Pit-Bull's...friend or foe?

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

His markings are just beautiful. My tiny 8lb cat can make as much noise as the kids. The chaos of cats is real!

Thank you. I like his freckle lol

 

[PollyannaMom]

Aw thanks!
Hei Hei is 16 lbs of chaos. We’ve nicknamed him “Bowling Ball Steve”.

So grown up now!!

 

[ronandannette]

... My friend essentially threw the dog off him (this is when he dislocated the shoulder) and yelled "do it" and the friend shot the dog in the side. No one else was in the house at the time. It was a handgun.

When the police arrived, they told the neighbor he did the right thing and they would have shot the dog if they had arrived on the scene in similar circumstances. No one was charged with any crime. This happened in Texas, FWIW. The children did not witness anything particularly awful. They are also not particularly young, they are 10 and 12.

Oh well, OK then. NBD I guess.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I don't think pit bulls are necessary bad but I am definitely nervous about having them around my dogs. Once I was at a street fair where I witnessed a pit bull just latching onto a giant poodle that he had just met. This was totally an unprovoked reaction. He had his jaw over the poor poodle's snout and wouldn't let go. The poor poodle's owners were an elderly couple that you could tell was besides themselves and the pit's owner was a young man who couldn't get his dog to release the poodle. Strangers had to step in to help the owners break the dogs apart by literally prying the pit's mouth open and forcing him to let the poodle go. Thankfully the poodle wasn't hurt but that still left a deep and lasting impression on me.

Our close friends just recently got a pit bull mix puppy which they are insisting is a boxer mix (looks pretty much like a pit bull) for insurance reasons and as of right now, I would be fine with him interacting with my golden but once it gets older and perhaps stronger, I would probably reevaluate the situation.

 

[DLgal]

Oh well, OK then. NBD I guess.

Huh?

 

[Sandeep1]

I don't think pit bulls are necessary bad but I am definitely nervous about having them around my dogs. Once I was at a street fair where I witnessed a pit bull just latching onto a giant poodle that he had just met. This was totally an unprovoked reaction. He had his jaw over the poor poodle's snout and wouldn't let go. The poor poodle's owners were an elderly couple that you could tell was besides themselves and the pit's owner was a young man who couldn't get his dog to release the poodle. Strangers had to step in to help the owners break the dogs apart by literally prying the pit's mouth open and forcing him to let the poodle go. Thankfully the poodle wasn't hurt but that still left a deep and lasting impression on me.

Our close friends just recently got a pit bull mix puppy which they are insisting is a boxer mix (looks pretty much like a pit bull) for insurance reasons and as of right now, I would be fine with him interacting with my golden but once it gets older and perhaps stronger, I would probably reevaluate the situation.

Incorrect training basically. Pits, from a young age, need to be introduced to both humans and dogs and learn how to interact.

I'm sure someone will cite an example where this isn't the case. Well, there are bad apples, just like there are with humans. But that doesn't mean they are all bad.

Pits are a major friend.

 

[robinb]

Writing without reading what others have said.

I met my first pit pull in the late 70’s. He was very attached to his family but snappy with strangers. I was a frequent visitor to the house but the pitty never came to trust me. The agresssive dog fighting part of the pitty could not be overcome. Much later my DH and I adopted a Japanese Akita. We raised that dog from a puppy and socialized her with people and dogs. Once she hit doggy puberty she became fixated on eating other dogs. Again, the agressive dog fighting history overcame the socialization and love we provided.

I think that some pitties ans some akitas are just fine. OTOH, I think that some dogs can not overcome the agression that has been bred into them. I do think that some breeds are more prone to that agression.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

After recent experiences I firmly believe that any dog can be a foe.

We had a 2.5 year old golden (our 3rd- so not rookie dog owners) who lost his mind when it was time to get in his crate and bit my hand. In front of our girls. We had him since he was 6 weeks old. It was not pretty, happened before Christmas and my hand is still scarred and sore on the actual bites.

A school I know has/had (not sure of the dogs status at the moment), that is a golden doodle. After extensive training was at the school and went after a child in the office. He is back at the trainers being evaluated.

Both breeds are commonly thought of as friend...but after talking with our vet and animal control, these breeds bite more often then people think or admit. Results of over breeding due to popularity or other issues....so I no longer write off a breed or trust a breed by their appearances or histories.

 

[Sandeep1]

After recent experiences I firmly believe that any dog can be a foe.

We had a 2.5 year old golden (our 3rd- so not rookie dog owners) who lost his mind when it was time to get in his crate and bit my hand. In front of our girls. We had him since he was 6 weeks old. It was not pretty, happened before Christmas and my hand is still scarred and sore on the actual bites.

A school I know has/had (not sure of the dogs status at the moment), that is a golden doodle. After extensive training was at the school and went after a child in the office. He is back at the trainers being evaluated.

Both breeds are commonly thought of as friend...but after talking with our vet and animal control, these breeds bite more often then people think or admit. Results of over breeding due to popularity or other issues....so I no longer write off a breed or trust a breed by their appearances or histories.

Not to be argumentative but any human can be a foe as well. I'm not willing to write them all off though (I don't think that's what you're doing).

 

[BrianL]

Aw thanks!
Hei Hei is 16 lbs of chaos. We’ve nicknamed him “Bowling Ball Steve”.

16 lbs! Hei Hei is all grown up, and a big boy, eh? He's still adorable though.

 

[ThistleMae]

I don't think pit bulls are necessary bad but I am definitely nervous about having them around my dogs. Once I was at a street fair where I witnessed a pit bull just latching onto a giant poodle that he had just met. This was totally an unprovoked reaction. He had his jaw over the poor poodle's snout and wouldn't let go. The poor poodle's owners were an elderly couple that you could tell was besides themselves and the pit's owner was a young man who couldn't get his dog to release the poodle. Strangers had to step in to help the owners break the dogs apart by literally prying the pit's mouth open and forcing him to let the poodle go. Thankfully the poodle wasn't hurt but that still left a deep and lasting impression on me.

Our close friends just recently got a pit bull mix puppy which they are insisting is a boxer mix (looks pretty much like a pit bull) for insurance reasons and as of right now, I would be fine with him interacting with my golden but once it gets older and perhaps stronger, I would probably reevaluate the situation.

I can definitely see your hesitation after what you witnessed. We had an incident at our campground, which I didn't see, and I don't know the breed of the dog. They were camping side by side and the two dogs had gotten familiar with each other. One was just a puppy, a pug, and the large dog killed the puppy. You just have to be so careful when introducing your dog to other dogs because you don't know how they will react. You have to be ready to intercede if something does happen. So when introducing your dog to others, it may be a good idea to have something to spray, to break it up. Someone else in here mentioned something but I can't recall what it was.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Not to be argumentative but any human can be a foe as well. I'm not willing to write them all off though (I don't think that's what you're doing).

I agree with that statement. It's the old saying don't judge a book by its cover - this applies to books, people, dogs....these experiences definitely changed my opinion and actions. I've never considered myself afraid of dogs (I am not writing them all off - we have young kids we will need to get a puppy at some point) but I know I need time - when my instinct is to pull my hands up when near a larger dog....

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

16 lbs! Hei Hei is all grown up, and a big boy, eh? He's still adorable though.

Very big. Not fat, but he’s a giant. And clumsy

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

After recent experiences I firmly believe that any dog can be a foe.

We had a 2.5 year old golden (our 3rd- so not rookie dog owners) who lost his mind when it was time to get in his crate and bit my hand. In front of our girls. We had him since he was 6 weeks old. It was not pretty, happened before Christmas and my hand is still scarred and sore on the actual bites.

A school I know has/had (not sure of the dogs status at the moment), that is a golden doodle. After extensive training was at the school and went after a child in the office. He is back at the trainers being evaluated.

Both breeds are commonly thought of as friend...but after talking with our vet and animal control, these breeds bite more often then people think or admit. Results of over breeding due to popularity or other issues....so I no longer write off a breed or trust a breed by their appearances or histories.

Goldens are my breed and just from your statement about when you got your puppy indicates to me that your pup didn't not come from an ethical breeder who bred for health and sound temperament (health clearances and lots of socialization). No good golden breeder would let their pups go before 8 weeks of age. The golden I have in my profile came from a show breeder who bred according to the national club's standards and put a lot of work into her puppies in terms of analyzing breed lines and socialization. Her temperament is bomb proof and is not afraid to investigate things after the initial "OMG what is that" moment. Her temperament and confidence compared to my last golden is vastly different. My last golden came from a backyard breeder who did not do anything like what the show breeder did. Now looking back, my last golden while still super friendly and sweet, was more scared of things.

Anyways, I do agree with you that you can't judge a dog simply by its breed. I once met a golden and his owner at Petsmart and usually golden people gravitate towards each other to gush over each other's pup. Before I even said anything to her, she says "he is not friendly" and you could tell that she was stressed from being on alert throughout the store.

Anyhow, every year I have a golden party at my house that consists of 10-15 goldens with a samoyed and black lab thrown in the mix. It is truly amazing how well everyone behaves with each other, with the humans, and with sharing food/treats. I do believe that good breeding along with good training pays dividends on the outcome of a dog.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Incorrect training basically. Pits, from a young age, need to be introduced to both humans and dogs and learn how to interact.

I'm sure someone will cite an example where this isn't the case. Well, there are bad apples, just like there are with humans. But that doesn't mean they are all bad.

Pits are a major friend.

I do agree that early and correct training and socialization is a must. I do worry a bit that our friends have not followed that route as much as I think they should and they said they will. I tried encouraging them to bring their pup over so he could socialize a bit with my dog but they refused because he wasn't clear from getting all his shots. I tried to tell them that it's okay to socialize their pup with other dogs in a private space and that they know are healthy and vaccinated but no go. I think a lot of people fall into this rut because they think they can't bring their puppy around other dogs because they haven't had all their shots yet. That time is the best window to start exposing their puppy to different dogs/behaviors/sounds/etc. Then after all the shots were done, they had him neutered which again kept him home. This is why I'm a bit leery whether I would want my dog around their dog once it is grown. I'm not confident that they have exposed/socialized him as much as they should.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Goldens are my breed and just from your statement about when you got your puppy indicates to me that your pup didn't not come from an ethical breeder who bred for health and sound temperament (health clearances and lots of socialization). No good golden breeder would let their pups go before 8 weeks of age. The golden I have in my profile came from a show breeder who bred according to the national club's standards and put a lot of work into her puppies in terms of analyzing breed lines and socialization. Her temperament is bomb proof and is not afraid to investigate things after the initial "OMG what is that" moment. Her temperament and confidence compared to my last golden is vastly different. My last golden came from a backyard breeder who did not do anything like what the show breeder did. Now looking back, my last golden while still super friendly and sweet, was more scared of things.

Anyways, I do agree with you that you can't judge a dog simply by its breed. I once met a golden and his owner at Petsmart and usually golden people gravitate towards each other to gush over each other's pup. Before I even said anything to her, she says "he is not friendly" and you could tell that she was stressed from being on alert throughout the store.

Anyhow, every year I have a golden party at my house that consists of 10-15 goldens with a samoyed and black lab thrown in the mix. It is truly amazing how well everyone behaves with each other, with the humans, and with sharing food/treats. I do believe that good breeding along with good training pays dividends on the outcome of a dog.

Trying to remember exactly we to visit around May 9th - puppies were 2 weeks old (if I am remembering correctly) and picked up the first week of July (clearly remember this as it was on our way home from a baseball tournament)...clearly given our experience I dont think the breeder was responsible at this point - but as I said this just really demonstrated to me it's the individual dog problem more than a breed problem.

 

[ThistleMae]

I do agree that early and correct training and socialization is a must. I do worry a bit that our friends have not followed that route as much as I think they should and they said they will. I tried encouraging them to bring their pup over so he could socialize a bit with my dog but they refused because he wasn't clear from getting all his shots. I tried to tell them that it's okay to socialize their pup with other dogs in a private space and that they know are healthy and vaccinated but no go. I think a lot of people fall into this rut because they think they can't bring their puppy around other dogs because they haven't had all their shots yet. That time is the best window to start exposing their puppy to different dogs/behaviors/sounds/etc. Then after all the shots were done, they had him neutered which again kept him home. This is why I'm a bit leery whether I would want my dog around their dog once it is grown. I'm not confident that they have exposed/socialized him as much as they should.

You have made some very good points here. It's so important to start socializing early. Fear has lots to do with unpredictable behaviors. And new situations can often produce stress, which in turn produces different behaviors.

 

[tink1970]

I also seem to remember Rottweilers being called “Devil Dogs” or was that a different breed?

Teufelhund is german for devil dog and ascribed to German soldiers referring to the US Marines as such in 1918 after the Battle of Belleau Wood. Those dogs referenced could have been Rotties, Dobies, or some other fierce fighting dogs known to Germans in the early 20th century so who knows. Now, of course, the USMC's mascot is my beloved bulldog...anything but a devil dog unless you withhold her Greenies!

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Nobody has mentioned Airedale terriers yet. I have a nasty deep bite scar running down my arm from when I was 10. The dog chased my friend's younger siblings into a corner of the yard with total prey drive and he was trying to maul them... I had to get a rake from the shed to prod and shove the dog into a safe space so the littles wouldn't get bit. Instead I did...

Oh and the nastiest wounds I ever received from a dog were actually from an Australian Blue Heeler cattle dog. They are just vicious when they want to be.

Raised Rottweilers, Dobermans and have had a few pitbulls... all sweethearts. They are reactive to emotions and noise though!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Foe...I can no longer run my favorite route because a lady owns two vicious pit-bulls. They have snapped and growled at me numerous times. She just sits on her porch and watches. I've called out to her and she stays nothing back.