ATTN: American Pit Bull owners.

[menageriemama]

I wish I had a pic to post with this, but oh well. My good friend had a pit bull for over 11 years named Khaki. She was the sweetest dog in the world, and she adored kids. She was quiet and gentle and didnt shed much and didnt have much of a dog smell either. Their family was devastated when she passed.

 

[Kanchii]

Here's a great video:

 

[ponderchick]

I have neve owned a pit, but my sis does. Toby is a pit / bullmastiff mix. hes got a big bark, but hes sweets as an angel. Zoeys a full blood pitt and is a good girl as well. then she just sorta adopted Baby, shea a pit mix. she founed her on the side of the road, starving, and wormy. She is a beautiful dog and shes the sweetest girl, i would take her, but dh is not a pit fan. so hopefully you can find one a sweet as the pits my sis has!

 

[glowworm]

Hey michickenwrangler,
do you have a link to that article? I would be interested to see how they determined the rank.

 

[kstaven]

We have two lab x pitts here. Both confirmed by DNA testing.

Some of you may enjoy reading this. http://wildthingorganics.com/rascal1.html I will apologize in advance to those who have issues with anthropomorphism (attributing human qualities to animals etc.), but this boy is typical of many mistreated Pitt and bully breed crosses I have dealt with in the past and how they can be turned around.

 

[PotterWatch]

We have a "bully breed" dog who we are calling an American Bulldog mix, though she may have some pit in her. She is a real sweetheart of a dog and I am thrilled that were able to give her a happy home here. I have two boys ages 6 and 8 who love to wrestle with the dogs and the dogs always let them win, lol. We go to the dog park on a regular basis and have never a any issues with Oreo being at all agressive to any people or dogs (she would love to eat our chickens though...). We got her when she was about 5mos old from a shelter. She was the 7th or 8th dog we looked at. We were being very particular since we needed a dog that would fit well with our lifestyle, our children, and our other dog. She has been the perfect choice! Good luck to you and I hope you are able to find the perfect dog for you too!

Oreo:

Kisses between Oreo and Chewie:

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I don't have one now but I did many years ago, when I was a teen. Her name was Miles and she was a gorgeous brindle pit. She was originally purchased by a relative of mine who intended to train her to fight.

Yes, there is some scum in my family. Anyway, when she didn't work out for that (too docile I suppose) she decided to breed her and sell the puppies for fighting dogs instead. She put her on a chain in the back yard and the only time she got any attention was when I would go over to play with her. One day she got loose and was hit by a car. I discovered this a week after it hapened (a week with no medical treatment) and I took her away. Her hips were broken. So, I spent all the money I was making to get her put back together and told my relative that if she wanted her back she could take me to court and just try. She was one of the best dogs in the world, despite everything she had been through. Imagine all the qualities you want in a dog, bravery, loyalty, gentleness, playfulness, she was everything you could want and more. I had her until she died of old age and still miss her.

 

[Krysstyllanthrox]

This is Apollo, he belongs to my brother. Caught him mid-bark, so ignore the funny face.

Further arguing the "it is how the dog is raised" point. My brother and his best friend were given male littermates. Apollo was raised around people, taken everywhere they could get away with, trained, and never ignored in the back yard. Brutus (his littermate) was tossed into a kennel in the back yard and ignored, played with rough (biting and barking), and not trained.

Apollo is a wonderful dog, very mindful, and a pleasure to be around. Brutus was put down in his second year of life because his family was afraid to let the daugther go into the back yard to play due to his mentality and behaviour.

Were I to adopt a dog it would likely be a pit bull or a mix of some sort. Apollo is a total lap dog and lover. Never met a human he didn't like, except for the gas meter reader.

 

[FlockEweFarm]

Dogs are great judges of character, or the lack thereof. My big boy, Fergus, is new to my pack, and new to my neighborhood, so he came to meet the evil neighbor with no preexisting idea of what the guy was like, and I showed no emotion or even showed any sign that I knew what was on the other side of the fence, yet when the evil neighbor came out into his yard, and approached the 6ft wood fence that divides his place from ours, and gives us some privacy, my Fergus jumped to his feet, his hackles raised and he got between me and the fence and commenced to growling in a way that I have only heard him do when gnarly looking guy approached my truck in the parking lot of the grocery store.
My neighbor is an abuser, he not only has abused his own wife, and his own animals, he was observed by other neighbors, reaching over the previous fence and abusing my other dogs,(thus the 6ft board fence with hotwire along the top), but Fergus had no knowledge of this, he just knew an S.O.B, when he smelled one, my other dogs bark and growl at that man, unlike anyone else that drives up and down our road, and I believe if he were ever stupid enough to come into my yard, he would most likely be seriously harmed. What I am trying to say is, it is really important that you use firm, fair, and consistant, discipline and correction, but never, ever, hit or beat your pit. I am not saying you will, but they are the kind of dog that takes that kind of abuse and files it away and never forgets that they were wronged. My hound is the most stubborn critter alive, and there are days when I just have to admit that we are both in the wrong frame of mind to get anything done, and we just play. If you hire a trainer, only hire a trainer that comes to you, and that you can observe and that has references, in this way, I agree with treating your dog like you would treat your child. You have to know who is handling them, who is affecting them, and who is possibly changing them for life. Making training fun is the best way to get through to your dog, and to get the quickest results. Have fun, be the Alpha, and stay calm and balanced. I love Caesar Milian, he really makes the most sense when it comes to the more intense breeds.
One more thing though, WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES!!

Every episode I see people complaining that they cannot control their dogs, and that their dogs are too much for them, and what kind of shoes are they wearing??!! Flip Flops!! How Stupid!!

When you are working with your dog, please be sure you are wearing shoes that you can actually walk in, and that are safe for manuvering about with a critter that can be strong as an ox, and stubborn as a teenager.

 

[Jyrrah]

I've seen both bad and good pitbulls. The biggest and most important thing is TRAINING. For example I offer up two pitbulls I knew. Sweetie and Chocolate were siblings but had different owners. Couldn't approach Sweetie without risking a bite. The dog would lunge at the leash and drag the owner down the street. Kids would have to walk on the other side of the street because the dog would lunge and bend the chain link fence trying to reach them. Chocolate on the other hand was amazing. She was trained in obedience and was often used as a teaching dog in the classes because of her temperment. Chocolate put other dogs to shame with how kind and gentle she was.

Sweetie got out and attacked a pug. She had to be put down due not only to the danger she presented but also due to the fact that her owners would not take care of her. The owners fed Sweetie and made sure she had shelter but they never socialized her or restricted her. Sweetie never had any rules enforced so whatever she wanted she got.

Chocolate, on the other hand, ended up dying from old age. She had won several ribbons at obedience trials and in my opinion was the best example of what a dog could be. A dog not just a pitbull. Both pitbulls came from the same litter but because of training and socialization the difference was night and day.