Does anybody have experience with pitbulls?

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-04-2012 08:58 PM

I know pitbull lovers say they get a bad wrap and can be very sweet animals. What I'm really wondering is how they do with other dogs. Specifically a pitbull puppy that plays extremely rough with a full grown 85 lb bernese mountain dog. The puppy latches on to the neck of the adult dog. He's too small to do any damage right now, but when he's full grown...

He's never shown an ounce of aggressiveness towards people, and he's just playing with the other dog. I just wonder if he could accidentally hurt the other dog, once he's bigger.

**KevMcNJ** · 04-04-2012 09:21 PM

Our 2+ year old pit bull has accidentally hurt me. Not with his mouth but with his mass. He gets up to full speed and doesnt stop too well on wood floors. Hes caught me in the knees a few times and it felt like he was going to bend them back the wrong way.
We have 4 dogs and the pit gets along great with the other 3.

He backs away from our 20lb 12 year old Jack Russell when the Jack growls so that tells you something about pit bulls that were raised in a loving home

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-04-2012 09:24 PM

This guy is certainly loving, but he's not intimidated in the least by the bigger dog.

**skypigeon** · 04-04-2012 10:03 PM

I wonder how much pit bull aggressiveness has to do with the owner.

The two I've had experience with, it wasn't pleasant. One was a neighbor's who would jump the fence in the morning, come up on our deck and steal our dog's food. We didn't catch him until the morning our dog tried to defend her food and got a ripped ear requiring stitches for her efforts. The neighbor owned up to it, paid for the stitches, and kept the dog on a running leash from there on out, but I noticed he was also openly abusive to the dog.

The other one, my kind-hearted wife volunteered to keep for a friend from work while he recuperated from heart surgery. Somehow we tolerated it for two days. The first day, he responded to my trying to leash him for a walk by jumping three feet in the air and planting his teeth in my left forearm (thank the Lord I had a winter coat on or he'd have seriously screwed up my arm). A day later, when he calmed down enough to let me leash and walk him, he tried to attack a neighbor I'd stopped to talk to. Between that and my wife's own episodes with the dog, we decided her friend needed to find someone else to keep him. Later on said friend demonstrated beyond doubt he personally had no social skills whatsoever--don't even make me go there.

So I get why people think pit bulls are rotten dogs, but again... maybe it's because some have rotten owners.

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-04-2012 11:16 PM

Several years ago I was a FedEx driver that covered Geist, and the areas to the south. Anyone familiar with Indy knows Geist is the crème de la crème of neighborhoods in this town. There are A LOT of pit bulls in that area. I can't tell you how many times I'd walk up to a door with a package and there would be one of them on the other side of a thin sheet of glass that absolutely wanted to devour me. It was frightening and I HATED them. I had a stand-off with a dog once that was probably part pit. The owner couldn't get close enough to get him away and I couldn't move without risking being mauled. Not fun.

I remember this thread clearly, and I've mentioned it over the last few years when the subject of pits comes up:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/sho...it-bull-attack.

I'm on the record in that thread as being okay with pit bull genocide.

Anyway, the dogs in question are not mine, they are roommates'. This dog seems VERY sweet and gentle. I've grown kind of attached to him. I'm just kind of torn on the thing.

**Sea Fury** · 04-05-2012 01:24 AM

My aunt and uncle have a female pit bull who is very nice and friendly. They also have a tiny little chihuahua (shivery little purse dog), a very old, very large dog that I think is an Australian shepherd (nicest dog you'd ever want to meet, but profoundly stupid-chased a car, caught it, and now hobbles around on three good legs and a tender leg because of it) and a black and white Boston terrier (I hate that little gargoyle), as well as a black longhair cat. The Boston terrier seems to make it his personal mission to annoy the hell out of the pit bull. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, the pit hasn't killed the Boston terrier yet. So they can obviously be very patient.

As I mentioned in Gomer Simpson's link, my best female friend had a rather large female pit bull during her graduating year at WSU. When she dumped her half-wit stoner boyfriend and he moved out, I felt very at ease with the fact that she had that dog there to protect her when she was alone in the apartment.

**Jim Wilke** · 04-05-2012 04:09 AM

Get a Lab.

**KevMcNJ** · 04-05-2012 05:00 AM

Our pitbull

Most Viscious Breed Ever

All in the upbringing I think.

And I hated pitbulls before we got ours

**railroad** · 04-05-2012 08:45 AM

Would you leave your neighbor's 5-year old child alone with it in the yard?

**fasteddy** · 04-05-2012 08:50 AM

I'd love to see the true demographics of pitbull owners. I expect for every good owner there are 500 that have the dog for the very reason we are discussing this in the first place. That is of course all IMO.

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-05-2012 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Jim Wilke

Get a Lab.

If I wanted a dog I'd get a German Shepherd. I'm not really a dog guy, though. They're too needy, smelly and loud for my taste.

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-05-2012 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by railroad

Would you leave your neighbor's 5-year old child alone with it in the yard?

I wouldn't leave the neighbor's 5 year old child alone in my yard with or without a dog.

I have no fear that at this point he would be no threat to a child, though. He's just a puppy and only plays rough with the other dog.

**railroad** · 04-05-2012 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Gomer Simpson

I wouldn't leave the neighbor's 5 year old child alone in my yard with or without a dog.

I have no fear that at this point he would be no threat to a child, though. He's just a puppy and only plays rough with the other dog.

Neither would I. My main concern with pit bulls, rottweilers and other such breeds is not with the way they regard their human family, but how they regard other people. Dogs are naturally territorial and protective of their masters. One never knows where that territory begins and ends.

**badart** · 04-05-2012 10:19 AM

Don't tell your insurance agent that you got one.

**Ajax** · 04-05-2012 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Gomer Simpson

If I wanted a dog I'd get a German Shepherd. I'm not really a dog guy, though. They're too needy, smelly and loud for my taste.

You cannot beat a GSD. They are as playful as labs but listen enormously well. They are also extremely easy to self train - unlike their Belgian counterpart. I have an issue with terriers - which the Pit Bull falls in line with, in that many of them have one problem, when provoked if they get their mouth around something they will never let go until it stops moving or you physically beat them off of what ever they are locked onto. I have seen this even with the jack -russel.

As far as the Pit exclusively, I have been around fantastic ones and bad ones - in most cases the owners were just fine. The last run in I had with a Pit that was bad however was at a PetSmart in which the dog seemed fine but lunged at my GSD. I was 1.5 feet away from the dog and when I realized that the owner could not hold it back I full throttled a large can of dog food right at the dogs head - it did not look at me or stop going after my dog. It just had the typical look of being so focused to attack.

Frankly - I have never seen that in other breeds and thusly I would not take the chance.

Sorry P/B lovers.

**don7031** · 04-05-2012 11:01 AM

^Insurance agent asked to meet the dog and was afterward removed from consideration.

I've had a real one and fake one (springer spaniel pit mix). If you're responsible, a pit bull is a source of stress. I never worried that my girls would hurt a person. But another dog or a roaming cat was another story. Not aggressive, but the potential was there.

As for playing rough, occasionally had the real pit and larger boxer mix at the same time. They would stand on the rear legs sparring. Sounded like they were killing each other, but no damage was being done.

**mclarke** · 04-05-2012 11:03 AM

I do believe that the behavior of a dog is largely determined by the training and treatment received from the owner, but no dog is perfectly trustworthy and I do worry about the comparative ability of some breeds to inflict a lot of damage if they do misbehave. My wife and daughter are much more the stereotypical dog lovers than I am and we have had dogs around for years but I would never leave even the most mild mannered dog we have had alone with a small child. I have seen both lap dogs and large dogs bite people, sometimes because they are simply surprised but often without the human realizing they have somehow provoked the dog.

I have been bitten by dogs on a number of occasions ( and yes, it is a chicken and an egg situation ) and while getting bitten by a chihuahua was very annoying because the dog was hanging on to my calf while while being lifted totally off the ground, being bitten on the shoulder by a Great Dane was much scarier for obvious reasons. A pit bulls potential for damage definitely puts the breed into the " scarier " category in the event that something does go wrong.

**Slim** · 04-05-2012 11:05 AM

My cousin Kelly has a female pit bull. She and her husband have raised Lily from a puppy. Lily is gentle and very well tempered. I think it all has to do with the upbringing and probably the dna from it's parents. Lily plays with Sandy the male cat and is very lovable to their one year old son. However, there's a part of me that still doesn't trust the breed.

If your pit is showing agressiveness as a puppy I would be afraid to see what it would do as an adult dog. Your other dog is probably traumatized and you should probably pick one dog or the other. If it was me, I wouldn't keep the pit bull puppy.

**Gomer Simpson** · 04-05-2012 11:48 AM

It's not aggressiveness, it's just rough play, at least so far. Neither is my dog. I do own the house, though.

**cheeseczar** · 04-05-2012 12:05 PM

I have only known a couple and they were fun to play with. Their backyard "toys" were bowling balls.

**fasteddy** · 04-05-2012 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Gomer Simpson

It's not aggressiveness, it's just rough play, at least so far. Neither is my dog. I do own the house, though.

Your "rough play" comment rings a bell. One of my sons had a room mate who owned pitbull. He never said the dog was mean, but he said several times on how damned rough the dog played.

**BADGER** · 04-05-2012 01:12 PM

Why would anyone consider a Pit Bull when there are hundreds of dog breeds that are less questionable and known as great pets? Are Pit Buls that cute (no), more loveable (no), smarter(no), etc. in a way that can't be found in other dogs? I don't get the "I'm considering a Pit Bull but have concerns" line of thought. Easy, buy a dog with no concerns and then you don't have to worry about it and you'll have a great friend and you won't need to worry about it snapping someday.

Bill Lesinski was helping a downstairs neighbor when the pitbull attacked him Friday night. Lesinski bent down to look at a speaker when the dog lunged at him. He says 2-year-old Monster has been aggressive in the past with his pitbull but had never attacked a person.

Meanwhile the dog's owner says it was an accident and that Monster .is not aggressive. He thinks the dog may have become scared when he saw Lesinski get down on the ground.

Lesinski says he still loves pitbulls but he wants to make sure this serves as a reminder that they need to be well trained.

Yeah great dogs.

Perhaps your other pet should be a Tiger, they look so cute when handled by Siegfried and Roy.
Anyone have a similar story of a labordoodle? Other than having the badest dog on the block, what purpose does it serve to have a pet that might get scared and bite a nose off? I don't doubt just the mentallity of bad Pit Bull owners, but also the good owners who feel some need to show us how we are all wrong and they are all right.

**Ajax** · 04-05-2012 01:27 PM

What ever you do, there are plenty of rescue (breed based) organizations out there that will help you find a suitable dog. Just beware that they will grill you with a multi - page back ground check to verify YOU are a suitable owner.

Pick your breed - search the web for a rescue organization. If you buy at a store your a complete idiot and if you buy new for papers then you are wasting your money when there are plenty of any breed out there looking for a good home!

**Sea Fury** · 04-05-2012 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by railroad

Would you leave your neighbor's 5-year old child alone with it in the yard?

No, that kid's an idiot.

**Sea Fury** · 04-05-2012 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by BADGER

Why would anyone consider a Pit Bull when there are hundreds of dog breeds that are less questionable and known as great pets? Are Pit Buls that cute (no), more loveable (no), smarter(no), etc. in a way that can't be found in other dogs? I don't get the "I'm considering a Pit Bull but have concerns" line of thought. Easy, buy a dog with no concerns and then you don't have to worry about it and you'll have a great friend and you won't need to worry about it snapping someday.

Yeah great dogs.

Perhaps your other pet should be a Tiger, they look so cute when handled by Siegfried and Roy.
Anyone have a similar story of a labordoodle? Other than having the badest dog on the block, what purpose does it serve to have a pet that might get scared and bite a nose off? I don't doubt just the mentallity of bad Pit Bull owners, but also the good owners who feel some need to show us how we are all wrong and they are all right.

Of all the pit bulls I've known or seen (and I used to deliver pizza-a stranger walking up to the house, smelling like hot food), none have ever bitten me. The only dogs that have ever bit me were a cocker spaniel and a yorkie. (It's like getting attacked by a mop.) And yes, I do think yorkies should be eliminated from the face of the earth. But I think all yippy little Paris Hilton purse dogs should be eliminated from the face of the earth, and not just because they bite. If my cat can beat it up, it's not a real dog.

German shepherds and all kinds of other dogs have been bred to attack and kill, too. Show us how german shepherd owners are all wrong and you are all right.

**KevMcNJ** · 04-05-2012 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by railroad

Would you leave your neighbor's 5-year old child alone with it in the yard?

I wouldnt leave a neighbors 5 year old in the yard with any dog. Youd have to be out of your mind

**lutesk** · 04-05-2012 06:52 PM

I've never seen a pit bull that I didn't want to run over, accidently on purpose. They eat people. WTH?

**KevMcNJ** · 04-05-2012 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by lutesk

I've never seen a pit bull that I didn't want to run over, accidently on purpose. They eat people. WTH?

Stay out of my neighborhood please.

I post this link realizing it will change no ones misconceptions.

http://love-a-bull.org/resources/faq/#news

I pulled up some recent links on dog attacks. Its appalling how many times the breed is listed as "Pit-bull Type" WTF does that mean? I guess if it doesnt look like a rottweiler or German Shepherd its just listed as a pit bull type

Easier that way and makes a better story