Does anyone know anything about American Pit Bulls ..

[sandyballs]

.... and are they as dangerous as the media have made them out to be in the past, or is it the usual over the top hysteria that the press love so much?

The reason I ask is that we've been invited to share a villa in Italy with some friends next summer and the owners live on the premises and have an American pit bull that is allowed to roam around quite freely. These friends went to the villa this year and say that the dog is very friendly and no problem but I just don't trust dogs 100% (any dog!) around children. My DDs will be 6.5 by then and probably still at the stage where they will want to stroke the dog and play with it a lot and this worries me. I'm tempted to pull out of the holiday (DH wants to pull out), but wonder if I'm being a bit hysterical.

Advice please .

no way i would go

No. They're basically like Staffies.

Wouldn't risk it, tbh.

IMHO American Pit Bulls are worse than Staffies.
They are very unpredictable as far as I know.
I don't think you're being hysterical and I would worry about any dog roaming free (and I'm a dog owner) around my children.
article here

our survey said uh-urh!

I wouldn't, I wouldn't be able to relax, not keen on dogs myself never mind a pitbull

Yes it's the usual over-the-top hysteria about a particular breed. Did you know that the equivalent of the Dangerous Dogs Act in Italy has branded border collies and corgis as 'dangerous'? And yet some of the breeds banned in this country are not included.

BUT the fact remains that any dog can be dangerous regardless of breed so the questions I would be asking would be the same regardless: Is the dog used to children? Do you know its history? Has it ever shown any aggression? For my part I wouldn't leave children unsupervised with any dog especially in this kind of situation where they are not familiar with one another - so you have to decide if providing that kind of constant supervision would spoil your holiday, I guess.

if they lock on, you cannot get them off
At the very least ask for them to be muzzled
they are very aggressive dogs - although if very well trained and lots of time spent on them regularly they can be lovely dogs, but I would never trust them or many if any dogs unsupervised around kids.
For instance if the dogs have a toy or a bone, or they take a liking to your kids toy.
And your child tries to get it off them.
Not pretty
And I speak from experience having seen one very nice APB well trained and obedient, go crazy without warning and attack.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the comment about Staffies. The majority of Staffies are excellent with people, and great with children. Problems arise when they are bought by the stereotypical owners, you know the type. I have relatives in Spain, and they have an American Pit Bull. We were over there in July, and the dog was then only 4 months old, however, that's old enough to attack, if he were to do so. I was nervous too, upon introducing him to the children, but he was sweet natured and loved the children. Has the Pit Bull in question been socialised with children? If so, and there have been no problems, then all should be well, as long as your children don't over handle him and annoy him, as kids are prone to doing. I do understand your concerns, however, having just re-read your post, this dog sounds like the one we met. American Pit Bulls are banned in this country, as are some other breeds. There are always exceptions to the 'rule' and individual dogs are given a bad reputation due to incidents concerning their breed.

Don't go.
They are bloody dangerous.
Having seen a Staffie nearly rip my dog to shreds,and sat next to a man in A & E the other day who was savaged on a beach by two rottweilers,I have had all my worse fears confirmed.

My sister used to have one, he was a fantastic dog

Never harmed any of her 3 children despite being hit in the eye with a rattle (dd 5 months old), being pulled back about 2 feet by his tail (ds1, can't remember age but very young "I just wanted to say ewwo to 'im") and having a pencil pushed a couple of inches up his bum (ds2, again can't remember age but very young)

Having said that, I'm with 2labs in that I'd be asking questions because any breed of dog can be dangerous

Just to add to moondog's post, staffies are known to be not very good with other dogs. Gosh, poor guy in A&E. What the hell is going on with the nation's Rotties?

Thanks for your replies. I'm really thinking I should pull out, I don't think I will be able to relax and what sort of holiday would that be! My DDs aren't used to dogs and get a bit silly around them, shrieking and trying to stroke etc.
I can just see myself constantly asking them to leave it alone.

I'm going to e-mail the owner and ask if the dog can be kept away from the part of the building we are staying in or, at the very least, muzzled.
They must have had guests in the past who have similar concerns about the dog with their children or just simply don't like/are allergic to dogs, so I'm hoping I can sort something out.

Apart from the dog the place sounds perfect, but I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to my DDs, particularly as DH is very against going now he has heard about the pitbull, so it would mean me talking him into it.

I agree that feeling as you do, sandyballs, you won't be able to relax, and that's no holiday for you. Yes, find out about possibilities of keeping the dog separate etc. it would be a shame if you weren't able to go.

By the way, you don't own or work at a caravan park do you? It's just that I know of one called Sandyballs

The owners have a 6 year old son so the dog is used to children, which is something I suppose.

I don't work or own Sandyballs (I wish! ) but have had lots of lovely holidays there. Might be going again next year by the looks of it although would prefer Italy for a change .

Ah, weel, if the owner has s young child, surely the dog will be okay with children? It's a tough decision, and at the end of the day, you and your dh have got to feel comfortable.

That should be well not 'weel' I wasn't putting on a Scottish accent or anything

Staffies (even a American staff) - yes
Pit bull - No

American pit bulls can be lovely, affectionate pets. They have a breed trait of really grabbing on and refusing to let go if they attack (and any dog can have a nasty moment and lash out). Because of their inherently gentle, loyal and trusting nature they are easily made into savage dogs if traumatised or mishandled. So I would say everything depends on the dog's history and what supervision it will have on the day.

Sorry if that's a complicated answer, I find Staffies and Scotties consistently aggressive, but a neutered and well-socialised American pit bull is a ball of wanna-be-loved type animal.

I would say that because the family who own the dog have children it doesn't necessarily mean the dog won't attack someone else's child, in fact it is possible for the opposite to be true. In some cases dog protects family child against strange child. Any dog can be aggressive but the results of some dogs being aggressive are more than a nip and they are harder to fight off.