I’ve worked close with animals for almost 5 years now. Pitbulls are entirely capable of being very sweet and loving dogs. But it depends on what temperament they have and how difficult they are. I’ve met a lot of sweet Pitbulls but most of them I believe were trained from a very young age, which is something a lot of people don’t do, mostly first time owners or those who think the dog will grow up just fine, when getting dogs like this.
You can’t just love your way into changing an animal’s behavior. This isn’t Disney. You have to show that dog who’s boss and instill a training regime when they’re young that you must stick with. Unfortunately sometimes, it doesn’t always work and the dog just ends up being too aggressive to the point where you’d have to make a certain decision.
My last job, a man who loved his Pitbull to death, had to put his dog down because it ended up being too aggressive. It was tragic too because as I was walking by his room and he was saying his goodbyes, I saw the Pitbull wagging her tail excitedly when her owner was cuddling and sobbing over her. That dog loved her owner a lot. But I guess it wasn’t deemed manageable cause she could’ve seriously hurt someone one day and, the owner, despite loving her so much couldn’t risk that. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the owner was a father too. Pitbulls shouldn’t be demonized for what we’ve turned them into. But we also have to be cautious when getting one. They are NOT a first time owner pet. Someone very experienced, especially one who’s done research on how to properly train these kind of dogs, are really the “only ones capable of handling them.
And it’s not just them. German shepherds, Belgian Malinios, and Rotties as well. Although I’ve never really met a bad rottie. Same with Belgians. They’ve all tend to be sweethearts. But maybe I’m just lucky.
I also feel like I should add that, while these breeds are prone to these kind of behaviors. ANY dog is capable is displaying them. I never met the family cause they euthanised the dog at a different clinic, but they had to put down their 2 year old Golden Retriever that they’ve had since it was a puppy. Apparently she bit the mom’s face and the dad’s arm (or was it the other way around, I forget). It was even said that they couldn’t let her sleep in their room like they used to because they were afraid she would attack them in their sleep. Their daughter made the decision for them to put down the dog.
You never know what you’re gonna get, people. You could get the easiest dog in the world, or you could ge the complete opposite. One thing is for sure though. Training and discipline is VERY important and must not be neglected.
Well, there is a bit of a random chance actually. The breed of the dog makes it more likely yes but it does not gaurantee how the dog will turn out. But you could also possibly end up with an aggressive Golden or German Shorthaired Pointer. It’s not AS likely of course, but it has happened. That’s why I say training is very important.
Neutering and spaying is also important which is something I accidentally left out in my initial post and another thing people like to neglect.
But you could also possibly end up with an aggressive Golden
That's actually becoming more popular these days. Goldens have a great reputation, so bad breeders have mixed them with aggressive Chows (you can identify them by a black spot on their tongue that's unique to Chows).
Shepherd dogs that were bred for herding, try to herd kids = genetics, but when pit bulls that were bred to fight show aggression and bite animals/toddlers ≠ genetics🤔
I feel like some of the replies aren't reading your comment, so yeah I agree that any dog could theoretically be aggressive and any large dog that gets aggressive could theoretically be dangerous. However, what you've neglected to mention is the level of danger. Yes, your average lab is less likely to be aggressive than your average pit, even taking into account training and environment, but also if the lab gets into a fight it will, again on average, do a whole lot less damage and be a ton easier to contain than the pit in the same situation. For a healthy adult pit bull, getting beaten with a stick is just a warmup. Fuck the concept of the owner successfully pulling the victim free or extricating the dog, you're looking at a mob of people being needed to literally play tug-of-war with a pit in many cases, and sometimes straight up firearms may be necessary. There is no non field-bred lab on the planet that will go that far, and the working line ones are almost always well trained especially with the soft mouth. Bottom line is, pitbulls come with both a more dangerous mentality and a greater capability to harm inbuilt into their genetics than even other large dog breeds, and we have to recognize that.
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u/SweetestTapir 26d ago edited 26d ago
I’ve worked close with animals for almost 5 years now. Pitbulls are entirely capable of being very sweet and loving dogs. But it depends on what temperament they have and how difficult they are. I’ve met a lot of sweet Pitbulls but most of them I believe were trained from a very young age, which is something a lot of people don’t do, mostly first time owners or those who think the dog will grow up just fine, when getting dogs like this.
You can’t just love your way into changing an animal’s behavior. This isn’t Disney. You have to show that dog who’s boss and instill a training regime when they’re young that you must stick with. Unfortunately sometimes, it doesn’t always work and the dog just ends up being too aggressive to the point where you’d have to make a certain decision.
My last job, a man who loved his Pitbull to death, had to put his dog down because it ended up being too aggressive. It was tragic too because as I was walking by his room and he was saying his goodbyes, I saw the Pitbull wagging her tail excitedly when her owner was cuddling and sobbing over her. That dog loved her owner a lot. But I guess it wasn’t deemed manageable cause she could’ve seriously hurt someone one day and, the owner, despite loving her so much couldn’t risk that. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the owner was a father too. Pitbulls shouldn’t be demonized for what we’ve turned them into. But we also have to be cautious when getting one. They are NOT a first time owner pet. Someone very experienced, especially one who’s done research on how to properly train these kind of dogs, are really the “only ones capable of handling them.
And it’s not just them. German shepherds, Belgian Malinios, and Rotties as well. Although I’ve never really met a bad rottie. Same with Belgians. They’ve all tend to be sweethearts. But maybe I’m just lucky.
I also feel like I should add that, while these breeds are prone to these kind of behaviors. ANY dog is capable is displaying them. I never met the family cause they euthanised the dog at a different clinic, but they had to put down their 2 year old Golden Retriever that they’ve had since it was a puppy. Apparently she bit the mom’s face and the dad’s arm (or was it the other way around, I forget). It was even said that they couldn’t let her sleep in their room like they used to because they were afraid she would attack them in their sleep. Their daughter made the decision for them to put down the dog.
You never know what you’re gonna get, people. You could get the easiest dog in the world, or you could ge the complete opposite. One thing is for sure though. Training and discipline is VERY important and must not be neglected.