Why people are afraid of PIT BULLS?

I have two Pits and they are overly friendly. i think most people are afraid of them due to the reputation people have made for them. Yes they are a powerful dog but also most of them are big babies. I can not understand what people get out of wanting their dogs to fight.

When I brought Kessa home two years ago my neighbors fell in love with her, especially the 4 year old neighbor boy. One night his mom locked he keys in her house and I was trying to help her. The little boy came into my place without me knowing it. When I walked in Kessa was laying on the floor and the little boy had a hold of her tail and running his hands all the way down her tail and saying , 'Nice Kessa'. She just laid there and enjoyed it. Now is that mean?

well in the UK it's because they are a banned breed. in the hands of a responsible, experienced dog owner they are lovely dogs. this is well documented. but no responsible dog owner would buy a banned breed, so if you see one in the UK, you know the owner is not the right sort of person to bring them up right, as choosing an illegal dog is not a responsible act. recently a lot of the UK media tries to demonise certain breeds, like the Staffies, (which actually even have in their KC breed description that they are good with children and are also known as the Nanny Dog)rather than looking at the real problem. people aren't getting these breeds for the right reasons. they use them as status symbols, because they are strong and tough looking dogs. they are being bred less carefully to fill the demand, and the owners are getting these carelessly bred dogs, and not raising them right. often the dogs are encouraged to growl and signs of agression, rather than being dealt with, are considered a sign of how "hard" their dog is. and then they're stupid enough to leave these poorly socialised, badly brought up, bred with no thought to good temparament dogs unsupervised with their children. and then the papers bemoan these "dangerous" dog breeds, and calls for them to be banned. because of stupid people that want them for the wrong reasons.

What people don't realize is it is not the pit bull they should fear, but its previous owners. If they treated the dog badly, it can be extremely dangerous since it has the power in its jaws to crush a human skull like so much papier mache. But, if from birth, it is treated with love, kindness, and has boundaries set so it knows its owner is the alpha dog, then they are the most delightful dogs to own. I watch the Dog Whisperer and I love Daddy, the pit bull he takes on so many of his trips to help other dogs calm down. It is the person, not the dog, that is the monster in cases where the dog is an attacker.

People generally fear what they don't really know and understand. Back in the fifties, the German Shepherd was the most feared dog. Reason why people fear Pit Bulls is due to the media mostly. In it, you always hear about a Pit Bull attacking someone. Half the times, it wasn't even a true Pit Bull, but a dog full of mixed breeds that made it look like a Pit Bull. Pit Bulls by nature are loving and family orient dogs. They will protect their family at all cost, and yes they can be wary of strangers. However, if a Pit Bull is mistreated, and trained to be vicious, and thrown into a fighting ring, yes, it can do a 360. Generally, if the dog cannot be rehabilitated, the dog is put down. My sister owns a small Pit Bull mix, who loves her family, including me. She always has to follow me around while I'm babysitting my sister's kids, and she's very protective of them. My mother's friend also owns a Pit Bull mix. He was adopted some months ago, and at that time he was in pretty bad shape. But now, he is a healthy boy with weight gain, and he loves to be petted and spoken to. You'll find that Pit Bulls really are no different than any other dog, (Except maybe the wolf dog which takes a special kind of owner who is familiar with wolves and their behavior). Any dog can become vicious depending on how they are treated by their family or someone. And if a dog suddenly attacks or turns on its loving owner, best chances are, the dog has a tumor or something wrong with its brain. Not long ago, I did a search on the number one breed of dog bites. Interestingly enough, the Labrador Retriever was listed as number one rank in bites. http://www.livingsafelywithdogs.org/documents/DogBitesinColorado-FinalReport.pdf Page 23 shows the ranks by dog breed bites.

I think Pit Bulls have this bad reputation mainly because the mass media. Wherever you turn, you see articles in newspapers or news on TV about Pitbulls that bit somebody. But I have never heared or seen a story about a Cocker Spaniel who bite his owners. Dogs aren't to be blamed, only their owners are guilty. If they trained the Pitbulls properly, they would have been nice and loving companions.

The reason people are afraid of them is because when they are trained to fight they end up with a strong kill reflex nothing that you do can stop them when they get in the zone so to speak. I am appalled that some one would have a dog fighting ring. In my country that is illegal its considered Animal Cruelty. We would never allow that to continue. I personally don't own a pit but I have been around several of them that are the sweetest loving dogs ever. I think that it really has to do with how they are raised and treated by their owners that determine what kind of dog they are going to be. I hope that you never give your dog to that man and I wish that there was a way to save more of the dogs fromt he horrible fate that awaits them as fighting dogs. Just thinking about them makes me sad.

We don't have a pit bull at our own house because when we moved in here a year and a half ago we brought Zoe with us, but it didn't really work out because she didn't make the adjustment well so we sent her back to my mother's house. However, my mother has Zoe (who is half chocolate lab and half pit bull) and Sarah Lee who is a full bred pit bull. I actually worried less about them around my children than I did my Hound dog and the weener dog.

Hiya frey, Now I don´t mind Pit Bulls like I used to but I still keep a distance from them anyway as the Owners here don´t control them very much. My Mother was almost attacked by a female Pit Bull when she was pregnant with me the Pit Bull had got her cornered you see with no way to escape. The female was having Puppies on top and she was foaming at the Mouth. My Mother was terrified as there was no one on the spot to help. However I understand someone did get the Dog off her and she came to no particular harm more than the "shock" to her system and I was born terrified of any Dog anything that had four legs come to think of it. To be fair this could have been any Dog of course it could but then Pit Bulls were seen as very dangerous Dogs and where I lived a lot of fable and myth were built around any Dog that lived close by especially if it was a Pit Bull. Now I can walk by them without that terror. I can even go really close to a Rottweiler also. The ones that spook me the most are the Dobermans with that way they have of circling in on you getting closer and closer I still have to handle that. Luckily I have not seen any Dobermans without a Lead for ages either.

Pit bulls have gained bad reputation as you are aware from many comments here. Yes, they have been used for dog fighting. They have probably killed and mauled some people, including the helpless ones. I don't know about the popularity of pit bulls internationally. In the US, many areas/neighborhood/counties have banned this kind of breed, particularly of bad reputation. I myself haven't encountered or met many pitbulls, but I would hope not to meet the ones that are already trained to attack. Different breeds have different personality. When you have any pitbulls, it is better not to have any with younger children. It's probably better to have pitbull when everybody in a house is old enough to take care of one another (if you know what I mean).

If the pit bull is mine, then for sure I won't be afraid. However ferocious or aggressive they are, the moment they see their owners, they are just like any other dogs, affectionate and wagging their tails. But if they see a stranger, then that is another matter all together.

Their looks do put people on edge. I cycle- and most dogs seem to have a thing for bikes, some of which is related to cycle helmets. More importantly, it's the attitude of many owners who have them just to display an intimidating image, that are a greater part of the problem with the image that Pit Bulls have.

Because of their appearance, like u mentioned? They are not as cute looking like other dogs such as shi tzu and others, so pit bull are often seen as ugly. I kinda like pit bulls because they are unique and different from other breeds. They might be muscular looking, but they are not that fierce at all. They are actually tame and gentle, plus they are playful. For any real dog lovers, they won't be bothered about the appearance of dogs, while those who care, are mainly having them to pass time.

In my opinion people are scared of Pit Bulls because they are uneducated and ignorant. There are no bad dogs, just bad owners. Pitbull are great dogs. They are loving and patient and are great with children. I have never owned one but have known a few and they were fantastic dogs. The lady who babysat my son occassionally when he was a toddler had one and she was so incredibly patient with hi. He would take her bone and hit her on the head with it and she would wag her tail and lick him. Yeh, real mean......

I can understand the fear of pitbulls as most you see around in the UK are trained as fighting dogs, and are unpredictable. Yet several years ago my niece owned one. Had rescued it as a puppy before it was trained and it was a very gentle dog with the family and acted as a normal dog (just barking) when someone came to the door. It looked fercious, but there was nothing to fear. I walked in her house many times after it barked and growled when I was at the door. The minute she opened the door, it started wagging it's tale and jumping up to greet me. I tend to go along with the idea that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. _Derek

I am certain that your pit bull is very loving and beautiful. I am an animal lover and there is no dog I dislike but, having said that, I admit that pit bulls scare me. I once witnessed a friend being attacked by a dog once; it wasn’t a pit bull but a Rottweiler. She received cuts to the back of her legs and fortunately was not hurt any worse but it was so frightening! There have been attacks involving both Rottweilers and pit bulls that have made the news here on several occasions. I think that maybe folks who own such dogs should perhaps be licensed. At the end of the day if the owners are responsible like you are and know the dog’s temperament there should not be problems. It is up to the owners I guess...

Because they can eat BABIES that's what happen to a family long ago when they were taking care of two pit bulls. it went out and eat their baby, they killed it afterwards. this was on the news.

Dogs are cute but I must say that there's nothing cute about a pit bulls appearance, big head, muscular body, and as you mentioned baring teeth. A pit bull's body design is not made to be cuddled, instead it's made to fight. They are good as guard dogs since they are so intimidating. But i think it's how you raised them that defines who they are. If they are raised in an environment where they are well taken care of then they could be just like any other dog, a man's best friend. Good thing that that pit bull have you as his owner, I'm sure he will bring happiness to your family.

I think the reason why some people are afraid of pit bulls is misinformation and brain washing since if all you see and hear about pit bulls on the news is the bad their is a good chance you will not like pit bulls.Since my brother had a pit bull and she was very friendly dog.I think dogs are like people in some ways how they are treated and raised helps shape what kind of dog they become.

My be because the face and thy look to other it make so very worried about bite that why every one seing it make friten. And i dont want the lottery of pitbull coz there life in there so why other waste is u knw dog is bestfriend of man ok be respondsible to it