Pit bull terriers

[Freckle]

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.

never wanted to breed him

My dp didn't want to neuter our dog and I made it clearthatif the dog was to stay it needed the snip. If you can't afford the cost you clearly can't afford the dog which afterall is a luxury not a life necessity.

lol @the snip.. bet the dog didn;t like it, our dog looked so sad when we picked up him lol

he wasn't amused, I am sure it was worse as dp had refused for so long so the dog was a few years old. But it has calmed him down a lot, he wwent through a phase of running away and thathas completely stopped now.

lol, Our dog had a habit of getting out of the garden, we have moved now and the garden is completely safe and he can;t get out. He used to bolt out of the house but he doesn;t try anymore.

well, he used to bolt out and then stand about 10 metres away from the house and let me take him back... lol!!

ours used tyo make regular trips into the village to beg at the shops, atone point it was costing us a fortune getting him out of the pound, I got the pound owner to tell dp thatthe dog would not be returned unless he was neutered.

good idea, men just don't listen to the women do they??

Rescue centres don't automatically neuter dogs. We got our dog from an animal sanctuary and he was un-neutered - for about a month. We only waited that long because he had kennel cough and needed to be well to withstand the anaesthetic.

Misdee, your link picture is an English Bull Terrier. Do the Americans call this breed a Pit Bull?

I think a lot of people over react about Staffies (I'm saying this, and I don't own one.) In the proper environment, i.e. family environment or owned by a responsible couple, not by some hoodie who thinks he's hard, they can be lovely dogs and usually are. It's true that they aren't very good with other dogs, but this is their nature and will probably aleays be the case. Mt Labrador has a problem with staffies as she's been attacked by one a few times. This has unfortunately made her defensive and she will snap at any dog who comes to close to her, our other dog or us. Luckily, all she does is snap, not go for them.

When news of a mauling, especially where death is involved, comes out, people who own dogs and have children always say "oh I never leave my children and dog alone together." But in reality, how do they manage that? By following the dog and/or child around the house 24/7 or locking the poor thing in a crate all day? In that case, what's the point of having a dog? I do leave my children (none of them are particularly young -10, 8 and 7) alone with out Golden Retriever and Labrador, as I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I know my dogs aren't going to hurt the kids, and the kids know how to treat the dogs, so aren't going to do anything that might provoke a reaction.
One of my friends recently had to put her German Shepherd to sleep. Her Husband had bought her the dog as a guard dog because he works away a lot. The dog started biting a male friend of the family who visited the house, and then took a snap at the dd. Dogs can't be a family pet and a guard dog, she was expecting it to be both, but it doesn't work, the dogs receive mixed messages which they can't cope with. I thought it was a very sad situation which needn't have happened. As for dogs on the dangerous dogs list, I only hope something is done soon to prevent further attacks.

No, you're right. That is an English Bull Terrier.

this is an American Pit Bull.

I knew it was an EBT. My cousin used to have one.

The reason staffies have a bad reputation is because in the usual spate of dog attacks which lead to either serious injury or death, that are reported in the press each year, staffies are over-represented in being perpetrators (as are rottweilers).

That's why people don't like them. If collies were to go up the league, people wouldn't like them either. But presumably collies don't figure highly in the reports either because there aren't as many of them, or because they don't attack as frequently, or because as and when they do attack, they don't cause such newsworthy injuries.

SparklyGothKat your dog is lovely

I agree with many of the other posters about it is the OWNERS who are the major problem, not the dogs. We got our dog from the brother of a friend of mine at work whose partner had just become pregnant and she didn't relish the idea of having the dog in the house with the baby. We took him in and the first thing we did was have him neutered. This calmed him down tremendously. At this point, I'll tell you that he was an 11 stone Rottweiler. To us, he was just a big softie, but to others, he looked and sometimes acted the part they are portraid over and over in the press.

When I became pregnant in 2002, I was asked by several friends when I would be getting rid of him. NO WAY was my reply. I had always been brought up with dogs and been taught to treat them as part of the family. I couldn't believe they would actually ask me such a thing. When I came home from the hospital in 2003 with my son, from that day onwards, Bud became my son's protector - he would lie by his moses basket when he was downstairs and when we went to bed, would lie outside the bedroom door. As ds got older, rough and tumble play with Bud became the norm and he got used to having his ears pulled, sharing his bed (yes, ds used to climb onto his bed and snuggle with Bud and go to sleep) and many others things that a growing child does.

However, I would never let ds hold his lead whilst we were out for a walk, not that I thought Bud would hurt him but of other dogs.

When I became pregnant last year, again I had no worries over Bud and the new baby. Sadly, this was not to be as shortly before I was due we lost him to either a stroke or a brain tumour. I still miss him to this day and not a day goes past without me wondering amd imagining the joy of seeing him with dd, as he had been with ds.

He was not a dog to me - he was a true friend and my very first 'baby' long before my real babies came along. He never judged, shouted, critisised or made me feel down in any way. People who have never had dogs cannot understand the attachment and love that they give unconditionally.

This is why I feel that it is the owners who should be put down, not the dogs in many cases. I agree that there should be a return of the dog licence and that you should be made to go on a training course yourself before you take on any pet of any description.

Sorry for the long post.

my cousin had a baby in august,and whilst she was still in the hospital,her bf went out and bought her a dog,a staffie.(she said she would ahve prefered a poodle!)

when she came home,the puppy was forever jumping up and down,and kept biting her babys feet whenever she was feeding her.

and since then the dog has bitten her dd lots of times.

she now leaves the dog in the kitchen because she doesnt trust it,it gets locked out in the garden during the day,but god knows what she'll do when her dd is old enough to want to play in the garden.

We have 2 dogs both of whom have been thoroughly socialised especially seeing as we had a nasty time earlier this year.

Dh always wanted a doberman or a rottweiler in order to guard as well as be a family pet. I saud no as I didnt want a guard dog around my kids. On the one hand it sounds great that they are protecting your kids but the downside to that is protecting your kids from their friends and protecting other from their parents if they are upset.

We got a good compromise. One is a cocker spaniel who is very friendly to strangers and doesnt look the least bit scary and a large dog whose size will put people off but is a watch dog not a guard dog. Neither dog has been bred with any guarding instinct and when strangers come to the door they greet them with joy.

Tbh I would rather be burgled and all my things taken than have a dog who might want to attack.

I know rottweilers can make great family pets but do need experienced owners who can handle them - not us.

Puppies do that. That's why they need training. Sadly shutting away the problem makes it far worse and your friend will probably have a problem in teh future.

Talking to a rottweiler breeder after the events last year loads of people put their otherwise friendly trained rotties into rescue due to all teh scaremongering. People with the dogs still have reported recieving lots of verbal abuse whilst walking their dogs and some now only walk them when noone else is about.

thats what i said to her,if she locks it away from the family,it will get excited and end up biting.

also told her to take him to training classes.

I am surprised the breeder let him buy it without the girlfriend being there.

How is it getting socialised?

She urgently needs to get rid of this dog IMO. She is not able to look after it and it is clearly a real danger to the child. She should try to get it rehomed. I really shiver at the thought of a powerful dog which bites around a small child.

as soon as i saw the news about that little girl i text her to ask if she'd seen it.she said it does make her worry,but her bf wont get rid of it.he takes it for wlks etc,so my cousin doesnt really have much contact with it.i feel sorry for the dog as it must be confusing for it.they made a fuss of it when it was a pup,but now its bigger,its just locked outside.ive told her if she cant look after it she should give it to someone who can and who knows the breed.

weve got a japanese akita,and he is a much loved part of our family.hes big and dopey,but i wont leave him alone with my kids.not because i worry that he'll go for them,but incase any of them hurt him and you never know how tolerant he would be.

I agree aloha. It does sound extremely irresponsible to go and buy a puppy while your partner is in hospital giving birth. Quite bizarre really. Surely you need to get a puppy when you have the time to train it.