Addressing The Popular Idea that Pitbulls are Naturally Mean Dogs

[Rayleen1001]

Now, this is my first Mytake so please understand that I might not explain very well.

I was raised knowing that some animals are nice like puppies and kittens and some are mean like bears and snakes. What I was also taught was that what people give out is what animals give back. Pitbulls are typically used for dog fights because of their natural reflexes and tough build which means people raise them to fight. From the time they were puppies, they were taught to attack.

Now not all pitties are raised like this and usually those pits are careful and sweet because they never were taught to fight. People see news stories like "Pitbull attacks little girl!" and never understand that most of those pitbulls were raised in fighting situations and were rescued. Just because they were rescued does not mean they will forget the life they were taught. Thats like someone telling you to forget everything you think you know.

Also, the pitbull's medical structure also plays a key in violence. The breeds skull is built horribly. The skull slowly starts to almost cave in between their eyes (hence the famous dip in the forehead) and causes pain. This can effect how the animal acts. Now, something I dont agree with is police officers shooting them when they did nothing wrong. That is basically racial profiling. It is the same as a white officer shooting an African person.

The pitbull is also known as the "Babysitter dog" for their protective nature over family.

Who agrees? Reasons for disagreeing? Anyone wanna bet I can fight over this?

[OldSchool_Metalhead]

nice take :) I love pitbulls. I have one, a blue-nose pit. and she has been the sweetest thing. before her I had a dog that was part pitbull part mastiff. people were terrified when they saw him but hell he always covered people with kisses. but was also protective. my pitbull I have now, she's like that too. AND I have a mini poodle. he's so tiny compared to her, yet they love each other to death and my pit is always very gentle with him. like you said it just depends on how they are raised. blue nose pits have been labeled as "most dangerous pit breed" but that's hard to agree with when it comes to mine. if a dog is raised to be a fighter, its gonna be a fighter. if its raised to love, its gonna love.

[Rainie_]

The “nanny dog” myth has been debunked. They have never been considered a “nanny/babysitter dog”.

Old statements about them in the 19th century say that these dogs are most certainly not for women who should opt for a more playful/sweeter dog, so really never mind babies or children.
You should never leave a dog to “watch” over a baby/child, no matter the breed, they need supervision and the “nanny dog” myth is a dangerous thing to tell people, making them think it’s all safe and okay to leave dogs with babies/young kids. It’s not. Babies and young children can’t read a dogs body language.

I’m just speaking as a dog carer who’s cared for many type of breeds. While I’ve met some nice sweet pits, I’ve also met horrible ones, and no they’re not rescues, and no they were not the ones that were raised to fight. You need to be very good with socialising it and especially discipline when it comes to dogs such as pit bulls because of their bite potential. Friend of mine had part of her thumb bitten ofg by one as she was trying to protect her own dog from being attacked.

I’d say the exact same about dogs such as German Shepherds (working type in my experience), the one I care for was never well socialised and bites/attacks other dogs to the point that they bleed, and she will kill if not intervened in time. These type of dogs are no dogs for beginners or lazy people and can develop very troubling behavioural issues if not raised right such as the one Im caring for at the moment.

Unfortunately some people get these kind of dogs because they just think they look cool.

[Rayleen1001]

Actually, it has not. Most Pitties who are raised in a caring, warm home will watch and protect as will any dog but these dogs have more of a motherly nature.

[Rainie_]

Its not just about a caring warm home, met plenty of dogs from such families but have awful attitudes towards other people, dogs and children because they haven’t been disciplined correctly or socialised.

[lord_chilled]

Yeah, when you have a thing that was LITERALLY ( i dont normally use that word, so im serious) made, built, and bred to murder, then people are gonna be wary.

I mean i could be a 300 pound monster that was bred to kill by my instincts but turned out not to do it just because people haven't fucked with me (yet).
But i wouldn't expect people to take the chance.

Do you have any idea how f*cking strong a pitbull is?

I have seen pictures of a pitbull that bit of a mans head clean. His wife was crying beside him. It was his neighbours dog too.

I mean yeah, dogs are capable of killing a man, but i haven't seen a dog strong enough to kill via decapitation.
F*ck!!!

There was a news, a famous story in switzerland, when i was a kid, a kid my age was ripped to shreds by 3 pitbulls.

F*ck that abomination of a canine. They should have never created that dog.

Might as well have wolves as pets. At least their inhibitions align with their instincts and strength.
This is a roided up little f*cker with a napoleon complex.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely agree!
My mom's best friend used to have a pitbull, and she was aggressive... with love. She didn't know her own strength so she'd come running full speed to greet you not knowing when she jumped it was going to hurt.
My cousin had a pitbull who was so friendly. All he wanted to do was play but he was so bulky and once again didn't know his own strength. He was such a good dog, my cousin was devastated when she made the decision to re-home him after having a baby and not being able to give him the proper attention.
My other cousin is a new dog mom and loves it. Her boyfriend came with 2 dogs, a dalmatian and a pitbull. She'll often have her young niece and nephew over and the pitbull is better with the kids than the dalmatian is. She always says that the pitbull is so gentle with them, he's a big cuddler. His tail is like a whip though so if he's happy you have to watch out.

Any breed of dog can be aggressive if they are not trained properly.

A few years ago my uncle's family got an English bulldog, a dog not typically known for being aggressive. My older cousin was walking the dog and our younger cousins and I joined her. We had just started our walk and were rounding a corner when the dog suddenly snapped. He lunged at my little cousin, biting her leg and dragging her to the ground. My older cousin had to forcibly remove the dog. Luckily my little cousin wasn't seriously injured, but she still has a scar.

Pitbull or not, I'm leery of all dogs until I get to know them. Any dog is capable of attacking. Pitbulls, when raised in a good environment, are just big lovebugs that don't know their own strength.

[Anonymous]

Pitbulls are nice, gentle dogs... until they aren't. They are typically very sweet and docile to their owners, and that is the problem... owners think they are not capable of violence. They are. Every one of them is because it is in their genes. It's what they were bred for, which is why they snap at a MUCH higher rate than any other breed.

And no, they don't have to be raised to fight to be violent. I know of two families just in my neighborhoods (one where I grew up and one where I live now) who had pitbulls as family pets. They grew up with children and were treated very well. Both ended up viciously attacking innocent people, unprovoked, and causing them great physical harm, and both were of course put down.

Here are some statistics that demonstrate how much more dangerous pitbulls are than other breed, by FAR.

www.dogsbite.org/.../...fatality-chart-revised.gif

We are being fed misinformation by the media about pitbulls, and that is dangerous. Pitbulls are dangerous, and they should be outlawed. Hopefully it won't take you or someone you care about being mutilated or killed to wake up to that fact.

[BaileyisDarcy]

www.theatlantic.com/.../

Pitbulls are not an aggressive breed. Do some fucking research.

[Opinion Owner]

@BaileyisDarcy Are you you an idiot or just biased? I suspect it's both. You're deluded by your own confirmation bias. The evidence against pitbulls is overwhelming. Study after study confirms they are by far the most aggressive and dangerous breed. They account for more dog bites than all other breed combined, and they account for 2/3 of fatal dog maulings. Look it up; the statistics are freely available to anyone who wants to do some fucking research. You should take you own advice, dumbass.

Comparing a pitbull to a chihuahua? Come on, use your fucking brain.

[Jaye234]

My parents rescued a pitbull from their neighborhood who paid people of different races to beat him to teach him to loath them.
He was a wonderful dog.
His name was Casey. Casey was incredibly sweet but dispized almost everyone.
I was three when a county in North Carolina forced us to put him down.
A neighbor kid would tease him till one day Casey learched at him getting the kids shirt and ripping it off his body.
I would feed Casey dryer lint and popsicle sticks.
To end my story I do say that pitbull aren't a vicious breed but one of the most abused.
Even though it's been 30 years I still miss Casey terribly.

[Pyrofox]

Pitbulls true danger/(s) isn't their bite but their slobber XD. I mean rarely have I heard from any of my friends any stories about them ever getting bitten. Plus my niece wrestles with her neighbors pitbull (she is like 6 or 7 years old) and the worst she's ever come back with as far as damage. Is a need of change of clothes after getting half soaked in dog saliva.

PS: And by wrestle I mean she is willing to to play tug of war with the big dog XD.

Also pitbulls are like any dog the only reason they would ever attack is if they are "taught" to. Its the same idea with kids, if you beat your kid they are going to be more likely prone to anger outbursts and if they become parents themselves carry on the tradition they put up with when they get angry with their kids.

[Annie_Mosity]

My friend has an American Pit. Which I think is actually a banned breed in this country... But anyway, the dog isn't vicious or aggressive by nature but she is VERY playful. She once decided to play 'with' me and I ended up strangling the bastard thing to make it let go of me. It had never been taught that it wasn't the boss and that humans weren't toys, so although it isn't a nasty dog it is VERY dangerous. I'm terrified that one day it will get out, find some kids (because it loves children) and then start 'playing' with them... It will get put down in a heartbeat if that happens.

Generally there are no bad animals, just bad owners. My friends I'd a terrible dog owner...

[yoshi_wanna_ask]

I think for the most part pitbulls are okay unless they're mixed with a naturally 'nippy'/mouthing breed which can lead to problems, especially with younger dogs but I am very much against Staffies (Staffordshire Terriers) being used as family pets. Working dogs, sure, guard dogs, fantastic, but not pets.

The issue with this though is they can look *very* similar to pitbulls and can give them a bad name because the Staffies *are* naturally more aggressive/territorial and less domesticated. There really should be some sort of standard rules about *how* to own a dog like that that people have to follow the same as if they were keeping a lizard or a possum or something. Certain animals need certain environments.

[bente2]

Any bulltype dog has been bred to fight/attack. So has the chowchow, rottweiller, kangal, rhodesian ridgeback, even german shephards... all of these breeds can and will kill someone if they are made to. (Almost all dogs will)

The difference between bull type dogs and other breeds is that they were bred to attack other dogs. And THAT isn’t easy to “train”. Sure, they might like other dogs when they are younger but i’ve never met a bulltype that didn’t “switch” eventually (and often attacked another dog).

Though this isn’t a thing i’ve only seen in bulltypes, they are the most common breeds to switch like this, and the issue is that they are one of the strongest breeds as well, often owened by assholes that know nothing about dogs or people that say “my pittbull won’t harm anything!!!” instead of thinking of what to do if it DOES.

[Ellie-V]

I love pitties! They have a bad rep because PEOPLE put them in bad situations. And it's sort of a generational brainwashing. Like how cats were worshiped and basically royals, and now everyone thinks that cats are lazy and uncaring. Not true. After years of being pampered, you don't think cats are smart enough to realize they have a history of getting everything they want? Animals aren't stupid, despite what people think.
And pitbulls aren't these wild out of control killers. If you raise enough of them i the wrong environment, for a long time, they will be conditioned to remain that way. And the babies pick up what they gather from their parents, so... this "aggressive nature" is really the fault of humans.

[Chrysis]

You're right in that not all pitbulls are aggressive monsters. Their owner plays a HUGE role in how they behave, too- a shitty, aggressive owner will most likely have an aggressive, shitty dog.

However, pitbulls are more aggressive than many other breeds because, as you said, we made them that way, so they're sort of more likely to attack someone if told or to flip out than, say, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel- which were bred to be lap/family dogs. Of course you can have a super sweet & tame pitbull & you can also have a super agressive & mean CKCS- it's just more likely to be the other way round.

[LisaLisa89]

There are violent dogs of many breeds, including pitbulls. But the reason they are violent is normally because their owners have trained them that way.
Anyway, I prefer cats. But dogs who are raised to be friendly tend to be docile, just as you have said.

[NYCQuestions1976]

Sorry, but this Take is highly inaccurate. If it was always the fault of human interaction when a dog is violent, that would mean that every dog that is trained as a service dog, police dog, recovery dog, military dog, etc., would graduate 100% of the time because every dog is trained the exact same way in their respective program... but it's not the case. The graduation rate is between 70% and 75% for all dogs in all these training schools. Are there awful, horrible, abusive people that treat their animals horrendously and teach them horrifying behaviors? Absolutely. However, unfortunately, too often it's just the animal's instinctive violent behavior.

[LMNOP123]

I hate when people pretty much think of pitbulls, rottweilers, etc. as hell spawns. Theyre giant teddy bears!
Now for a dog that most would think they’re friendly, a dalmatian. They are not good for families. They are a one person dog and very tempermental. Believe me, I have one. She’s already bitten someone pretty good before.
You’re always much better off getting “Satan’s dogs”, aka pitbulls (Sarcasm intended) for your kid. A dalmatian is a big no no.

[Caaarl]

It's scientifically untrue and dangerous to say that animals don't have temperamental differences from each other. Even just humans alone are very temperamentally different by sex. It's one of the reasons why men make up the huge majority of people in prison.

You can say that nurture is the only thing that matters but it's just not true. Some dogs are going to be more temperamental than others regardless of how they are raised. It's like saying that a psychopath can be completely normal it just matters how you raise them. No that's not how it works.

Pitbulls can be tamed their not untamable but they are by far one of the more aggressive breeds.

[Anonymous]

I was raised withone and he was the most loving dog ever even down to letting us ride his on his back like a horse he was very muscler and looked mean but was the biggest baby ever. However on the other hand a neighbors dog got in my moms yard and it attacked her and almost killed her but we found out later the owner was a drug diller and had raised the dog to attack and was very mean to the dog and after what he had done to my mom my mom still begged the court not to put the dog down. Im not sure what ever happened to him but its all in how people treat them

[OlderAndWiser]

When we hear a new story about a dog, it almost always involves pit bulls, chows, or doberman pinschers. Never Labs. It is impossible to believe that genetics does not play a role in the aggression note in these breeds.

"I don't agree with police officers shooting them. . . It is the same as a white officer shooting an African person." You may want to post an update clarifying that comment.

[xXiTacoXx]

Meanwhile there are studies that show labs attack more than pitbulls but w/e.

[OlderAndWiser]

@xXiTacoXx It is difficult to respond to replies that assert the existence of contrary facts but which do not provide any citations for those contrary facts. I read claims that "It is widely known" or "they have discovered" and it relates to something I have never heard; quite often the facts claimed seem rather improbable. If I am wrong, I would like to correct my facts but I never believe unsubstantiated assertions.

[DianaWest]

Yeah, sure you think this, until someone you know gets attacked by one, and then we'll hear your thoughts on the matter. I don't think they should be killed, and they do deserve love, but unfortunately they are known for their bad reputation and violent tendencies, and I don't think anyone wants to become dog food. So before being so concerned for the dog's feelings, you need to be concerned for the human lives that have been lost due to maiming by the pitbulls themselves.

[Rayleen1001]

My opinion will never change. I dont care if its my sister being attacked. Sounds bad but, these dogs have reasons (usually horrible) to act the way they do.

[bubble_tea]

According to this dedicated website thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/.../...led.html
.. the nanny dog is nothing but a myth.
.. they were specifically bred to fight.
But yes, not every dog has the temperament the breed is best known for.. So there's hope.

[Astoriana]

Pitbulls who are raised well are usually very sweet. They’re like giant lapdogs that want all the snugs.

They have very strong jaws though, and that can be a problem when they feel threatened. That can be minimized with the appropriate type of training.