Tell us why you like or dislike them.

I have one that I married into and he is a great dog after I taught him some manners.

I am a lab guy.

After reading the hog dog replies I would like to hear some reasons behind the hate towards this great breed of dogs.

I like them. It is how the owner raises the dog that constitutes how it will act. My GF has one and he is the coolest, nicest, dog I know. Never liked pits before that either.

A lot of people I know that have worked with dogs, or have some interaction with dogs more than the average joe, have told me they are one of the absolute best dog breeds.

My Catahoula puppy and my GF's pit are going to mate when she is about 2 and I can't wait to get the puppies. If anyone wants a badarse dog, or 2, in about a year and a half, give me a holler. I want them to go to good homes.

Statistics don't lie amigo. You can push the "it's all in the raising" shtick all you want, but until I find someone who goes out and grabs a baby mountain lion, raises it up all lovey dovey, and lets it sleep in the bed at night with his babies, I'll continue to believe that certain animals in this world are more aggressive and prone to violence than others. There's a reason we like Pitts and American Bulldogs for hog dogs- they are rough, tough, biting SOB's. For that very same reason, I don't want one around my family.

You have to remember that a dog is a dog. Any dog. All dogs have teeth. Big dogs have big teeth and big mouths. You can personify them all you want, but at the end of the day you are still left with an animal that does not have the capacity to reason and does not view the world the same way you do. I love my dogs like they were my children, but I know at the end of the day that they are all still animals. They have all bitten me when they were scared or when I inadvertently hurt them.

Ever been bit by a dog? Really bit- head shaking clamped down bit? It isn't a pleasant experience, and I dang sure don't want to experience it in the mouth of an animal designed the way the Pitt is...

x2

KC is spot on. I raise and train German Shepherds, they are trained in protection. How they are raised is a factor but genetics is more relevent. I can't teach a lab protection because they just don't have that in their blood. German Shepherds have a natural protection quality, they were breed to protect a farm, family and livestock. Pits were not, they were breed to fight stuff, not protect stuff. That is why they are used for hogs. They can be great at their job, but their job does not include being a family dog. Sure there are exceptions but people need to let dogs do what they were breed to do and stop using them as keychains.

I have no problem with pits. I just think there owners have to be more vigilant when owning one. You can't let them run around free like you can with many other breeds. If your going to own a pit you need to realize you will have to take extra precautions to keep everyone safe.

from my experience with them my suggestion is breed termination

This. Thanks.

My buddy didn't have to teach his lab protection, and when the meter reader entered his back yard, his lab was all over him.....Instinct?

Yes, it is a huge topic but... One major difference is that a dog trained in protection work has 1) commands to dictate its behavior before during and after 2) is practiced thus not relying on how it personally feels at the moment 3) performing out of training and not fear or agression. Without that the results are un-predicatble no matter what breed it is. Bottom line is dogs will be dogs and some are genetically inclined to act certain ways.

I have never been bitten by a pit bull that was mine. I've even sowed some of them up and they never even acted liked they wanted to bite. But most of the pits I've been around are aggressive towards other animals. I don't own a pit now & don't think I will again. Too many risk in owning one now.

Damn near every time a pit mauls someone or kills another dog, there's a shocked owner standing behind it claiming, "He's usually the sweetest dog on the planet!"

I'm so sick of the, "It's just how they're raised that makes them violent." argument. That's just not true.

That said, I agree with those that don't have a problem with people having them as long as they take extra precaution. I also agree that they are GREAT dogs 99% of the time and definitely serve a purpose.

Just can't ever leave them unsupervised.

Retrievers were bread to retreave and have an instinct to do so...

Pointers were bread to point and have an instinct to do so...

Pit bull were bread to bite and hold and sometime kill and have an instinct to do so...

I hate pit bulls when I see them in public. IF they are being used for a purpose such as hunting or even being a guard dog I have nothing against them as long as they are under someones "control", or heavy lock and key.

i don't like them cause one attacked my 5 year old cousin and it wasn't the owners fault cause he was good at training. taught the dog to sit, stay, rollover, but one day his dog just snapped and broke out the fence and attacked my cousin when she was checking the mail. i just feel like they cant be trusted and can turn on you at any time. great hog dogs though.

I like them for hog dogs and think they get a bad reputation but with that being said I wouldnt leave one alone with my 3 yr old niece. Its not that im afraid they will attack but more of the damage they can do IF they actually do attack. Great dogs but dont want them around small kids. Definately not in agreement with the breed extermination

I OWN AN INSURANCE AGENCY, AND INSURANCE COMPANIES SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON STATS, NONE OF THEM WILL GIVE YOU LIABILITY INSURANCE IF THEY KNOW YOU OWN A PIT, THAT'S NO COINCIDENCE. THE DOGS JUST CAN'T BE TRUSTED, AS MENTIONED WHEN A DOG ATTACKS AND NEIGHBORS AND OWNERS ARE INTERVIEWED YOU ALWAYS HERE ABOUT HOW SPOT WAS JUST THE NICEST DOG IN THE WORLD, THEN THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO THE BLOODY MESS SPOT MADE FROM TEARING UP SOME KID OR GRANDMA.

I had two and never had a problem with them great dogs to have with a responsible owner!

this is stupid for ppl to down a breed like this, ok i know a 4yr girl that got attacked by a german shepered but did we hear about that on the news.? no we did not, ya all these horror stories about pits are usually heard on the news, but they do not tell ya when cuddles the family dog attacks a kid.and it is how ya raise any dog i dont care if its shi-tzu or a pit.i have some heelers and pits and my heelers are more aggressive than any pit i have ever had towards ppl, ya know why? cause i raised em to be working dogs not pets. not all pits are raised by michel vick.

and big rack just cause ya can get a dog to sit shake and roll over dont make ya a good trainer. hell any joe blow can get a dog to do that.

IMO The American Pit Bull Terrier is the greatest breed it is second to none. I own a lab as well

Just curious to what statistics your talking about. Just a FYI 22 breeds resemble the group of dogs deemed "Pit Bull". But there is only one American Pit Bull Terrier. The term is used loosely. The name alone attracts media attention much like Assault Rifle.

Biggest factor regarding human aggression is how a dog is bred. I am willing to bet if I showed you 5 dogs you could not pick out The American Pit Bull Terrier. Human aggression shows up in all breeds. By the way labs bite more people a year than pit bulls. Being they are the most popular breed it doesnt suprise me, reason being they are subject to a larger mass that know squat bout breeding dogs. To be honest I trust no dog with my children they are animals. The most dangerous dog is the one sleeping in your house on the couch,in its pet bed, on yours or the childrens bed. To those making statments that they are vicious by nature and not family dogs shows they no little about the breed and just buy into what the media sells them. Fact is majority of dog owners know jack squat bout dogs. I will say this they are not for the average dog owner. Last note animal aggression and human aggression are two separate issues dont confuse the two. Human aggression is not in its genetics. Not to say human aggression will pop up in a line from time to time it does happen with all breeds.

AND....require that PB owners carry a rider on their homeowner's insurance to cover damages. It doesn't matter that the owner has trained the dog. If the PB's owner is at work or not around when the dog shreads a child or another dog, who's gonna call off the PB when it attacks?? Myself, I sure wouldn't bother with calling 911....

I have been trying to turn my head away from this thread all day- it seems trollish as a comparable question could be "wood ticks, tell why you like them or not." Every time this issue comes up someone chimes in about the border collie that mauled a kid or another family pet that made news in a negative light. During the last week there have been attacks by pit bulls at least twice in DFW and a mail carrier in Minneapolis- just this week. My insurance company won't allow a pit bull on my property (if I own it) or on the properties that I rent out if the tenants own them. Insurance companies seem to make BILLIONS based on their ability to assess risk and I guess they have done their homework on pit bulls.

ok how about this if ya like em great ya are able to see past this "killer" rep they have, which is major B.S and if ya dont like em just go on i think this thread needs to be deleted. my dogs are my kids. i am able to take care of them if they need food meds, etc, or if i need to put em down but i will protect my dogs with the my rights to protect my property. i dare them to try to rid of this awsome breed!!!!

Im sure the insurance companies are more concerned with the damage a pitbull causes than the actual likelihood of one attacking. Yall are downing pitbulls because yall think they are evil dogs set out to attack people. You hear about the attacks because of the DAMAGE they cause when they actually do attack. Im sure the news is not concerned about a 12 lb shi-tzu who barely broke the skin on a innocent jogger. Im being dramatic but yall are jumping to conclusions that pits are just mean dogs. There is no doubt they can be mean and I havent met a pitbull yet that wouldnt catch a hog but aint had one yet to bite another dog or attack someone! knock on wood

pits have to be bred, raised, trained, and supervised more than a lot of other breeds. I have owned two, and both are kid friendly. My old catch dog, 100% pit went to boy scout camps as part of trailblazer events, which introduce inner city kids to the outdoors, and met probably a few thousand boy scouts without incident. He was a great ambassador to his breed. If you want to talk statistics, lets talk labs. more people bitten in this country by labs than anything else, and yet their are labs everywhere and nobody complains. 60% of the bites on fort hood that put peope in the ER are from chiauauas, and they ban pits and rotts. It doesn't make any sense, and it's mostly ignorant hysteria that gives them a bad name. The biggest hurdle that pits face is ignorant people breeding them. They throw any two garbage pits together and are shocked when the dogs that come out are garbage too, but hey at least they look cool. A few years of hard culling of pits and pit owners would solve a lot.