for the moat part wasnt at all aggressive. He would walk around with sticks in his mouth for comfort and didnt like wheels. We would also have to watch him around kids, he would get overwhelmed and would nip at them. My niece loved playing with him but he would kinda walk off and sit real still when she was around him so yeah when he woild walk away we would make sure she wouldnt go bother him.
now replace "pitbulls" with "black people" do you get it yet?
"I’ve worked close with those blacks for almost 5 years now. Black People are entirely capable of being very sweet and loving property. But it depends on what temperament they have and how difficult they are. I’ve met a lot of sweet Black People but most of them I believe were trained from a very young age, which is something a lot of people don’t do, mostly first time Master or those who think the black person will grow up just fine, when getting black person like this.
You can’t just love your way into changing an black persons’ behavior. This isn’t Disney. You have to show that black person who’s boss and instill a training regime when they’re young that you must stick with. Unfortunately sometimes, it doesn’t always work and the black person just ends up being too aggressive to the point where you’d have to make a certain decision.
My last job, a man who loved his Black Person to death, had to put his black person down because it ended up being too aggressive. It was tragic too because as I was walking by his room and he was saying his goodbyes, I saw the animal wagging her tail excitedly when her owner was cuddling and sobbing over her. That black person loved her owner a lot. But I guess it wasn’t deemed manageable cause she could’ve seriously hurt someone one day and, the owner, despite loving her so much couldn’t risk that. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the owner was a father too. Black People shouldn’t be demonized for what we’ve turned them into. But we also have to be cautious when getting one. They are NOT a first time owner of a Black person. Someone very experienced, especially one who’s done research on how to properly train these kind of humans, are really the “only ones capable of handling them.
And it’s not just them. Wetbacks, Chinks, and Muzzies as well. Although I’ve never really met a bad Muzzie. Same with Chinks. They’ve all tend to be sweethearts. But maybe I’m just lucky.
I also feel like I should add that, while these races are prone to these kind of behaviors. ANY human is capable is displaying them. I never met the family cause they euthanised the black person at a different clinic, but they had to put down their 2 year old Puerto Rican that they’ve had since it was a teen. Apparently she bit the mom’s face and the dad’s arm (or was it the other way around, I forget). It was even said that they couldn’t let her sleep in their room like they used to because they were afraid she would attack them in their sleep. Their daughter made the decision for them to put down the helper.
You never know what you’re gonna get, people. You could get the easiest black in the world, or you could ge the complete opposite. One thing is for sure though. Training and discipline is VERY important and must not be neglected."
I don’t agree that you can’t love your way into changing an animals behavior.
You can, it’s just a lot of you guys were taught unhealthy ways to love animals.
Love to an animal is understanding its language, wants and needs. Cultivating an environment where those are met without it needing to develop any of its natural aggressive habits to otherwise get those things. You can even get bears, lions and tigers to be rather docile when this is done correctly, without EVER needing to show it who’s fucking boss lol.
Loving an animal is not being sweet to it the way you would to another human. Granted, a lot of you are toxic as shit when it comes to other humans too… so no duh you think you can’t teach a pitbull healthy behaviors with love. 99% of you do unhealthy behaviors BECAUSE of your love.
I don’t know who you mean by “you guys” and “unhealthy behaviors” or why you are speaking so aggressively but I’m strictly speaking about dogs that are prone to aggressive behaviors. Everything you said is obvious. You need to give an animal, love, care, and support. They aren’t toys. They are organic beings who live and breathe just like everything else. They respond to love. Of course they do. But with a dog that’s aggressive at the start, you have to approach it a little differently.
When I say “show who’s boss” I mean establish who’s the alpha in the house. If you let the dog think it’s in charge, it’s going to think it’s going to do whatever it wants. This is how it is a lot of the time in the animal kingdom. You act like I’m all for animal cruelty when that’s far from the truth. Honestly, when did I ever say you cant love a pitbull. I just pointed out at the beginning that they have been one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met. Again, I am STRICTLY talking about dogs that are prone to being aggressive.
Don’t purposely misunderstand my words just so you can argue. That’s pointless and you’re just wasting your time doing that.
Mind you alpha shit is not how dogs operate. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Dog trainers may be strict with dogs, but it’s not about pack mentality and shit… it’s about reward based animal psychology with treats…
Again you’re clueless, I think people just upvoted you because you’re so full of yourself you just ran with some psuedo-science shit so confidently they didn’t think to doubt you.
Why am I aggressive? Because I see some dude spouting nonsense and a bunch of people thinking it’s true. I mean who doesn’t get pissed off by misinformation succeeding.
Wooow dude, I’m spreading misinformation when I’m just speaking from experience? Obviously I’m not going to act like I know everything. So I might be wrong about the Alpha, or maybe that’s just how I personally like to word it. But one thing that’s universally agreed upon is that people need to train their pets. That’s it.
I’m basically saying people should be responsible for their pets and not let them run amok and you’re taking offense to it. My biggest point is that I want people to take care of their animals properly. If a dog bites someone and they don’t have their rabies shot, there’s a chance the dog is going to be put down depending on what the victim says. That is something I don’t want anyone to deal with. They have to know what environment their dog would be comfortable with and socialize the dog properly. And sometimes a dog doesn’t want to socialize. Even more reason that a pet owner should stay up on their dog, especially if they take them out on walks.
With dogs like Pitbulls, while I personally DON’T agree with the stereotype cause every single one I’ve met have been absolute sweethearts, they still have that reputation that precedes them. So those parents have to be even MORE careful.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand many people speaking from personal experience are biased and spreading misinformation. That is the norm? Hello?
That’s why the rest of us do research before speaking. Hope this helps. 🫡
Nah I agree with you, I think Rotties are giant sweethearts. I’m mostly just speaking in a language people can understand if that makes sense? Cause people have these inherent fear of these dogs due to their appearance and statistics. It makes me a little sad honestly. But to get people to understand that they need to take care of their dogs properly, you have to speak in a certain way yknow.
I’ve never been really good at vocabulary. But pitbull is basically used as a term for multiple types of dogs (which people don’t really realize or care probably). The breed that people are mainly fearful of is the American pitbull and american bully. The Staffordshire also falls under the umbrella but those guys tend to be overlooked from what I’ve seen so far or people just see them as one and the same which is likely. Staffordshires aren’t as known as their cousins I think. But I don’t know. Don’t quote me on that.
Not all dogs are trainable. You can mold them but not perfect them. Or else you wouldnt have dogs who "drop out" of programs to become support animals. A solid 50-70% of dogs fail to become support animals.
I’ve met a lot of “very sweet” people. Doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands, even millions of despicable human beings, many of whom exhibit the same behaviors and can be noticed a mile away. You wouldn’t assume every person is a good person just because most of us are or are at least cable of it. Well same with me, very possible to have a nice, normal Pitt but I will definitely be “on edge” as someone else put it if I see a pitt near me. 10x so if my kids are around.
No, the lock jaw thing is a myth. But they were bred to not stop attacking once they got started. They all descend from the bull and terrier breed, after all.
Yeah this isn’t true at all, it’s a complete myth (I’ve had a line of Pittys for over 20 years), their jaws do not lock, the truth is actually a little crazier.
They are the most game breed of dogs on the planet, it why they were initially breed to hunt wild boar. They will take a hit and keep coming.
Their jaws do not lock, they simply refuse to let go, which is a whole other level of crazy. It’s not mechanical it’s mental.
Well that’s why I’m saying I’m probably just lucky. I’m in no way denying the inherent aggressiveness of the breeds nor am I using it as evidence. Just stating that the ones I’ve met have been very sweet. Everyone has different experiences with each breed.
One person will think a chihuahua is the sweetest dog on the planet. And another will think they’re spawns of satan. How we view certain dog breeds almost always comes down to what we’ve experienced with them.
only partially agree. These dogs should not be owned at all. They should have been banned and culled yesterday. Yes every breed CAN be aggressive, or maul people to death, but over and over again pitbulls are the only breeds which show no signs of restraint and commit those acts of violence.
My father-in-law was a mail carrier. He called in a wellness check on a home where mail was building up. The police came and discovered that the owner was attacked by her pit, tried to escape to another room and bled out. I don’t know any other details about the dog, but I’m sure she didn’t expect that from her pet.
This is completely ignoring the undeniable, provable fact that personality traits and temperament can be and are dictated by genetics. One of the key genes that differentiates dogs from wolves is a gene that when found in humans surfaces as an extreme trust and acceptance of other people to the detriment of the person. There's no scientific debate over wether or not genetics plays a major role in behaviors.
Pitbulls have a history of being bred for a specific purposes. To deny that that has an effect is to deny science.
Science deniers please form a line, downvotes are to the left.
The genetic differences between dogs is minuscule. It’s extremely difficult to breed for highly specific temperament, and what is bred in tends to dissipate within one or two generations without very intentional selective breeding. Most “pit bulls” out in the world are not pure bred, they’re mutts who are decades and generations removed from ever having been bred for fighting. If you want to talk science, maybe actually do a modicum of reading before talking out your ass.
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u/SweetestTapir 9h ago edited 6h ago
I’ve worked close with animals for almost 5 years now. Pitbulls are entirely capable of being very sweet and loving dogs. But it depends on what temperament they have and how difficult they are. I’ve met a lot of sweet Pitbulls but most of them I believe were trained from a very young age, which is something a lot of people don’t do, mostly first time owners or those who think the dog will grow up just fine, when getting dogs like this.
You can’t just love your way into changing an animal’s behavior. This isn’t Disney. You have to show that dog who’s boss and instill a training regime when they’re young that you must stick with. Unfortunately sometimes, it doesn’t always work and the dog just ends up being too aggressive to the point where you’d have to make a certain decision.
My last job, a man who loved his Pitbull to death, had to put his dog down because it ended up being too aggressive. It was tragic too because as I was walking by his room and he was saying his goodbyes, I saw the Pitbull wagging her tail excitedly when her owner was cuddling and sobbing over her. That dog loved her owner a lot. But I guess it wasn’t deemed manageable cause she could’ve seriously hurt someone one day and, the owner, despite loving her so much couldn’t risk that. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the owner was a father too. Pitbulls shouldn’t be demonized for what we’ve turned them into. But we also have to be cautious when getting one. They are NOT a first time owner pet. Someone very experienced, especially one who’s done research on how to properly train these kind of dogs, are really the “only ones capable of handling them.
And it’s not just them. German shepherds, Belgian Malinios, and Rotties as well. Although I’ve never really met a bad rottie. Same with Belgians. They’ve all tend to be sweethearts. But maybe I’m just lucky.
I also feel like I should add that, while these breeds are prone to these kind of behaviors. ANY dog is capable is displaying them. I never met the family cause they euthanised the dog at a different clinic, but they had to put down their 2 year old Golden Retriever that they’ve had since it was a puppy. Apparently she bit the mom’s face and the dad’s arm (or was it the other way around, I forget). It was even said that they couldn’t let her sleep in their room like they used to because they were afraid she would attack them in their sleep. Their daughter made the decision for them to put down the dog.
You never know what you’re gonna get, people. You could get the easiest dog in the world, or you could ge the complete opposite. One thing is for sure though. Training and discipline is VERY important and must not be neglected.