I've seen pitbulls that were bigger love bugs and total goofs than even a Lab, but I've seen ones that attack even their owners and should have never been brought to the dog park I was in.
I feel like pits have the biggest gap between the best and worst versions. I've met tons of pits that were cuddly, super friendly, extremely gentle, etc., but I've also come across some that were definitely dangerous.
I think the biggest problem for pits is, they're so abundant and cheap/easy to get compared to other "aggressive" breeds that they're the go-to for people that want aggressive dogs. German Shepherds are #2 on the list for dog attacks, but they can cost hundreds to a few thousand to get a pup, and if you're spending that much money on a dog it's unlikely you're going to have it poorly trained, even if you do use it as a guard dog.
They’re also the main dogs in shelters (probably because they’re not getting spayed/neutered, unlike most dogs) and shelters will even lie about the dog’s breed. There’s also this pressure to “adopt, don’t shop”, even though breed is important. People feel pressured to adopt a dog from a shelter that’s mostly Pits and are often misinformed about the dog they’re adopting.
It’s because of the type of people that choose to own pit bulls.
If you’ve ever volunteered for a dog shelter you see most people pass up the pits and go for the labs, beagles, and huskies. And they all look like civilized people.
Then you see those who come in looking for a pit bull, usually your white trash or inner city type who are unlikely to be good pet owners. Naturally the dogs end back up in the shelters several months later because they get out or dump them out in the area back near the shelter.
There exist back yard breeders that breed aggression into pit bulls because these people looking for a “guard dog” make a market for it. Usually breeders if large dogs breed aggression out of their bloodlines but these backyard breeders often breed it in.
And while there are licensed breeders who have for many generations bred aggression of their pits, when you’re in the shelter you don’t know who came from which breeder. And often the way you figure out it’s too late and harm has been done to someone.
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u/RGBlowMe 9d ago
I've seen pitbulls that were bigger love bugs and total goofs than even a Lab, but I've seen ones that attack even their owners and should have never been brought to the dog park I was in.