[quote]Vegita wrote:
I have to agree here with Bodygaurd. I do not think Pitbulls in general make good pets for the general public. Any type of pitt can be a dangerous dog. My buddy has a pitt and I have been around the dog for a long time, but my buddy lives on a farm and the dog is outside all the time and most likley didn’t have much human interaction since he stopped being a puppy. Well one day I’m up to his house and we are sitting on his porch. His pitt comes over, sniffs my hand, turns and sits by my feet. I have been around this dog at least 50 times before this and this was a verty relaxed situation so I reached down and started scratching his back. Within a second, he whips around teeth bared and is growling and snapping at me. If he decided it was time to put a hurt on me there is not much I could have done, I’m friggin sitting down on some front porch steps.
Anyways, I have a half pitt I recued from the Humane society, she has a lot of personal interaction every day from em and my wife and anyone who stops over. She snuggles and I play wrestle her and make sure she uses gentle play and she has a real good ability to stop when I tell her to. I trust her around children and other dogs. My buddies dog I will no longer trust and would never bring my 8 year old daughter to his house. If he had a lab, I would have risked a mild bite and stood up and punched it in the face, I’m not doing that to a pitt. My dog has never growled or bared her teeth to a human, she is a pet. His dog is not a pet, it is a working dog. People really shouldn’t pet working dogs, especially because my friend views him as a pet when he really is a working farm dog.
V[/quote]
With all respect, and I’m sorry to everyone that this has turned into a dog thread - but you are misunderstanding my point.
A properly bred american pitbull terrier (apbt) is the most wonderful, submissive, trustworthy breed around - and they can make wonderful pets for the right household. I do not include these “bully” creations and permutations of the “pitbull”. There is only one true pitbull and that is the apbt! Petey from the rascals was directly descended from one of the most accomplished fighting dogs of all time.
A true fighting dog is dog and animal aggressive and SUBMISSIVE to human. Human aggression was not generally tolerated and over the course of 200 years of selective breeding, the true apbt remains generally a very docile and submissive dog around humans. That said, they do carry their genes and traits from that selective breeding and are generally dog and animal aggressive so therefore, they are not the right pet for every household.
They are not generally a “dog park” dog and are generally a dog that always needs to be properly contained and on a leash. In the apbt community, our biggest beef and ongoing concern is all these ill bred backyard “pitbulls” and crosses - such as these “bully” dogs, purposefully bred for size and large heads, that we believe give our breed a bad rap. Game bred dogs are not running around biting people and kids - it’s the other crap that is indistingishable from all but those in the know.
The original “pitbull” was regarded as a perfect child companion, because of its docile nature to human, its tolerance to pain (children are rough on dogs) and it’s relatively small size - gamebred blood is generally ranges between 30-50lbs. The so called “pitbull” was a celebrated breed in the early 19th century and was the poster child for the world wars - representing American GRIT.
A properly bred and socialized “pitbull” is simply one of the finest breeds man has ever created - it will take on any task, is generally very tractable and has more “no quit” in him than any other breed alive or dead. They are not the devil dog or dangerous dog portrayed by the media. Those dogs exist, and they are the ones that I am rejecting - the backyard crap, the stuff bred just for show, the cross bred dogs (which if they even look a little like a pit are always labled a pitbull by authorities and the media), etc.
What’s wrong with a dog bred for just show? Briefly, when a dog has a “vocation” - hunting, sport, whatever, that dog has proven it’s ability to work with man, the dog has been put under stress, and the dog’s nerves, temerpment and disposition can be evaluated. You do not know ANY dog, or ANY human for that matter, until you have seen them under STRESS.
Breeding a dog for a certain coat color, head size, or any other random appearance, never allows this process to occur. Under work, when a dog “breaks” - shows a chink in his mental armor, a responsible breeder will not breed him. A serious dogman such as myself, is always looking for a dog’s weakness, putting the dog under stress and evaluating his temperment before breeding.
Put heat on him, ask him to do a job, and you’ll know what kind of dog you have. This goes for hunting, sport work, protecion work, etc. If you want a good dog of any breed, get him from working parents - parents that have performed a job successfuly and has worked alongside human.
Off my soap box 
Thank you for giving me the opening to clarify Vegita.
