Moonpi

Just as an example, in New Port Ritchy tonight, a week-old baby was killed by a pit mix. Over 50 puncture wounds. Other breeds would not "overkill" like that.

I will stand by my belief that inbreeding and sadistic humans have created monsters.

CAROLJ

I went on line to see, and there was a report by Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People and he found 74% of all attacks were by Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and Presa Canarios. I still believe it is how the dog is trained.

cjomomma

I had a pit once back when we were starting our family. She was a wonderful dog and liked to play with the neoghborhood kids when she was tied up out front. But if you were a bad person that gave off bad vibes she would go for the attack. After we started having kids we decided to get rid of her because she got so big and powewrful that we were scared she could accidently hurt or kill one of the kids just trying to play with them. Eventually we did stop putting her out front because of this.

Edie

I get so darn sick and tired of people calling the American Staffordshire Terrier a Pit Bull. When my husband was having surgery and a bunch of us were in the waiting room waiting for our loved ones to come out of surgery, a guy came in with a white dog. I always carry dog biscuits in my purse (one of the things dog owners have in their purse) and I asked him if his dog could have one. "Sure". She was an American Staffordshire. She came around to all of us. We petted her and loved her - I sat on the floor, she rolled over and I rubbed her tummy.

I also remember driving down a street several years ago with a dog with heavy chains wrapped around his body, lugging them like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. I could have cried for that dog. (It was being trained for fighting in the pit). That was an American Staffordshire. NOT A PIT BULL. The Pit Bull has two legs, stands upright, and has a heart of steel, fights those dogs till they bleed and sometimes die. As a dog owner and dog lover (like my husband) I intensely despise these people who raise dogs like that. Don't get me going. They walk down the street, yank on their chains - hey, these animals are just like our Bess (the avatar), curious, nosy, love life and deserve everything that God put them on the earth for.

Be afraid of an American Staffordshire, never! Be afraid of the PIT BULL, you bet your sweet life. If they treat people the way they treat their dogs, steer clear. American Staffordshires are a sweet gentle dog trained by sweet gentle people. Edie

Lyn

We have a pitbull in our neighborhood. He is owned by a policeman who lets him out every morning to wander the neighborhood. The pit came into my yard while I was playing with my dog. He growled at me then ran away. The biggest problem is the two half labs down the street. They attacked my dog while I walked her on a leash and they snuck up behind my neighbor while she was trying to teach her daughter to ride a bicycle and bit her. Left a black bruise the size of two out stretched hands. It just depends on how much control you have on the dog and how it was raised. Neither of these senarios are good.

Needles

It's not about bites, all dogs have that propensity. It's about size, strength, attack and not letting go. I would have kept a shovel handy too had I Pits charging my fence. No PET lives in the back yard, sorry, they just don't.

We wouldn't even be able to have our homeowners insurance were we to have a 'sweetheart' animal. If these dogs lose it, they do not bite..........they attack and do not quit.
We've had two huge German Shepards over the years so I'm not afraid of large animals. They lived in our house, not chained in the back yard.

lfw045

First of all, I have raised American Pit Bull Terriers for 25 years.....had one male ( raised from pup) and 2 females (the first rescued from an idiot who was trying to teach her to fight another pit bull). The first one we rescued was 11 months old when I rescued her....she was great with the kids but didn't like other dogs and tolerated cats. She was bred and I helped her raise a litter and was responsible when choosing who raised her puppies. Our 2nd female came from one of those puppies and we had her until she was 13 and we had to have her put down because of cancer. My dogs were raised with my 3 children and they were great with them!

My reason for saying all of that is this.......it doesn't matter what breed of dog it is....they can all turn bad if not raised right. It is the responsibility of the owner...totally...to see to that. Our dogs were on airline cable if they were put out to go potty and were watched.

The post about the policeman letting his dog run the streets at night.........they should have his badge for that.

American Put bull Terriers are gentle loving clowns when the owner is responsible and loves and trains the dog well.
It gets my ire up when people who have never owned one of these dogs puts all of them in the category of dogs that have been allowed to run wild and do damage that their owners put them in the position to be able to do.

I'm done....sorry for the rant...but I stand by exactly everything I just said.

LovingIzabella

I agree 100%.
Hugs
April

Quilter2B

This described my Roxy to a "T". She was the runt of the litter; her mom was a red nose pit and her dad was a pit/shepherd; She is such a scaredy cat it is too funny (she will stand behind me and bark!) but she is the most loyal of dogs. We've had her breed since her grandmother and she will be ten on May 1. She is such a "mamma" dog and she is constantly my shadow. I lovingly call her my "burden" 'cause she is always there! Her bed is in my sewing room.

I believe the breed gets a bum rap; if they are left to their own (no or not much human contact) any breed may become aggressive and a lot of people have taught their dogs to be "watch" dogs and to be mean. Dogs in groups will learn to fight for their standing in the pack; we saw that with Roxy's 15 litter mates. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body.

Candace

My step brother (who's not the brightest lightbulb I may add) breeds pitbulls. He routinely drowns puppies that try to bite him before they have eyes open and teeth. To me that does speak about genetics. I've never heard of any other breed that will try to lock on before they can even walk. And if you have geniuses like my step-brother providing the genetics of your dog, beware. And I'm thinking there are plenty of other breeders like him out there... Yes, I think how they're raised makes them who they are. But, the genetic predisposition to draw blood may be there. Depending on the breeder, of course. Personally, I'd be so wary of lawsuits and possible negative outcomes, I'd never own one.