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 :)
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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 :)
I believe that there is some instinct, yes, but the majority of it like 99% is taught and how they were raised.
Yes, Pit Bulls do have some instinct, but as Jessika said, it depends on how they are raised.
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. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by doxielover959
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!" :D :p
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Danegirl2208
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessika
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.
I say both. I know of a LOT of pitties that are good with other dogs there whole life, as where some can not be around other dogs at all.. Whether there genes are great or not. When someone gets one, have the impression that at about age 3.. Things sometimes change! No matter HOW Much you socialize them... or how you raise them. They were bred to be great Family pets however... if you have a Human aggressive one.. that is the owners fault more or less. This is IMO Of course. Pittie Stuff is always soo 2 sided though. :-)
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?:confused:
Darkcastle, he is adorable!
;) 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? :)
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
Do you know for sure that he has Saint B in him?
He just looks like a pit/lab.
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 :D
Bear is adorable. I think his face looks like a pit bulls.:love:
I own a pit bull and they are very, very hyper. Never ending energy. I walk Ebony every day, we walk, run. I live right by the high school so on the weekend I take all the dogs to the ball field (its fenced in) I play frisbee with Ebony, she loves that. She would do that all day long if I let her. Ebony and one of my other dogs Diamond are best of friends. They rough house a lot, that helps wear her out somewhat.
Ebony, turned 3 in March she has settled down somewhat but she still has plenty of energy.;) Do you have anywhere you can take Bear to let him run off leash? We are able to do that a lot because there is tons of wide open space where we live. I bet there are days you have a hard time keeping up with Bear. I know I had those days with Ebony. LOL.
Your pets sound Great! Bear isn't able to get off his leash we live on a pretty busy road, not only that but the road is close to the yard so I am too afraid to because the people drive around this corner we have really fast and I wouldn't want anything to happen to him. But, we take him to the park and he loves that. I want to try a frisbee with him, I think he would have fun with that. lol I see all the dogs do that now but I am not sure how he will respond to it. We have a lot of room for him to run around inside, but yeah it's not the same. I try to take him for a lot of walks to keep him healthy and to tire him out so he isnt a boring couch potato lol. Yes, I have a really hard time keeping up with him he is just so strong! He loves attention though, as most dogs do. He will get his ball and sit next to me and just whine at me, so I know he wants to go to the park and play. It is funny! :D We try to do as much as we can with him so he doesn't become a lazy dog! That and the vet said he will have problems with his hips and back legs if we don't keep him active when he get older that is. That's great that Diamond is there so they can play together, I dont think my boyfriend would like it if I brought home another dog though lol. I actually wanted to get one of Bear's brothers so they could stick together and be buddies but I knew they would be big and it's just too much for us!.
Take care, talk to you soon.
Colleen
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.
What bloodlines were the dogs from? What were the ages of these?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessika
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.
wlecome to pet talk spicy...EXCELLENT post.
Pit Bulls, when properly socialized don't have a mean bone in their body. Just like ANY other breed. They get a bad reputation. The news only tells the bad side. Never the good side of this breed. Never say how devoted they are to their families, How they are smart as a whip and easily trainable.
I myself have owned a Pittie. One of the best dogs I've ever had! Here are some pics of Brick. Look at these pics and tell me that Pitties are uncontrollably aggressive.
Brick being a goof.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...cture012-3.jpg
Brick and me. He was such a lover. Not a mean thing about him.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...Picture019.jpg
Brick snuggling with the first pup I bottle fed. He loved this pup like it was his. Even tried to nurse it.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...cture027-1.jpg
Me and Brick. He was my best friend. Unfortinatly he was too energetic and
I didn't have the fenced yard that he needed to burn that energy.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...es/Picture.jpg
Since we're posting Pittie photos.... :D My friend has a Pittie whom I consider my "god dog". We actually may be taking Sasha, the Pittie, in when my friend goes to college. Just depends on the home situation. I LOVE this dog - she is such a sweet heart. Very smart and athletic. She's smaller than Chloe but can clear a 4' gate from a stand still with room to spare! Such a rock solid, strong, adorable, wonderful, stable dog. She doesn't get along well with strange dogs (aka, random dog we meet on the street), but she loves to play with other dogs after a proper introduction at a house.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...s/Sasha001.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...s/Sasha003.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...s/Sasha002.jpg
Yes Pit Bulls are like other breeds, just like any other breed they can have inherit temperament problems. Aggression, shyness, skittish, ect. Good breeders breed for proper temperament. Building on a solid foundation with training and socialization is your best bet for a balanced, confident, sociable dog.Quote:
Originally Posted by lute
Brick is a beautiful dog. I absolutely love brindles like him! What a stunner. Your jeans look like mine at times.
That will be cool if you take her. Yes 4ft is very easy for a Pit to clear. Does she have any Bull Terrier in her lineage? She is pretty. Another brindle!Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackrose
I love seeing everyones Pit pics. I've got tons of pics myself. Love APBTs!
Here is some of my pics.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...anachasefp.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ergethide2.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...rastalking.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...Ryuplayful.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../Ryutug2-1.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...II/Alnbou3.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...deroutside.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...nderdball7.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...8/nd41808b.jpg
This is a pile of bull
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...I/bullpile.jpg
I don't know what her lineage is. My friend got her from someone who took her for one of their friends after they couldn't afford to feed her anymore. Sasha was given to Brittany saying, "She's pure, but no papers and may be pregnant."Quote:
That will be cool if you take her. Yes 4ft is very easy for a Pit to clear. Does she have any Bull Terrier in her lineage? She is pretty. Another brindle!
No idea of the age, how far along she may be, nothing. Brittany ran into the original original owner and when Britt asked about Sasha's age he said, "Oh, I don't know....a year, maybe?"
We took Sasha to the vet and they said she was at least 2 1/2 and wasn't pregnant, but from the looks of her had had a litter before.
So who knows where she came from or what she has in her. I love her though. :) Her only fault is because she was passed around so many times she has some mild seperation anxiety (thus the reason she was clearing the gates), but it would be easily worked with.
And Spicy, you have some good looking dogs! Very muscled and lean - how a Pittie should be, not the pigs that some people are breeding.
In my experience, Pit Bulls are a great breed. I have rescued, fostered, and owned them for over 4 yrs now. Yes, I know that is not much experience, but I have learned a lot and am still learning. I have fallen in love with the "Bully Breed" dogs. Pitties, Staffs, and AmStaffs are all misunderstood breeds...they just want to please thier owners and be loved....don't we all?
Allow me to show my love and add to the pictures!!
Memphis and Casper (member him??)
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...UE/Memphis.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...isnewporch.jpg
Baby and Penny
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...Baby1-6-07.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...y2015weeks.jpg
Jameson and Rex
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...UE/jameson.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...CUE/Rascal.jpg
Bentley and his Rainbow Bridge Mom, Lady....You all remember her I'm sure.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Bentley3.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...andpups071.jpg
Beautiful (with my oldest son) and our boy Scruff (with some rescue kitties)
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...dPics001-1.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...escPics007.jpg
I have TONS more, but that would be a whole new thread of its own!!!
Everyone who knows me I LOVE, LOVE pit bulls. :love: they are by far my favorite breed. I am so passionate about them any "bully" breed really but especially pit bulls. :love: they are the clowniest, goofiest, most loyal, friendly, and they want to please you and they do it so well! they have the best "smiles" and kisses in the whole wide world! :love: I hope to own one someday, rescued of course. I just adore this wonderful breed to KNOW them is to LOVE them! :D I have came across so many pit bulls while volunteering and working at the shelter I just have fallen head over heels for them. there is nothing better than seeing a smile and face like this. this is Montee, he's where I work and the most awesome guy. I would take him home in a second if I could if we didn't have a house full! he's such a great ambassador for the breed.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...idspix2023.jpg
:love::love::love::love::love:
Its so cool seeing people that love the Pits and bullies. I hope more can learn about them and grow to know the real breed.
Reachoutrescue that is a nice group of dogs. I like Baby the best, but they're all cute. Another person with tons of pics! I don't feel so alone..lol I too had one named Bentley, a female, she was a rescue.
Loveofallhorses Montee looks like such a sweet dog. He's cute too.
Sounds like another shady person. I'm glad she is such a great dog, I hope you get the chance to have her. No matter what her lineage is she looks like a happy dog and very pretty too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackrose
Had to throw a couple more pics..
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...xibabygirl.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ibabygirl2.jpg
He is such a wonderful dog, Spicy. :) He gives so many kisses and he LOVES milkbones. :) He just loves everything and everyone. He was really good with my co-workers' dog I forgot she was out there and she is a longhaired chihuahua and he just tried to kiss her. :) his "owners" suck though he actually jumped off a bridge we think he was pushed off.
:mad: he is fine though he had to have 5 teeth extracted he fell on his face and he hurt his leg but he's all fine now and all ready to go for adoption once he has another check up at the vets. If I didn't have a house full, he'd so come home with me. :D
your pups are gorgeous. :love: Blackrose I am in love with Sadie! ReachoutRescue, I love all of those babies. God, I just adore the breed. :love: everyone has such beautiful dogs. :)
I know. She came from a bad part of town and my friend has had more than one person say she would be a good fighting dog. :eek: I'm glad that Britt is the one who took Sasha in, even though Britt is the less than ideal owner. She lets Sasha run loose (unspayed near a busy road), does no training with her (but has no problem yelling at her when she does something "wrong"), and only walks her for a total of three blocks a day (when she stayed with us I took her on a two mile walk once a day and the dog could have easily jogged twice the distance).Quote:
Sounds like another shady person. I'm glad she is such a great dog, I hope you get the chance to have her. No matter what her lineage is she looks like a happy dog and very pretty too.
IMO, it is a bad situation for a sensitive, intelligent, athletic, active dog like Sasha. But at least she's not being fought, isn't in the shelter, and has food, vetcare, toys, and a warm place to sleep.
I hope I can take her in too. My mom, however, will be less than thrilled. She doesn't like Pit Bulls and she says that Sasha gives her the creeps and she feels like she's going to be eaten. :rolleyes:
My younger brother, however, ADORES Sasha. He was really attached to the Leader Dog puppy we raised, Sadie, and he's really missed having "his" dog. When we watched Sasha he really clicked with her. I think he likes her as much as I do. Nobody else in the family minded her either, even my dad (which just about blew my socks off).
Tracy, I love seeing all the Pitties you've saved! They are all very special dogs!
OMG people like that just make me angry. "Falling" off a bridge! :mad: I'm glad to hear he is doing so well. Hopefully he'll get a real home with people that deserve him.Quote:
Originally Posted by luvofallhorses
Hopefully you'll get her and take plenty more pics! While she might not be in the best home, I agree that sounds like a decent home. Better then many dogs get.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackrose
Poor dog!:( It may be possible that he jumped though. Brick use to go cliff diving in the river. He wasn't afraid of anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by luvofallhorses
My brother brought home a 6 month old pit bull over the weekend, and his only intention was to keep her safe and not fall into the hands of the people who'd treat her wrong. Unfortunately, my two dogs, did not like her at all. I don't know why, but, Anna (husky) was very, very protective of Rosie (beagle) and all the puppy wanted to do was to dominate the beagle. Rosie just kept hiding and tried to avoid her while Anna growled and protected her. However, we had to give her back, so I hope that puppy finds a good home someday. What I have noticed was that she had SO MUCH energy, and she was strong like an ox. Wow. I do think they're sweet dogs, but, they are not for me.
Montee the one I posted a picture of he's fine, his "owners" sucked anyways they just bred him and bred him for money his original name was Money for that reason. :rolleyes: he's the best example of the breed and he got adopted last week to an amazing home with a young boy who he loves. :love: I miss him but they said they'd bring his sweet face to visit, he really makes me smile. :) I just fell so in love with him. I am a huge pit bull/bully breed person! :love:
:( Krista thats horrible
My aunt was walking her dog today and they were attacked by two pitbulls that had gotten loose. Baskerville has some pretty deep wounds but should be ok. When they went to the owner's house he cursed at them and told them he'd said not to walk by his house because his dogs would get out. My aunt and uncle called the police to come out and tell him that they are free to walk on the road by his house.
yeah but atleast he found the best new home. :) they LOVE him. :love: the vets LOVED him, too when he was at the hospital. :) he has that great affection of love you can't help but fall in love when you see his sweet handsome face. :) :love: he was for sure a staff favorite. :D that picture is my desktop background. :) he is such a happy, gentle, sweet, handsome soul. I wish everyone could meet him, he would definately change anyone's mind if they don't like pit bulls or are afraid of them. :) a little kid stuck his hand in his kennel the kid was like 3 years and Montee just licked it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by buttercup132
What? Did they not give him a dog at large ticket? Is he going to pay the vet bills (if he went to the vet)? It seems like they should be doing more then telling him that your Aunt can walk her dog. Do they have leash laws there? Unfortunately we don't have one here so my dogs have been attacked several times and charged many other times. Even when I lived where there was a leash law though the same thing happened. Also I don't understand his logic. If he KNEW the dogs would get out why did he not fix the problem?! I don't understand some people at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moesha
I don't know the answers to most of your questions. I'm dog/housesitting this week and had just heard that news from my mom. She didn't know many details. Baskerville did go to the vet. They decided not to put in stitches and try to let the wounds heal that way instead of taking a chance they wouldn't heal all the way down. She has a pretty big wound on her leg that if she starts to lick, she'll have to have a cone. Other than that I don't know much about it. I do know Baskerville was on her leash. I'm going to call my cousin in a while and ask for more details and check on them.
They are really strong (and active too)! Chloe and Sasha both play with the leash in the same way...when they get very excited they'll grab ahold and start tugging. I let Chloe do it because it is a reward for her and she'll spit the leash out when I say, "Knock it off," but when Sasha started tugging on the leash I thought I was going to be pulled flat on my face! She also likes to play tug with her rope toys and I don't think I could ever win if I tried. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by CountryWolf07
What kind of screwed up person is that? It shouldn't be that hard to keep your dogs contained on your property! I'm glad Baskerville is allright...my dogs and I have been jumped by loose dogs plenty of times on walks but I don't think I've ever had an owner yell at me not to walk by because their dog was out...Quote:
My aunt was walking her dog today and they were attacked by two pitbulls that had gotten loose. Baskerville has some pretty deep wounds but should be ok. When they went to the owner's house he cursed at them and told them he'd said not to walk by his house because his dogs would get out. My aunt and uncle called the police to come out and tell him that they are free to walk on the road by his house.