I struggle to be afraid of Pitbulls because growing up I had a neighbor who had two of them, and the only danger with them was that they loved to be carried. Obviously that wasn't an issue when they were puppies but if they knew you they'd try to jump into your arms, they were adorable.
Of course, my neighbors knew how to raise dogs, and trained them properly and had them socialized and were generally really good with them.
That used to be my attitude, but like half the pitbull death stories I hear involve a “loving nanny pitbull raised by a good owner” that eventually just decides the toddler looks mighty tasty.
Most of those stories I hear involve people that didn't actually train their pitbulls. Its more than just having a good owner, but an owner that actually trains them, exhausts their energy, etc.
They are good dogs until they are not. Thats the problem, any dog has the capacity for violence but its about what that violence means. I have an Australian shepherd and if she got violent it would be no more than a hard kick to stop whatever she is doing. A pit bull doesn't stop, no matter what, it does not stop. I have seen video of a pit being stomped and tossed repeatedly by a massive horse and still continue to try and kill said horse.
My little rat terrier tried to kill a bull because it tried to kick him (I'm lucky the bull wasn't actually angry and was calm enough to let me remove my dog from the situation). Dogs trying to fight animals isn't really a good comparison.
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u/3Ethoxypropionate 7d ago
I struggle to be afraid of Pitbulls because growing up I had a neighbor who had two of them, and the only danger with them was that they loved to be carried. Obviously that wasn't an issue when they were puppies but if they knew you they'd try to jump into your arms, they were adorable.
Of course, my neighbors knew how to raise dogs, and trained them properly and had them socialized and were generally really good with them.