If you have to be a perfect trainer to keep a pit from snapping and turning into a murderbeast, then maybe you shouldn't keep one around kids.
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Would you own a pitbull as a family pet while having small children?
- Thread starter Z-oo31
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I have a pitbull whose currently staying with my family due to my current project requiring me to move too often and not being able to find a pitbull friendly place while moving this often.
My sister has a new born baby and my dog is super gentle. She keeps sending me videos of my baby niece pulling his ears, her pulling the baby away, then the baby coming back and hitting the dog not knowing how to act with them, and my dog just licks the baby or moves away. He likes my niece.
Only thing I'd be worried about is he kind of sucks at walking and is super strong, so he tends to pull on the leash a lot and he's a strong dog. So if she wanted to walk him that's a no more so because he's strong.
My sister has a new born baby and my dog is super gentle. She keeps sending me videos of my baby niece pulling his ears, her pulling the baby away, then the baby coming back and hitting the dog not knowing how to act with them, and my dog just licks the baby or moves away. He likes my niece.
Only thing I'd be worried about is he kind of sucks at walking and is super strong, so he tends to pull on the leash a lot and he's a strong dog. So if she wanted to walk him that's a no more so because he's strong.
Well that's the point. Both things can be dangerous yet they can still be worth it.
Sorry, in British English a rescue greyhound would be a retired runner that's rehomed as a pet. There are charities devoted to this, which is how we acquired our dog.
Though the notion of a greyhound burrowing into a snowdrift to find trapped people is a very attractive one, I think this breed's calling lies in other fields. Our dog has been coopted as a service dog to help an autistic family member to track their emotional state during therapy sessions.
A Pitbull that I raised as a puppy, absolutely. A rescue? Maybe on my own, but probably not with children involved. This is an uncomfortable story for me to share but I see these threads with a lot of mixed emotion and figured maybe I'll just share it this time.
I have a rescue pitbull who I love and adore, named Roxie but at one point I had two. Roxie is the most non-aggressive dog I've ever had and is an absolute sweetheart, and I trust her as much as I'd trust any other well trained dog. The other dog, Marshall had major aggression issues and would attack anyone who entered the house. We had so much good experience with the first dog, we thought we could handle the second.
Long story short, my family wasn't well equipped to deal with the issues we had with the dog at all. The agency we rescued with had an arrangement that if you rescued the dog from them you couldn't give them away or euthanize them if issues occurred, they had to be returned back to the agency. Well, we had Marshall for years and I loved him to death, but a lot of shit happened. He bit one of my friends and drew blood, and while walking him on leash with my father on a hiking trail he got free and bit a horse, throwing the rider off it's back resulting in the women breaking her leg, my family was sued for the medical expenses.
Another day, he jumped on the couch to snuggle with two of my younger cousins and everything was fine, until someone made a sudden movement he couldn't see and he snapped and bit my cousin on the face, she was okay but it was severe enough that she was bleeding. It was honestly a really terrifying ordeal.
We loved this dog as much as any other dog we had ever had and it was traumatic for me, he was an angel with our family but he was a different animal when other people got close to us, and despite all my families attempts to train we couldn't make it stop. When I left for college and my parents divorced, it got even worse. My mother made the hard decision after years to try and return the dog to the agency and told them what happened and that we couldn't take care of the dog anymore, but after hearing about the bites they refused to take him back despite everything that had been said and agreed previously. Marshall ended up being put to sleep.
I'm still 100% on team pitbull. I still sincerely believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with the breed. I'm hesitant to share my experiences because frankly I still feel shame that I let my family put the dog down despite everything, and because I don't want to be called a fear monger. Because of what we humans do to these animals there are a lot of tortured abused animals out there in shelters that need homes like any other dog, I just believe they aren't good fits for families that aren't equipped to handle them. A lot of those dogs are pit bulls.
Anyway here's a picture of my potato-puppy Roxie.
I have a rescue pitbull who I love and adore, named Roxie but at one point I had two. Roxie is the most non-aggressive dog I've ever had and is an absolute sweetheart, and I trust her as much as I'd trust any other well trained dog. The other dog, Marshall had major aggression issues and would attack anyone who entered the house. We had so much good experience with the first dog, we thought we could handle the second.
Long story short, my family wasn't well equipped to deal with the issues we had with the dog at all. The agency we rescued with had an arrangement that if you rescued the dog from them you couldn't give them away or euthanize them if issues occurred, they had to be returned back to the agency. Well, we had Marshall for years and I loved him to death, but a lot of shit happened. He bit one of my friends and drew blood, and while walking him on leash with my father on a hiking trail he got free and bit a horse, throwing the rider off it's back resulting in the women breaking her leg, my family was sued for the medical expenses.
Another day, he jumped on the couch to snuggle with two of my younger cousins and everything was fine, until someone made a sudden movement he couldn't see and he snapped and bit my cousin on the face, she was okay but it was severe enough that she was bleeding. It was honestly a really terrifying ordeal.
We loved this dog as much as any other dog we had ever had and it was traumatic for me, he was an angel with our family but he was a different animal when other people got close to us, and despite all my families attempts to train we couldn't make it stop. When I left for college and my parents divorced, it got even worse. My mother made the hard decision after years to try and return the dog to the agency and told them what happened and that we couldn't take care of the dog anymore, but after hearing about the bites they refused to take him back despite everything that had been said and agreed previously. Marshall ended up being put to sleep.
I'm still 100% on team pitbull. I still sincerely believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with the breed. I'm hesitant to share my experiences because frankly I still feel shame that I let my family put the dog down despite everything, and because I don't want to be called a fear monger. Because of what we humans do to these animals there are a lot of tortured abused animals out there in shelters that need homes like any other dog, I just believe they aren't good fits for families that aren't equipped to handle them. A lot of those dogs are pit bulls.
Anyway here's a picture of my potato-puppy Roxie.
Nah. And I bet in all the cases where pit bulls attack children, their owner also thought 'I trained him well, he wouldn't attack people' or 'my dog wouldn't attack people, I'm sure!'
Sure animals of all kinds can attack people, but when the animals are big ones like pit bulls, the consequences tend to be more severe, especially for children. Better safe than sorry.
Sure animals of all kinds can attack people, but when the animals are big ones like pit bulls, the consequences tend to be more severe, especially for children. Better safe than sorry.
For what it's worth as I've said before on other similar threads if I get another dog I'll likely go with a rescue that clearly doesn't have pit in it. Not because I have an issue with pits, but because owning one regardless of how you raise it all of a sudden is like the most taboo thing.
With most other breeds you don't have to worry about a dog ban in the cities or countries, even other aggressive breeds.
Finding apartments with other breeds isn't nearly as much of a pain if you're on the move for projects every few years. Once again even other aggressive breeds you might have an easier time as most apartments might focus more on pit and pit mixes.
I'll be minding my own business playing with my dog in the dog park and a kid gets near the vicinity and the parents are like "not that dog honey, let's stay away". Which is fair, but it's not like I don't feel bad for him when shit like that happens.
Next dog I get until I'm more stable in a position I move less often will likely be some medium sized dog or just a lab looking dog. I'll likely still rescue as I know dogs need homes in these shelters, but lord knows I'm gonna do my hardest to find non pit looking dogs. The hassle is too much to deal with.
With most other breeds you don't have to worry about a dog ban in the cities or countries, even other aggressive breeds.
Finding apartments with other breeds isn't nearly as much of a pain if you're on the move for projects every few years. Once again even other aggressive breeds you might have an easier time as most apartments might focus more on pit and pit mixes.
I'll be minding my own business playing with my dog in the dog park and a kid gets near the vicinity and the parents are like "not that dog honey, let's stay away". Which is fair, but it's not like I don't feel bad for him when shit like that happens.
Next dog I get until I'm more stable in a position I move less often will likely be some medium sized dog or just a lab looking dog. I'll likely still rescue as I know dogs need homes in these shelters, but lord knows I'm gonna do my hardest to find non pit looking dogs. The hassle is too much to deal with.
Alright, cool. I'm personally not against greyhound racing as such (the dogs fucking love it), but people who get greyhounds only for that purpose and then put them down (unless they get rescued by good people like you) are scum.
That's a hard no. Pit bulls can be sweet, but all the training and conditioning resulting in the sweetest and most loving companion can go out the door with the wrong kid pressing the wrong buttons. That can happen with any dog, but Pitt bulls, among others, can be particularly devastating, especially when children are involved.
No, tell me. What is the point of claiming knowledge if you are not sharing it. It is for the greater good to share information than to retain it.
Not a chance, but I wouldn't get almost any large dog for my daughter. Maybe something like a Golden Retriever, I hear they are incredibly loving to younger children, but even then when the time comes maybe we'll go to the pound and get a small mutt.
In that analogy having a pit bull is like not putting your kid in a booster seat or putting them in the front with the air bag on. Having a kid around a dog is dangerous no matter what, but having them around a pit bull, German Shepard, Rottweiler etc is much more likely to end with a fatality if something goes wrong than with a smaller and/or less physically powerful breed.
There are two factors that get conflated, the natural aggressiveness of the breed which can be handled with good training, and the physical ability to inflict damage, which cannot. Any animal (or person for that matter) can act violently in specific circumstances like illness or emotional stress.
Our government are morons. I had a pitbull and he was great. Never any problems with kids etc.
Sorry but if pit owners are going to make logical reaches to call their dogs safe in this thread, while characterizing others as ignorant, I've gotta call the spades spades.
I have nothing against pitbulls and many that I've met are the sweetest dogs on earth, but no, I wouldn't with a young child. Dogs and babies can be tough as it is and I don't trust myself enough as a trainer to work with a really powerful dog and a baby. We have an 8-year-old Boston terrier and an 11mos old human baby, and they're really good together, but it's always something and always adds a wrinkle to everything.
We have two problems now... HE's great when it's just us and the baby, but whenever people come over who aren't regulars, he gets super amped up and wants attention, and naturally with a baby the people are paying attention to the baby, so he gets annoying. I'm trying to break that but it's hard.
The other problem is the baby just started crawling, and my dog loves to carry his bones around the house to whatever room the people are in, and tease them with his bone, which is something he does with other dogs. If there's another dog in the house, he'll parade around that other dog with a bone hoping to get them to chase him or contest for the bone, and he'll show his meddle and stand his ground and instigate a game of chase. It's stupid dog stuff. This is fine with other dogs, but it'll be problematic if the baby is crawling around and reaches for the bone, or reaches for him. So I'm trying to get him to chew his bones away from us rather than in the same area. I could see it being a problem in the future if the baby reaches for the bone he's chewing or recently chewed.
Many owners can properly train their dog around young children, and I'm okay with it, but I wouldn't trust myself with training a really powerful dog enough to take the risk with one and a young baby. It's already hard enough for me with a ~25lbs dog whose been bred for hundreds of years to be a derp face jester.
We have two problems now... HE's great when it's just us and the baby, but whenever people come over who aren't regulars, he gets super amped up and wants attention, and naturally with a baby the people are paying attention to the baby, so he gets annoying. I'm trying to break that but it's hard.
The other problem is the baby just started crawling, and my dog loves to carry his bones around the house to whatever room the people are in, and tease them with his bone, which is something he does with other dogs. If there's another dog in the house, he'll parade around that other dog with a bone hoping to get them to chase him or contest for the bone, and he'll show his meddle and stand his ground and instigate a game of chase. It's stupid dog stuff. This is fine with other dogs, but it'll be problematic if the baby is crawling around and reaches for the bone, or reaches for him. So I'm trying to get him to chew his bones away from us rather than in the same area. I could see it being a problem in the future if the baby reaches for the bone he's chewing or recently chewed.
Many owners can properly train their dog around young children, and I'm okay with it, but I wouldn't trust myself with training a really powerful dog enough to take the risk with one and a young baby. It's already hard enough for me with a ~25lbs dog whose been bred for hundreds of years to be a derp face jester.
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A Pitbull that I raised as a puppy, absolutely. A rescue? Maybe on my own, but probably not with children involved. This is an uncomfortable story for me to share but I see these threads with a lot of mixed emotion and figured maybe I'll just share it this time.
I have a rescue pitbull who I love and adore, named Roxie but at one point I had two. Roxie is the most non-aggressive dog I've ever had and is an absolute sweetheart, and I trust her as much as I'd trust any other well trained dog. The other dog, Marshall had major aggression issues and would attack anyone who entered the house. We had so much good experience with the first dog, we thought we could handle the second.
Long story short, my family wasn't well equipped to deal with the issues we had with the dog at all. The agency we rescued with had an arrangement that if you rescued the dog from them you couldn't give them away or euthanize them if issues occurred, they had to be returned back to the agency. Well, we had Marshall for years and I loved him to death, but a lot of shit happened. He bit one of my friends and drew blood, and while walking him on leash with my father on a hiking trail he got free and bit a horse, throwing the rider off it's back resulting in the women breaking her leg, my family was sued for the medical expenses.
Another day, he jumped on the couch to snuggle with two of my younger cousins and everything was fine, until someone made a sudden movement he couldn't see and he snapped and bit my cousin on the face, she was okay but it was severe enough that she was bleeding. It was honestly a really terrifying ordeal.
We loved this dog as much as any other dog we had ever had and it was traumatic for me, he was an angel with our family but he was a different animal when other people got close to us, and despite all my families attempts to train we couldn't make it stop. When I left for college and my parents divorced, it got even worse. My mother made the hard decision after years to try and return the dog to the agency and told them what happened and that we couldn't take care of the dog anymore, but after hearing about the bites they refused to take him back despite everything that had been said and agreed previously. Marshall ended up being put to sleep.
I'm still 100% on team pitbull. I still sincerely believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with the breed. I'm hesitant to share my experiences because frankly I still feel shame that I let my family put the dog down despite everything, and because I don't want to be called a fear monger. Because of what we humans do to these animals there are a lot of tortured abused animals out there in shelters that need homes like any other dog, I just believe they aren't good fits for families that aren't equipped to handle them. A lot of those dogs are pit bulls.
Anyway here's a picture of my potato-puppy Roxie.
That's the first smiling pitbull I've seen
Yes, but my point is simply that I could not lawfully acquire such a dog. I have also pointed out that sometimes even famously gentle breeds like greyhounds can seriously injure someone without apparent provocation.
I wouldn't risk it. I wouldn't even have a small dog around little children un-supervised probably.
I've seen a pit snap. All dogs can snap. When she snapped though, oh lordy.
I've seen a pit snap. All dogs can snap. When she snapped though, oh lordy.
Yes, of course. They're the nanny dog. Plus, big dogs are usually better with children, they aren't nearly as snippy if a child were to pet it too hard or rough house with it.
no. And people who still go on about the "bad owner", "can be trained" bullshit should maybe try and check statistics from countries where training for dangerous dogs is mandatory and bad owners are basically banned from owning them.
Owning a dog like that while having small kids or infants is reckless at best.
Owning a dog like that while having small kids or infants is reckless at best.
It depends if I already owned the dog before having the child. I'd judge the situation based on what I knew of the Dog, otherwise I wouldn't get a powerful dog when I already had a baby or small child.
I will say though there are many households around the world right now with Pits and children. We hear about the small number of cases that go badly.
I will say though there are many households around the world right now with Pits and children. We hear about the small number of cases that go badly.
I have no specific issue with Pits, but I would probably not own any large dog breed if I had small children in the house.
Any small child around an animal can be risky. A pitbull and a small child is a recipe for disaster to me. It just has too much goddamn power. Maybe when it's older but jeez a kid? Hell no.
100% my wife and I have had a Pitbull mix since before we had kids and she is great with the kids, maybe plays a little too rough sometimes but they do as well so it makes sense.
I had a German pinscher/ Rottweiler mix and she was my son's guardian up until the day she died. She was wonderful.
I do believe that how dogs are behaved is up to the owners but I don't believe in the whole "ITS ALL THE OWNER AND NOT THE DOG". Some dogs are way more challenging than others and have traits you can't control. I'd have to see the pit first but depending on their demeanor, I probably would.
I also think it's important that you get them as puppies if you have small kids because you don't know the trauma an older dog may have gone through.
I do believe that how dogs are behaved is up to the owners but I don't believe in the whole "ITS ALL THE OWNER AND NOT THE DOG". Some dogs are way more challenging than others and have traits you can't control. I'd have to see the pit first but depending on their demeanor, I probably would.
I also think it's important that you get them as puppies if you have small kids because you don't know the trauma an older dog may have gone through.
I mean, there's a zillion dog breeds. A zillion. And dogs are pretty great all around mostly, so no. It's a really unnecessary risk
This thread is hilarious to me, so many ppl afraid of nothing.
I've raised 3 pitbulls and all were as loving and playful as any dog, it literally comes down to the owner.
I've raised 3 pitbulls and all were as loving and playful as any dog, it literally comes down to the owner.
