We get quite alot of pitties in at my work. We've never had an issue with any of them -- they are some of the easiest breeds to control in the grooming parlor. We've gotten an influx of young pit bulls, under a year, who were not taught to behave during a groom session (as they aren't a breed that needs alot of grooming). Some of them will try to nip at your fingers when you clip the nails (in a puppy way). A firm "no" is all that is needed for them. Their ears go back, they get a sad look on their face, and they try very hard to give extra kisses. They are a terrier, will always hold terrier traits, yet I find them to be very eager to please. The only issue we had with a bully breed was an amstaff that was severely abused in it's irst home and was terrified of everything. For the first groom it needed to be muzzled and watched carefully for old dog fits. After the first groom it was fine, no more muzzle, still quite scared but more trusting
I've worked around dogs my entire life, and I work around them professionally now. Rarely do I meet such happy, carefree dogs who can give you a good whack with their tail but otherwise leave you with only kisses. I owned a pit bull, some of my friends own or owned pit bulls -- very sweet, loving, family dogs. They were the #1 family dog in North America for a number of yars, nicknamed the nanny dog. No one can tell me that they upheld that reputation for so long and are still "killers." I don't believe it.
The only breed that has ever "attacked" me (as in not just a bite, an actual trying to kill me, viciously going for me) is the golden retriever. And not just one -- several of them. Yet everyone will says that goldens make the best family dogs ever. I think the best thing is to ignore the exceptions and focus on the breed and how the breed should be as a whole. A GOOD example of a pit bull does not attack.
I think that pit bulls for dummies is a very good book -- it explains the myths. For instance, pit bulls do not have a higher pressure bite per square inch than other breeds. In fact, in a study, they found German shepherds to have the strongest bite.
As for protection trained pit bulls, I find them to be much more stable than most the other breeds. 99% of schutzhund, french ring, etc dogs find it to be a game. The 1% of them that think of it as serious work are all quite dangerous in my opinion, but I've met police pit bulls and I've found them to be very stable dogs. The police GSDs I've met have scared the cr*p out of me -- one of them tried to attack me while I was just standing there not even looking at it, and the only one I found to be non-dog aggressive was 5 months old. Haven't met a police trained Belgian yet, but I imagine it would be alot worse. Alot of police departments would consider a pit bull before they would consider a Belgian, if they know dogs well enough.
I also think this thread should be closed. It makes me unhappy to think that my pit bull went his entire 15 years without biting anyone, and he is being blamed for the actions of some dogs.
Originally Posted by caseysmom
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