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Since pretty much every topic on Pitbulls has been locked or deleted due to a flame war, I've decided to make a new one.

What's your opinion on Pitbulls? Do you think they deserve their bad reputations or do you think their just as nice as other dogs?

I think they can be just as nice -- if not nicer -- as other dog breeds, but with proper training of course.

But I also think that if a pitbull (OR any dog) attacks or kills a human without reason it should be put down. NOT shot in the head but put down properly.

Alot of people think that just because their 6 month old pitbull hasn't bitten anybody before that it will never attack anybody in it's lifetime. A majority of the time their right, but as I mentioned in another topic Pitbulls take longer to mature. You can't just stop the training at 10 months and expect it do still know what it's been taught.

I could go on and on about my opinion but I want to hear yours.

NO FLAMING!

Can I just say; this topic is a war cry, ok? There will be flaming and there will be stubborn people refusing to accept opinions.

I love Pit Bulls. I believe they are wrongly stereo-typed as aggressive fighting dogs who kill young children and can turn on you at any point of their lives. Most of this is myth. A Pit Bull that is well brought up, socialized from a young age and above all trained will not be dangerous. This is the same with ANY breed of dog. A dog is born like a baby, they do not know right from wrong or good from bad. They need to be taught and corrected. Without this knowledge they won't know where they stand within a human family. Are they the Alpha or Omega? This is why, when a dog falls into the wrong hands, he is hyper, uncontrollable and potentially dangerous. Note how I said dog. ANY DOG can be dangerous. They're descended from wolves for goodness sake..

As for the idea of them having 'fighting blood'... yes, once they were trained purely for fighting. If you brought a Pit Bull up to fight he'd probably be hard to retrain. However, if brought up from a puppy well-socialized and avoiding fighting situations he'll be like any other dog. They will not turn on children any more than a spaniel, beagle or ANY breed at all.

Leaving a puppy or an adult dog with a young child is stupid. Any adult would be a fool to do so. Play can get too rough, a child could tease the dog and it's all likely to end in tears. The dog is all too often blamed. How many kids do you know that would own up to hitting the dog?

In my 'Your Dog' magazine (which is Britain's best-selling dog mag) in the News section, the Kennel Club has been campaigning against the dangerous dogs act because they, as the expert's, say that any dog can be dangerous and it's down to training. If you want, I can scan this very page.

My aunt owned a Pit Bull / Staffy mix and he was well-socialized and got on perfectly with my dog and many other dogs. He also lived in pure harmony with my five-year-old cousin. He was very sweet but had to be rehomed as my aunt works full time and didn't have time to properly bring up a puppy. He never bit anyone, even through teething.

My final piece of evidence is what I posted elsewhere concerning a Dalmatian. Known to be a kind and gentle dog that's excellent with children. It got loose the other day and brutally attacked my neighbour's labradors causing the younger one to be rushed to the vet's with minor bite wounds. An update on that, this same dog 'went for' a six-year-old child in the village on Friday. This is a purebred, poorly trained dalmatian. Not a Pit Bull.

Well, there most likely will be flaming, it's natural for a forum this big. Hopefully people can be mature [or atleast more mature then me when it comes to flaming] and either ignore or try to reason with the person flaming them.

I know a St. Bernard cross named Rex, he was 10+ years old. His owners NEVER [literally NEVER] took him for a walk in his life. He didn't have a collar or a leash and obviously had no training what-so-ever, he didn't know how to sit down, heal or come when called and if by any chance he got out of the gate, we would have to chase him for hours [sometimes only 30 minutes but never under that] to bring him back.

I guess I should mention that me and my friend Michelle took Rex from them [with permission] and one day when we were at school, his old owner went to go and pet him & let him out of the gate. They tried [or so they say] catching him but had to leave 'cause lunch break was over. We've never seen him since.

BUT, to get to the point, he's attacked people a few times, a 6 year old girl, a 12 year old [while he was living with his old owners] and me & Michelle numorous times. He was not neutered..

That was totally off-topic I guess but that proves the point that without training, any dog can and WILL attack somebody..

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that even a perfectly trained dog could attack somebody if being provokted.

Yeah, it's an all to popular situation that is somehow ignored... and yet when a Pit Bull, German Shepherd or Rottweiler attacks they get press coverage and everything..

People don't realize that your average 'child-friendly' labrador is just as likely to bite. My friend's little sister was bitten on the arm by a labrador/golden retriever mix. The dog was on a lead but was apparently yanking at the lead and wouldn't walk at heel. My friend and her sister were apparently playing on the swings when the dog slipped it's collar and ran towards them and their Dauschund. At first it went for the Dauschund and when my friend's little sister got upset and attempted to get her dog away the loose dog snapped at her and on the second snap actually pierced the skin. The owner apologized verbally but that was it.

It really depends on the dog. Like people, some dogs are bad and some dogs aren't (even though all human beings are naturally evil). Plus pitbulls need training, like all dogs.

The only bites that I've gotten that drew blood were from a Blue heeler cross and a German Shepherd cross..

Both times I was wearing a big puffy jacket so they bit really hard... XD

Both of them were trained also, and both of them were told to 'sick me' by their teen owners. It was a joke but the dog didn't realise and did it anyway..

Yeah, all dogs need training. They don't know right from wrong unless they're shown. If a dog is taught to attack, or else, has never been taught not to attack then you can expect bites.

But yes, I do agree that some (and believe me this is a great minority and something has gone wrong...) dogs are naturally bad. I know a Beagle - and this dog put me off Beagles - that the people walk at the same field where I walk Archie and when Archie went over all happy to say hello it snarled and leapt up at him, teeth bared. I called Archie back before he got too close but the owners were so apologetic. They called it back to them and it heeled pefectly, sat by the man and looked for the next command. They explained that they've tried training him out of that but he just takes dislike to certain dogs.

their just dogs that mean people breed to fight

Ok... that didn't make much sense to me. People did breed them to fight so it is 'in their blood' to fight but if they've never been purposely fought in their life then chances are they'll never attack another dog.

I think it depends on their owner if they become man. My mom's friend has three pitbulls and says that they asre very gentle. I've seen pictures and they are cute ^^

Yeah, yours is so sweet...

I like Staffies but I think that the Pit Bull has a nicer shape. I always considered Staffies to be a little 'stumpy' whereas Pits are more muscular with longer legs. I also think that Staffies can be more tempremental than Pits.

Personally, I think they are the BEST dogs EVER. I have one Brendel Pittbull, Trixie Ann (I did not name her, her abusive owner had), and she is the sweetest thing ever.

Have you ever noticed that when someone is attacked by a Pitt they were either in it's "turf" or posing a threat to the animal?
Yes, there are those that ARE aggressive, BUT, I beleive it's all in how they are brought up and treated.

Oh all the time. People who are stupid enough to provoke a dog in any way deserve to be attacked. It's mean I know, but it's the truth. You can't just expect a dog to be perfectly fine when your stomping on it's tail or anything like that. If somebody started hitting me I would fight back also, it's self-defence and people OR dogs shouldn't be punished for it..

Yeah, they never tell you in the newspapers and on TV that the kid had been teasing the dog or had hit the dog. They just place the blame entirely on the dog.

I know, and even when the kid DOES admit to hitting the dog, the parents say stupid crap like 'oh but he didn't know! he's only 5!' A 5 year old is old enough to know not to hit or bug a dog..