Pit Bulls aren't babysitters

Here we go again! No dog is naturally aggressive! The blame always the owners, not the dogs! Raising any dog from a puppy, correctly and with lots of love and care is just a dog! Pit bulls can be ignored and revert back to their original wild state just like any other dog. I own Shar pei, two to three at a time. At one point I was running a licensed day care in my home, for ten years! I have two Shar pei now and one grandson that visits often! There is a pit bull across the street! I've been asked why I would take such risk! My dogs are socialized house pets, raised from birth as is the Pit Bull across the street. Her owner did the same thing we did. The biggest problem is some people want to own one just to say they have one. They get tired of taking care of them and put them on a chain in the back yard to live day and night. Not too long ago a child was killed by a pit bull a couple of miles from here. The dog was chained in the basement and forgotten. The father told his 5 year old son never to go near the dog when he went down into the basement alone! Mix one hungry chained up dog with one 5 year old curious child and what to you get?

To be honest, I think any animal could be dangerous to a small child, because small children don't know how to treat them properly. And also, unlike older children and adults, small children can behave unpredictably and confuse an animal. While I don't have pets, my parents and my husband's parents both do, and even though all of the pets are well-behaved, I don't expect they will just lay there and do nothing if my son pokes them in the eye, pulls their tail, that kind of thing. Also he often shows them the food he has and only sometimes gives it to them. So until I am sure he knows better I will not leave him alone with the nicest of animals. It's not fair to the animal. I also think that while people say that you can train a dog, I have noticed that certain breeds are more energetic, others are more likely to chase, so I don't understand why there wouldn't be breeds that are more likely to bite. With more aggressive breeds, I wouldn't leave a child alone with them.

You have a point here. I too would not be comfortable having dogs, or for that matter, animals that are naturally aggressive or predatory around children no matter how extensive a training it underwent. I feel that it's a bit irresponsible for parents to do so. I mean, when you have your own family already, there are things that you need to give up even just for a while. Like having these traditionally aggressive dogs as pets.

Some people can really be so assuming. Pit bulls are naturally aggressive dogs. They are usually taken to guard the house and scare potential robbers not to be with children.

Just because of the breed it does not insinuate anything about the dog itself. It is all on how you raise any breed of dog. you can make a golden retriever or a lab into a "pit bull". I personally have a red nose of my own and she is the biggest baby ever. Little kids can put their hands in her mouth and pull her tail and she just sits there. As for leaving kids alone with them I would not hesitate at all because they are very loyal dogs and in a time of need I trust my pit over some babysitter to protect a child.