Pit bulls.

youtube!

I would just like peoples opinions on this breed of dog. I cannot say I have had any negative experiences with PBT myself but they do seem to have a very bad rep.

I have 2 dogs,both rescue animals and when I take them out and let them off the lead for a run I am always scared that they would encounter a PBT. Whenever I do see someone with a PB, I immeadiately put my dog back on their leads,and yet I dont worry when it is a Lab or a German Shep or even a Rottie.

The lady whom I got the dogs from told me they are only bred for attack and in reality cannot be trained, she also said they are the only breed she would refuse to take into her animal rescue centre.

Am I over reacting, is it media hype that has me thinking this way,or am I correct not to trust these dogs?

kildare.17hmr

Well that woman doesnt know much about dogs if thats her attitude:rolleyes: Its all down to owners NOT dogs

Doom

A knackers dog, generally seen with chicken sh1ts, to make them look tougher.
If you ever hear about a dog mauling someone its one of these or a cross of one.

belongtojazz

I think you were fed drivel by that lady!!
Pitbulls who are raised correctly pose no more threat than any other correctly raised dog... Any dog raised incorrectly can cause problems, because pitbulls are strong and unfortunately associated with a particular type of young gurrier they have developed an undeserved reputation.

youtube!

I guess it true about the owners to a degree, but is it not a fact that these dogs were only ever bred for fighting? Also dont they have lock jaws? Thats a pretty scary thought.

I just have a fear,irrational or not,that one day one of my dogs will be destroyed by one of these animals.

The lady in the aniaml rescue centre said she would trust any breed, even a staff,but not a Pit bull.

Richard tea

Doom wrote: »

A knackers dog, generally seen with chicken sh1ts, to make them look tougher.
If you ever hear about a dog mauling someone its one of these or a cross of one.

posting that here is considered worse than posting a pic of mohamad in the islam forum:eek:

youtube!

Richard tea wrote: »

posting that here is considered worse than posting a pic of mohamad in the islam forum:eek:

LOL LOL LOL!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

DamagedTrax

beautiful dogs if we're talking about the american pit breed. like all bullies they live to the max and are in love with people.




the problem is the term "pit bull" is used by ignorant people to describe anything that looks aggresive and has a big square head (usually a x-breed rarely containing pit bloodlines). i've had my staffie called a pitbull many times, once by a copper.

antocann

PBT are great dogs , like any other breed
they get a bad rep from the idiot owners who cant care for them

once trained, they are loyal and a great pet for children same as staffys

DamagedTrax

youtube! wrote: »

but is it not a fact that these dogs were only ever bred for fighting? Also dont they have lock jaws?

the pit was bred to be powerful and fearless and is then trained by humans to fight. they can be a little off with other dogs sometimes but so can some staffies.

and the lock jaw is an urban myth. they just have very powerful jaws.

Zapperzy

It's all down to the owner and not the breed. No breed is more likely to attack you or your dogs due to the fact it's x,y or z breed. It's all down the the owners and not the dogs, unfortunately some breeds attract scumbag owners who buy these dogs just as a d*ck extension. The majority of bull breed (staffys, pit bulls, bulldogs, bull terriers) owners are responsible people but unfortunately the minority ruins it for the majority.

Regardless of what breed it is when you see another dog on a lead coming you should be putting your dog on a lead out of courtesy. Pit bulls aren't actually that common in this country, it's more than likely staffordshire bull terriers you are seeing. Another breed that is NOT predisposed to aggressiveness. That rescue woman who told you that is talking bullpoop, I'm surprised that someone who is supposed to be experienced with dogs is talking such crap.

Find the pit bull: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html See can you pick out which one is a pit bull!

youtube!

DamagedTrax wrote: »

the pit was bred to be powerful and fearless and is then trained by humans to fight. they can be a little off with other dogs sometimes but so can some staffies.

and the lock jaw is an urban myth. they just have very powerful jaws.

See thats what scares me! A fearless dog who will fight its corner AND has powerful jaws would destroy my little dogs! Do you get where I am coming from??

username123

Considering the subject is pitbulls and the OP is youtube! Im surprised the OP has never watched this.

Now tell me pitbulls cant be trained and are not safe?

meoklmrk91

DamagedTrax wrote: »

the pit was bred to be powerful and fearless and is then trained by humans to fight. they can be a little off with other dogs sometimes but so can some staffies.

and the lock jaw is an urban myth. they just have very powerful jaws.

All correct, yes they can be a little off with other dogs at times, usually down to poor socialisation, but believe me I have met many a staffie and pitbull and I would be far more weary of putting my hands near a yorkie, westie, bichon, chihuahua etc. as those little feckers are often babied and spoilt to the nth degree and will not thick twice about snapping at you.

Pitbulls are not in my opinion any more viscous than any other breed, however they are more dangerous than a lot of the other breeds as they have serious power in their jaw muscles and that is where the damage is done. So are they a bad dog, no, but dangerous in the wrong hands, yes.

DamagedTrax

listen anyone that owns a bull breed and has any sense keeps them on a lead and muzzled in public. those that dont are either 100% confident in their dogs and very capable of controling them or they are idiots that shouldnt be allowed near the breed.

if its the 2nd type of owner that you encounter theres little to be done but avoid them. we're all in the same boat, nobody likes to see a dog off the lead that is obviously aggresive.

but remember any breed can be aggresive, the pit is just easier to pick on at the moment. remember when rothweilers were "dangerous"? or dobermans?

youtube!

username123 wrote: »

Considering the subject is pitbulls and the OP is youtube! Im surprised the OP has never watched this.

Now tell me pitbulls cant be trained and are not safe?

Thats a sweet video

tk123

OP how often do you meet pitbulls on walks?

username123

youtube! wrote: »

Thats a sweet video

Watch more of them, theres plenty of sweet pitbulls out there!

youtube!

Zapperzy wrote: »

It's all down to the owner and not the breed. No breed is more likely to attack you or your dogs due to the fact it's x,y or z breed. It's all down the the owners and not the dogs, unfortunately some breeds attract scumbag owners who buy these dogs just as a d*ck extension. The majority of bull breed (staffys, pit bulls, bulldogs, bull terriers) owners are responsible people but unfortunately the minority ruins it for the majority.

Regardless of what breed it is when you see another dog on a lead coming you should be putting your dog on a lead out of courtesy. Pit bulls aren't actually that common in this country, it's more than likely staffordshire bull terriers you are seeing. Another breed that is NOT predisposed to aggressiveness. That rescue woman who told you that is talking bullpoop, I'm surprised that someone who is supposed to be experienced with dogs is talking such crap.

Find the pit bull: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html See can you pick out which one is a pit bull!

I have to say this was an eye opener to me, I went through 16 dogs before picking the right one!!
And in the end the PBT looked a lot smaller to what I thought they were, now I have to figure out if I am even looking at a genuine PBT when I am out!:pac:

Cherry Blossom

Does anyone here have a link to the reasoning behind why the PBT was chosen as the dog for the logo for HMV records? I've read it before but can't find it now.

DamagedTrax

mixing up a pitbull and staffie is the most common mistake people make.

pitbull






my staffie girl dolly

TooManyDogs

DamagedTrax wrote: »

the pit was bred to be powerful and fearless and is then trained by humans to fight. they can be a little off with other dogs sometimes but so can some staffies.

How a dog is reared is paramount to how they will behave. That comes above all else.
You also will have breed tendancies, but people need to make sure they understand exactly what the actual breed tendancies are and not what some randomer told them they are.

So yeah, often bull breeds can be 'a little off' with other dogs, I always describe it as having a lower boiling point, so they might be a little quicker into a confrontation than another breed, not that they're out to rip every dog they see asunder.

Every breed has traits in them that are temptered by rearing and training. Not every greyhound is going to chase down cats or small dogs, not all JRTs are going to kill the family rabbit, not all cocker spaniels are great with people, and sometimes the beautiful golden retriever can be visious.

To base your reaction on the breed of the dog coming toward yours rather than on the approaching dog's behaviour is simply foolish. All dogs have the same body language, if you learn it you'll be able to tell a dog who wants to be friends from a nervous dog from an aggressive dog and be able to react accordingly.

As everyone is sick of saying forget about the breed and focus on the deed, as in focus on the behaviour of the individual dog

TooManyDogs

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Does anyone here have a link to the reasoning behind why the PBT was chosen as the dog for the logo for HMV records? I've read it before but can't find it now.

The dog in HMV logo is a Parson Russell terrier as far as I'm aware...

chris139ryan

I own one of these bull breeds. when im out for a walk with him everyone adores him except for the people who are uneducated and think he will savage anything and anyone who comes near it.
the only thing that will help with these type of dogs or any type of powerful dog is to educate people properly.
regarding bruno with other dogs he great, tends to be a bit boisterious (cant spell it) but what bull breeds arn't. as bruno is only 15weeks old i dont put a muzzle on him but i will when he gets bigger so people feel that bit safer around him.
if you are around dublin and would like to see how one of these bull breeds interact with your dogs i would be happy to volunteer bruno to help you change your views on bull breed

Cherry Blossom

TooManyDogs wrote: »

The dog in HMV logo is a Parson Russell terrier as far as I'm aware...

Well I'm extremely confused as to what it was I read now, and it's no wonder I can't find it.

Latatian

I'd think of them like other terriers- more likely than an average dog to be snappy or cross with other dogs, and capable of killing animals easily. No more so than jack russells or kerry blues or any of them, really.

Less likely statistically to be aggressive than dachshunds or yorkshire terriers, not as strong in the jaw as some rottweilers and labradors (in terms of the bite strengths of individual dogs measured so far). They don't do too badly in temperament tests generally either. Not too common here so I haven't met any.

pudzey101

Well iv 2 staffies and there pure harmless there the 2 best guard dogs iv ever owned, but if anyone actually did break in, all they would do is lick them to death lol
Dont blame the breed, blame the owner and what way they treat him.
watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odi0XlI-4_g
As you will see in the video, Staffordshire Bull Terriers are the most loving and kindest of breeds, they are a family dog, who need to be included, loved and treated with respect... give them this and they will be your friend for life...

keithb93

My dad has a pit bull and a staffy. Never had a problem with them around other dogs or my little sisters, even though the pitbull was abused before he was rescued. The neighbour even rang the gards because of the dogs for no reason. I do understand the fear people have of pitbulls though because even their bark scares the sh1te out of me.

The pitbull was attacked as a pup by a german shepherd before we rescued him and if he saw one while out walking there is nothing you can do to stop him attacking it. They is very dangerous in that sense as you don't know what emotions are raised if an abused pit see's your dog and has some bad memories.

youtube!

Thanx to all who took the time to reply...I am certainly more at ease now.

Shanao

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Does anyone here have a link to the reasoning behind why the PBT was chosen as the dog for the logo for HMV records? I've read it before but can't find it now.

Nipper, the dog in the logo, was supposedly a fox terrier and the logo was inspired by this painting called His Master's Voice, painted back in the late 1800s. It has however been debated on just what breed he is and people have claimed he's a JRT, PBT, a dalmatian, a rat terrier. Most likely I'd say he was probably a mix


Anyway, OP, I've trained and worked with a good few different breeds and always found the bullies some of the most easygoing. I have an akita, another 'dangerous' breed according to the media and he's a complete and utter slob. I'm currently thinking of having him trained as a therapy dog because he's very gentle with even young kids and people in wheelchairs. Its all down to the owner of the dog. And the pit bull was originally bred to fight bulls, hence the name. Unfortunately, people then began to breed them to fight but thankfully the responsible breeders are now breeding away from the aggressive lines.

doctor evil

With regards to nature and nurture I feel it is both and can never be just one or the other.

RosieJoe

youtube! wrote: »

I would just like peoples opinions on this breed of dog. I cannot say I have had any negative experiences with PBT myself but they do seem to have a very bad rep.

I have 2 dogs,both rescue animals and when I take them out and let them off the lead for a run I am always scared that they would encounter a PBT. Whenever I do see someone with a PB, I immeadiately put my dog back on their leads,and yet I dont worry when it is a Lab or a German Shep or even a Rottie.

The lady whom I got the dogs from told me they are only bred for attack and in reality cannot be trained, she also said they are the only breed she would refuse to take into her animal rescue centre.

Am I over reacting, is it media hype that has me thinking this way,or am I correct not to trust these dogs?

Have only skimmed over this thread and I just wanted to highlight what is in bold and the preliminary results from research done by a Cork County Council Vet Inspector, see here

Amazing what hype can do to a person's perception.

seamus

youtube! wrote: »

The lady whom I got the dogs from told me they are only bred for attack and in reality cannot be trained, she also said they are the only breed she would refuse to take into her animal rescue centre.

My Staffie has been trained so that when I see someone and tell the dog, "Go get em!", she sprints over fast as she can and then leaps onto her back for the person to rub her belly.

No, not really, she just does that all on her own. Worringly though, this attitude is all too pervasive in rescue organisations. I even know one place where staff have to tell management that, "No, she's a staffie", whenever a pitbull comes in for rehoming.
Scary really that even people who work with animals on a day-to-day basis can't see the irrationality of breed stereotyping.

Like you would do with humans, each dog needs to be evaluated based on its specific personality, history and upbringing. And just like humans, racial profiling in dogs leads to incorrect conclusions and dogs needlessly suffering because of someone's inbuilt prejudice.

portgirl123

Doom wrote: »

A knackers dog, generally seen with chicken sh1ts, to make them look tougher.
If you ever hear about a dog mauling someone its one of these or a cross of one.

excuse me! i would like a appology, i am not a knacker, im a woman of a certain age with kids and grandkids. i had my pitty till just over a yr ago, sadly she died of old age. not a more gentle dog would you find. i dont need any dog to make me look tougher, thank you very much. i choose this dog 11 yrs ago because she was such a beautiful little thing. best dog i have ever owned. sooooooooo gently and sweet even when she was a pup. also she loved all other dogs. i will be getting another when i find one.

portgirl123

youtube! wrote: »

I guess it true about the owners to a degree, but is it not a fact that these dogs were only ever bred for fighting? Also dont they have lock jaws? Thats a pretty scary thought.

I just have a fear,irrational or not,that one day one of my dogs will be destroyed by one of these animals.

The lady in the aniaml rescue centre said she would trust any breed, even a staff,but not a Pit bull.

i would love to know who this LADY is, cos i for one would be giving her a piece of my mind. a person who is supposed to be helping dogs scare monger like this. some rescue person she is.
as for locking jaws thats a load of s**te

portgirl123

youtube! wrote: »

See thats what scares me! A fearless dog who will fight its corner AND has powerful jaws would destroy my little dogs! Do you get where I am coming from??

no i dont, any time i was out with my girl i always made sure when we passed someone she was always put back on her lead. cant count the amount of times that she was annoyed/attacked by small dogs, usually jacks/yorkies. god love her all she used to do was look at me with her big eyes as if to say, please help me

Whispered

youtube! wrote: »

The lady whom I got the dogs from told me they are only bred for attack and in reality cannot be trained, she also said they are the only breed she would refuse to take into her animal rescue centre.

Which animal care centre?

youtube!

portgirl123 wrote: »

no i dont, any time i was out with my girl i always made sure when we passed someone she was always put back on her lead. cant count the amount of times that she was annoyed/attacked by small dogs, usually jacks/yorkies. god love her all she used to do was look at me with her big eyes as if to say, please help me

I think it has been made clear enough to me by the good folk on this thread that PBT are no more dangerous than any other breed and in general more docile than most, I have been educated, fair enough. But the sad fact remains that the vast majority of owners of these type of breed that I have seen on a regular basis are track-suit,hoodie wearing scanger types whom I wouldnt trust an inch to train an animal. Now they may well be very nice young chaps who just choose that attire so sorry for my predjudice but I think we are all wise enough to know that a lot of these hoodie wearers are not exactly the most responsible owners.

As another poster pointed out it is wise to just put my dog on the lead when ANY dog approaches...simple courtesy, and I am sorry if my observations offend the good people on this thread who I know are responsible owners but I see what I see,and that just a fact I am afraid.

However in general my fears have been allayed.

One more thing she said to me with regard to PBT was that they simply HAD to be trained to be docile because their Natural state was to be aggressive, she said the same however about a few other breeds, dont jump down my throat its just what I was told, i dont actually subscribe to it my self,at least not now after the advice received here.

portgirl123

youtube! wrote: »

I think it has been made clear enough to me by the good folk on this thread that PBT are no more dangerous than any other breed and in general more docile than most, I have been educated, fair enough. But the sad fact remains that the vast majority of owners of these type of breed that I have seen on a regular basis are track-suit,hoodie wearing scanger types whom I wouldnt trust an inch to train an animal. Now they may well be very nice young chaps who just choose that attire so sorry for my predjudice but I think we are all wise enough to know that a lot of these hoodie wearers are not exactly the most responsible owners.

As another poster pointed out it is wise to just put my dog on the lead when ANY dog approaches...simple courtesy, and I am sorry if my observations offend the good people on this thread who I know are responsible owners but I see what I see,and that just a fact I am afraid.

However in general my fears have been allayed.

One more thing she said to me with regard to PBT was that they simply HAD to be trained to be docile because their Natural state was to be aggressive, she said the same however about a few other breeds, dont jump down my throat its just what I was told, i dont actually subscribe to it my self,at least not now after the advice received here.[/QUOT
could you pm who she is?

Whispered

portgirl123 wrote: »

could you pm who she is?

And me too please, I'd hate to think that I in some way support such a rescue.

youtube!

Sorry but i am not going to name the woman or the rescue centre.

Whispered

youtube! wrote: »

Sorry but i am not going to name the woman or the rescue centre.

That is unfortunate, it's quite worrying to think that people could be supporting a rescue who give out such advice.

Your call of course, but worrying all the same that someone who should know better would say something like that.

ppink

I saw a programme once about pitbulls being used in some states in the US as search and rescue dogs!

Wibbs

There's an awful lot of guff about these dogs and others on the restricted breed list. The famed bite strength of Pitbulls being one of them. Many dogs not on the list have higher bite forces. A bull mastiff(on the list) has nearly double the bite force and about the strongest in common domesticated breeds. Something like a Kurdish Kangal has around the same force as a lion. I'd not be surprised to find out a large Lab had a similar bite strength to a pitbull. Bigger dog, bigger jaws, bigger bite. I'd be gobsmacked to find out a large husky breed wouldn't be higher. It's largely down to size and size of jaws that do the damage. Any large dog is capable of being very dangerous if aggressive or more to the point usually made that way by a stupid owner. While high prey drive and the like are part of it, the owner and the perceptions of the owner I reckon are two thirds of it. If tomorrow retrievers were in a movie as ultimate fighting dogs dickheads would have them and people would be more afraid of them. Both situations would likely increase the number of attacks.

TooManyDogs

ppink wrote: »

I saw a programme once about pitbulls being used in some states in the US as search and rescue dogs!

Me too! On the program I saw one mountain search and rescue women would only have pitbulls because she said they would keep searching no matter how cold/tired/sore they were, partly because they've got amazing endurance and pain thresholds but also because they're such people orientated dogs that all they want is to find the person.

ppink

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Me too! On the program I saw one mountain search and rescue women would only have pitbulls because she said they would keep searching no matter how cold/tired/sore they were, partly because they've got amazing endurance and pain thresholds but also because they're such people orientated dogs that all they want is to find the person.

Yes thats it! It was brilliant to see them so enthusiastic for their task, their big smiley heads searching like mad:D

chris139ryan

Wibbs wrote: »

There's an awful lot of guff about these dogs and others on the restricted breed list. The famed bite strength of Pitbulls being one of them. Many dogs not on the list have higher bite forces. A bull mastiff(on the list) has nearly double the bite force and about the strongest in common domesticated breeds. Something like a Kurdish Kangal has around the same force as a lion. I'd not be surprised to find out a large Lab had a similar bite strength to a pitbull. Bigger dog, bigger jaws, bigger bite. I'd be gobsmacked to find out a large husky breed wouldn't be higher. It's largely down to size and size of jaws that do the damage. Any large dog is capable of being very dangerous if aggressive or more to the point usually made that way by a stupid owner. While high prey drive and the like are part of it, the owner and the perceptions of the owner I reckon are two thirds of it. If tomorrow retrievers were in a movie as ultimate fighting dogs dickheads would have them and people would be more afraid of them. Both situations would likely increase the number of attacks.

never heard of the kurdish kangal so i looked it up, holy god what a dog :O would love to see one in person. sorry for going off the point of the pbt but i just had to comment on that kurdish kangal

LucyBliss

youtube! wrote: »

One more thing she said to me with regard to PBT was that they simply HAD to be trained to be docile because their Natural state was to be aggressive, she said the same however about a few other breeds, dont jump down my throat its just what I was told, i dont actually subscribe to it my self,at least not now after the advice received here.

Two of my dogs are part Staff. In my experience, their natural state is to find a warm comfortable spot for them to fall asleep in. And if a person is there to curl up beside, so much the better.

Fence_

To be honest, when I'm out with my dog, if I see any pit-bull type dog off lead I am more apprehensive that if it was a lab. Same if the dog was a GSD, rottie, or any of the so-called dangerous breeds. Not because I think that the breed itself is dangerous, but because those sort of dogs are, unfortunately, more likely to have bad owners.

So, yes, down to the owner, but I think that you do have to be aware that certain breeds are often bought as status symbols and so may not be socialised/trained properly.

Of course, I also worry that my brat is going to go jump all over this other dog a provoke something, but that's something we are working on, she is still learning.

Latatian

When I'm out walking I generally don't mind the young fellas with their on-lead 'tough dogs', it's the adorable or harmless-looking dogs I'm more worried about. At least a status dog usually gets lots of walks (no use having an accessory dog like that if you don't walk around and look tough with it) and gets kept on a good strong leash or chain.

Not a "he's friendly, he just growls a bit but he's a softy" dog whose owner believes that a labrador/tiny dog etc can't be aggressive, or that it's cute/hilarious when the dog's aggressive because it doesn't look scary, or that small dogs should be walked once a month when the moon is at the right phase.

belongtojazz

In my experience I am more worried when I see a lab off lead than a staffy or any of the bull breeds... My little lady has been seriously attacked twice by my neighbours lab and snapped at by a couple of other lab types on walks. She has NEVER been approached in an aggressive manner by any bull breed.