Pitbull Terriers -- split form the CC

[Hiero]

I thought what a cute dog, but I am still scared of pitbulls.

[Mujer Libre]

I thought what a cute dog, but I am still scared of pitbulls.

Likewise. Your pitbull looks cute, but after nearly having my leg ripped off by two pitbulls just barely under control on a leash when I was a child, I'm sure even VG1917 will forigve my horribly primitivist position of disliking the things immensely. ;)

[YSR]

I'm sure even VG1917 will forigve my horribly primitivist position of disliking the things immensely. ;)

Counter-revolutionary! To the reeducation camps!

[Sasha]

I thought what a cute dog, but I am still scared of pitbulls.


Likewise. Your pitbull looks cute, but after nearly having my leg ripped off by two pitbulls just barely under control on a leash when I was a child, I'm sure even VG1917 will forigve my horribly primitivist position of disliking the things immensely. ;)

he's a sweety (and a mud by the way, there is also a lot of colly and other breeds in there, his bothers and sisters look a lot less like a pit than he does)
as long as your not an other male dog (he is quite dominant) or try to atack me you're as safe as you can be around the most hippy dog, he's fine with kids (even when they pull his ears an stuff) and he even plays with cats, rabits and other animals without hurting them a bit.

[Hiero]

he's a sweety (and a mud by the way, there is also a lot of colly and other breeds in there, his bothers and sisters look a lot less like a pit than he does)
as long as your not an other male dog (he is quite dominant) or try to atack me you're as safe as you can be around the most hippy dog, he's fine with kids (even when they pull his ears an stuff) and he even plays with cats, rabits and other animals without hurting them a bit.

I think pitbulls get the bad rep because assholes who want to look tough buy a pitbull with no intention of raising an animal in a humane way like being kept in cages, encouraged to attack etc. So they end up not becoming accustomed to humans and end up attacking a person.

Either way, pitbulls always look scary. I remember my friend's dad had a mean looking pibtull named Rasta, it had to be always chainged to the garage. Police ended up shooting it because they reckon it escaped and attacked a child. It survived the gun shot and was put down after the court case.

I got to admit that is the first animal I ever respected in the way that I knew he was in charge.

[Holden Caulfield]

Police ended up shooting it because they reckon it escaped and attacked a child. It survived the gun shot and was put down after the court case.

i saw in a shitty Tabloid after New Orleans got fucked over 2 pitbulls attacking an acctualy bull to eat they got the shit kicked out of them but still killed it then the cops shot them about 3 times eat to actually finishs them off,

scary dogs

[Holden Caulfield]

he's a sweety (and a mud by the way, there is also a lot of colly and other breeds in there, his bothers and sisters look a lot less like a pit than he does)
as long as your not an other male dog (he is quite dominant) or try to atack me you're as safe as you can be around the most hippy dog, he's fine with kids (even when they pull his ears an stuff) and he even plays with cats, rabits and other animals without hurting them a bit.
looks scary but is really a big softy who does that remind me of?:lol:

[Rascolnikova]

i saw in a shitty Tabloid after New Orleans got fucked over 2 pitbulls attacking an acctualy bull to eat they got the shit kicked out of them but still killed it then the cops shot them about 3 times eat to actually finishs them off,

scary dogs

I think that is true mostly when people do scary things to them first. :(

[Sasha]

I got to admit that is the first animal I ever respected in the way that I knew he was in charge.

you see, that where it goes wrong, he shouldn't be in charge, i dont have any problems with my dog (discounting around other male dogs) because i'm firmly pack leader.
my dog knows better than to take liberty's because he knows i'll correct him, even physical if nescesary.

[Vanguard1917]

Although aggression towards other dogs is very common in the breed, he majority of American Pit Bull Terriers don't display aggression towards humans. The ones that do, do so as a result of mistreatment or training. The myths surrounding 'pit bulls' are so pervasive that they've even informed government legislation: e.g. the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act.

Blame the deed, not the breed. :)

[Rascolnikova]

Although aggression towards other dogs is very common in the breed, he majority of American Pit Bull Terriers don't display aggression towards humans. The ones that do, do so as a result of mistreatment or training. The myths surrounding 'pit bulls' are so pervasive that they've even informed government legislation: e.g. the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act.

Blame the deed, not the breed. :)

According to the book Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin, at least 65% of lethal dog bites in the US are from rotweilers and pit bulls--which make up nowhere near 65% of the dog population in the US. It's not all mythology.

However, many agree with you (and me) that a lot of people attracted to these breeds train them abusively towards guard/attack dog status, which probably causes a lot of it.

[Holden Caulfield]

i herd that some dogs have inbred mental problems and can just snap when they get old and attack everything,

true or myth?

[Rascolnikova]

i herd that some dogs have inbred mental problems and can just snap when they get old and attack everything,

true or myth?

True, same book.


Edit: doesn't describe that particular mental problem, just many similar ones, and some things about the connections between neurology and inbreeding. And I knew a dog with that particular one.

[Vanguard1917]

According to the book Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin, at least 65% of lethal dog bites in the US are from rotweilers and pit bulls--which make up nowhere near 65% of the dog population in the US. It's not all mythology.

'Bite statistics are difficult to obtain accurately. Dogs that are referred to as "pit bulls" in statistical reports actually are a variety of breeds and mixes lumped together under the "pit bull" heading. Also, many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misindentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terrier is considerably lower than represented. Also important to understand is the extreme popularity of the Pit Bull and pit bull-type breeds. By some estimates, number-wise they are the most popular of all dog breeds. It is only logical to assume that the breed with the higher number of individual dogs would be represented with a higher number of bites. Viewing older statistical reports for the Centre of Disease Control, one will see that trends in breed popularity reflect in the number of bites attributed to a specific breed during a specific period of time.'

http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html

[Rascolnikova]

'Bite statistics are difficult to obtain accurately. Dogs that are referred to as "pit bulls" in statistical reports actually are a variety of breeds and mixes lumped together under the "pit bull" heading. Also, many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misindentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terrier is considerably lower than represented. Also important to understand is the extreme popularity of the Pit Bull and pit bull-type breeds. By some estimates, number-wise they are the most popular of all dog breeds. It is only logical to assume that the breed with the higher number of individual dogs would be represented with a higher number of bites. Viewing older statistical reports for the Centre of Disease Control, one will see that trends in breed popularity reflect in the number of bites attributed to a specific breed during a specific period of time.'

http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html


Temple Grandin is an extremely well respected animal science PhD who is specifically known for her insight into animal behavior. I trust her analysis of the numbers, and her access to good ones, more than this website.

[Vanguard1917]

Temple Grandin is an extremely well respected animal science PhD who is specifically known for her insight into animal behavior. I trust her analysis of the numbers, and her access to good ones, more than this website.

There's no such breed as 'pit bull'. The American Pit Bull Terrier is a specific dog breed, which is regularly confused and lumped together with various other breeds, e.g. the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the Dogo Argentino, the American Bulldog, the Olde English Bulldogge and the English Bull Terrier, as well as with mongrels which have the "pit bull-type" (a very loose phrase used in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991).

Also, even if APBTs are disproportionately responsible for dog attacks, that does not change the fact that the majority of APBTs are not human aggresive. Aggression towards people is not a characteristic inherent in the breed.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

I think pitbulls get the bad rep because assholes who want to look tough buy a pitbull with no intention of raising an animal in a humane way like being kept in cages, encouraged to attack etc.

But that's what they were bred for (i.e. fighting, not to be kept as pets). A lot of people want to keep them as pets now and cry about 'bad public perception,' but the fact remains.

Beagles were bred to hunt rabbits. Even if you keep them in the house, feed them table scraps and sleep with them in your bed, they have a tendency to try and find rabbits when you take them outside (or even find a way outside themselves in order to do so).

[Vanguard1917]

But that's what they were bred for

To fight other dogs, though, not humans. In fact, they were required by necessity to be submissive towards people, e.g. the fight referee, the handlers, as well as their owners' family (who they often lived with as pets).

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Well, it's kind of hard to breed in exacts like that through traditional breeding methods.

Beagles were bred to hunt rabbits, but they'll chase squirrels, groundhogs, etc., unless they're well trained.

In breeding pitbulls as fighting dogs, certain traits were focused on: aggressiveness, strength, gameness (the ability to keep doing what it was bred to do even when in pain), etc.

Dogs like pitbulls were bred with the purpose of inflicting maximum damage and being able to withstand a higher level of pain. It shouldn't surprise anyone when they attack someone or thing.


as well as their owners' family (who they often lived with as pets).

What experience do you have with people who fight dogs that leads you to believe this? Fighting dogs are almost always penned up, and their submissiveness towards their owners is usually due to their dislike of being rapped across the face with a blunt object.

[Vanguard1917]

Dogs like pitbulls were bred with the purpose of inflicting maximum damage and being able to withstand a higher level of pain.

Again, they were bred to be aggressive to other dogs and in some cases to other animals (as in the case of rat-baiting, badger-baiting, etc.), but not to humans. Human-aggressive dogs would not have been suited to the "sport", since dogs attacking humans in the pit would not have worked. Such characteristics would therefore need to be bred out.

If you look at British fighting breeds like the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the English Bull Terrier, you'll commonly see dog-aggression but not human-aggression. The SBT, for example, is i think the only breed described by the British Kennel Club as being 'affectionate' with children. The Bull Terrier is described as 'particularly good with people' (link (http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/68)). The APBT is also commonly described as aggressive towards dogs, but friendly with people (e.g. link (http://puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/americanpitbull.htm)).

Of course, i can't speak for dogs with temperament problems as a result of mistreatment and "training". Such problems can also arise as a result of poor breeding programmes, as with all breeds. But in terms of the "natural characteristics" of APBTs, that they're inherently aggressive towards people is basically a myth.

[Sasha]

Again, they were bred to be aggressive to other dogs and in some cases to other animals (as in the case of rat-baiting, badger-baiting, etc.), but not to humans. Human-aggressive dogs would not have been suited to the "sport", since dogs attacking humans in the pit would not have worked. Such characteristics would therefore need to be bred out.

If you look at British fighting breeds like the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the English Bull Terrier, you'll commonly see dog-aggression but not human-aggression. The SBT, for example, is i think the only breed described by the British Kennel Club as being 'affectionate' with children. The Bull Terrier is described as 'particularly good with people' (link (http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/68)). The APBT is also commonly described as aggressive towards dogs, but friendly with people (e.g. link (http://puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/americanpitbull.htm)).

Of course, i can't speak for dogs with temperament problems as a result of mistreatment and "training". Such problems can also arise as a result of poor breeding programmes, as with all breeds. But in terms of the "natural characteristics" of APBTs, that they're inherently aggressive towards people is basically a myth.

intresting, never thought about it that way (i'm more of the nurture than the nature scool of thoughts) but that could be why my dog is so impossible with other male dogs while he is such a sweethart the rest of the time, it also would explain why he is more agresive towards other dogs when i'm around and behaves a lot better around less familiar people.

[Patchd]

A mate of mine had a lovely Pittbull. Buster, I always used to have him around when I was tripping on acid, he had been through 3 previous owners and used as a fighting dog until my mate took care of him, and now they're like companions, he doesn't go anywhere without Buster haha.