Are Pitbulls Dangerous Animals?

If you were to walk through an animal shelter, there is a good chance you'd see several pitbulls.  There is also a good chance that you wouldn't consider adopting one.

Why? Well because we've all heard the stories.  Pitbulls can be vicious. They are fighting dogs.  They can turn on you and cannot be trusted.  They are agressive towards humans and are dangerous around children.

Not just that but they look kind of, well...mean.  And they bark loudly and even when they are playing, they tend to look aggressive.  This is why we didn't adopt one when we were considering a new puppy at the beginning of the year.

But then I talked to my veterinarian who gave me the low-down on pitbulls and steered me toward some websites where I could find more information.

The consensus? The pitbull has an undeserved bad rap. They were first bred in this country to be exceptionally loyal and totally non-aggressive towards humans.  In fact, in the beginning they were used to hold bulls during castration and even give their lives to spare their owners from being gored.

At some point, someone thought it would be fun (and lucritive) to exploit the breed's natural strength and tendency toward dog agression by pitting them against each other in dog fights.  People also took agressive dogs and bred them with other agressive dogs in order to create better fighters.  A well-bred dog is not instinctively human aggressive.

This, along with a few publicized "pitbull attacks" perpetuated the myth that these dogs are dangerous.  In fact, the American Temperment Society, Inc reported that Pitbulls show a passing rate of 95% in temperment tests while 121 other breeds of dogs show an average passing rate of 77%.

My veterinarian said that she is more afraid of little dogs, no doubt with giant Napoleon complexes, who tend to bite three times more often that a pitbull might.  She also warned me against trying to get a pitbull as a guard dog, as they are extremely friendly and would most likely lick a burglar clean and show him the path to the fine china rather than bite him.

We did eventually take the plunge.  In December we adopted a deliciously cute milk chocolate pitbull we named "Cocoa".  This was a leap of faith as we have three small children.

And when Cocoa was about 4 months old and weighed 10 pounds, she nipped at my son who after being warned numerous times, tried to head butt the dog while she was sleeping.  Needless to say there was an E.R. visit that resulted in a tiny stitch and a $700 hospital bill. 

The nurses scolded my son for his irresponsibility while I stood there and nodded my head as if to say, " SEE, I TOLD YOU SO!"  It was all cool when they thought a chihuahua nipped him.  That is until we had to fill out a report.

As required by law, it was reported as a dog bite and when I told them we had a pitbull the alarms went off and a platoon of officers swarmed into the hospital with guns (and judgmental condescension) pointed right at me.  Okay, so most of that isn't true but we did have a police officer at our house within 10 minutes to invistigate the "vicious pitbull attack".

The officer took one look at the puppy who was tucked inside my husband's shoe, chewing on a squeaky pacifier and started to laugh.  "THIS, is the vicious dog?"  "Um, yes...hold still for a moment officer, while I muzzle her for your safety."

He dismissed the report immediately but we learned our lesson (and so did our son).  The truth is, that nip could have happened with any dog, or our cats for that matter.  Our hamster once nipped his finger worse and I didn't see a cop at our house within minutes wanting to investigate the "vicious hamster attack".

She's now 8 months old and is as sweet as can be.  She loves to play fetch and take walks and snore like a 400 pound man with a deviated septum.  She's learned a plethora of tricks, most recently how to dance.  I will spare you the details as it's so sweet you might walk away with a tooth ache.

We are responsible owners.  We exercise her properly, have enrolled her in proper training classes, socialized her with other dogs and animals and take full responsiblity to keep everyone safe when she's in a new situation. For memorial day we took her to the town parade where she sat on the curb and watched the fire trucks and everyone was delighted with her because she was well behaved and welcomed everyone's neck scratches.

She doesn't snarl, she doesn't bite, she doesn't attack.  Unless you count her tear-inducing farts.  Pitbulls are only as good as their owners.  So yes, you have to be careful around any dog you know, not just pitbulls.  You need not take any extra precautions with a pitbull that you wouldn't already be taking with any dog.

They are loyal and smart and energetic animals who in the proper home, can be amazing companions to their loving families.  I wouldn't know what to do without my Cocoa Bear. 

So next time you're considering a dog, don't immediately discount the pitbull any more than you'd want someone discounting you before getting to know you.  Take the time and learn about the breed.  Chances are, you'll be surprised at what you find.