Pit Bulls - Tell me your experiences

I've never met a pitbull before. We'd never be able to own one as Angie was bitten very badly by one as a kid on the face. She's lucky she didn't lose an eye. It wasn't the dogs' fault though it was the owner who had tought the dog to be a guard dog because he dealt drugs. This is how I think most of the pits get their bag rap. I think Ang knows that all Pit's aren't like that but she has had a fear of big dogs for a while.

That's why I thought Greyhounds would be the perfect dog for her. Even though they're massive lol They are one of the calmest breeds out there. Once we have our own house we'll have a Grey...or maybe next year lol who knows.

Maybe Angie could meet my little Pit She's like a Pitbull looks wise, but half the size. She would be considered a med sized dog. She lubbbbs people, especially women. Be a good place to start once she comfortable! Fate has changed many many minds, shes a good beginner dog for those new to the breed/have issues with previous dogs! Yes, sounds good. I'll bring her next time haha

Pit bulls should be medium sized. Their size limit tops off around 50-60 pounds. If a pit bull is larger than that, it probably has mastiff mixed in with it.

I think that's the problem with so many "pit bulls" these days. They are NOT even REAL "pit bulls" any more. They have been mixed with other breeds to look and act more aggressively. Mastiffs WERE bred as guarding dogs, pit bulls were not. Pit bulls should NOT EVE bite a person. However... once you start cross breeding them with other breeds (such as mastiffs) you risk losing those original traits pit bulls had. You also get larger, bulkier dogs (pit bulls are muscular, but should not be massive like a mastiff is, REAL pit bulls should be lean and athletic), start cropping the ears and broadening their bodies and they start looking pretty nasty too.

I only have good to say about bully mixes. I've owned one, and known countless others. I've had more trouble with farm lab mixes than I have ever had with a pit.

I am fortunate in that I've only known pits owned by decent owners. Not all were the best owners, but they did what they "knew" and their dogs ("hard to handle" pits) were no different from anyone elses' "easily handled" dogs.

Take a stupid person and mix it with any kind of dog and you may get a dangerous dog.

Pitt Bulls haven't been a true breed for a LONG time. Kind of like Jack Russells, people started pumping them out and there's so much variation now that strays away from true type. Now only "Parson Russell Terriers" are recognized in North America since Jacks vary so much.

I personally would say if you're going to go for any of the "Bullies" to go for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They're just the sweetest things.

As for my experiences with Staffies/American Staffs/Pit Bulls, there's one thing that bothers me. They seem to have NO OFF SWITCH. Once they get into something, it can be nearly impossible to get their attention back, especially with a young dog. I knew one little Staffie (was apparently a boston mix, but who did they think they were fooling?) who wanted to play with other dogs so badly but never accepted it when the dogs asked her repeatedly (and very politely) to %*$& off! She would run herself into a frenzy until she collapsed and was right back up again. Sweet, loving girl but couldn't stop long enough to learn what the other dogs were telling her.

Bully breeds are wonderful! One of the few breeds I consider owning.

Having said that, like others said they are not for everyone and they do come with a bad rap. You will have to be an extra responsible owner because the last thing this breed needs is more bad press.

One thing that I think hasn't been mentioned yet... If you are set on getting a dog that you can take to dog parks, they might not be the breed for you. Even when you get a pup and socialize early on, as they get older they can become dog selective or dog aggressive. You really need to ask yourself if you can deal with this or not. A lot of people think they are ok with it but actually being in the situation where you have a big strong dog who wants to eat other dogs and who needs to be carefully managed is a different story.

Depending on the dog they can also have a lot of prey drive so if you have small animals it again might not be the one for you.

I have fostered several one of them and I also walk several ones of them... they really have very different personalities. Some are very dog social, great with cats/small animals. Others are very dog aggressive and super high prey drive.

If you are set on a certain personality type then I'd recommend that you go to a good reputable rescue who knows what htey are doing/properly assess dogs and adopt an adult dog.

I love love love pits as well!

Although i agree with what most ppl have said, these are generalizations every dog is different just as every person is different.

Since you like forums I suggest you join pbsmiles.com its a forum all about pits. Its a very active forum and a great place to learn!!

PM me if you decide to join!

Sorraia said:

Pit bulls should be medium sized. Their size limit tops off around 50-60 pounds. If a pit bull is larger than that, it probably has mastiff mixed in with it.

I think that's the problem with so many "pit bulls" these days. They are NOT even REAL "pit bulls" any more. They have been mixed with other breeds to look and act more aggressively. Mastiffs WERE bred as guarding dogs, pit bulls were not. Pit bulls should NOT EVE bite a person. However... once you start cross breeding them with other breeds (such as mastiffs) you risk losing those original traits pit bulls had. You also get larger, bulkier dogs (pit bulls are muscular, but should not be massive like a mastiff is, REAL pit bulls should be lean and athletic), start cropping the ears and broadening their bodies and they start looking pretty nasty too.

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I could not agree with this more. Yesteryears, Pitbulls were 40-60lbs max, but that was overseas. Once the Pitbull (or more so Staffordshire Terriers) were brought to the USA, they were mixed with larger dogs such as mastiffs to create a larger dog for whatever purpose, usually fighting, because in America, bigger is better. Thats where we get American Pitbull Terrier, and American Staffordshire Terrier.

You would not believe how many times I've been told my Fate isnt a Pitbull/Staffie because she is half the size of a "normal" Pitbull. She must be mixed, when in fact, she isnt. I call her Mini Mouse haha

D'awwwwwwwwww lookit the pretty goggie!

I met my friend Jamie's pits. She has 4. And they are all WONDERFUL. Dixie (bluenose) was even rescued from a fighting situation and now she's sweet and happy and still loves dogs and humans.

But I gotta say my favorite is Athena. She's only 12 weeks old and has mastered the "sit" command. Plus she's GORGEOUS. I really need to get a pic of her.

PitLuvs said:

You would not believe how many times I've been told my Fate isnt a Pitbull/Staffie because she is half the size of a "normal" Pitbull. She must be mixed, when in fact, she isnt. I call her Mini Mouse haha

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I'd believe it! That's probably how I can get away with calling Alley a "boxer mix" so many times. People who KNOW pit bulls know I'm lying, people who don't know dogs, believe me (heck... they even believe me if I say she's part greyhound!).
(I hate having to call her something she's not, but for various reasons she's a "boxer mix" for official purposes.)

ETA:
Alley IS such a great representation for the breed too. We were at the vet today for a general wellness exam. Everyone loved her, she was so calm, mellow, and obedient (complete opposite of how she often behaves at home!). As we were checking out a heavier built pit bull came in for vaccinations. They sat down to the side of the door. As we were leaving this dog was pulling on the leash to see Alley, and Alley just ignored him, ready to go home! lol

I have a white boxer mix myself! That reminds me of a time I approached a young guy about his dog, a visible blue boy that was gorgeous. I asked him if he was a pitbull to test the air. He flat out told me no, he would never own such a breed. I giggled and told him I own one too, no need to hide a beautiful dog like him (he was amazingly well behaved). We ended up sitting around talking about the breed and how people just dont understand them. Poor guy was scared whitless to let someone know what type of dog he had! I am sure he's been up against some racism about his dog at some point.

ZoeHale said:

D'awwwwwwwwww lookit the pretty goggie!

I met my friend Jamie's pits. She has 4. And they are all WONDERFUL. Dixie (bluenose) was even rescued from a fighting situation and now she's sweet and happy and still loves dogs and humans.

But I gotta say my favorite is Athena. She's only 12 weeks old and has mastered the "sit" command. Plus she's GORGEOUS. I really need to get a pic of her.

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How does one live with 4 Pits without any type of aggression going on, with 2 females at that?? haha Thats what I want to know!! I had a pitbull and a pitbull mix and ended up asking my Mom to take the mix because once they hit 2 years old, they were at each other. I did the pitbull shuffle for 3 years before I had my son, and realized it wasnt a safe situation for a baby. You're friend is some lucky.

PitLuvs said:

I have a white boxer mix myself! That reminds me of a time I approached a young guy about his dog, a visible blue boy that was gorgeous. I asked him if he was a pitbull to test the air. He flat out told me no, he would never own such a breed. I giggled and told him I own one too, no need to hide a beautiful dog like him (he was amazingly well behaved). We ended up sitting around talking about the breed and how people just dont understand them. Poor guy was scared whitless to let someone know what type of dog he had! I am sure he's been up against some racism about his dog at some point.

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Its so sad to have to do that. :sad3: There are many GREAT "pibbuls" out there, but just too much prejudice against them. And when you have a good dog who is a great representative of the breed, its so sad to have to "hide" them rather than show them off and tell the world "THIS is what a pit bull REALLY is". Sadly if you don't "hide" them, you can risk losing your insurance policy (my insurance guy has seen and met my dog, he has her down as a "boxer mix" whether he believes us or not), risk losing your home in some cases ("pit bulls", even if they are NOT pit bulls but just "look" it, are banned on most, if not all, military bases), risk losing your dog, etc. And its really stupid and unfortunate that if anything ever happened, it is automatically the pit bull's fault. For example... I have to be extra super careful when I'm out walking my dog. Can't let my guard down, can't relax, because if some idiot has their dog off leash, and it attacks my dog, MY dog is the one at fault. (And I HAVE encountered off leash dogs before when out with my dog, fortunately they either didn't want to approach me or I had someone else with me to restrain that dog while we located the owner.)

ZoeHale said:

D'awwwwwwwwww lookit the pretty goggie!

I met my friend Jamie's pits. She has 4. And they are all WONDERFUL. Dixie (bluenose) was even rescued from a fighting situation and now she's sweet and happy and still loves dogs and humans.

But I gotta say my favorite is Athena. She's only 12 weeks old and has mastered the "sit" command. Plus she's GORGEOUS. I really need to get a pic of her.

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How does one live with 4 Pits without any type of aggression going on, with 2 females at that?? haha Thats what I want to know!! I had a pitbull and a pitbull mix and ended up asking my Mom to take the mix because once they hit 2 years old, they were at each other. I did the pitbull shuffle for 3 years before I had my son, and realized it wasnt a safe situation for a baby. You're friend is some lucky.

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I think some dogs are just more dog friendly than others. Alley, at 3 years of age (got her at a year old, have had her for 2 years) is still GREAT with other dogs. I can take her over to my dad's house any time, and she and his dog-reactive border collie mix play and get along great until its time to go home. My house is fenced with 4 foot chain link fence and we have dogs on both sides of us (2 on one side, 6 on the other). ALL of those dogs bark and carry on as soon as Alley goes out. She used to run up and down the fence playing "tag" with them, now she just ignores them and doesn't care any more, no matter how loud and mean they bark. Any time we go out, she completely ignores other dogs (unless they end up IN her face, which is one reason I don't take her with me to pet stores any more - too many idiots who throw their dogs into her AS they ask if they can be introduced - I swear people think its "fun" to be an idiot and potentially start trouble), and the more reactive the other dog behaves, the more she ignores it. (It was fun introducing her to my dad's dog! My husband held her on leash, I held my dad's dog, soon as my dad's dog sees her he starts carrying on, barking and growling like he wants to kill her, she just sits there with her back to him as if he didn't exist.) She's just a great dog, and she's been that way from the beginning, and so far shows no indication of changing at all. Not every dog is like that, but I have heard of several who are.

I have had both positive and negative experiences with pit bull type dogs. Although they can be wonderful, friendly, and well-trained, they're also very abused and unfortunately that abuse often results in aggressive, unpredictable behaviour.

We had an American Staffordshire terrier in our shelter temporarily while she was being transported to a rescue in QC because of the Ontario pit bull ban. She came from an amazing home, was well cared for and loved, it was a very sad situation. She was SO friendly, an amazing representation of both her breed and her upbringing. She was very cute and petite too!

We also had another dog who was the opposite. One of your stereotypical "huge pit bulls" who was being used for fighting in his old home before a seizure. He was cage and dog aggressive and was unfortunately in the shelter for a year before being adopted by one of the staff members.

He's amazing with her and her cats and such, but he will also growl and lunge randomly at some people and dogs. He is apparently doing it because he "senses they're afraid of him" and it makes him nervous. He has also bitten both people and dogs. He can be great in the right circumstances, but I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him which isn't very far given he's 85 lbs.

Alicemcmallis said:

I have had both positive and negative experiences with pit bull type dogs. Although they can be wonderful, friendly, and well-trained, they're also very abused and unfortunately that abuse often results in aggressive, unpredictable behaviour.

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That can be said of any dog though. I've met and heard of many dogs of all different breeds that are aggressive and unpredictable, and were abused. Abuse isn't limited to pit bulls, and abuse doesn't affect only pit bulls. Abuse also won't affect all pit bulls the same. My dog did NOT come from a loving, wonderful home. She ended up in the pound at 7 months of age - who knows what happened to her before that, but considering where she was picked up and how she behaves and reacts even now (2 years after I got her), I suspect she was mistreated if not actually abused. She's still a wonderful, loving dog. My biggest "issue" is people who want to run up and start petting her without asking me for permission or without letting her get to know them first. Those kinds of people frighten her and she cringes behind me when they approach.

Of course that's true that any dog in an abusive situation or breed that's bred for aggression can turn out to be a "bad" dog or vice versa. That's sort of my point with giving two extreme examples - some of these dogs are absolutely wonderful, some of them are messed up and dangerous. It's sad that some of them are messed up and dangerous because idiots made them that way, and also sad that the wonderful ones get a really bad rap because of that.

But they are a more abused "breed" because of idiots who want to be tough and have scary looking guard dogs and who want to make money off them by fighting them. So statistically it makes sense that more pit bulls are going to be abused and thus mentally messed up than say border collies. Like statistically there's also got to be a lot more messed up teacup dogs than labs because people treat them like toys rather than dogs.

Alicemcmallis said:

So statistically it makes sense that more pit bulls are going to be abused and thus mentally messed up than say border collies.

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LOL, not the case where I live. Border collies cooped up in suburban yards often become problematic. I just thought your breed choice was funny.

I'm still amazed at how many people are meeting my chihuahuas and say "Oh! These ones are nice!"... the vast majority of chihuahuas I meet are great and I still forget that other people don't have that experience.

Sorry, rambling.. LOL

Alicemcmallis said:

Of course that's true that any dog in an abusive situation or breed that's bred for aggression can turn out to be a "bad" dog or vice versa. That's sort of my point with giving two extreme examples - some of these dogs are absolutely wonderful, some of them are messed up and dangerous. It's sad that some of them are messed up and dangerous because idiots made them that way, and also sad that the wonderful ones get a really bad rap because of that.

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One point to clarify:
Pit bulls were NOT bred for "aggression". They were bred and developed specifically for "dog aggression", while still making wonderful family pets. There is a big difference, and I feel it is important to clarify this.

Some breeds, such as some of the "exotic" (for lack of a better word) mastiff-type breeds ARE bred for people aggression. Pit bulls are not one of those breeds.

But they are a more abused "breed" because of idiots who want to be tough and have scary looking guard dogs and who want to make money off them by fighting them. So statistically it makes sense that more pit bulls are going to be abused and thus mentally messed up than say border collies. Like statistically there's also got to be a lot more messed up teacup dogs than labs because people treat them like toys rather than dogs.

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I disagree that pit bulls are "more" abused than any other breed. ALL dogs of ALL breeds are and can be abused. The scum who fight dogs use any and every breed they can get their hands on as "bait" dogs. Are those dogs not considered "abused"? Scum have and do use other breeds for dog fighting too, in order to "circumvent" the stereotypes. You would not believe the number of posts I've seen for dogs of all kinds of breeds that say "not for fighting!" Boxers, shepherds, mastiffs, even labs, have all had that statement. If other breeds are being used for fighting purposes too, how are they not being abused?

Statistically, there are NO statistics about what breeds are "more" abused than others. Making up such "statistics" is nothing more than a smoke screen. ALL breeds are abused by all manner of scum. Saying more pit bulls are abused than any other breed, and thus there are more "bad" pit bulls is a fallacy. That is also ignoring the amazing resiliency and ability of these dogs (and others) to overcome these obstacles. JUST because a pit bull is abused does NOT mean it is going to be "mentally messed up", especially not any more than any other breed. Talk to rescue workers who have dealt with pit bulls, including dogs used for fighting, and find out how many of these horribly neglected and abused dogs are STILL sweet and looking for a loving home. Sadly many of them are destroyed because who wants a "vicious" fighting dog? People don't want to give them a chance because of the myths like you are stating.

JUST because a pit bull is abused does NOT mean it is going to be "mentally messed up", especially not any more than any other breed.

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I never said that. I said that any dog that's abused could turn out to be a good or bad dog.

Making up such "statistics" is nothing more than a smoke screen

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A smoke screen for what? My point was that an abused dog is more likely to have issues, which is a valid point. Obviously not all dogs who are abused will have issues. But any abused animal or person is more likely to have issues than one who is raised well with love and kindness.

And we're going to have to disagree about them being more abused than a lot of other breeds (obviously no breed is exempt from being abused). However, I think you may be specifically talking about American Staffordshire terriers? I’m referring to the whole range of pit bulls, including the big huge ones that you mentioned that must have been mixed with mastiff, etc. I do believe that certain breeds or types of dog are more at risk and many individuals of these breeds require homes with the knowledge and wherewithal to care for them properly.

Some of the comments here indicate that these types of dogs need special training. Obviously they're not the only breed that requires this and any dog requires some training, but I would feel a hell of a lot more comfortable adopting out the average labradoodle to a first time dog owner than the average pit bull (or German Shepherd, or beagle for that matter although for different reasons). Maybe this is because many of my experiences are shelter based?

I'm not trying to spread anti-pit bull propaganda, just trying to portray a balanced viewpoint. It's great that everyone on here seems to have had mainly positive experiences with pit bulls and similar type dogs, but I've had pretty much half and half. Same as some other dog breeds too - half the German Shepherds and Shih Tzus I've met are also scary and aggressive. But we were asked to share our experiences with pit bulls, not other breeds.

For me, the only pits I've ever met were guard dogs. In Trinidad everyone has a guard dog and very few people have pet dogs.
I came accross very different pits down there; my dad's best friend had two (a Mom and her grown pup) I remember petting the grown pup and felling how soft he was and how nice. We weren't allowed to pet Mom as she was known to bite. At someone elses house they had a guard pitty named Sasha that we weren't even allowed out to be outside when she was out.

Also pits (well dogs in general) there fight with each other in the streets in the night. To be 13 and hear dogs screaming every night for a month is very upsetting. I think pits are very nice without ever meeting that many. And even with most of the one in T-dad being real nasty, I know they can be great dogs as I was given the opportunity to see (not meet) somebody else's massive Rotts (I mean 150lbs of pure muscle) that could only be handled by one person in the family but those dogs were living a better life than most just to be that large. Dogs down there normally eat "pet rice" or slop...