Pit Bulls?

[ShockBunny]

Let me first preface this by saying that this is one of my favorite breeds, and probably always will be. XD

My boyfriend did NOT know how to take care of his pets before we met. He was raised very differently from me in that respect. His dad would actually torture the dogs for fun, scaring them on purpose to make them pee, etc. So my bf is quite a step up from his upbringing. He adopted Boskov, a pit/rott mix, as a puppy then promptly left him with an animal-hoarder friend while he went away on a summer internship. He got knocked around a lot by the other dogs and had absolutely 0 stability or care beyond feeding for several months. In addition, when my bf got back and started training him, he used a very militaristic style and a lot of negative reinforcement. Basically, Bos peed inside or chewed something up, he got a smack for it. He didn't BEAT him by any means, but it was just about the worst way to go about training any dog, especially that breed type.

After we met, Bos got neutered and he's on the right track, training-wise. But the damage has been done, and it is an EXTREMELY hard uphill battle trying to get Bos to a point where he can handle any sort of interaction outside of his immediate family. Even within his "pack", he's bitten both of my dogs bad enough to draw blood (once deep enough to warrant a vet visit). He absolutely loses his mind if someone comes to the door, or if he sees another dog.


I guess my point is, pits and pit mixes are really awesome (90% of the ones I've met in my 5 years working in vet's offices and groomers are total sweethearts). But if they get screwed up early on in life, they can be more dangerous than your average dog. You might end up with the nervous cringey dog, or you may end up with the unpredictable rage-machine like I did. Don't let it stop you from getting one, but definitely make sure it's had a good behavior screening before you bring it home. XD


ETA: I do agree that chihuahuas are one of THE most aggressive breeds out there. And their owners usually just laugh off as "cute" since they're so small.

[Homegrownscales]

I agree. This goes in fact for any large breed dog. Like someone said earlier Chi's can be swatted away. Pitts, mastiffs, rotties, etc CANNOT. I am a full believer that with consistent good training, excersize, discipline, and leadership every breed, every dog is a good dog.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Araidia]

I have two pits, they live with two small kids, small dogs, cats, and birds. We came in yesterday and our little black female (she looks exactly like the black pit in the pic before) was napping on the couch with a cat and a two year old cuddled up with her and the bird on her back lol. Proper socialization and training is important with any dog, they do like to chew and need toys and somewhere to get their energy out but with good socialization they are amazing intelligent dogs. Pits are great and seem to be more pain tolerant than a lot of other breeds, ours put up with being ridden by kids and getting their ears tugged occasionally and have never done anything even remotely threatening while our chihuahua and our old beagle would have bitten them long before. I've only been bitten by a pit once and he had been mistreated so bad he was terrified of people while I've had several german sheperds and golden retrievers try to take a chunk out of me for no reason. I would get a puppy and introduce it to as much as you can especially new people and small dogs and cats and you shouldn't have any problems. I don't know if I would trust a dog from a shelter or rescue because you don't know what they've been through. The only aggressive pit we've had was a male we rescued who had been beaten severely and he would be a nice dog a lot of the time but would become really agitated when people started moving around to quick or got to loud. Any breed of dog can be aggressive when it's trained that way or mistreated though, unfortunately pits and other breeds like them just attract more people who treat them badly. All the pits we've had who grew up good would never hurt a fly though, ours are both chickens lol, they get bossed around by the cat.

[TheSnakeEye]

To me pits & amstaffs are one in the same. Pit's are to Amstaff's as Lessers are to butters. Their personalities are the same, their drive is the same, their exercise needs are the same. The only difference really is maybe perhaps their size and a true amstaff can only have a black nose (if I'm not mistaken). Again, I support anyone who wants to PROPERLY keep a pit. They NEED to be properly trained and socialized. But this goes for every dog. Having a well behaved dog who is people & dog friendly is the most rewarding thing ever.

Check out www.gopitbull.com and you'll see why they are the best dogs ever.

[mr.spooky]

To me pits & amstaffs are one in the same. Pit's are to Amstaff's as Lessers are to butters. Their personalities are the same, their drive is the same, their exercise needs are the same. The only difference really is maybe perhaps their size and a true amstaff can only have a black nose (if I'm not mistaken). Again, I support anyone who wants to PROPERLY keep a pit. They NEED to be properly trained and socialized. But this goes for every dog. Having a well behaved dog who is people & dog friendly is the most rewarding thing ever.

Check out www.gopitbull.com and you'll see why they are the best dogs ever.

LOL,, there not the same,,,, lessers are to butters, because there both BP's, pits and amstaffs are two different breeds. but i fully agree with your last four sentances

[TheSnakeEye]

If you put them side by side they are the same thing. One is recognized by one club while the other is not. Again I'm no dog expert, but they are the same thing down to the core. The only differences Im aware of is mayeb size and that amstaff's have black noses. But other than that they are the same thing.

[astoudt]

First off let me just say I absolutely LOVE all of these positive posts on pitbulls!

I am a huge pitbull fan and activist (I guess you could say that). I have done a lot of research on them as well. Including the topic of "pitbull" "APBT" and "Staffies" etc. From all of my research, they are VERY similar breeds. So similar in fact that they share almost exact same ancestry line. It hasn't been until recently that the breeds have expanded and branched out into defined separate lines, but there are still a lot of grey areas when classifying a bully to a specific breed because of so many mixes and un-kept records of bloodlines etc. If ANYONE is interested in the APBT specifically this website is VERY helpful in clarifying just what judges are looking for as a "perfect" APBT.
http://www.apbtconformation.com/
You will notice a lot of the penalties given are common traits of staffies and other breeds including all of those involved in the slang term "pitbulls"(which is used to describe over 25 bully type breeds). This is evidence of just how much the different breeds are intertwined. I'm not sure how often the site is maintained and updated unfortunately but I know it is still helpful information.
With that being said I hope people don't start fighting about the differences in breeds because when it comes to BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) it doesn't matter if it's and APBT a Staffordshire or a Mutt that happens to resemble a pit, the government doesn't care and treats them all the same.
We love them so lets not get caught up in the differences and remember what is important, protecting our rights to own them...

Good luck in your decision whether or not to get a pit! From personal experience (3 neices and a nephew) I haven't had any issues with my two pits and children, but as previously stated their energies can be sometimes too high for kids to handle. Just make sure you know a lot about the dog you choose no matter what breed you decide on and of course practice proper exercise and training techniques!
My most hyper of my dogs is Xena (1.5 yrs) but she is actually the best around children. She will calm down as soon as she sees a kid and will let the kids do absolutely anything they want with her. I posted some pictures I have of her with kids. One is my youngest niece (a month or so before her second birthday) who is laying on her but I swear they think that is the best way to cuddle together. They do it all the time. Xena will lay on the floor and let my niece, Taylor, grab one of her legs and attempt to drag her all over the house. Kids can take Xena's toys right out of her mouth, hand feed her, and even take Xena's food away and Xena has NO problem with it.
Here are some pics of my babies. Sorry there are so many, they are just too cute too handle:




This one is Xena and a Friends pitbull "Sammie" being fed by my friend's son:

[heathers*bps]

My little brown pit, pictured in my first post, is Xena! Lol how funny

[Crawly's Mom]

Very awesome pictures! Thank you again for all the input. I am honestly surprised we have gotten no negative feedback on this forum. I thought at least there would be one or two people taking an opposing stance, whether from third party information or some personal experience. It seems to me though that almost everyone who has had a pit has absolutely nothing bad to say about them, well around children!

I know they have a higher chance of dog aggression, but we have no other dogs and honestly probably only want one. That being said, I would still rather find a pit who is well behaved enough not to lunge or try to attack any other animals while say on a walk or at the park. I am torn now on whether I would want to find an adult from a good rescue that has been approved for temprement or whether I'd want a puppy and then raise it to be sure I know exactly what they have been through.

[mr.spooky]

be prepaired,,,, pitbulls PULL! atleast mine does and any other person that i have talked to does as well. these are strong dogs.. if your interested, look up pitbull pull compititions on youtube.. my dog is perfect to a T,, but he pulls. iv tried every collar and harness on the market and none worked until i tried a prong/pinch collar. some people say that these collers are inhumane, but do the research,,, they will inflict less damage that a choke chain. they apply pressure evenly around the whole neck instead of just the throat. i have a 2.5" lether collar that i will sometimes use, and when the walk is done, my hand will be blue and numd fron the leash. when i put the prong collar on, hees a different dog, there is zero pull. you seem like the type of person that dosent mind doing research and making educated decisions, so i would definateally look into one of these. if you do decide to use one, there are propper ways to use them, and if youd like i can go into that later on. remember a collar is a tool, and with each tool,, theres a right, and a wrong way to use one.
i would still be enclined to get a puppy,,,that way, the child and the dog could grow together.. im pretty sure that when they do these "tests" on shelter dogs, they dont bait them with a child to see how they will act.. they do food agression tests, and socializing tests (with dogs and people).
im not trying to turn you away from anything, im just trying to give you as much info i can that i have picked up along the way.
hope iv helped some
Spooky