I am also a dog lover but also afraid of the pit bull range of dogs (will refer to them collectively as “pit bulls”). Many, many years ago I had a young client (elementary school age) who had been viciously attacked by a neighbor’s dog who jumped the fence and attacked her as she was playing in the yard. Not only did she have to endure several surgeries, but she was horribly traumatized, had constant nitemares, was afraid to leave her house and deathly afraid of dogs. Any dog.
It took many sessions of relaxation and desensitization and successive approximation to be able to help her slowly, slowly, look at photos of dogs, then eventually touch a photo of a dog, hold a magazine of dogs, and eventually tolerate being near a live dog, even when the dog was caged. The family sent me holiday cards for years, thanking me for giving them their daughter back. The trauma this caused this young girl and her family still haunts me. Sure it could have been a different “breed”. But it wasn’t. I am sure there are many very sweet dogs. But the risk isn’t worth it to me.
Part of the issue is the damage a Pitt bull can do. A small dog will bite, but doesn’t have the power and stamina of a Pitt bull - who will lock his jaws and hang on. Sweet, wonderful, loving family Pitt bull dogs have been known to suddenly attack a child or another animal. IMHO, dangerous!
Regardless if an animal is bred for aggression or not, all living things within a species, are “wired” in some way. Look at humans…one person can be very mild mannered and another very aggressive.
Even the best training and love can not always counteract a dog who is hard-wired for aggression. I believe this is what happens when a dog, owned by responsible owners, just flip a switch one day and do something unexpected. There have been many times Pitts have done this compared to other dog breeds.
I was thinking of this thread last week when I was walking with my neighbors. A woman was running with some kind of pit bull mix on a retractable leash (don’t get me started on those). The dog charged us and she had zero control. All three of us moved away from the dog as quickly as possible. She said the dog was friendly but our instinct was to move away, especially since the dog wasn’t tail wagging or looking particularly friendly.
I thought about it after the fact and if I would have reacted the same if it was another type of dog. I think I would have reacted differently if it were a small dog but any large dog, not in the owner’s control, would have gotten me to move away.
My own dog was attacked when he was a puppy by a lab.
I am uncomfortable around certain breeds such as Dobermans, Rottweilers & Chows, but there just are not many of these breed types around as compared to pit bulls and pit bull mixes. This leads me to question whether pit bulls are neutered and spayed less than other breeds.
Dogs have been bred for thousands of years to perform certain tasks. Some breeds have significant bite inhibition so they can retrieve game un-punctured; other breeds have have minimal bite inhibition so they can kill rats, intruders, or other dogs. I’ve attached some links of setters and pointers puppies, little puppies, demonstrating their instinct to point or set, as young as 5 weeks. It would be very, very difficult to teach the smartest border collie to point game, just as it would be very, very difficult (impossible?) to teach a setter to herd sheep.
Pit bulls-- a decided type if not registered breed (no closed stud book)–have been bred for poor bite inhibition. That is why they are responsible for about 66% of the dog killings of humans (let alone household pets). I don’t know why people want to deny dog genetics and millennium of breeding for specific purposes, but I have worked professionally for decades with dogs, and I wouldn’t have a pit bull in my house.
Some dogs become more aggressive as they become older and start to lose eyesight and hearing. IMO, it doesn’t work to say any dog who proves himself gets a pass as they get older (like to only require the muzzle for 3 years).
My neighbor had a rottweiler. She had it from puppyhood. Nice dog. Her daughter had 3 kids and soon the dog wouldn’t tolerate kids. Neighbor no longer allowed the dog out on the patio, only walked him early in the morning or late at night because she didn’t want any kids (including mine) petting him. This dog probably weighed 90 pounds and if the dog decided to run or bite or attack, there wouldn’t have been lot the owner could do to stop it.
In Denver, the margins of the city are not well defined and you can cross in and out of the city limits several times on a walk. We have a canal with a walking path 2 blocks from my house that goes through a city park one way, but go the other way and you are in another county. Whether you are in Denver depends on which side of the street you are on. The ban came about after several tragedies 30 years ago. City life is hard for those breeds if they can’t go to dog parks (off leash) or walk through the parks and throughout the city.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I work with dogs and I know many lovable pit bulls. My own dog was attacked by a golden retriever.
I see so many people out there who really have no business owning a dog. No control if the dog pulls, taking the dog to crowded hot street festivals, not having a secure yard, allowing an obviously non friendly dog to be places where it shouldn’t be - like a crowded park. I can go on and on. This lack of responsibility can be much worse with a strong dog. Or a dog with a strong prey drive.
I also think these “rescues” adopt out dogs that really shouldn’t be - too aggressive.
I’ve considered my next dog being a pit, because our rescues are filled with them, but I always hesitate.
As much as I love and trust our pit mix, it is reassuring that her electric fence covers around 3 acres, that she is obedient enough to cease and desist at the fence line when chasing deer or turkeys, and that the nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away.
ETA: our homeowners insurance inspector has visited the property twice and seen the pit mix, had no objections and continues to cover us for home, auto, and umbrella ($5M).
One of my former mixed breed adopted dogs had a chow-chow characteristic (tongue coloring) that resulted in being denied homeowner’s insurance by a major insurance company.
An issue came up on our local “nextdoor” app, with a someone trying to place her pit mix because she found out the place she’d moved into didn’t allow pit mixes (the landlord’s insurance did not permit potentially aggressive breeds… thats all the detail I have on that part of the story). Anyway, she got ripped a new one by posters accusing her of giving away a child, telling her to move, etc. Others told her to get her vet to lie (asking your vet to do something unethical seems like a bad idea to me) or to get a fake ESA letter (also unethical) and when anyone even commented that getting fake ESA letters only hurts those who truly need them, the posters got rabid (pun intended). It was ugly.
@jym626 , we got our pit mix because the previous owner couldn’t keep her. His landlord said that she had a blue nose, and those are “the most vicious kind of pit bulls.”
We often joke with her about her viciousness. ?. It all worked out for her; she went from an urban apartment to 3 acres to chase deer and turkeys; she thinks she died and went to heaven ?
Her previous owner, who eventually moved overseas, still frequently asks about her, and has visited when in the country. He loved her, but what was he supposed to do? He didn’t have the financial means to buy/rent a house.
Many NextDoor communities do like to pile on; they are a form of bully breed themselves.