I work in dog rescue. I can tell you that a higher percentage of abused dogs will be aggressive than for the overall population. I can also tell you that in my area, a very high percentage of dogs that I would classify as abused are Pit Bulls. The deck is stacked against these dogs, yet I hear of bites by Labs at least as often as I hear of bites by Pits, probably because there are so many Labs in family situations with small children who don’t know how to interact with dogs and aren’t well supervised.
While the breed’s history is always a factor, in my experience the actions or inactions of owners have the most influence.
Small dogs(chihuahuas especially) bite much more often. Actually, it is rare that a pit bull will bite a human that wasn’t doing something wrong or acting out. Most dogs bite out of fear, and it is little dogs that are fearful.Dogs from line bred to fight and those taught to fight are more aggressive, but it is actually very hard to get a Pitt Bull to hurt a human, but all terriers are aggressive with other animals and vermin.Pit Bulls are called the “babysitter dog”, they will take a lot and just love them back. Petey was a Pit Bull (Our Gang Comedy)
Aggression was bred out of English Bull Terriers (Target Dog) very quickly.I agree Labradors when young can be a problem as they are big and don’t have a lot of control over their exuberance. I watched a family ‘train’ their Lab to nip at hands by throwing the dog treats instead of insisting on the dog using a soft mouth. I got it to take a tiny kibble gently from me by holding onto the treat until I got the correct response. Dog didn’t want to bite. Getting the family to do this was unsuccessful however. So they had more incidents of nipping.It’s the people who aren’t treating and training their dogs properly who are at fault.
The VAST, OVERWHELMING majority of individual dogs whose breeds fall under the ‘pit bull’ umbrella are NEVER involved in any bite/aggression incidents. That is a simple fact.
It does not matter WHAT breed you are dealing with; the 3 main contributing factors to problems are: Poor breeding, lack of or poor training, and lack of socialization.
route66paul is correct. Pit bulls were coined as ‘babysitter dogs’ back in the pioneer days. Life was hard and dangerous back then and families would use pit bulls to guard and protect the younger children as they worked to survive. They were gentle with the children and their intelligent, protective nature kept anything harmful at bay.
Long time lurker and animal lover, I have met several great pit bulls in my lifetime, but my mom was attacked by our neighbors one night trying to protect our pet cat. He clamped down on her and would not let go. He was a great do that was adored by me and her up to that point. DogsBite.org is a site with references and charts by breed. I do not think that they should be destroyed, but I will not allow my kids around them.
margueritem over 12 years ago
Not a good plan…
CyoteBlack over 12 years ago
Yeah…just…yeahh
jdunham over 12 years ago
I work in dog rescue. I can tell you that a higher percentage of abused dogs will be aggressive than for the overall population. I can also tell you that in my area, a very high percentage of dogs that I would classify as abused are Pit Bulls. The deck is stacked against these dogs, yet I hear of bites by Labs at least as often as I hear of bites by Pits, probably because there are so many Labs in family situations with small children who don’t know how to interact with dogs and aren’t well supervised.
While the breed’s history is always a factor, in my experience the actions or inactions of owners have the most influence.
Jerry DunhamTejas Coonhound Rescue
libbydog over 12 years ago
Love the flower, beware the teeth.
route66paul over 12 years ago
Small dogs(chihuahuas especially) bite much more often. Actually, it is rare that a pit bull will bite a human that wasn’t doing something wrong or acting out. Most dogs bite out of fear, and it is little dogs that are fearful.Dogs from line bred to fight and those taught to fight are more aggressive, but it is actually very hard to get a Pitt Bull to hurt a human, but all terriers are aggressive with other animals and vermin.Pit Bulls are called the “babysitter dog”, they will take a lot and just love them back. Petey was a Pit Bull (Our Gang Comedy)
Thehag over 12 years ago
Aggression was bred out of English Bull Terriers (Target Dog) very quickly.I agree Labradors when young can be a problem as they are big and don’t have a lot of control over their exuberance. I watched a family ‘train’ their Lab to nip at hands by throwing the dog treats instead of insisting on the dog using a soft mouth. I got it to take a tiny kibble gently from me by holding onto the treat until I got the correct response. Dog didn’t want to bite. Getting the family to do this was unsuccessful however. So they had more incidents of nipping.It’s the people who aren’t treating and training their dogs properly who are at fault.
tryoung71 over 12 years ago
The VAST, OVERWHELMING majority of individual dogs whose breeds fall under the ‘pit bull’ umbrella are NEVER involved in any bite/aggression incidents. That is a simple fact.
It does not matter WHAT breed you are dealing with; the 3 main contributing factors to problems are: Poor breeding, lack of or poor training, and lack of socialization.
Jkiss over 12 years ago
route66paul is correct. Pit bulls were coined as ‘babysitter dogs’ back in the pioneer days. Life was hard and dangerous back then and families would use pit bulls to guard and protect the younger children as they worked to survive. They were gentle with the children and their intelligent, protective nature kept anything harmful at bay.
Jkiss over 12 years ago
I agree Will, it’s not the right look for you.
rdockett over 12 years ago
Long time lurker and animal lover, I have met several great pit bulls in my lifetime, but my mom was attacked by our neighbors one night trying to protect our pet cat. He clamped down on her and would not let go. He was a great do that was adored by me and her up to that point. DogsBite.org is a site with references and charts by breed. I do not think that they should be destroyed, but I will not allow my kids around them.
danketaz Premium Member over 12 years ago
“Sweetest little fellow, everybody knows. Don’t knowe what they call him but he’s mighty like a rose.”
calvinsfriend110 over 12 years ago
Yipe.
el8 over 12 years ago
check it out: http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics.php
meandkage over 12 years ago
It says something about the dog when they have to be beaten and abused to be trained to be fighters. Treated well they make fine pets.
Shikamoo Premium Member over 12 years ago
I don’t think that is a good idea folks. That thing would make anyone angry.