Pittbulls. Are they born mean or are they trained to be mean?
Do you think that the attention given to Pittbulls is fair or just motivated by fear
from the public opinion responding to violent stories of them?
Do you think that Pittbulls are any more dangerous than any other breed of dog?
Do you or someone you know have a personal experience involving Pittbulls?
Is it good or bad?
Do you think it is fair for a Pittbull to be put to sleep only because someone accuses
the dog of viciousness with no investigation, and how can this be prevented?
For those of you who have never been exposed to a Pittbull, what are your
feelings about them without the experience of having met one? Did the rumors
you have heard of them cause you to feel this way?
Divina M. (10:00)
19 comments:
I don't think any dog is born mean. I believe the attention is fair but not fair at the same time. Theirs a reason why they have they stereotype but at the same time not every pit bull is mean. I don't think there the most dangerous dog is a pit bull im more scared of German shepherds if you asked me.My dad owns a pit bull and i've never thought he came off as bad or anything. To be completely honest hes a wimp and just likes to be around people 24/7. Im pretty sure no dog can get put down just from someones accusations there has to be a reason, but if it was to happen I don't think it would be fair to the dog since it didn't do anything. Like i said before I own a pitbull and my experiences were perfectly fine.
Brandan McDaniel
I believe that the attention given Pitt bulls is fair because Pitt by of the way they are raise and treated by it's owner. I believe the public opinion about Pitt bulls is right since a lot of people always have violent stories about them. Also you never hear any good stories about them being nice, just always being violent.I actually know a person who has had an experience with Pitt Bulls and it was a bad one saying, that it bit them in the leg when they were a kid. Now they fear all dogs since they got bitten.
I don't think its fair that Pitt Bull is put to sleep only because of someone accusing it. I think there should be an investigation to prove that the dog is dangerous. I think this can be prevented by people raising the Pitt Bull the right way and not abusing and disciplining it when it does the little things wrong.
Kyle Ogle
No, I don’t believe that Pitt bulls are more dangerous than any other breed of dog. Any dog has the ability to be as aggressive or as docile as they come. I believe that people allow their fear of these dogs to influence their judgment on them. Someone that I know has a Pitt bull and she has not once made any aggressive actions towards them or and one else. It is not right for a dog to be put to sleep sole based upon their breed. Just because a dog is a Pitt bull does not make them aggressive, it’s the owners that are to blame for the dog’s behavior. People need to realize that dogs do certain actions for many reasons. Most people believe that when a dog barks it is a sign of aggression, but that could not be further from the truth. For example my sister’s dogs bark every time they hear someone at the door. This does not mean that they are aggressive, but that they are informing us that someone is at the door. When a dog growls it does not mean that they are going to attack you, but rather it could mean that what you are doing is something that they don’t like.
Ryan M.
Pit bulls are ment to be animal aggressive . Its in their genetics . It what they where breed for. Fighting other animals and other pit bulls . They where how ever not bred to be human aggressive . Quite the opposite in fact . This is a higly undesirable trait in a pit bull . Contrary to popular belief they are not naturally people aggressive. Pitbulls are highly protective of their owners. However, if you expose the dog to other people and dogs at a young age (as soon as possible), you can end up with reliable protection as well as a pet others won't be afraid to hang around. The young age is key.
I dont think any breed of dog is mean unless it is raised to be like that. If you train a mutt to be mean it will. it may not be as strong as a pit bull, but it will attack other dogs and people.
Not one animal should be put to sleep just on accusations alone. There should be a complete investigation done to see what actually happen. If it is proven that a pit bull or any other dog attacked somebody, and it was serious then by all means it needs to be put to sleep.
Shane Rasor
I think that Pitbulls have been given a bad rap. I do not believe that Pitbulls are born mean, I believe that the way they are treated and trained is the problem. I personally,had three Pitbulls of my own, and their age range from 8 months old to 2 1/2 years old. My two main problems with them were that (1) I could not sit anywhere in the house without one of them wanting to climb up on me, like they were babies. I received these dogs at the above ages.
I believe that if any dog is mistreated that will become mean, just look at the chihuahuas, they are one of the smallest breed of dogs around and they can be one of the meanest, but I do not hear alot about them.
Like I stated earlier, my experience were good, but I did have to give them away, not because they were dangerous in the sense of physically harming someone but because they were too active and if I were to leave out the house six times and come back I would have to clean my entire house each time, which cause heath issues for me. I believe the best way an owner can have less conflict with law enforcement and the threatening of putting their pet to sleep is to realize that yes your dog is like family, but everybody is not family to your dog. Take the necessary precaustions to protect your dog. May sure you are following all the pet laws and the percentage of Pitbulls being put to sleep or any dog for that matter, will increase, but letting your pet run feel around people who are uncomfortable and since dogs can smell fear, why put anyone in harms way.
Linda H.
I don't believe that God made anything to be born mean. Pitt-bull's are not born mean, they are trained that way. It's the owner who is mean. No the attention they are given is not fair. They're treated like vicious animals because of the negative ways they are betrayed to the public. Now a pitt can be more voracious than any other dog, but at the same time any vicious dog (doberman, rottweiler)can be trained to kill or fight. The only experience that me and my family/friends have encountered were good ones. The dogs were friendly and obedient. No it is not fair they be put to death because of an accusation that was not investigated. The only way to prevent these senseless death is to actually investigate what happened. Latonya
I do not think that Pittbulls are more dangerous than any other breed of dog. If the pittbull is treated well by its owner then I think it will not have such a bad behavior. I know a lot of people who has a Pitbull or has had one and their Pitbulls have never acted violent towards a person. Most any dog would be dangerous if their owner neglected it or was beating it beacause. I do not think that they should be put to sleep for harming anyone because it is not their fault for the way they behave.
Shelby Walker
I have a Husky chow chow mix and those are two breeds of viscous dogs, but we have had him since he was a little puppy and we raised him to be a nice dog and not to bite.so i feel as though its the way you raise them i know plenty of pit bulls that are really sweet and plenty of pit bulls that are not so sweet. so look as dogs as kids if you raise them right they wont cause you hell.
Xeromy Kaizad (8:00)
I 100 percent believe the talk about pit bulls is motivated by fear and the story's told about them. I do not feel they are the most dangerous dog but their lock jaw can be potentially dangerous. Yes i own a pit bull girl and out of my 3 dogs it is the nicest. The dog has never hurt anyone or anything not even my moms cats. Don't get me wrong its one of the strongest dogs I've ever had but also one of the nicest. I do not feel putting any animal to sleep without proper reasoning is right.People getting educated on animals and animals behaviors would help prevent unnecessary animal deaths. I love all animals and my pit is one of the most joyful animals i have had. No one is scared of my dog because of the way we have raised it. Your animal will act on how it is raised, if it is raised in a mean or violent environment it could potentially hurt someone. But raised in the proper environment and treated right the dog can be a nice puppy.
Ian Randolph 10:00
It is my opinion that pit bulls are raised to behave the way they do; they react to their owners. They can be sweet and loving or vicious and violent. I think that pit bulls are only more dangerous when they are taught to be or raised to be. The only encounters with pit bulls I have had are good ones; there owners are good people, who treat animals respectfully and decent. I do not think that any animal should be put to sleep because someone says they did something violent. There should have been a witness to the incident in order to take a pit bulls life. Animals are provoked to do terrible things, taught to do these things by terrible people, for reason unknown.
J.McWhorter 10:00
I don't believe that pitbulls are born mean. they are trained to fight other dogs. One of my friends has a new pitbull and it is a very friendly and nice dog. I believe that the owner has to have their own agenda to make this dog attack another dog. I don't understand why people still do that I feel it is a pretty messed up crime.
Alec Pettyjohn
Pitbulls are not born mean. My son had one and I was very worried about it. He got the dog as a puppy from a guy who had a lot of them beyond the litter my son got one from. The puppy was just as cute, adorable and cuddly as any other puppy. All dogs need to be trained properly from a puppy. This gives the pup a fair chance of knowing what the rules and expectations for behavior are. Many people do not realize they are doing their dog a disservice when they have no clue how to properly train a dog. They often times end up trying to beat the dog into submission which is not the answer.
Angela Cole
I think that the attention given to them is unfair. And they are NOT any more dangerous than any other dog. Any dog can grow up to be mean, vicious and dangerous. My husbands mom has two pitbulls and they couldnt hurt a fly! It's all how you treat your animal and how much love, affection and dicipline it's being shown. I know a lot of people who have pitbulls and not one of them have ever been attacked because they were not raised that way. It's unfair for any dog to be put to sleep without an actual investigation period. If it happened because the dog is actually vicious then it's only fair to put it down, but if it was an accident or the dog was protecting its' owner then it should be left alone. If a pitbull is mean it's because of its surroundings and how its being treated and raised. People are constantly having dog fights or whatever and thats where all this poor attention is coming from...its ridiculous. Like i said my mother in laws pitbulls are such sweethearts.
kristina young
I don't believe that any dog is just born mean. I mean all puppies are sweet and innocent at one point of time. I also believe it is all in the manner you train your dog. If you train your pit to be a guard dog or to be a dog that fights of course it will be mean and vicious. It's true that when pit bulls are mad they can be very mean and terrifying but in those cases the dogs are usually trained to have that demeanor.Pit bulls are portrayed to be mean dogs but it is all in the manner train your dog to be.
-Chelsea W (10:00)
I am afraid of dogs!! PERIOD! little, big, black, or white!! lol. I am very afriad of pit bulls though. To me, it's the "rep" that they have. I automatically think that they are bad, mean dogs. And although i know that this isnt always the case, it's just stuck in my head. Almost every pitbull ive come across was mean. I think it's the owners fault. But, to them, they are just training their dog to protect them and their family. But this makes outsiders afraid of the dog. They can tell you over and over again, he/she wont bite, it's ok, u can touch, etc. but it
s that fear of thinking they are going to attack you at any given minute. I dont think they are born mean, so because of that, i dont believe in putting them (or any animal) to sleep. I'm sure they are just innocent, friendly animals, wanting to be loved and played with, but some of the owners mistreat them. It's unfortunate, but that's how it is. without any proof, i dont even see how they are even allowed to do that! what happened to dog being mans best friend? (or something like that??) idk ?
Kiara dudley
Dog bites cost around $1bn a year in medical and insurance fees. Each year there are approximately 850,000 victims. I was bitten by a pitbull roughly a year ago in the US. I received 85 stitches to the face and had to have areas stitched by a maxillofacial surgeon. From my personal experience, I would say that pitbulls have an extremely negative temperament. The particular dog that bit me did so completely unprovoked, and without warning. There are violent stories about pitbulls, yes. Why shouldn’t that cause the public to be fearful
of them?
On the other hand, the pitbull that bit me may very well have been ‘one of those rare cases’ – I can’t testify to that because I haven’t had enough exposure to the pitbull breed in general. I could certainly see why the public opinion could be swayed directionally; just look at the public opinion of Muslims after 911. There seems to be a valid point to both sides of this argument, and without seeing further evidence, I stand undecided.
Not for the feint hearted, but for those of you who are curious, here’s a picture of the damage to my face!
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/22775_280649435894_524255894_3983220_5991655_n.jpg
Zach Daniels
I can't say that I know too much about pittbulls. I have heard, however, that they can be a more vicious breed of dog. However, I believe it is all about what the owner of the dog does about it. The majority of dogs can be well trained if you have the money and the time to train them--pittbulls are no different. If the owner puts a lot of effort in training their pittbull, then there should be no problems with the dog. However, if the owner just doesn't care about training it and wants it as more of a "guard dog" then I would have some issues. Pittbulls can be kind of scary and if they aren't trained well, then I would be scared to be around one. But that would be the same circumstance for any other breed of dog. I don't see how pittbulls should be treated any different than the other breeds of dogs. A dog's a dog.
~Megan Strom
i definitely feel that the attention given to pittbulls is motivated by the fear of the public and their opinion on pitbulls. if people researched into the dogs they would learn that pitbull are friendly and good dogs to have around kids, it just that a idiot will come across a pitbull and will try and make it vicious because he or she saw it on t.v and thought it would be cool. no i beleive the most vicous breed of dogs are German Shephard mainly because they are used in the police force, they are naturally rough and vicous. i myself own a full blooded pitbull, and another half pitbull mix breed and out of the three years i have had the dogs i have nothing but great memories and pictures with and about the dogs.no i do not think that is right ifact if that would ever happen to by dog i would sue the state and everything else because they are just judging a dog based off of stories and not actually coming in contact with the dog.
Matt E Noon
I don't think all pit bulls are mean, but there is some reason to be wary around them. They are bred for muscular strength, and therefore when they aren't amiable, they can be much more dangerous than the average pet dog. From what I know, they are frequently used as guard dogs, and are the most common dog bred for fighting. The only person I know who has a pit bull claims that the dog can deflate a tennis ball in one bite. This makes me think that there is some reason to be afraid of them. However, I understand that if a pit bull is raised and trained to be a family-friendly pet, there is no reason to think any differently about it than any other dog. It is fair, though, to be cautioned against taking in any pit bull with unknown origins, such as one from an animal shelter, because any dogs that have been mistreated or trained for aggression can become mean, and pit bulls are strong enough that they can be very dangerous, especially when threatened.
Trevor J. (10AM)
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