Treat any dog (or Holman) with love, discipline and kindness and he is a blessed friend for life. Make any dog (or Human) fight for their food, beat them, praise them for aggressiveness and cruelty and you have a fighter for life. Just my 2 cents worth.

Edie: Totally understand about your position on the "Pit" name. I have a different take on the name. I so enjoy introducing people to my gentle and affectionate "Pit Bull". He is such a living example of how wrong the stereotype is that actually I like to bring up the name in some hope of desensitizing people to the label. The flip side is I have had a couple of women get hysterical at the mere sight of him sitting in the car with me. My vet says that teaching people that Pits are not dangerous is kind of a hopeless task but I think dealing with people one at a time on this issue may help.

Billi is correct, With proper training, they do make excellent house pets WITH children. I also was skeptical but then I my friend's daughter who has a young child pit bull and he was as much of a lover as any lab I have ever met. The breed has a bad reputation from evil people who should never bee allowed to own any living animal.

My friend has one and he is the most adorable big ole baby!! He has never been aggressive in the 10 years she has had him. She has three kids and he has been climbed on, rode like a horse, had his tail and ears pulled on and not once snapped at any of them. It is all how they are raised. They are not aggressive by nature but are very protective and loyal dogs. They only do what their human trains them to do.

As with all dogs, regardless of breed, they should never be left alone with small children. Plain and simple. It's usually the owners fault when a dog, regardless of breed, turns bad. When choosing a puppy, go for the outgoing, friendly pups. Not the scared one hiding in the corner, temperament always tells.

Training, training, training it is all about training. roguequilter RE: the infection I again suggest Calcium Bentonnite Clay I buy mine from Global Light Networks www.GlobalLight.net or 1-888-236-2108 for humans and animals. Use internally and/or externally. can also bathe in water with some added to your bath water. good for plants also . They are very helpful When I was on a bus trip to Phoenix the owner asked where I was staying, met me there and spent over an hour with me. That was awesome!

QB buddies, I just continue to thank everyone for the insight about the new puppy in our family. I can hardly wait to meet Daisy! Everything I am hearing from DD and SIL are positive comments about Daisy and how lovable she is. :)

I like pits in general. Good training, without hitting is best. Also my friend who rehabilitates and trains pits for service dogs said chaining one up is the very worst thing you can do. Pits are people dogs and want to be around you all the time. Plate at the table, front seat, and on your lap. I wish I had the photo of my friends purebred pit, Boston terrier & 2 yr old grandson all curled up in a big ball sleeping. That dog is still as gentle as can be.
If you look at some of the old photo's of days gone by, the very rich had them as companion dogs for their little ones, and for protection for the kids. Heck Spanky and Alfalfa had one too. Just love the little critter, and you'll be fine.

Guess I'm not with most folks on the board. I would not own a pit bull, especially with children in the house. It's just not worth the risk. That being said, I would be very cautious about ANY breed around children. I am the owner of a sheepdog, and he's very cute, but I would never let him around infants because he's bossy and unpredictable. So, yes, it does depend on the individual dog, the damage a pit bull can do in nano-second is often deadly, if not at the very least, scarring.

my ex boyfriend had one, what a wimp. the new kitten swiped at him and took a piece of his earout.
It's all how they are raised.
Petey on the little rascals was a pit bull too.