pitbulls

[doxielover959]

I love pitbulls. They are so beautiful and friendly! But one thing always goes through my mind when I think about them: are they born with their instinct to fight or are they trained to do that? Thanks to all that respond

[Jessika]

I believe that there is some instinct, yes, but the majority of it like 99% is taught and how they were raised.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Yes, Pit Bulls do have some instinct, but as Jessika said, it depends on how they are raised.

[binka_nugget]

I love pitbulls. They are so beautiful and friendly! But one thing always goes through my mind when I think about them: are they born with their instinct to fight or are they trained to do that? Thanks to all that respond

Some Pitties come from generations of fighting dogs. They will likely have some instinct to fight, or at least have the tendency to be dog aggressive. Dog aggression does run in the breed but like Jessika said, how they are raised plays a huge role (a greater role in my opinion). Dog aggression and human aggression should never be confused though.

[Suki Wingy]

Just wanted to add, what runs through my mind 95% of the time I see a pittie is "He looks like he wants a hug!"

[Danegirl2208]

American pit bull terriers were bred for generations, and generations to have that willingness and ability to fight...it is NOT trained into a dog.

[Jessika]

American pit bull terriers were bred for generations, and generations to have that willingness and ability to fight...it is NOT trained into a dog.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree... I have met too many pitties from "fighting" lines that turn out to be absolute sweethearts... in the hands of the right and responsible owners.

I'm not shunning the fact altogether; try to get my Aussies to stop herding the cats and I'll beg to differ, but my point being is since I don't reinforce their herding instincts, it doesn't become problematic. RESPONSIBLE pit owners know their histories and know their instincts to know the proper environment to bring them up in as well as how to properly train and handle them, therefore I honestly and truly believe it is at least 90% in how they are trained and raised, and the environment they are raised in.

[Danegirl2208]

I guess we will have to agree to disagree... I have met too many pitties from "fighting" lines that turn out to be absolute sweethearts... in the hands of the right and responsible owners.

I'm not shunning the fact altogether; try to get my Aussies to stop herding the cats and I'll beg to differ, but my point being is since I don't reinforce their herding instincts, it doesn't become problematic. RESPONSIBLE pit owners know their histories and know their instincts to know the proper environment to bring them up in as well as how to properly train and handle them, therefore I honestly and truly believe it is at least 90% in how they are trained and raised, and the environment they are raised in.

I didn't say pit bulls from fighting lines or even a pit bull that has been fought can't be a sweethearts. I have met many game bred pit bulls..and yes they were all sweethearts.

I am not putting down the breed in any way..this breed is my passion (right along with Danes). But we can not sugercoat the facts. I am in no way saying that every pit bull is always looking for a fight...and they were not bred to do so. They were bred to never back down from whatever task they are asked of..and in the case of fighting that trait is what made them the "perfect" in the ring.

Not every pit bull has that trait, nor is every pit bull dog aggressive. But it would be a mistake not to keep the breeds history in the back of your mind.

[Spicy_Bulldog]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum. Hope to have many more.

To help in answering your question. Yes Pit Bulls have an instinct to fight. They have been bred for pit fighting for many, many generations. So via selective breeding they might have dog aggression or a fight drive. They are not trained to fight. They will either fight or not. Those that fight will either continue or they will quit. Those that will continue fighting no matter how long its been, how much injury they have, how tired they are ect were the dogs that were bred. The dogs that would quit would not be breed.

Things like good wrestling ability or hard bite have also shown to be genetic. These things can really not be taught so much either, but show to run in certain lines.

The age at which the dog becomes aggressive/interested in fighting might vary from line to line as well. Some lines might be early starters, those dogs would be very young say 6-9 months (sometimes you see younger pups) and want to fight. Others might be later starters and not show a desire to fight/aggression until they are 3 or 4yrs old. Typically most will say that they will turn on or become aggressive around 1-2yrs of age, when they are mature or maturing. They might be less tolerant of dogs. The signs are staring the other dogs down, low rumbling growl, whining, screaming, these are just some which show that the dog wants to fight. In certain cases the dog will head straight for a fight, because the owner has other dogs and they get along and play so the dog has the opportunity to start a fight with one.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree... I have met too many pitties from "fighting" lines that turn out to be absolute sweethearts... in the hands of the right and responsible owners.

I'm not shunning the fact altogether; try to get my Aussies to stop herding the cats and I'll beg to differ, but my point being is since I don't reinforce their herding instincts, it doesn't become problematic. RESPONSIBLE pit owners know their histories and know their instincts to know the proper environment to bring them up in as well as how to properly train and handle them, therefore I honestly and truly believe it is at least 90% in how they are trained and raised, and the environment they are raised in.

What bloodlines were the dogs from? What were the ages of these?

Of course in the right hands they make great dogs. I wouldn't expect them to be less then sweethearts. They need responsible owners, those who realize that dog aggression or fighting ability is something their dog might develop. They must know that they shouldn’t trust the dog won’t ever fight, that the dog park is not a smart place for a pit, that they shouldn’t be left unsupervised with other dogs. It seems some people want to believe its all in how you raise them and that certain breeds are not really prone to dog or human aggression, just taught to be bad. This can actually be counter productive, newbies getting such a breed can lead to disaster, heartache, headache and even tragedy. Confusion, panic, worry why did he attack and try to kill that other dog, we never trained him to fight. For another breed why was he aggressive with that person, we didn’t train them to guard. It comes with the breed. Without accepting these traits one can’t be prepared to content with them.

Any good breeder knows that temperament can be genetic, that even personality traits can be passed on. If this was all just a scam and it came from 90-99% of training and raising there wouldn’t be a need for selective breeding.

In the case of pit fighting if it was simply due to mostly training then any breed could be trained to success. The fact is that its bred into them, not trained.

Since Pit pups can/have killed each other or seriously injured one another it is innate to them. You can’t train this type of thing in an 6-8wk old pup even if you wanted to.

Since litters might have to be separated due to serious fighting it is innate.

If it was all due to training (with only as little as 1-10% natural) then why not simply train good fighting dogs. Why was Honeybunch waited upon to turn on after she wouldn’t fight? Why not just train her to fight? Why wait on any dog to turn on? Why not just train the dogs to be aggressive and fight? Why would anyone (who’s a dog fighter of course) want to wait up to 3yrs for a dog to become dog aggressive when they could train this into the dog?

They can not have so much credit, not even 90% let alone 99. 1% would not be a big foundation to work on anyway. You’d have no luck there. They raise the dog up, when it turns on, they let it fight pitting it with another. Well that’s not really training a dog. It doesn’t require much of the owner, they just sit back and wait, patience is maybe it. They can’t take credit except conditioning if it were a match dog. Good conditioning can not make a dog game but it could help in a win. It can’t make the dog a better fighter, but it could help the dog sustain longer instead of needing to be picked up which would result in a loss. In that case they can take credit for good conditioning of their fighting dog, but not their dogs drive or gameness. The dog either has it or it does not. They would not waste the time on a dog that didn’t have it at all. If the dog had to be trained that would be a red flag. The dog is likely going to quit because it does not even really want to fight out of its own desire in the first place. Then that’d be a waste of time/money.

There is also that fact that dogs of cur blood decent would be just as good of fighters as those of fighting lines if all they’d need was training. Yet we know that is not the case.

[CDarkastle7]

Hi,
I have a dog that looks like a St. Bernard but acts like a pitbull. He is actually a mix. He turns a year old at the end of this month, but he is so hyper, any suggestions?

[caseysmom]

Darkcastle, he is adorable!

[CDarkastle7]

Thanks, it's weird because he learns so fast he is just really stubborn. When he was little he whined a lot and now that he is older he whines even more. It's kinda funny it's like he is trying to communicate with me. lol When I say something to him if he doesn't like it he whines.... but all in all he is one of the smartest dogs I have ever owned. What kind do you have?

[kittycats_delight]

Your cutie definately looks like he could have some pittie in him. My brother's pittie is a big ol baby and extremely intelligent. Stubborn as a mule and loves to be loved. He sulks just like a kid when he doesn't get his way or has to do something he doesn't want to. Sounds a bit like your guy huh?

BTW...he is gorgeous! What is his name?

Michelle

[buttercup132]

Do you know for sure that he has Saint B in him?
He just looks like a pit/lab.

[CDarkastle7]

His name is Bear, yes we know for sure because the daddy was a pure breed St. Bernard and his mommy a full breed Pitbull. He only got the looks of the st. Bernard. Droopy face and color and lots and lots of drool just like beetoven. lol but sometime when I look at him he looks like a pitbull too. But he def. acts more pitbullish! He is very rough in his play, and yes he loves to be loved! We have been trying to teach him walking easily on the leash but he is so strong but he's learning. When it comes to commands he does very well unless his stubborn side kicks in. lol