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Original poster

Pit bull terriers

381 replies

Freckle · 01/01/2007 11:32

Can anyone explain to me the attraction of owning a pit bull terrier? Why would you choose that breed over any other? Especially when there are children around and the breed has a reputation for unpredictable behaviour - and don't forget that the breed was developed to take on bulls, so it's not going to be a pussycat in any circumstances.

Another child has been killed by one, apparently owned by her grandmother - here . I don't like flagging up bad news on here, but I'm struggling to understand the mentality of people who choose to own such dogs.

OP posts:
Pablothelittleredfox · 01/01/2007 11:36

I'm with you Freckle. I just don't get it at all.

Be prepared for people to come on and tell you their dog is soft as sh*te and wouldn't hurt a fly

Twinkie1 · 01/01/2007 11:39

We have a family moved in next door anfd one of their many down falls and believe mne there are many is they own a staffordshire bull terrier!! Not sure if it is as bad but we are moving so hopefully we never get to find out!!

I don;t understand why anyone would own a dog and have a baby but there we go.

nothercules · 01/01/2007 11:40

Staffs are very good family dogs but not good with other dogs.

nothercules · 01/01/2007 11:42

I have a feeling that statistaclly you are more likely to be bitten by a golden retriever, collie or german shepherd than a rottweiller. Although personally I would never have a rotty or a pit bull.

Twinkie1 · 01/01/2007 11:42

I donpt care I hate dogs after seeing my sister bitten by one when we were small - I hope it dies!! ( a nice death though!!)

Am a bit pissed off today as you can tell I am sure!!

Will know if we can afford our dream house tomorrow and I am getting itchy - to live in it and get away fromt he pikeys next door!!

nothercules · 01/01/2007 11:43

I guess some people can be just as aggressive as dogs!

Twinkie1 · 01/01/2007 11:44

Erm no I could never bite anyone or kill anyone with my teeth - what a rideculous thing to say!!

saadia · 01/01/2007 11:46

totally agree Freckle, just cannot understand the logic.

Original poster
Freckle · 01/01/2007 11:48

I think the thing with pit bulls is the potential harm if they do attack. Yes, retrievers, etc. might bite (and statistically you are more likely to be bitten by one simply because, compared with most other breeds, there are so many more of them), but, if they do bite, it tends to just be a bite (if there can be "just" a bite). With pit bulls, their breeding is to maul and kill. So, if they attack, the harm is likely to be far greater than if, say, a retriever did.

OP posts:
lulumama · 01/01/2007 11:49

there are plenty of family friendly dogs

a lot of how dogs behave, apart from ones that are bred for aggression and fighting, is down to how the owners train them

but no, as a dog owner myself, i cannot understand the attraction of owning a dog that could potentially be a killer..

Pablothelittleredfox · 01/01/2007 11:51

Yes, a golden retriever is not likely to maul a child to death, is it?

nothercules · 01/01/2007 11:52

I agree totally about pitbulls - wouldnt let my kids near one but most of the time it is poor training, socialisation etc by the owner rather than the dog being at fault. A dog is just a dog and needs to be handled properly - certainly not left alone with kids for instance. I agree with the statement about people saying my dog would never hurt a fly - that sort of attitude is fairly dangerous and plain wrong.

Any dog has the potential to bite regardless of breed. I believe most dog experts would say no breed was worse than any other although of course a larger dog can cause more damage.

SparklyGothKat · 01/01/2007 11:57

We have a staffy, and I get fed up with people comparing him to a pit bull. Staffies are very good family dog, and are in fact nicknamed 'the nanny dog'
I would never have a pit bull, a lady who lives up the road from my mum, had one when I was a kid. It was a horrible dog, and I think it was destroyed after I left home.

Original poster
Freckle · 01/01/2007 11:57

The news report says that the police were called at about 4.30am, which rather suggests that the child got up in the middle of the night. The grandmother was badly injured too.

Of course, any dog has the potential to bite and very often it is the ownership and training of the dog which is at fault when this does happen. But there are breeds which are more dangerous than others (hence why the Dangerous Dogs Act was brought about - to cover all dogs but mainly because of the harm caused by certain breeds such as the American Pit Bull - now banned in this country). Most dogs will bite out of fear or to defend themselves. Some breeds will attack because that is what they have been bred to do. Why would you choose to own such a breed?

OP posts:
Original poster
Freckle · 01/01/2007 11:58

Oh I agree. Staffies are darlings.

OP posts:
Pablothelittleredfox · 01/01/2007 11:58

The thing is sparkly - they look like pit bulls so you will get that reaction from people.

I wouldn't know the difference tbh but if it looks vaguely like a nasty a dog I'm going in the other direction!

fortyplus · 01/01/2007 11:59

Earlier this week my friend's sister went to pick up her daughter from the farm where her daughter rides a pony. Not knowing she was there, the owner came back and let his German Shepherd off its lead. It ran round into the yard straight for her and savaged first her coat and then her leg. She had the presence of mind to stay totally quiet and still and keep her arms crossed until the owner came (a few seconds later). He was unable to pull the dog off her so dragged her over a fence so it had to let go.
She has a ruined coat and a puncture wound in her thigh, but is haunted by what could have happened if the victim had been a child - probably knocked to the ground and screaming.
The owner's attitude - 'He's usually so friendly - s'pose I'll have to get him trained, now'.
Yeah, right...

nothercules · 01/01/2007 12:00

I wouldn't choose to own a pit bull and I totally agree with you on teh point about not understanding why any would want to.

What I do disagree with though is not owning any dog at all if you have children.

ballbaby · 01/01/2007 12:05

I believe that some countries have german shepherds on their dangerous dogs lists. All dogs are dangerous to some extent - there was a child killed by a poodle i think around 10 years ago. Think the problem with pit bull terriers and the like is more that many of the people that own them can't cope with them - and the reasons they buy them.

Original poster
Freckle · 01/01/2007 12:06

I had a dog when I became pregnant with DS1. She was 3/4 GS and 1/4 whippet. I'd had her from 6 weeks. I did worry briefly that, having been my surrogate baby for about 5 years, having a real baby in the house might cause problems. As it was, she was absolutely fabulous and totally tolerant of anything the children did. I still wouldn't trust her 100% or leave her alone with the boys because she was a dog and dogs can react unpredictably at times.

However, it never occurred to me to get rid of her (not sure I could have) when I became pregnant. Dogs can be part of the family and children and dogs go together like love and marriage. It can be a wonderful partnership and teaches the children so much about respect for animals, caring for them, etc.

I do believe they should bring back licences for dogs and give the licences some teeth. All dogs should be microchipped, vaccinated and neutered unless kept for breeding purposes. The licence should be expensive and its withdrawal for any reason should lead to a lifetime ban from owning a dog. This might go some way to ensuring responsibility on the part of owners and give the law a bit more leverage.

OP posts:
CatherineEarnshaw · 01/01/2007 12:24

at 3 am last night YES NEW YEARS EVE my dp was called to a dog savaged by a german shepherd dog

a tiny thing - half its back torn off - the owner in hospital with a tattered hand and the owners husband with a bleeding and swollen hand

IRRESPONSIBLE and nasty

worleywinterwonderland · 01/01/2007 12:25

my point of view is that it doesnt matter what breed the god is, they are just as likely to turn as any other. i trained as a vet nurse before i had my children and to be honest the most nasy dogs we had in were toy breeds such as yorkies, lhasa apsos, jack russels. we did get the occassional nasty gsd, lab and rottie. i know there is a big difference in the amount of damage a little dog can do compared to a big one, but they are all still dogs and can never be trusted 100%.

when the legislayion came in to neuter, microchip and register pitbulls it was the responsible owners who brought them in, not the owners whose dogs needed it most. making all dogs have to be registered etc will just create a black market IMHO

CatherineEarnshaw · 01/01/2007 12:28

beg to differ with german shepherds

ballbaby · 01/01/2007 12:30

Have heard that the worst thing you can possibly do is to buy any dog as a guard dog. If you encourage any aggressive instinct against possible intruders, how does the dog know when to turn that off? Those two rottweilers on the flat roof last year seemed to be a product of that.

SparklyGothKat · 01/01/2007 12:45

I know he looks like a bull pit terrier but believe me, he is a big softy. He acts like a puppy most of the time. If I am truthful, when DH said that he wanted a staffy, I was worried, but when I read up on staffies, I realised that I had it all wrong, like any dog, if they are brought up to attack then they most likely will. I am not trying to say that all staffies are angels, I know that in the wrong hands they can be nasty, but any dog can be like that.
That said I am worried about having a dog around the new baby when its born, so we are thinking about rehoming him, not because I think he will attack the baby, but because I know how heavy and clusmy our staffy can be, and am worried that he will jumped up and knock the crib or pram over.