How do feel about pit bulls? What’s your experience with them? Do you find them to be too risky or do you think it depends on how they’re raised?

49 comments

  1. Depends how theyre raised and they should Be legalized

    Ive met a few, some of The sweetest dogs ive met

  2. I work as a dog sitter and only dealt with one but the one I dealt with had high energy but was otherwise a good girl, was protective of my kids while she stayed with us. Only had an issue with being reactive and hyper.

  3. I have put/lab mutts. Best dogs I’ve ever had. I’m leery of full blooded as I have young kids.

  4. It depends on their environment and the people around them. I have had nothing but good experiences, they’re great dogs

  5. I dated a girl with a pitbull. The dog was very hyperactive, but not dangerous. I don’t know if I would get one myself, but in the right environment they can be nice, friendly dogs. Very misunderstood.

  6. I don’t dislike them but I think its kinda stupid people are so dedicated to them if they could be dangerous. Just get a different dog

  7. Cute dogs. Pretty slobbery.

    I think dogs are in a large part a product of their environment.

    Example: My dog was left chained up outside of a humane society at 4 months old. Now she has pretty bad separation anxiety from me. I doubt it’s a coincidence.

  8. My sister’s boyfriend has one, and they’ve had him since he was tiny. He’s lovely. I have no reason to believe pitbulls are riskier to have any more than other breeds that are known to be aggressive.

  9. When you see articles about dogs attacking people and literally eating children it’s almost always pitts.

    Environment and how they are raised is 100% a factor, but let’s not act like they aren’t naturally an aggressive breed.

    There are so many other choices that don’t routinely go lizard brain and attack people, so I don’t understand why anyone would risk it tbh. Get a lab they don’t literally eat children.

    Especially with all of the adopt don’t shop stuff. So you are going to rehab an aggressive dog that was probably bred for aggression and used in fights and just hope it doesn’t snap one day? The risk isn’t worth the reward.

  10. They’re not for first-time dog owners. They require strict supervision and training to be raised properly. Even then, there’s still always that instinct that an owner must know how to de-escalate.

    I don’t want to judge every owner based on the actions of a sample of them, but I have had far too many negative interactions with them and I’m not a fan, especially when there are plenty of other breeds.

  11. They’re simultaneously super sweet and super scary. Obviously there are multiple things that play into a dog’s behavior, but you can’t deny that breeding is a big factor. Aggression can be bred into or out of a species (some Russian did extensive experimentation on breeding silver foxes to demonstrate this), and the pitbull as well as it’s predecessors were bred to be aggressive.

    I have known some very sweet pits. I have a half pit, half mastiff mix and he’s always been very good with people and animals in public and at home, but I don’t take him out off leash and I watch him like a hawk when other people are at my house just in case. Even if they’ve never attacked another animal/person it doesn’t mean they can’t, and that’s something a lot of dog owners are not prepared for.

  12. My city has all the bully breed laws and insurance requirements. It makes me shy away from them. The hassle of owning one is serious and there are so many other paths to follow.

  13. I love pit bulls, never met and aggressive one. My little dachshunds love pit bulls and enjoy playing with them mainly and they have never shown a sign of aggression. I do think any dog cause be vicious depending on the owner.

  14. Would never bring one into my household, and especially so if I have children or pets.

    Bad experiences growing up with most dogs when I lived in lower income neighborhood, and pitbulls and rottweilers were the worst of them. Since then one positive experience with a pitbull as an adult because a coach at the CrossFit gym I went to would bring his everyday, and that was sweet and well-socialized.

  15. It definitely depends on how their raised and the individual dog’s temperament.

    I know several very nice people with pits, and one couple with a bull mastiff. Sweetest, cuddliest dogs I’ve ever seen.

    If you want an irrationally aggressive dog, get something like a Chihuahua or miniature Pomeranian. Those things are vicious. Thankfully, too small to be dangerous.

  16. Met pitbulls, some of the most friendly dogs I’ve met

    It’s 100% how they are raised

    The smaller dogs people get because they don’t think they can handle a larger dog are much more likely to be dangerous

  17. They should all be destroyed and illegal to own. I’ve been around them enough. Yes they are far too risky. Raise them however you’d like, but you can’t change their nature.

  18. Depends on how they’re raised

    But foolish to think they’re harmless. Big dogs are big dogs and need lots of control

  19. well just heard yet ANOTHER case of dogs murdering an amazon worker in Missouri. so lets see last couple months alone, that incident, elderly Fedex driver getting ripped apart by dogs in Florida, woman watching her daughters dog in the midwest getting killed by it, 60 something year old black man who was killed by a dog this summer, i think midwest or PNW. thats just off the top of my head and the last few months. starting to become less and less a fan of some dogs

  20. It wasn’t long ago that I firmly believed that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Then I saw the post from Pit Bull expert and advocate stating that she had changed her mind after her Pit Bull attacked her daughter without provocation.

  21. I used to have a pit bull. Loved that dog. He died too young of a genetic heart condition.

    Now I have a mostly-labrador mutt. Love this dog, too. And… having a non-pittie is a better experience. It’s much nicer walking down the street and hearing everyone say “Awww, what a cutie!” instead of recoiling in fear.

    My pittie never did anything aggressive, but people generally gave him a wide berth. Having a dog that people *don’t* react to that way is better.

  22. I’ve dog sat a couple of pits (separately) a few times. Both were insanely sweet dogs, but also older and lazier. I am still a little leery sometimes, like I wouldn’t get one as a family dog. Even the best dogs with great training can be a little unpredictable when their instincts kick in, and pit instincts tend to be on the aggressive side. I think they’re fine for people who have the ability to train them and the strength to physically restrain if that was ever needed. Again, wouldn’t necessarily recommend for a family dog.

  23. The notion that breed and personality are closely linked has [very little basis](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0639). Different breeds of dogs can look remarkably different, but their mental differences are much smaller. Bear in mind, no matter what they look like they’re all the same species.

    But you’re not asking for real information, you’re asking for worthless anecdote. Okay: I’ve never had any trouble with any pit bulls that I’ve known, and there have been quite a few. In my experience the most aggressive dogs are almost always the smallest ones. And, of course, the ones who have been abused.

  24. I have two in my life .they belong to my son .when he’s comes over they come to and I have a cat . Lilly plays with my cat charlie the boy pittie is afraid of her .lol I love pitties .it’s how you raise them and yes he has 4 kids .they love them to.

  25. I have a pit. He is such a beautiful and good boy.

    However, he is getting old. Starting to do some senile things like state off into the distance. This is making me nervous. Cause if he loses his shit, my wife isn’t strong enough to stop him.

  26. I love them, as any dog breed, but I wouldn’t get one. Yes, the way you raise and train them is huge, but they are naturally agressive breed and there is no esaping that. Dogs act on instincts. I had a mutt when I was a young teenager, raised him with all the love, trained him every day, read books about dog training and all. One day I was in my backyard with him off the leash, a neighbour passing by said hi to me, he ran at her and bit her. That incident was followed by 2 other ones in a span of a few months. I had no idea what would make him so agressive. Took him to the vet, who he also bit for no reason. Vet said we have to put him down. So I can’t believe that if you just train the dog well he’s not gonna be agressive. It’s not that simple, every dog has it’s own nature that you can’t fully control.

  27. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with them compared to other dogs. None of them were raised to be mean/had bad owners either. Two of them went berserk and killed another dog they had been raised with since puppyhood, another one was an aggressive asshole and killed a horse, a third bit several dogs over the years until an angry neighbor hit it in the face with a lead pipe during a attack and busted up its face.

    Of course I have had to deal with other dogs over the years (living in the country loose and stray dogs are common) but nothing compares to pitbull type dogs.

  28. I strongly dislike all dogs. The very few pitbulls I’ve met have all been even more rude and obnoxious than the average dog. Not sure about whether they are actually riskier though.

    Just get your ugly little predator beast out of my face, no matter which breed it is.

  29. They are a rambunctious/high-energy breed that requires a lot of attention. Experienced good trainers are needed to make them well behaved.

    Mostly, they are harmless, but I have yet to meet an owner that wasn’t exhausted by them.

  30. every time there is headline such as “family dog mauls infant” you can predict without clicking that it is a pitbull or a pitbull mix. yes it is often because of a neglectful owner, but also yes there will always be neglectful owners and it is a breed that has such a miniscule margin for error and catastrophic risks, and I would also think that an owner can do everything right and a pitbull will sometime attack at random

  32. Pit bulls are no more or less aggressive than any other breed of dog. The difference is that pits are one of the few breeds that are big and strong enough to actually kill you if that switch in their head gets flipped. No one is dying from being attacked by a corgi.

  33. They can be the sweetest ever but you must be in control at all times and don’t just assume situations are fine

  34. Violent and dangerous. Rightfully banned in many places. You can’t change a dogs breed and it’s nature with kindness and love.

  35. Should be banned. Just like malinoises and other real working dogs and fighting dogs. Professional use only.

  36. Many pitties, especially mixes, are the biggest babies in existence. As long as they haven’t had training or experience that makes them aggressive, they are fantastic pets. Some may need a more experienced owner if they have underlying issues.

  37. I see them as mutated wild animals and not dogs. They need to be exterminated from existence.

  38. How do I feel about them?

    I feel they’re one of the most loyal, intelligent and sensitive breeds out there. Unfortunately, those same characteristics that make them amazing can also be used against them. If you’re one of these people that wants to put your dog in the backyard on a chain with a doghouse and forget about them, a pit bull is not the dog for you. If you want to train them to be a ruthless killer, they’ll become that because they’re so loyal… those people can jump off a bridge.

    Bully breeds require attention, activity and care. If you have the bandwidth to provide those things and want a great addition to your family, they’re awesome.

    Otherwise, go get a cat

  39. In my building there’s a couple with a pitbull that’s a very friendly, disciplined dog that doesn’t scare me at all but if I decided to get a dog myself I would go for a different breed (labrador, golden retriever, etc)

  40. I live in a country where most pit bull breeds are illegal, for which I’m very glad because I have small kids and I don’t want to be scared for their safety while walking around the neighbourhood.

  41. They’re great dogs if you get a properly bred one. Contrary to popular belief, these dogs are not human aggressive(animal/dog aggressive is another story as they are a fighting breed). They’re so people friendly, it wasn’t uncommon for dog fighters to have their dogs stolen right off of their yards. Some folks like to use the fact they are a fighting breed as an “AHA!” moment to prove they are dangerous, but only the minority of Pit Bulls throughout the breed’s history were “man-biters”.

    Yeah, you hear about “Pit Bull Attacks” almost everyday, but those dogs are mislabeled dogs more often than not. The general public misuses “Pit Bull” as an umbrella term for not only the American Pit Bull Terrier, but for other Bull Breeds such as the American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. So when you pin the actions of 3 other breeds to 1 simply for looking alike, you’re bound to get a higher amount of attacks than what it actually is.

    Another thing people tend to ignore about “Pit Bull Attacks” is where the dog came from. The majority of the dogs involved tend to be of unknown genetic backgrounds: backyard breeders/rescues/shelters. For such “dangerous dog” that the general public paints them to be, there’s not much you will find on authentic American Pit Bull Terriers from reputable breeders being involved in attacks. On top of that, you won’t hear much on deaths from authentic American Pit Bull Terrier breeders. You know, people that have yards full of these “dangerous dogs”.

  45. A friend of mine had 2. They were lovely and I could pet them all day. They also received personal protection training so they were very disciplined but still fun to play with.

    A lot depends on how they are raised.

  48. If a golden retriever dies in a movie everyone’s sad, if a pit bull dies everyone’s happy

  49. Awesome. Super cute and fun to hang out with. I know they attack people, but they ain’t never attacked me so idgaf

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