The Truth about Pit Bulls

Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 4:00pm
Happy Pit Bull

“Pit Bull.” There is no other breed of dog—or arguably, any other animal at all—whose mere mention can elicit such strong opinions. Try a word-associate game with your friends: Ask them what they think of when you say “Pit Bull.” Chances are that by the numbers, their responses will be more negative than positive. And it’s no wonder: No other type of dog is as widely banned from housing, legislated against, or incorrectly vilified by the media.

How did we get here?
Pit Bulls were once widely considered ideal family pets—affectionate, loyal and gentle with children. But in recent years, these dogs have suffered tremendously from a combination of overbreeding, bad publicity and irresponsible owners. In reality, the overwhelming majority of Pits and Pit mixes are sweet goofballs who have gotten a very bad rap.

Learn the truth.
National Pit Bull Awareness Day, on October 27, is a day of appreciation and education designed to change perceptions and stereotypes about Pit Bulls and their responsible owners. Please take a moment to learn the truth about these wonderful dogs and consider rescuing one of them from a shelter.

Are you a proud Pit Bull parent? Please participate in National Pit Bull Awareness Day, and help us dispel the myths about these dogs by leaving a comment below about your wonderful pooch.

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Comments

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 15:45 — Cynthia (Visitor)
My pit/beagle mix was 4 when we brought a kitten into the home. For the first week he wouldn't let the kitten out of his sight. Now he ignores the kitten except when they're playing. VERY good with each other. The kitten is a Main Coon cat

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 15:51 — Jennifer Cecere (Visitor)
My Pit bull mix loves kitties. She is very gentle and loving with them.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 08:27 — Debbie Ewart (Visitor)
O my gosh our's came from Georgetown SPCA! She is a GOOF nut too! She loves our kiItty Checkers! They r to funny together! Sadie has given me sooo many laughs! Every day it is something else funny! We love her to death! I seriously don't think she would bite a flea!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 16:31 — Karen Byrd (Visitor)
Hi Natalie. I have a pittie (Zima) that was a rescue from a shelter in Los Angeles. ( I live in the Seattle/Tacoma are). Not only does Zima get along with the 5 cats..my cats ADORE her..even giving her head butts and sleeping on top of her in my bed. Can't say that all pitties have this bond...but Zima loves her kitty siblings (and her big brother Spencer..a Golden Retriever)

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 16:37 — Beth Evans (Visitor)
I have a 2 yr old pitbull mix who gets along well with my two Siamese cats. His only interests are having fun and snuggling.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 17:14 — Jane Scroggins (Visitor)
Pits and cats are fine together if they are raised together. Not sure if you introduced a grown cat to a grown dog, that could be a problem with any breed. I had two pits and brought home a 7 or 8 week old kitten. I was a bit aprehensive so I "introduced" them with my had between them. Mars decided the kitten needed a bath and the poor little thing was almost dripping with doggie slobbers. They did fine! By the time the cat was grown, the cat ruled!!! I also have Peaches who gives the cat respect and found a stray, unweaned kitten hiding in the yard and helped me raise him. I think the cat thinks she's his foster mom and rubs all over the dog just like he does my leg!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 17:18 — Melissa (Visitor)
I have a 4 year old American Pit Bull Terrier who is the biggest, sweetest baby. He lives happily with 3 ferrets, a bird, a gerbil (we actually adopted 3 but she is the last) and a cat. He loves all of his siblings, actually takes a back seat to every other pet. He is a gentle giant.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 18:10 — Stasha Nielson (Visitor)
My husband and I have a "Pittlab" who we have had since she was six weeks old. Six months ago we were adopted by a cat that have been living in the storm drain of our apartment complex. They get a long great except when the dog try to play with the cat. I don't think she realizes how much bigger she it than him. Other than that she gives him a lot of kisses and they cuddle on the couch.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 18:41 — Kayla (Visitor)
My family members a have pits and my mom has 2. We had a cat named big kitty (genius name from me when I was 5) and it wasn't until much much later that my mom rescued her two. They loved big kitty and respected him from the beginning all the way up until he past away at 21 years old :( my mom then got a new cat and she is frisky as all get out. They will both be laying on the floor together and lulu the cat will come out if no where and grab their faces with both of her front paws or bite their back legs and tails. All they do is look at her like she's crazy. Never have seen a pit not like cats :) my 2 love anything, small,big, cat, dog. Anything. Best breed in the world. I had a mini dachshund and she was a mean little thing. She would bite the back legs (cause thats all she could reach) and my 2 looked at her the same way...shes crazy.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:01 — Angela Osborne (Visitor)
Yes pitbulls are very good with cats. My pitbull was a stray & she looked so bad that I didn't even know what kind of a dog she was until I took her to the vet. She was soooo skinny but she could run, boy did she run fast! I thought maybe she was a Greyhound. I didn't know how attached I was until my boyfriend & I took her to the Humane Society to get her off the streets & when he handed the attendant her leash he turned around to see that I was crying. He looked at the attendant & said "could you please call us if she doesn't get adopted?" She said "No we don't do that"! He said "Give her back then, she is too good of a dog to let go of." Needless to say 5 yrs. later my Missy is still with me. I had no idea how much I would fall in love with this breed of dog. I have 2 cats and she hangs out with 1 of them all the time. She protects that cat, it is her baby! So yes they do well with cats as long as they know that it is YOUR cat.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 22:18 — Cindy (Visitor)
our neighbors have a pit and 5 cats of all breeds and a chiuaua and the pit is the biggest baby, he loves attention and loves to give ya kisses. It's not the dog who gave itself the bad name it's the owners who raise them wrong.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 23:13 — Manuela (Visitor)
I have a pit mix (Draco, rescue) and he loves the cats. I also have two cats. He plays with the younger cat and will sleep with the older cat. Even when the younger cat scratches him, he backs off. When one of the cats was very sick, Draco layed next to the cat for hours. He is a very gentle, caring, loving, funny, fun part of my family :-).

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 10:13 — Marlies Bailey (Visitor)
I have a pit bitch, a rescued Katrina victim from New Orleans, about 10 years old now, who is the sweetest dog I've ever owned, and I've owned many in my long life. I have 6 cats. They all adore Gracie. One of the younguns goes gaga when she sees Gracie come into the house, and jumps alongside her trying to give her catkisses. You can just see how embarrassed the poor dog gets by all this feline attention. It's such a shame that even intelligent people have been suckered in by the stupid press, perpetrating his shameful nonsense about the viciousness of pits. It's the dumb-ass rednecks that raise them to be attack dogs. Pits are very intelligent. You can teach them anything. It you teach them to be like you, vicious and cretinous, that's what they'll turn out to be. You are at fault, not the poor dogs.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 11:33 — Kristal (Visitor)
It's not rednecks as you put it that keep pits as attack dogs. Why not take a look at ALL of the stupid people who breed them and condition them for fighting? DO NOT blame people you can't possibly know. Look at facts not just what you want to see.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 11:29 — Kristal (Visitor)
I had a pit once that was not a cat dog. He hated all cats. I got my Avalanche as an adult so I do not know why he didn't like cats. His daughter is pretty good with cats. I have had 4 or 5 different cats with her and as long as I took the time to train her and allowed her time to adjust to the cats she's great with them. I recently got a 2 year old Maine Coone cat and I never actually had to do anything with them. They just got along wonderfully from the start. I believe as long as you take the time to train your dog, you will have no problems. Don't leave your animals unattended until you get them used to each other.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 11:51 — Sue christmas (Visitor)
The pit bull that I lost two years ago, came into my home of five cats and another pit bull. She was just six months old. she accepted everyone as a pack member and shared many of her meals with the cats. However, the fisrt time she saw a stray kitten in the yard, she killed it before I even realized it was there. The same thing occurred if an unfortunate cat wandered into my fenced yard. I eventually was able to get fencing to keep stray cats out, and she continued to be loving and affectionate toward the cats in her pack. My current pit bull came into a house with two cats and he is fine with them. I recently brought in a stray one week old kitten. As the kitten grew, he became affectionate toward the kitten and the kitten started to nap with my pittie on top of his back. In the meantime this current pit bull chases deer if he sees them in the woods on walks. I don't worry since he can't catch a deer, but I say all this to say, that pits, I've known, are pack (i.e. family) loyal and loving, but still seem to be natural hunters.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 12:30 — laura (Visitor)
My pit bull mix, Astro, lives with 4 cats. When I adopted him I had two cats and carefully introduced them by keeping them separate at first when I was not home, then letting them meet and interact when I was home. Doesn't matter the breed - some dogs are good with cats, some not. Before you adopt you need to ask the shelter if a dog is good with cats. Then you need to monitor them and make sure they all get along before you leave them alone together. The shelter tested Astro with a cat and he did want to chase them at first, but I corrected that behavior. In the over 7 years I have had him, I have adopted new cats and even kittens a couple of times and each time he is very excited at first, but just wanted to check them out and then calmed down. He knows which cats he can play with and to respect the older cat. Sometimes when he and a cat go to drink water at the same time, he waits his turn and lets kitty go first. He doesn't even get mad if once and a while they steal his food. I now have 4 cats and they all get along great with Astro and his dog friend Jada.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 14:42 — sandy (Visitor)
We have two wonderful, loving pits a male & femaile. My male loves the cats and they love him too. The cats come in the house and run to him so he can what I call chew on them. They have never hurt any of my 4 cats.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 19:20 — Pamela (Visitor)
He is a wonderful dog .would not hurt a fly plays with my cat all the time.gets along with children great.I would not trade him for the world,actually had to move to keep him.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 20:05 — Sonya (Visitor)
My pit loves his kennel and I put him in it before I did my school bus run one morning without turning the light on. when I got home and started to let him out I found that I had locked the cat in with him. They were both laying there calmly looking up at me waiting for the door to open. I won't say that he would do that with every cat but he certainly knows which one belongs with him.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 23:49 — KhanadaSC (Visitor)
Our pit/Staffie is afraid of our cat. He wants to play with him SO much but the cat is not having it, so Harvey skulks away, quite dejected. (He's also been punked out by my Yorkie. Poor guy. The only animal who loves him- and that he is extremely careful with to the point of not being overly enthusiastic and playful with is my old, blind Pug. He walks with him in the yard and makes sure he doesn't bump anything or get scared. They cuddle a lot)

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 02:40 — Cristina (Visitor)
if you start the dogs at a young age with cats then they will get along, i have one pitbull, 5 chihuahua mixes, 3 cats, 1 bird, 1 fish, all my animals get along, except for the chihuahuas, the girls are mean towards my pitbull, and the chihuahuas are mean towards my cats, my pitbull is a big goofball, i got him at 6weeks old, his previous owners my uncle and aunt taught him bad manners, though i have manage to get them all out of him, the only bad manner he still has is the guarding of his food, but if you start the dogs out at a young age with cats, then they will get along, if you dont start them out at a young age then any type of dog will be mean, my chihuahuas are really mean dogs, three out of the 5 have bitten people, and four out of five of them are mean towards cats, this is my 2nd pitbull my 1st one pasd away last year, but both of them were and are great with cats, and all other animals, its not the dog, its the owner

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 12:13 — amber (Visitor)
I have a pit named Bambi. He was severely amaciated and anemic from the amount of fleas he had. I rescued him from a woman who did not want him so she threw him out. My sister rescues cats, she had 16 cats, all different colors, sizes, and temperaments, Bambi greets any new cats with open arms, even shares his food with them at breakfast and dinner. My son was 2 when we got Bambi and he is now 7. I did not have the money I needed for a professional trainer, so this great dog came to be so gentle and loving at our home, with people who love him, no special training needed, no special rules, a great breed like many others, just misunderstood, some Yorkies hate cats too, its not the breed, it is the dog owners, as a puppy subject them to cats and they will happily live together, Bambi lived inside with my 2 cats and my sons pet rabbit!!!

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 14:32 — Carole Anne Cleland (Visitor)
Dogs are dogs-some like cats and some don't. I have seven pits of my own (all but one is a rescue or adopted) and I have cats. Years ago, I had one bad experience with our family pit and a cat that harassed her alot). I work with rescued pits and none have bothered our cats. Raising youngs pits with cats is always ideal but owners of surrendered dogs will almost always know if their dogs are compatible with cats or not.

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 01:39 — Bessie Hackley (Visitor)
My pitbull liked cats so well she climbed the fence to get to a neighbors cat just to play with it. Then suddenly one day a stray cat in the neighborhood jumped our fence to attack our pit. She shook it off and walked away and the cat went back after her almost scratching her eye out. Then she got short tempered with the cat and shook it off again , but then grabbed it by the neck and shook it. Needless to say that was the end of the cat. But I couldn't blame her.If it attacked me that way I'd be a little upset too. After that happened, she couldn't be around a cat.

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 14:54 — Katie Ray (Visitor)
Absolutely they get along with cats. I would probably say of course you may need to raise the dogs up with the cats.. depends on every dog personality.. but i have many many friends with pits that also have cats..and they get along superbly. in fact..the sweet cats..are the butt kickers most of the time!! I have jack russels .. no pits of my own, so i may not be the expert..but from what i have seen, pitts get along with cats just swimmingly!!!!

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 18:11 — Heather (Visitor)
We had a cat for the first year of our pitbull's life. They were awesome together. I cant say that if pitbulls across the board get along with cats though. When we got our Lola, we already had another dog in the house, so our cat was very relaxed around dogs. Its all in how you have trained them and introduce . :)

Fri, 11/02/2012 - 08:52 — roxanne willlliams (Visitor)
Have two rescues and they love the three cats we have. They let the cats pounce on them and it is so funny when all 5 of them go running through the house at full speed.

Sun, 01/20/2013 - 18:04 — Carreen (Visitor)
Currently I have my second Pit Bull brought in with my 4 cats, we moved in with my Mom who had 3 dogs and 5 cats and then my boyfriend who has 2 cats and 2 dogs. My Pit gets along with everyone! She is highly respectful of the cats and gives a couple of them a wide berth, since she has gotten smacked a few times by them. LOL Oh and she also is afraid of my Moms Chihuahuas.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 11:27 — Emily (Visitor)
I never knew how to describe the welcoming little bites my pit mix gives me. Flea nibbles is a great term for it. My girl is also a good watch dog but not much of a guard dog, although people have gone unnessarily out of their way not to cross her path. If I let someone she doesn't know come in the house she is fine with it and only wants to smell them and give them a lick. She just turned 16. Yes, 16. I don't know how much longer I will have her but I have never had such a loving and well-behaved dog.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:13 — Tara (Visitor)
My boy does that too! The sort of knawing on your arm. He only does it to the people he likes. Even though I try to discourage it, my best friend says it's like a massage. LOL

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 11:34 — Trish fleshman (Visitor)
Flea nibble....lol we call it the typewriter....love it!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:27 — Steve Sohn (Visitor)
You can keep your Pit Bulls, and other variant Pit Bull Terriers. In the last month I saw three (3) unprovoked attacks in dog park by different Pit Bulls on smaller dogs - one of which was fatal. Like one owner of a dog attacked by Pit Bulls said: "They rescue these damned things, put a pink collar on it, and call it 'Strawberry' and think they have a dog instead of a [expletive omitted] Pit Bull." My Sheepies do not like them, and neither do I. Fortunately my Sheepdogs are big enough that these aggressive dogs will not attack them.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:55 — Pibble mom (Visitor)
Please dont let these irresponsible owners ruin your perspective of the breed. Not everyone should own a Pit. Often times people get them thinking they can change its behavior or make it nice when its already too late for that particular dog. And many times they do not socialize their dog well enough to be able to go to dog parks. But please trust me when I say that not all Pits are bad. I dont like taking my pits to the park because I dont want them to be blamed for something they did not do and also I keep my two boys (not pits) away from them as well because you dont know the temperment of all the dogs there. I suggest a doggy day care, there are some that let you play with your dog while there is a park attendent there. All dogs should be temperment tested before being allowed to play in a Doggy Day care (Ask them !) I find its much safer than trusting strangers who think there dog is nice when it is not. But please do not let those dogs ruin your view of this misunderstood breed.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:15 — Kay K (Visitor)
Any dog can bite. I have had Chihauhauas try to bite me and little yappy dogs are the worst because most of their owners think Fluffy is just so cute! Well, Fluffy can bite too. Bottom line, it is the OWNER'S responsibility to make sure their dog, regardless of breed,is trained and behaves appropriately around other people and other dogs. Most owners treat their dogs like people. As much as I love my dogs, they are still dogs, and they need to look to their owners as the pack leader, not the other way around. That's when the problems can start....regardless of breed!!!

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 02:58 — Cristina (Visitor)
Ive always had chihuahuas, and big dogs, mixed in together, when chihuahuas bite ppl nobody ever reports it, there small dogs, but a big dog bites someone and they report it in a hurry, i had a golden retriever when i was 11, and my older brothers were really mean with him making him guard his food and all that, so when i got to the age 14, my brother had a kid, his kid got into the golden retrievers water bowl and he attack my brothers kid, my first pitbull was guarded of her food, but only with other dogs, if any person would stick there hands in her bowl she was ok, she would move away and sit down and wait for you to give her, her food, the pitbull i have right now was aggressive with his food towards ppl and other animals, because my uncle would torture him when he was a baby, i am glad i was able to buy him from them, cause the kind of life he would of lived was being an outdoor dog, tied up 24/7. When i noticed the aggression with his food, i started hand feeding him, i got him at 6weeks, right now his 9months, not aggressive with ppl with his food, i taught him how to sit and wait for his food, i have 6 dogs, 5 chihuahua mixes with behavirol problems that i dont know how to retrain them and one pitbull mix that had behavirol problems but was easy to retrain, pitbulls are loyal, obedient, goofball dogs, are always willing to please there owners, like they say its not the dog its the owner, but with me, i think, i spoiled the chihuahuas to the point where there aggressive with strangers, i did spoil my pitbull but he was trainable

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 13:19 — Jane Reed (Visitor)
Were their any other breeds around ? This probably involved some unseen thing, such as a certain smell on the other dogs. No telling what caused this reaction. Any dog can react badly and unexpected.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 14:11 — Megan (Visitor)
One, I think there's a pretty big difference in what we humans see as 'unprovoked' and what dogs' perceive. Unfortunately, many small dogs have 'small dog syndrome' and through posturing and other behaviors they will often try to dominate and bully other dogs, and if the other dog isn't a submissive dog, it isn't going to care if it's a 15lb poodle or 150 mastiff... because a dog sees a dog... it's going to stick up for its self! I would never take my pittie to a dog park, because I know she would never start a fight, but she wouldn't back down from one either. And even if somebody's little ratty ankle biter started it, she'd be the one in trouble in the end.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 21:06 — Judith (Visitor)
Totally agree. I have two pits, two mutts, 2 cats. Everybody gets along! Anyone starts slinging mud at my dogs, I will have to take issue with them. These people without a hint of understanding about pits get on this site and starts ragging on pitties need to just move on. They haven't a clue.

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 03:05 — Cristina (Visitor)
yeah its true, most big dogs wont back down, but in my house, i had so many dogs, that they have formed a pack, they know that my female oldest chihuahua mix is the pack leader, the alpha, i had her when my old pitbull was still alive, and my chihuahua when she would go outside, she would always attack my female pitbull, my pitbull her name was Nala, she would cower down, and go into a ball, trying to get away from my chihuahua, my Nala never showed aggression towards others, she even was protective of my newborn kittens, whenever the newborn kittens would cry she would cry as well until i would let her out so that she could check on them, she would go to them and smell them make sure they were ok then she would go back into the back yard and wait for me or my parents to close the gate, she also would jump my fence if i didnt take her for walks, she would jump it take herself for a walk, and come back home within 5 minutes, walk herself into the gate and sit down and wait for us to close the gate, with my new pitbull, my oldest female chihuahua is still in the alpha position she puts my pitbull into his place if he behaves badly, and he doesnt do anything back, i do take my pitbull to the park and walk him, and there are always loose dogs there, but i always keep a good hold on my dog and scare the yappy small dogs away when there barking and growling at my pit

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 14:51 — Kalie Kay (Visitor)
I have to agree with the comment above. Not only have I witnessed unprovoked attacks on dogs and humans, both of my dogs have been victims to unprovoked attacks! Thankfully neither was seriously harmed but that is because the action was stopped by humans - it could have been much worse!! My 10 lb. dogs just needs one bite or shake to kill it. During one attack a Pit jumped out of a moving car to come attack my dogs! I know there are nice pits out there, but I refuse to disregard the news reports and my personal experiences. By the way, I live in a "good" neighborhood where rescuing Pits has become a trend. Too many people are taking in these dogs without regard for their potentially damaged past, thinking their Pit will prove all the skeptics wrong.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 16:40 — Megan (Visitor)
There would be a whole lot more orphaned children in this world if people adhered to your mindset. God knows they all suffered a damaging past, but luckily there are people out there willing to take them in and rehabilitate them so that they may have good lives, just the way there are people who are willing to take in these 'damaged' pit bulls and rehabilitate them. The big difference being that the average 'damaged' dog can be rehabilitated very quickly, whereas the adopted human children will most likely need years of therapy. Our species created these dogs, abused these dogs, and surrendered these dogs. Our species should therefore be responsible for rescuing, loving, and rehabilitating these dogs.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 23:34 — Kalie Kay (Visitor)
Absolutely, but not at the risk of my (non-aggressive and vulnerable) dogs safety. I resent having to worry about keeping my dogs safe from an attack when in public places.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 15:09 — carole (Visitor)
Sadly, I have witnessed too many Pit aggressions in my local DP as well, and I live in upper middle class WASPY suburbia. I'm so tired of the pet's "Mom" or "Dad" saying oh, he/she is just playing. Rubbish. He/She is just a couple of barks away from doing damage. If one is tuned in his/her animal at all, one can recognize the difference between play and aggressive play. And Steve, don't be too certain that your Sheepies' sizes will be a deterrent - I am Mom to a 120# super-sized, neutered, gentle, DoberBoy, and he's been targeted by these "oh, he/she's just playing Pitt's" Just like DDBs, and a few other prey-driven breeds, they should not be allowed in DPs.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 17:24 — Jane Scroggins (Visitor)
Seems I've heard the same thing about dobies. They are dangerous, they will turn on you! We should do away with dobermans, pit bulls, chows etc, etc. Ain't the dog it's the idiot owner! Any dog needs control and any dog can potentially be aggressive. I once saw a Pomeranian bit a child a a festival and the woman holding him snickered and said "he's just nervous". The child wasn't even looking at the dog! Yeah a pit can do more damage but are no more likely to bite if they have responsible owners! And better get rid of that doberman!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 17:55 — Ronnie (Visitor)
I have had 2 pitbulls so far. Roxie and Katie. I had Roxie from a pup.I had her for 12 years. I can tell you that if you had problems with pitbulls, blame the owners. Dobermen have been given a bad rap in the past and I am sure people will still avoid your dog, due to those stories. Any one who says oh she's just playing should not own a dog. I now have my second pitbull. Her name is Katie. She is a rescued dog. She is truly gentle, very playful and spends a lot of time with my 5 year old granddaughter. She is careful and very gentle with her. She follows around everywhere she goes. My granddaughter comes to visit my dog, not me. That's ok. Don't get me wrong. Until you know a dog (any dog big or small) you have to be careful, from pitbulls to poodles we need to let the animal learn to trust us so we can trust them

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 19:02 — Kayla (Visitor)
Another stereotypical mindset and comment. Dobermans have a bad rap. I bet u didn't know that statistically German shepards, golden retrievers, dobermans all have more bites or attacks than pits? Hmmm, but media and closed minded people feed into the idiocy of how they are the worst breed and should be banned. Do ur homework. Pits should be known and publicized with the service to the community. They have been awarded and deemed as one of the best breeds for serving the disabled and elderly as well as dogs to visit terminally ill children in places like st. Jude to give them something to look forward to and brighten their day. These r wonderful breeds that need to be shown for the many positives and acts of courage (works with the police officers) and not pinned down as "plagues".

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 15:48 — Sandra (Visitor)
And you can keep your comments to yourself...Perhaps you should pickup your drink and move to another website!! Since this is for PIT BULLS and the people who love them!! A Chihuahua as little as they are, can be just as ferocious and jump your sheepdogs..while you're thinking that they won't they most certainly will!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:44 — Bernadette (Visitor)
I find it very ignorant to call these wonderful animals "*&*&* things" and to say just put 'em down! Pit Bulls are just as deserving of a good life as the rest of us but unfortunately, ignorant HUMAN BEINGS ruin the breed just like most HUMANS ruin everything else in this world. So because of people who should know better (they say we're supposed to be the most intelligent creatures on earth) but instead teach these innocent animals bad behavior, you're asking the entire breed to suffer. Is that logical? That's like saying children are born bad and we should just get rid of them too .... NO !! All dogs and beings are born innocent, they grow and learn what they are taught. They practice behavior which is acceptable to those they try to please. So if you decide to turn your dog (and that is ANY dog) into a loaded gun without a safety, then shame on you and you should be the one to be put down. These dogs are amazing !! They're loyal, caring, loving and playful companions. I saved Athena when she was 10wks old from our local shelter. She's going on 2 years old next month and has been the most amazing dog I've ever had ... soon as she had all her shots and it was safe to go around other dogs, we went to all the dog parks and started to socialize her right away .. as any responsible dog owner should with any breed of dog. We went to a different park and school every day to meet different people, dogs and kids. She became used to different environments and scents, very comfortable where ever we go. We also have 4 cats in the house and Domino (our Ragdoll) has become her best friend. They eat together, play together and sleep together. These dogs are very intelligent. Athena knows difference between cats and dogs, also difference between big and small. It interesting to see her play and how she plays appropriately depending on her playmates size. She will play with a Mastiff or a Chihuahua, she doesn't care. When we first arrive at the parks, she makes her rounds to all the people first for belly rubs. She's known as the "smiley dog" since she approaches you literally smiling, lifting her lips in the front to show little teeth and lowers her head and she comes up to your feet so her butt sticks up. Very cute !!! The vets office just gets a kick out of it every time. If we're at the dog park and should a fight break out between dogs, she is the first to leave the area .. she does not like fights and definitely will not stick around to become part of one. She's been attacked a few times as she was just minding her own or playing with another dog and never by another Pit. The attacks were by your so called "Family Pups" - Golden Retriever, Black Lab, German Shepherd and a Schnauzer. Although she would have a right to hold a grudge, her spirits have not changed. So if she can let go of other dogs being mean to her, you should be able to let go of the bad impressions you have of the breed. Please learn about the breed before making statements or assumptions about these wonderful and amazing dogs. Athena is the best thing that ever happen to our family and we love her dearly ... wouldn't trade her for any other breed !!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:59 — Judith (Visitor)
Wow! Do you look at 3 Hispanic gangbangers and then determine that "they" are all the same? Shame on you! Your comment is reprehensible and discriminatory. I have 2 rescued pits that were thrown on the side of the road skin and bone, ticks in all aspects of their bodies. They are wonderful and sweet. Wait a minute! Humans did that to them! Now let's discriminate against all humans because well, they must all be bad! Narrow minded response from a narrow minded person.

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