kclausing

You can't judge a dog by it's breed. It's all in the breeding and the treatment of the animal. I owuld be more leary of small dog than of a pitbull. I know of many kids that have been bitten by small dogs, but you don't hear about that on the news.

Pits got a bad rap because because they will do anything for their owner. And some bad people used this to their advantage when they started using them in fighting. It's very sad.

But it sounds like this is a wonderful pit and will be just fine with the kids.

My daughter has a friend with a pit. They brought him to my grandson's 1 yr birthday party with babies crawling all over he pace, probably 8 kids under 2 there. The pit was glorious with the kids. Gentle and kind.

sewer 55

I'm with Cheryl. I wouldn't have one, nor would I want to live next door to one.
As far as I'm concerned, they are not a breed of dog that should be anywhere near children or adults.

krafty14

My son and his family have 2 pit bulls. One is over 10 and the other is about 3. They have 3 girls 6-11. I too was concerned when they first got one. But he is the greatest dog!! He has been around since before the middle girl was born. I would get one myself but I rent and they are forbidden. There is a picture somewhere of the littlest one at maybe 1 1/2 feeding him his dinner from his bowl -- one piece at a time (and they are small pieces). He sat there and ate them without complaining until she grew tired of it and left. He then ate his dinner. The 3 year old is female and has a lot to live up to!! They have a bad rep. Again -- nature vs. nurture.

ps. I am their dog sitter, and can walk them both together with no problem!! It is the people who let their dogs run free that cause a lot of problems. Those little "ankle biters" get away with doing a lot of things because they are cute.

kjym

I think if they are raised right they are fine. I think that they have gotten a bad rap because of the druggies and dog fighters that train them to be mean. Which is terriable .
We watch the dog whisper all the time and he had a wonderful pit "DADDY" and now has "JUNIOR" and they are wonderful and gave me a new feeling for pits and Rotties.
We are on our second set of Shar-Pei and they have gotten a bad rap also. Our boy now weighs 85 pounds and is a lover. our grand kids lay on him. Our little girl is a "A" personality and is very bouncy and likes to play and run. But both just want to love you. kjym Kathy

dljennings

one of my best friends had one for 17 years... she was great with all the kids, who climbed on her & used her as a jungle gym for years...

youngest dd got badly bit in the face by a chocolate lab... just missed her eye, thank god...

just depends on the individual dog.

Ramona Byrd

We always had rescue Dobermans, and our vet said that he was always nervous around Pit Bulls. Said that they can be sweet and nice pets for 9 years maybe, then one day the bomb in their brains will go off and they will attack.

Around here the cops tell us if they pick one up, it'll be dead when it reaches the pound. Some years ago 2 pit bulls attacked a cop, but he was finally able to shoot them. While he was bleeding and trying to get to his car, the owner sneaked around and took the tags off the dogs. The cop remembered seeing tags on both of them. This was right before microchips.

That said, this weekend next door neighbors got a pit bull, a large female from someone, not a shelter. They have no idea of how to keep her in, she keeps pushing out the fence and joining me when I'm in front of my house. She is friendly and acts nice, but.....

Dolphyngyrl

I have been around a lot of them, really love the breed. I personally would rather have this breed than a german sheperd, akitas, rottweiler, or some of the other large breeds. If it is a very calm, docile, submissive pitbull, who is very well socialized with other animals you don't really have to worry. the ones to worry about are the very dominant, overstimulated, animal aggressive pitbulls. At my shelter that I work at we have to temperment test all dominant breed dogs or aggressive dogs. If its from a shelter I am sure they did a thorough behavioral assessment and owners were informed of all the things common with the breed. As long as the owner is responsible, experienced with the breed, dog is well trained and socialized, and kids are always supervised, not left alone, you should not really worry. Most pitbulls love people and are very sweet. Its the lack of training and early socialization that cause problems, also if the mom of the dog was aggressive , there is a higher likelihood of dog becoming aggressive as well. I think they get a bad rap because of the media fixates on them. I have been attacked by more shepherds personally than pitbulls, but the media doesn't tell you about the other breeds that attack. I was even attacked by a golden retriever believe it or not. All breeds have some aggressive dogs. If you know what to look for in a good pitbull, it's generally not something to worry about. Me personally I would wait until the kids are older, not because of the breed but because pitbulls think they are giant lap dogs and sometimes do not know their own strength, and you can get hurt unintentionally by them jumping on you or pulling at the leash hard. Again for this reason children should always be supervised, but i would advise this of any large animal, because afterall no animal is completely predictable. There are far more good ones than bad ones

Greyhound Mom

We have had my son's college-pit bull since his college days. We kept him because NO One would take him , 2 shelters refused to take him because of the breed. We train by Cesar Milan method and haven't had any issues. We keep him from other dogsbut, he lives happily with greys and other greyhounds that come for a vacation. One has to be cautious with this particular breed of dogs. Would I get another? Not sure. Judy

PatQuilts

I, too, have heard that pit bulls can make wonderful pets. My concern is that no one knows the dog's early history. We had a pit/lab mix that came from an abusive situation. Our adult daughter worked with him and he became our beloved pet at age 2.

He was wonderful until about age 12. One evening, my husband got too close to the dog's face and the result was 29 stitches in my husband's nose. A year later he nipped my elderly mother in the face. That was the final straw and I insisted we put him down.

My point--even if the dog is wonderful now, there is a need to be vigilant. I would never let the dog alone with kids. I would teach the kids how to behave responsibily around the dog. And at the first sign of a problem, there is no choice when it comes to the safey of children. As one becomes more and more attached to a pet, it can be hard to be objective which creates an opportunity for something terrible happens.

Linda1

3 pit bulls came in our yard and killed our 13 year old dog. Our vet said all pit bulls should be put to sleep. I thought that was strange coming from a vet but I would never own a pit. Our grandson does however have one and they love it. They have 2 beautiful baby girls (2 and 4) and I really worry about it.