I am probably the most qualified person on here to comment. My current 3 pits in pic below. I have been doing dog rescue for 13 years and pit centeric for 6 of those. I've had in depth experience with prob 50 pits/mixes... here's my list: Gameness is definitely in the breed but some dogs to a lesser degree (prob 80% of pits would rate high in gameness) In short this means small prey is on the dinner menu, as well as maybe the neighbors cat, and in a about 10% of pits maybe the neighbors dog. This should never extent to humans and almost never does. The same people back in the day who bred the gameness into them also bred in a deep respect for humans (biddability is the dog term). Actually vets usually love them because they will let you do whatever to them without a fight Many of the human attacks you read about in the news are related to the high percentage of idiots who own them. Usually there is a circumstance that causes the attack that only an idiot would allow like... intact males and a female in heat... pregnant female... starvation... abuse... neglect... shitty "protection training" (pits make bad guard dogs)... injecting dogs with drugs/hormones/supplements ect. There is also a definite thing with a loose pack roaming the streets that turns things to a risky level (seen a few vids of that) (also it is definitely true that the media calls a lot of different dogs "pitbulls") Now that the overly well meaning people are getting their hands on ex-fight dogs and similar they are messing up too, thinking they can hug the past out of them or thinking a pit is the same as a poodle. Those are not turning out well. Strong dogs require a strong person and strict rules. That said, I dress my dogs up for halloween and wrestle all 3 of them and take them racing with me and all that. They are normal dogs but you must remember that they are very strong, they scare people and if things go bad they will go real bad. Also there are definitely a percentage that are gentle as a poodle but my experience says that's prob in the 20-30% of the pits range. My white female literally won't hurt a bug (seriously she runs away from them) my other 2 current dogs I won't leave near other dogs/small animals/kids ect. So basically if you are a strong reliable man and you want an easy to train dog that has incredible athletic abilities and a deep love for you like i've never seen in another breed... and you don't mind people being scared or having to skip dog parks or not have a cat too then they make a great dog. I keep thinking of things to add... Another important point that is true for all breeds but is even more important for strong breeds is that 2 dogs are just 2 dogs, but 3+ are a pack... the dynamics change a lot at 3+
Thank You, Very well said..................pits are incredible and very loving. Just need the right owner
While I agree with most of your points, I would contend that my nephew's attack gives my commentary a certain amount of weight.
We're gonna need to see a report card from a prominent university... Kidding aside, you make great points. You HAVE TO be the alpha, and that DOES NOT mean you beat the livin shit out of the dog on a daily basis... That's beta behavior, not alpha. My dog is an amstaff/greyhound (and please, they do not need to make any more of them!) but she would definitely be called a 'pit bull' by the media if she ever got out and misbehaved. She can not get out, however, as I have modified my 8' fence with springboards on the inside to prevent her from being able to jump over again. If she did get out, she would never hurt a human no matter what. I honestly think that she would allow a person to beat her to death and would not retaliate. But any animal under 10 or so pounds is prey to her. Period. She will kill it whether it's a squirrel or a chihuahua. For this reason, I do not allow her to have any way of doing that. With people, as I said, she is a powder-puff...
As someone that rescues it is hard sometimes to make people understand the discipline when used correctly is better for everyone including the animal. I never know what I am getting when we take in new dogs so you have to be diligent and correct any unwanted behavior in a productive way. It is far less stressful on them when someone in the new environment is clearly in charge. Getting them to work well on and off leash is critical to their safety and in the case of larger dogs your safety. Prey drive is by far the hardest behavior to get under control. Some dogs just can't resist the temptation if something moves in the woods or runs across the street. There is never a reason to hit a dog and that is entirely counter productive. However you can't let them go undisciplined because you "feel bad" about their previous situation. That's a recipe for disaster. Of course if you are going to rescue you need to work with breeds that are within everyone's skillset. I would not bring an unknown Rottie/Pit or other strong willed large breed into the house because my wife is just a little too soft to handle those.
I mean c'mon... just look at him! (But for real though depending on the angle you catch him at he can look a little intimidating... but he's a big softy )
See!!! Them damn petbulls be killin' errythang up in here!!! Damn puma was just pumaing... petbull gotta go kill it. WHY!?!? don't fall into the sarchasm