What do you think of Pit Bulls?

[mommy22gurlz]

Okay, my brother who has just moved about a block from my house this past weekend already has a 10 month old female pit bull. Then he comes by last night to show me this other dog they adopted from a shelter yesterday, this one is 6 months old and HUGE, he's part pit bull and part something else (forgot). This dog has been abused and used in fighting rings, as "bait" they said, whatever that means.

My brother has 4 kids, a 7 year old set of triplets and a 4 year old. Now since they are now living so close there has been a lot of talk that our kids get to play alot together now. He actually gets his kids on weekends since him and their mom are not together. The thing is I totally feel uncomfortable letting my 6yo over there now, especially with TWO pit bulls, and especially since one has already lived in violence. I've just heard way too many stories about nice family pit bulls attacking and sometimes killing people. I even did a little research online this morning and it talked alot about how those dogs were actually bred to be agressive and mean since they were used for fighting so much.

I think I am going to have to just tell them tonight that I just can't let Mya over there without me there, but I wanted to see what you guys think.

ETA: I forgot to mention that they keep these dogs inside.

 

[Christine]

I understand how you feel.

My SIL raised/bred pit bulls for awhile (or American Staffordshire Terriers, as she calls them). She was a very responsible breeder and would fly her dogs all over the country in order to get a very good bloodline. She had several pit bulls along with her small children. Never a problem.

What your brother is doing is reckless on so many levels. He is getting dogs with either a) unknown histories or b) a dog with a bad history. He's headed for trouble.

 

[DVCLiz]

No way would I allow my girls anywhere near those dogs. I'm sure there are pit bull owners who have loving dogs, but this situation has "extreme danger" written all over it.

 

[hiwaygal]

I think Pit Bulls have gotten a really bad reputation because of some really bad people. This same kind of "furor" happened over dobermans, rotties, german shepards in the past and we don't think of them as "BAD" dogs now.

I do understand how you feel though and I would totally agree with you. Children really should never be left unattended with ANY dog (regardless of size and temperament)...especially if the kids are playing and start to get rambunctious (as kids sometimes do). If one of them should accidentally startle a dog...who knows what could happen.

If you feel that it is unsafe for your daughter, just tell your brother. IMO, if he is a responsible owner, he will understand.

I hope he is planning to invest A LOT of time and training into these dogs. Pits can be wonderful family members as long as EVERYONE in the house is involved with the training (so EVERYONE knows the "pack order").

 

[hucifer]

I am uncomfortable around pit bulls, regardless of how they were raised.

 

[andromedaslove]

Pits can be wonderful dogs. My family used to breed them, and we never had a problem. They were very sweet animals. However...... No shelter should ever adopt out a dog that has been used in fighting, regardless of wether they were bait dogs or not. Let alone to a family with small children. Even bait dogs are used to being attacked, and having to defend themselves. Which means that at ANY point if that dog feels threatened either by the other pitt or one of the kids he/she could attack. That is a deadly situation waiting to happen. I would NOT under ANY circumstances allow my little girl over there, especially without me.

I am sorry I am still just so shocked that a shelter adopted that dog out.

 

[Chicago526]

I'm a dog person, and I'd be nervous too. The first pit bull at least has been with the family since it was a pup, but the new one that was used as bait concerns the heck out of me (btw, "bait" means that they used the bait dog as a dog for the "fighting dogs" to attack, it' trains the dogs that will be used for fighting. Most bait dogs wind up being killed by other dogs). The former bait dog may interpret perfectly inocent child behavior as a threat and will defend himself (or defend a preceived threat to his new family).

In short, I'd would not let my child over to that household unless I was there.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

They scare me.

 

[Rajah]

In general, I have no problem with Pits.

In this situation, I agree -- it's a timebomb waiting to blow. I wouldn't let my DD over there either (if I had one)

 

[RSoxFan]

I'm of the camp that says there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. My uncle had a rottweiller, and she was the sweetest animal I have ever seen. She used to meet the mailman on the sidewalk, take the mail in her mouth and walk it to the house. Everyone loved her. Yet my neighbor has a poodle that bites all the kids in the neighborhood. It's because the neighbor is out all day and the dog is locked up outside.


That being said, I think your brother is heading for trouble. Once a dog is used for fighting, it's nearly impossible for them to become house dogs. Especially around 4 kids. The kids may not mean to do it, but a loud noise could frighten the dog, causing him to act out in order to "protect" himself. I wouldn't let my kids near the dog and I would have a talk with my brother.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

absolutely no way would a child of mine be allowed to play at a house that contained a Pit Bull with an abusive history. Whether I was there or not is irrelevent because I myself have no desire to put MY body in between a raging Pit Bull and a child.

I am absolutely astounded that a shelter would adopt out a dog with a known history of abuse and ring fighting. That is incredibly irresponsible of them.

 

[momof2inPA]

absolutely no way would a child of mine be allowed to play at a house that contained a Pit Bull with an abusive history. Whether I was there or not is irrelevent because I myself have no desire to put MY body in between a raging Pit Bull and a child.

I am absolutely astounded that a shelter would adopt out a dog with a known history of abuse and ring fighting. That is incredibly irresponsible of them.

I totally agree. I wouldn't let my child go over there or go there, myself. Does your brother's ex-wife know about these dogs? If I were her, I would re-visit the custody on the weekends issue.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

I would definitely not allow my child at their house. Have their kids play at your house. It is bad enough when a breed of dogs has a bad tendency due to breeding habits...this one has experience that you do not want your child near. I actually feel bad for your brother's children too!!

 

[LittleRydia]

I know she is your DD and yes i would be concerned if something would happen. Maybe perhaps wait untill this new dog gets settled in and see if there are any signs of agressive behavior. perhaps going over there with your daughter, and having him hold the dogs back in the room or another to see if they act aggressive to "strangers" in there home.

if the dog is going to be aggressive it would show it within a month or sooner. the agency always check dogs for this kind of behavior with test. if there was a sign it could harm someone it would of not been adopted out. by the sounds of it this dog was attacked (not fighting back) and just abused and realy dogs like that are more loving and fragile to people.

my cousin, who has 4 girls which are 7 and under adopted a 3 year old pit bull. here youngest at the time was just over a year old. i was scared to death to get a phone call that something happened. for this dog was found at abusive home, he had been beat, starved to death and cig burns in its skin left scars. i was worried the youngest would "hit" the dog in a playiny matter and would get attacked.

the youngest is now going on 2 and to this day nothing has happened. she climbs on him, runs him over with her toy car and it does not bother him at all. hes never snaped, growled or anything. if at all, he cowers to anyone and anything that harms him since he was so abused.

really you cant judge this dog on its breed, but by who raises the dog. its still a young dog so its not really set in its behavior wise. also since it never acutlly fought and killed something eles i dont see a reason for it to turn on anyone.

but like i said she is your daughter, and you should do what you belive is right.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

as with any animal, they may be the sweetest thing alive that would lick you to death. but the bite force and the strength of a pit bull or rott scare the hell out of me. my BIL had a pit bull years ago and she was a great dog, but she made me uneasy. our little wiener dog can get excited when you play with her too hard and snap at you, a pit bull can kill you.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

if the dog is going to be aggressive it would show it within a month or sooner. the agency always check dogs for this kind of behavior with test.

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree.
At 6 months old this dog most likely still views himself as a puppy as well as the new member of the household. At his age, it is possible but he is not as likely to challenge anybody in the household for quite some time, especially with a strong older dog already established in the house.

Dogs pretty much fight for the same reasons over and over -- sex (access to females), status in the Household, and to protect or gain control of territory, food, toys, or whatever...

It is possible that agressive tendencies will show within the first couple of months, but it is also quite likely that the dog will wait until he reaches adolesence and/or adulthood to start challenging those around him. At his age, that could take far longer than a month.

 

[olbear]

Here's my latest story of a pitbull. Hubby Fred & I were out in our side yard , a week ago saturday, building a deck off of our back door. We had our little guy Paco out with us on a lead. He is a 4 pound chihuahua. We were just workin and all of the sudden these 2 big ol dogs were on top of my baby. One of them was a pit bull the other a large shephard mix, and I just went bizerk!!

You need to know, a few years back we had pure blood Beagles that we bred. Great dogs!!, one of them was an outdoor dog. One night we were startled by him screaming a bark and yipping and crying. We ran outside to find him being attacked by 2 pit bulls. They tore into him quite literally. This was at about 9PM. We called out vets office and lo and behold one of them was there and told us to get him there immediatly. She did emergency surgery, hubby even helped her prep him and put him under for the procedure. She then told us to go home and not worry.
We went back the next morning, and he was fine. She said we were lucky because a main artery had been bit and he could have bled to death had we not acted so quickly.

So I do not mean to demean pit bulls, but I am scared to death of them now. And my baby I have now is so small. And the PB had him in his mouth around the neck. I started screaming and clobbering him with my fists. I said afterward, it's a wonder he didn't bite me. The owner was right there the whole time trying to grab him and their shephard who was ganging up as well on my baby. The shephard was on a leash, the pit was not. All the time she's trying to grab her dogs she telling me how nice they are, at the same time the pit is trying to get my baby in it's mouth. YEAH RIGHT!!! I can see how friendly he is!!

Anyway, Fred reached down right in front of the pit and grabbed our baby and held him while I continued to scream and tell her to get off of my property with her continuing to tell me how wonderful her dogs are.
Geez lady, I don't think so.

They finally left and I took my baby and just started bawling.
I went inside and calmed Paco down, and myself. I then called their land lady. She did not even know they had the pit bull and was not happy. She then told me to call animal control. While I was talking with them the husband of the lady with the dogs knocked on my door. I kept AC on the phone while I spoke with him. He apologized profusely. I was calm and explained to him what had happened to our beagle so he would understand why I had freaked out and was so very upset. He apologized again anad again. I said it was fine and made him PROMISE to NEVER let that dog out without a leash again. I told AC we had things under control and they didn't need to come out.

You guys, my throat was so sore from the screaming I did. I surprised myself with how I reacted. I literally freaked. If you own a pit bull, don't flame me. This wasn't posted to bash Pit bulls, really and truely.

My baby and I are fine. I just hope I never have anything remotely like this happen again. Hubby and I said afterward, it was amiracle he did not bite me while I was colbering it, or him when he reached down to grab our baby.

Blessings,
Winnie

 

[salmoneous]

All dogs are different. There are pits that have come from shelters/abusive backgrounds and are the sweetest family dogs you'll even meet. Then there are dogs who have been raised to be family dogs, but something goes wrong and the dogs become agressive.

You can't just write off a dog because of breed and background. Well, you can, and I'd never blame a parent who errs on the side of caution. But I don't think it necessary.

My thoughts

1) Teach your kid that *all* dogs can be agressive and dangerous.

2) Be especially careful of this dog until it has proven itself. But at some point down the road, such a dog can prove itself and be trusted.

 

[lulugirl]

I am uncomfortable around pit bulls, regardless of how they were raised.

So am I.

 

[beckmrk04]

Pitt bulls don't make me uncomfortable- irresponsible owners of ANY breeds do.

The problem is that generally many more small dogs bite than do large dogs- large dogs just do more damage.

My family has a rottie (Sammy) who is the sweetest most wonderful dog in the world! We got her when she was 4 months old, and she had been abused/starved.

Now, she acts like she is thankful every day that we took her in! She is a total cuddle bug!

However- I would NEVER get a rott or pitt bull or ANY dog that was used in dog fighting if I had children!!! NEVER! When owning a large breed, especially one such as a rott or pitt, you must must MUST get the dog as a puppy if you have children- and buy from a responsible breeder, IMO.

My next dog will be a rottie- and I know people are so scared of them. But they are great dogs. Sadly, some people don't take the time with them that is necessary- obedience training, and not leaving them outside on chains! But, this should be common sense for any dog owner.

To the OP- I wouldn't let my children over there either. I am SOOO against stereo typing breeds- simply because if a dog attacks, it is almost always a reflection of the owner, but in this case, I think you are making the right call- no one knows this dogs temperament yet, and who wants to find out after its too late?