ANSWERS: 33
  • Any dog is safe when it is brought up with love and respect.It should be trained to trust all people and strangers so to be safe around others.When being raised,the more people and strangers the better for the dog to behave around all people.
  • i think any dog is safe as long as you take the time to train the dog and give it the love it needs. the thing that annoys me is if a pitt bull or bull terrier attack someone its on the news straight away, now if a poodle or jack russell attacked someone its all forgot about. people who fight dogs should be put into prison and be banned from owning animals for life. people who do make their dogs fight are scum. its not the breed of dog that is a problem its their owners. all the dog wants to do is please its owner. sorry i went on a bit there but it really annoys me.
  • my 85 pound pit bull is the biggest goofball ever. I have had him since he was a month old and he is as sweet as sugar. i dont think there are bad breeds of dogs...only bad owners.
  • my pit bull was tortured and used as a ragdoll for other figher dogs to test on. she found us after she was beaten and kicked out of her house and used to birth more fighter pits. she doesnt like new people, but she has never hurt anyone and once you get to know her, she's the most friendly (and lazy) dog you could find. she's also stopped people from breaking into our house. i think pit bulls are great, and should stopp getting such a bad reputation.
  • Pitbulls are a banned animial in the UK, It is illegal to own/sell/import one etc. This is wrong, they are great dogs, like any other dog, if they are brought up and trained right. Its Humans who fight these dogs for money and fun that are the problem, not the dogs.
  • It's not the dog or the genetics, it's the people who are not good pack leaders. You have to be calm and assertive and give the dog discipline and boundaries. Then any dog is a good dog, a dog who knows his place in his family pack. If someone gives only affection and love, the dogs consider you weak and they take over. If you are too harsh with them, they also see you as being weak because you are not in control. A weak person is never pack leader.
  • In my opinion pit bulls are safe to keep as pets. It all depends on the people who raise them and also who they are surrounded by. I worked for a vet for almost a year and saw pit bulls almost every week. Almost every one that I saw was very affectionate and loving. The dogs aren't the problems in most cases, the owners are.
  • Not safe for you. Not safe for your family. Not safe for your neighbors.
  • AMerican pit bull and the german pit bull are actually to different types of breed. American pit has no pit bull in it at all. But because they favor the german pit got there name. German pits are a little more agrasive but can be tamed. I have raised them for years and all my child has been around them and not once has my child or my self be bitten. The people who do have really mean pits is because they starve the pet to make it mean. they also give the poor thing gun powder which contains lead which give the dog brain damage. Or they beat them. If this happens to any dog big or small they will be agrasvie.
  • If you are able to instil good discilpine, they may be no problem to an adult, but to others outside their "pack" they may be, or to children, which can excite their prey drive.
  • On the plus side the majority of Pit Bulls are even tempered, loving, intelligent dogs who want to please people (as do most dogs), love to play, run, and often cuddle. They are great dogs over all. The PROBLEMS are that they do often have a higher Pray Drive than many other breeds, it's been bred into them to be this way. They have a much higher jaw grip ratio than almost any other breed of dog bred. And...since early Pits had Terrier in them, they have a strong DO OR DIE mentality. The Do or Die mentality can also make them outstandingly LOYAL dogs, who live to love and protect their FAMILY...adults, kids and other companion animals who are ACCEPTED family members. But, on occasion, it can make them relentless if the Prey Drive kicks in and they go after someone NOT deserving of their special abilities. All of the Pit Bulls I've known, have been very good dogs in all ways. Most of them were 100% socialized not only towards people, but towards most other animals. A few were perfect with humans but could NOT be trusted with other animals, dogs, cats....simply wouldn't fly. This is NOT a breed I would casually suggest for a first time dog owner, or to anyone who has ego issues..(of course I wouldn't especially want someone with those types of EGO issues owning any animal or having children either...in "my perfect world.") Most Pit Bulls do very well training with NILIF (Nothing in life is free) POSITIVE reinforcement training. They tend to have happy natures and take pride in knowing they have pleased you, but they also can be very into getting what they want...so you have to create balance for them...they GET WHAT THEY WANT...when they DO what YOU want! If they WANT something that YOU deem is unacceptable for them to have...then like any training with any animal YOU have to figure out what ACCEPTABLE thing you can convince them to want MORE than what they think they want at the time! This is not always easy, and there are a lot of lazy, or self-centered, or simply ambivalent people out there who will not bother to address this issue, or who will loose their tempers, or who will feel just too overwhelmed to even try and create an alternative, acceptable behavior for the dog to learn to do on command. All dogs bite. It is simply a matter of WHAT will trigger a dog to bite. With a Pit Bull if you stimulate the trigger, it may be a much worse bite than with most other breeds...there's the crunch...no pun intended. MOST companion dogs, may NEVER bite...because they are either not presented with "enough" stimulation to do so, or they simply have such a high threshold for putting up with what might cause another dog to go off, that they figure out another way to deal with that stimulation...(walking away from "the problem" or just putting up with "it.") It is truly an INDIVIDUAL dog by dog situation...for ALL breeds.
  • Pitbulls are just like all other dogs, if raised with lots of love and kindness then they will be kind loving pets. It is not the dog fault it is mean, it is the owner's for raising the dog to fight.
  • My cousin has a pitbull that wouldn't hurt a fly. Albeit she is very strong and sometimes does not realize it when she greets people coming in lol
  • If it helps, the last couple of pit bulls I met almost LICKED my hand off. Very affectionate, VERY nice dogs that just had a bit too much energy and forgot how strong they were. The same can be said of some Retrievers.
  • I have two, and they are the most wonderful animals I've ever met. The purebred has some emotional issues, but he was a runt, and my insane mother in law had a little too much negative influence on his upbringing. However, the one that was grown by the time she came into the picture, is the kindest, most protective thing I've ever met. ((he talks, too... he can say "I Love You")) Pictures included!!
  • I've only met two Pit Bulls in my life and both were owned by a family with kids. They were the were among the sweetest dogs I ever met. Big mushes that wanted thier bellies rubbed! I really think it depends on how they are trained and cared for... nurture as opposed to nature. Still, if you're unsure perhaps this is not the breed for you.
  • Yes. I myself have a Pit Bull. And as long as you give it love and respect HeShe will return it to you. I may have spoiled my dog and everytime someone would come by he would try to get them but he learned that it can't always be his way.
  • I HATE it when people think all pit Bulls are bad! They are NOT!!! Most pit bulls aren't aggresive, and if they are it is beacuse of the person that bred them.
  • The reason pitts have such a bad rep is the amount of damage they CAN do, not how often. I've known little dogs that were mean as snakes, but if they bite you it doesn't do much damage. You don't hear about all the aggressive chihuahuas, do you? But if one pitt snaps at somebody it makes the evening news. If you treat your dog right, they tend to act right. Of course if you teach a dog to fight you shouldn't be surprised when it does fight. Pitts are loyal, long living, wonderful pets. I hope you won't let the hype get to you.
  • in my experience, pit bulls if brought up and treated well are just like any other dog. many people discriminate because of the locked jaw effect, but if a dog is going to attack and wants to harm you, many of them could do it with no problem. a pit bull is just as safe as the next dog, it's just that so many people that own them train them to be vicious and ferocious, giving them a bad rep. people should continue raising them well, and earn them back some good notes.
  • There is nothing wrong with pitts! I've had one or two my whole life. They get a bad wrap because you have to raise them correctly. You might as well say boxers are bad or bull dogs. They are two of the best breeds around children. Incidently I have two kids. My Ducky (he's a red nose, and really sweet) is really protective of them. I never have to worry about them playing outside. I also make an effort to keep him socialized. I guess my convoluted point is that the breed of the dog doesn't matter so much as the owner.
  • i have 2 pitbull mix poopers. both are female, fixed, and weigh under 20 lbs fully grown. they are very cute. ive always been against pits. these two were strays and weighed about 5 lbs each when they found me. ive debated , with myself,over the years whether to just put them to sleep. if they were ever aggressive, i would put them down immediately. i have 6 other dogs, white labs, 120 lbs each and more. they are search and rescue dogs. yet everyone is afraid of my two little girl pits. even though they are sweet, i can see the fear on most peoples faces. its quite interesting. i would be more afraid of my bigger dogs licking a child to death or accidentally knocking them down. in any case, pits,male, and female, unfixed, or fixed,aggressively trained are very dangerous. i would put down any pit that showed ANY AGGRESSION. which is most of them.sorry.
  • When born to a well trained and well treated parent dog, and when well trained and well treated themselves, they are excellent ... it is the dummy humans that create dangerous problems by raising them wrong and/or treating them wrong.
  • I agree with everbody here. we have had pitbulls in the family for many yrs, its all in how they are raised, lots of love and kindness is needed yet you must be firm in the rules you lay out for them also. They are no different than alot of other breeds out there, Bulldogs, Boxers, Bull mastiffs, Rottweiler just to name a few can all fall in the same breed as pits yet all are loveing animals if raised right, the most violent dog I have ever seen was a mixed breed dog that had lab,chow and bite any and everthing that came near it. our pits on the other hand would let the kids in the bithing box while puppies were coming. so main thing make sure the dog you choose has not been over breed and see its parents, ask around about any other litters from same dogs to see how puppies turned out. this will tell what kinds of puppies they will be
  • The only correct answer is there are not bad breeds just bad owners. Dogs of all breeds have differnt needs and energy styles that require the owner to attend and understand so they can properly care for the breed of dog they have. Education on the breed of dog is necessary to understand their temperment. I currently have a 5.5 year old female Red Nosed Pitbull who is the best and smartest dog I have ever had and I have had many dogs. She sits pretty, plays dead, rolls over, dances and talks. My little nieces shove their whole hand down her throat and drag her around our house and she just takes it, never once getting angry or irritated. She loves to greet people at the door and is wagging her tail like a helicopter. She is treated like a big baby in my house and so she is very loyal and obediant. She has a temper when it comes to her territory (yard space) but as the owner it is my responsibility to know that and control that as well as reinforcing good habits and asking her to be friendly. She is very choosy with other dogs and tends to want to be the boss, but I am careful and cautious that her breed tends to want to fight in those situtations so I muzzle her when in public with alot of other unknown dog for her protection as well as theirs. If there were more responsible owners Pitbulls would not have it so hard! I love the look and strength of the breed. The most beautiful dogs in the world! Healthy and muscular with beautful bone structure!!!!!
  • Pit Bulls are dangerous by nature, before I have some save the whales tree hugger gnaw on my balls let me explain... They are dangerous: they have all the right tools to be killers!! They really are Bad Ace, but they aren't violent by nature!
  • exactly, it needs to be trained and cared for very well. but collies dalmation beagles huskies are all amazing dogs also
  • yes, amader of fact, my pit bull has saved my life 2 or 3 times. once i was walking and my dog was about 20 feet away from me and a HUGE dog charged at me and my pit noteced and lunged at it and there was a huge fight and anouther time some person started stalking me and he went to grab me and my pit protected me. i am very thankfull for that dog she is a blue nose american pit bull terrier and she i now about 3 years old and the best dog i ever had!!
  • my friend had a pitbull, he was taught to fight other dogs. once he lost and the owners poured gas on him and lit him on fire. he's still alive but like his hair or fur or w.e is not the same.. i literally cried
  • I have had Pit Bulls for over 10 years now. I have one now who is 3 years old. He is the sweetest dog I have ever had. Everyone who meet him love him, even the ones who used to dislike the breed. He is the best ambassador for his breed ever. I believe a lot of it has to do on how the dog is raised. Everyone here has Pit Bulls and the ones I have met were sweethearts. Of course there are the ones who are "bad" but it seems the media calls every bully type breed a Pit Bull which is not always the case. I feel my Pit is safe and I trust him 110% All I can say is I have had Pitbulls or had friends with Pitbulls and they never harmed me but a Cocker Spaniel bit me where I needed stitches. That is not to malign Cocker Spaniels but to show all breeds have their so called " bad ones" There are no bad dogs, just bad owners who do not act responsibly when raising a dog. That means responsible in every single way.
  • Pit Bulls are very loving and affectionate dogs. If given lots of love and good social skills as well as proper training they are WONDERFUL pets. I have one and she is so gentle even when you give her a treat! She is very careful to keep her distance from your fingers and will slowly take it out of your hands. Its all in the owners. The dogs personality will reflect how you treat it. My pit is like my daughter and she listens to every command quickly and shows respect to me and everyone else unless they are trying to harm me, my family or my friends. In that case she would gladly let them know that they are not welcome. Other than that she is my little angel. =)
  • "The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children. Because most APBTs exhibit some level of dog aggression and because of its powerful physique, the APBT requires an owner who will carefully socialize and obedience train the dog. The breed’s natural agility makes it one of the most capable canine climbers so good fencing is a must for this breed. The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its willingness to work." ukc standerd
  • Pitbulls aren't aggressive if they are raised and trained properly. Most of them are taught to be aggressive through constant abuse. A dominate owner capable of training a dominate breed will not have a problem. I know many trainers who have pitbulls who are great with kids. More on the pitbull training here http://www.greatdogsite.com/breeds/details/American_Pit_Bull_Terrier/

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