Pitbulls. Do they have a bad rep?

Paradox74

Unregistered
P
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
262
Recently, I've recieved a video link from a friend where a cat and a pitbull were playing with each other. Not something that one might expect from a cat and a dog; especially a pitbull:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi7v1iUWj6w&feature=related

Here's one of the comments on this video:

"6 months ago 33 I think the pitbull's bad rep is due to the kind of ppl who like to own them (generally speaking). A lot of redneck idiots think it's a great idea to encourage aggression in their dog, then when it attacks some kid they're like 'omg he's never done THAT before!'.......?.........one word....idiocracy! "

I've also came across a website that tries to refute the myths about pitbulls:
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html

The pitbull's "bad rep" may be due to confusion with correlation vs. causation thanks to the mass media. Anyway, is there any scientific, peer-reviewed literature (or the like) out there that analyzes the behaviors of this particular breed of dog?
 
Last edited:
As someone who has had both dogs (no pitbulls)and cats for a long time, I have to say that there is nothing at all unusual about dogs and cats who live together developing a friendly relationship.
 
Yes. Pitbulls have a bad reputation. Probably due to all those children they maul. They must have provoked that dog somehow.
 
canada has outlawed the breeding and selling of pitbulls. Owners of existing pitbulls must have their dogs spayed and neutered. They should do that in the USA and everywhere else.
 
You can blame the dog or you can blame the other end of the leash. But everyone here already knows that I love the two pits that I have, and that I think the breed is wonderful. I am not saying all pits are good dogs- but that they are not any worse than any other breed.
 
Cainkane1 said:
canada has outlawed the breeding and selling of pitbulls. Owners of existing pitbulls must have their dogs spayed and neutered. They should do that in the USA and everywhere else.
Click to expand...
Bolding mine
I agree 100% and then some!
 
I am continually shocked at the number of pet owners who do not train their dogs - even the bare minimum of training, like bite inhibition and safe leash behaviors. A poorly-trained pit bull is of course more dangerous than a poorly-trained Boston Terrier, but that doesn't mean that all pit bulls should be feared, or that all pit bulls are dangerous.

I was bitten by a half-pit bull once. Do I blame the dog? No, I blame its lazy owners who could not provide proper training and exercise.

Edited to add: If anyone thinks that dog aggression is limited to larger breeds, they should watch a few episodes of "It's Me or the Dog" - that show features highly aggressive smaller dogs on a regular basis. It also makes the point that in many cases, aggression is a symptom of fear and anxiety. Positive reinforcement training teaches a dog to trust its handler in situations where it would otherwise act with fear.
 
Last edited:
Dogs are like people, good or bad depending on their nature and upbringing
;)
 
While there are lots of aggesive dogs out there, pitbulls have the aggression, size, strength, and resolve to do a hell of a lot more damage than an aggressive scottie.
 
Marduk said:
Dogs are like people, good or bad depending on their nature and upbringing
;)
Click to expand...

QFT.

Around here, Pitbulls get called 'Dealer Dogs' because drug dealers own them as intimidation tools.

It's a vicious cycle. A few badly behaved Pits make the news because they were badly brought up, and macho idiots think it's cool and get themselves a Pit Bull they don't really know how to look after because they have a 'hard man's pet' image. These dogs get mistreated...and so on...
 
Since we're reviewing anecdotes, once a couple of guys were walking 2 pitbulls (not leashed, though they were carrying leashes) in front of our urban house. One of the dogs chomped my neighbor's cat. He had a full jaw grip on the cat's abdomen. The pitbull owners were beating the hell out of the dog trying to get it to release the cat (and had caused pretty severe injuries to one of the dog's eyes). They finally got it to let go, but the cat was beyond help, and died a miserable and painful death on the way to the animal hospital. The pitbull owners scampered away before the police arrived, and nobody could find them.

I don't blame the breed, though. I blame the owners. I suspect they were mistreating the dogs (as evidenced by walking them in an urban residential area without leashes) and may have been training them as guard dogs or attack dogs. (There's a fair amount of gang and drug activity in the area.)

[I'm just catching up on the thread, and I think I'm referring to what Naddig just mentioned.]

So even if there were a correlation between pitbulls and violent attacks, I don't know how you could tease apart the idea that it's the breed itself and not just that that breed is often chosen for this sort of animal abuse.
 
In My Spare Time said:
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog Attacks 1982 to 2006 Clifton.pdf
pitbull terriers are page 2, and account for just over half of ALL attacks, despite being about 5% of the US dog population.
Click to expand...

That sounds the same as criminal statistics I have read, that most crimes are committed by 5% of the population. This doesn't mean that the entire population are criminals.

How many people bother to report attacks by a vicious yorkshire terrier, I've been bitten more times by small dogs than any other
:D
 
Any law strong enough and directed enough to prevent the majority of life-threatening dog attacks must discriminate heavily against pit bulls, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, and perhaps Akitas and chows, who are not common breeds but do seem to be involved in disproportionate numbers of life-threatening attacks.
Click to expand...

Does Canada prohibit the breeding of Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, Akitas, and chows?
 
Last edited:
I've been bitten by Pit Bulls-twice
Once as I was picking up some trash on the ground and it was nearby.
The other time the damn dog broke its tether, ran across its yard, over a fence, and on my leg.
I was walking around the house to the back yard. No provocation-I didn't even know the damn thing was there until it climbed the fence.
I have never been bitten by a Rot, Lab, or any other breed of dog.
Get rid of the damn things. sterilize 'em out of existence.
 
I usually am not a fan of banning pets, but personally i have seen no less than 4 incidents in which a trained ( as a pet , not a weapon) pitbull , for lack of a better term ' snapped' and bit someone. In all 4 incidences nothing at all was going on and the pit just attacked someone out of the clear blue sky.

That being said, the pit did not follow through very well with the attack, and seemed to be....ashamed? ( maybe scared of repercussions would be a better word, what do i know of dog psychology?) And though damage was caused in all cases ( 4 stitches on a face was the worst.) i am sure if the dog wanted to do a lot more it could have.

While i wouldn't agree with the type of ban on skunks that is in my province ( you have one, it gets killed. Plain and simple. ) i do agree with the having the pits spayed and not selling them further. While i do not want to see any animals killed, pits seem to be much better weapons than pets, and in my limited experience with them ( being around one maybe 8 hours a day for 2-3 years) they seem to be somewhat prone to violent outburst. Though to be fair, a lot of animals are. Heck cat's of mine have went insane and started biting me. But the key difference to me is the cat does not have the equipment to cause too much damage.
 
rwguinn said:
I've been bitten by Pit Bulls-twice
Once as I was picking up some trash on the ground and it was nearby.
The other time the damn dog broke its tether, ran across its yard, over a fence, and on my leg.
I was walking around the house to the back yard. No provocation-I didn't even know the damn thing was there until it climbed the fence.
I have never been bitten by a Rot, Lab, or any other breed of dog.
Get rid of the damn things. sterilize 'em out of existence.
Click to expand...

A small but real part of the reason I carry weapons.
 
Different breeds are supposed to have different mentalities, they also come with reputations, which gets them picked by owners with specific mentalities.

It can give a rather nasty combination.

The Swedish Wiki on Caucasian shepherd state that the guy that brought them in regrets it as they are way too aggressive to strangers to fit in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom