02-13-2012 at 11:45 PM

Pits are the best ;).<br /> I think if anyone who owns a pit should be careful like making sure the fence is okay,and the pit can jump it,Or making sure there is not a way that a pit can get away from its yard. Because pits have a bad rep if a pit gets loose most likely people will think its mean and will bite so they call Animal Control and you can get fined and you never know when dogs (strays) might want to fight.

01-29-2012 at 7:58 AM

Unfortunately, you are wrong there. Aggressiveness has been proven to be something you CAN breed for AND away from. That's how we got our dogs today, from the wolves of our ancestors. Only the most docile were bred together by the hands of humans, and only the most docile remained as pets. Look at the foxes from Siberia. They bred specifically the most docile foxes to the most docile foxes, and in 25 generations had foxes that acted (and in some ways looked) like puppies.<br /> <br /> We bred for this, and unfortunately, unscrupulous people have continued to breed the more aggressive animals. Looking for puppies that growled more often, bred from parents who were more aggressive towards other dogs and animals. Aggressiveness didn't poof into existence out of nowhere. That's why they use dogs for bait dogs - because even though the dog is being treated like crap, it's not fighting back.<br /> <br /> There are too many dogs that are treated very poorly, beaten every day and so on, that do NOT turn aggressive, for anyone to claim that it is not genetic as well.<br /> <br /> No, a pit bull should not turn on its owner. For a very simple reason - the ones bred for dog fighting were specifically bred to be ANIMAL aggressive, not human aggressive. Being a professional trainer, I can tell you without a doubt that there is a huge difference between the two, for a dog.

01-26-2012 at 1:58 PM

I love everything about pits. I train and work and play with them on a regular basis. Now I do take a side on this, but I will take some time to address the following first.<br /> Pit bulls are terriers, so they have terrier instincts. Also, they were, indeed, bred to be tough. Then some doofs decided that making two of these dogs fight would make for a really funny show. So, as time (and evil) progressed, pit bulls were beginning to be bred to fight. People wanted their dog to be the biggest, so they bred big. They wanted mean, aggressive dogs, which comes around to my main point.<br /> People had to teach their pits to be defensive and mean. If you take two newborn pit bulls from the same litter, treat one like a puppy should be treated, and treat the other like a fighting-bred dog is treated, the first dog will (obviously) be just fine and the second pup will be aggressive. <br /> AGGRESSION IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR.<br /> Contrary to popular belief, a pit will never turn on you. Let me fix that. A pit will never turn on you if you consistently treat him/her right.<br /> Pits are excitable and sweet, which actually get them a bad rep sometimes! I had a pit bull that my friend was terrified of because she jumped up and barked at her. BeBe (I didn't name her) was barking because she was so very excited (so excited to see my friend she wouldn't listen to me for anything!) and jumping so she could give my friend kisses!<br /> Pit bulls are just as much family pet for you as a Lab or a collie or a chihuahua or a schnauzer! As Bea said, anything negative said about this breed as a whole is outdated and stereotypical.

01-20-2012 at 4:43 PM

:) Ok

01-20-2012 at 7:10 AM

Please read my post as it was written, and not how you wish to interpret it. I said "tend to be" not "always are" - there is a huge difference there. They are more likely to be prey driven (which can also manifest as a toy drive, aka "throw the ball, I wanna chase the ball!") than say a shih-tzu or chihuahua.<br /> <br /> I've trained a lot of pits, myself, in the shelter I used to volunteer for. I believe I have some merit here too, despite not owning one myself (my family had the mindset that they're vicious killers and can never be trusted). They can be great family dogs, and yes, they were used as babysitters for the family, but they also had other jobs at the same time. The traits that made them good babysitters (never turning on a human) were the ideal things that they were bred for in fighting (have to be able to grab the dog in the middle of a fight if need be, and not get bit).<br /> <br /> I'm sorry to break it to ya, but the history of the Pitbull has been a very violent, bloody one. This does not make them bad dogs by any means, and I am completely against BSL (we all know by now that banning anything doesn't work, it only makes the problem worse, such as the era of prohibition), but they are not lazy lapdogs. They are terriers. Smart, full of vigor and energy and they need an outlet for that or else they can and often do become destructive. This is what lands many dogs in the shelter, because people "can't deal with it anymore" simply because they didn't do their research on what the breed requires in regards to exercise and mental stimulation.

01-19-2012 at 3:52 AM

Thanks you guys for responding I agree with all of you ^^^ It's all the owners fault. Defineltly the overbreeding is an issue as well!

01-19-2012 at 3:21 AM

"Actually, Pit Bulls were bred to, as the name suggests, fight with bulls in fighting pits." well, I saw on three animal planet show that for awhile, they WHERE bred as babysitters. Maybe a Looooong time ago for "pitting with bulls" but after that, baby sitters. I dis agree. Pitbulls ARE NOT alway prey driven. I've fostered ALOT of pit bulls, 90% of which are good with my TINY active cats! And it does depend on the dog. I've has like I said before, lots of pit bulls, 60% which where lap dogs. Yes, they do need simulation, but dont we all, tecnically?<br /> Also... Its not just "entertainment" atleast nowadays. People still fight dogs. They fight them for alot of <i>money</i>

01-19-2012 at 12:05 AM

Actually, Pit Bulls were bred to, as the name suggests, fight with bulls in fighting pits. This also came in handy before cattle rings (the hoops through the noses) as the dog could hold the bull for slaughter as well. They were bred as all-round dogs, though the terrier, also as the name suggests, they tend to be very prey driven. Anything that runs away is prey, any small animal is prey. Try telling a Jack Russell Terrier not to kill that rat that's scurrying around in front of him, or not to chase that squirrel. Ain't gonna happen.<br /> Pitting dog against dog was a form of entertainment back before we had TV and all that. Basically, guys would get together to prove whose dog was the best dog. It just got worse from there and even continues today in areas where there are/were no youth programs, drugs are rampant, and animals are still thought of as property as opposed to living, breathing beings. The number one way to fix this is to educate, but the legislators instead decide it's best to ban, simply because they would rather pass a law that "bans something dangerous" instead of instituting anything lasting and actually meaningful such as education, supporting communities to set up 4H clubs and other youth organizations, making jobs for those who otherwise will be out selling drugs and fighting their dogs for money, etc.<br /> <br /> Now, to be honest, the only "problems" I see with Pit Bulls are the idiots (or, shall we say, Pitiots) who believe that these dogs require no more care than a lapdog, and don't spay/neuter and let it breed willy nilly regardless of health testing or proving worthy of breeding. These however are problems I see in many dogs, such as Border Collies or Labradors and Great Pyranese. These dogs require a job to do, or at the very least a TON of exercise and mental stimulation to keep them from destroying things, not to mention a good helping of training to go along with it. People need to research the requirements for their breeds, not just 'lol it's a dog, I can throw it in the back yard for exercise and play with it when it's small and cute and it will turn out just fine.' That's how good dogs end up turning into monsters and put down or thrown in shelters because they were "too much to handle."

01-18-2012 at 7:09 AM

Well, acctually, pits where bred to babysite like akitas, but some group of j-rks decided "ooh lets fight these!". I compleatly agree. Pit Bulls are the best! They are smart loving and like humans in a dog! I know something a litttle disturbing about what those dog fighters do to the ones that attack humans!

01-8-2012 at 4:09 PM

Agreed ;P

01-7-2012 at 2:11 PM

No...it\'s not right to ban any domesticated dog breed just because a select few members of the breed. (Example- The \"Blue\" genes,dogs that were mistreated.) I\'m watching the Pitbulls and Parolees marathon now and once I saw the council episode,I was discusted that people thought they \"don\'t let go.\" are \"dangerous\" and that they \"don\'t belong.\" Pitbulls for one don\'t have lockjaw,even if they did GSDs I\'ve met do. Pits were bred for fighting,but so were Dobermans,and other popular dog breeds. Really pits are better compainons than most other dogs. I know first hand,I had a breeder that lived next to me. His pups were awsome! They loved me,and my animals (my dog,and my cats.) Everything bad about this breed is mainly just a sterotype.