good posts you three.

i think another point to remember is that, especially in the US, people often use them to guard a property and they are often chained up with next to no socialisation. a dog who lives life chained, is 3 times more likely to attack. while some are treated badly, there are many who live life happily in a family environment with no issues. ive even seen footage of dogs used for fighting, who are giving loads of love to the people rescuing them. that to me speaks volumes.

There AREN'T that many. First of all, pit bulls are incredibly popular here. Just on my block alone there are 4 full pits and one pit mix. Our shelter is full of them. I meet them out on walks all the time. The dog park is full of them. I see more pits in my area than I do labs.

The news media is notorious for ONLY reporting pit attacks and for calling dogs who they aren't even sure of breed or breed mix as pits (and sometimes calling any stockier dog pit bulls). There was one horrible case where a woman was attacked and killed by a pair of large dogs in an elevator. The media called them pit bulls. They weren't. They were Presa Canarios. The media never retracted the statements and so most people still think they were pit bulls. I've seen boxers, lab mixes, bulldogs, and other short-haired dogs called pit bulls and pit mixes. It sells papers. Not that long ago every bad dog was a Rottweiler or a Doberman or a GSD.

The media also never states the reality of the dog's living situation. Every dog is a "family pet" even if it's used for fighting, chained out back, tied up in the basement and starved. The media is less than truthful in its reporting and so people get a very skewed idea of reality.

The truth is a very very SMALL amount of pit bulls attack or kill anyone. A small amount of dogs in general attack or kill anyone every year. I'd like to see a counter site with pit bull positive news, like the pit who saved a woman from being kidnapped and assaulted or the one who took a bullet shot saving his family from an armed robber.

But those rarely get reported and don't get focused on.

That site you linked to is nothing more than a scare tactic. I wonder if the people know they're using their pictures.

As they are here, they are used as weapons , which makes them extremely dangerous ,

arnt pits meant to be bred for their good behaviour around people? dog fighting pits never attack their owners, they are able to go in and grab their dog without being attacked. im not saying in any way at all that fighting is good, i think its horrible!!!!

i think its how you bring them up and how well they are exercised ect...

There AREN'T that many. First of all, pit bulls are incredibly popular here. Just on my block alone there are 4 full pits and one pit mix. Our shelter is full of them. I meet them out on walks all the time. The dog park is full of them. I see more pits in my area than I do labs.

The news media is notorious for ONLY reporting pit attacks and for calling dogs who they aren't even sure of breed or breed mix as pits (and sometimes calling any stockier dog pit bulls). There was one horrible case where a woman was attacked and killed by a pair of large dogs in an elevator. The media called them pit bulls. They weren't. They were Presa Canarios. The media never retracted the statements and so most people still think they were pit bulls. I've seen boxers, lab mixes, bulldogs, and other short-haired dogs called pit bulls and pit mixes. It sells papers. Not that long ago every bad dog was a Rottweiler or a Doberman or a GSD.

The media also never states the reality of the dog's living situation. Every dog is a "family pet" even if it's used for fighting, chained out back, tied up in the basement and starved. The media is less than truthful in its reporting and so people get a very skewed idea of reality.

The truth is a very very SMALL amount of pit bulls attack or kill anyone. A small amount of dogs in general attack or kill anyone every year. I'd like to see a counter site with pit bull positive news, like the pit who saved a woman from being kidnapped and assaulted or the one who took a bullet shot saving his family from an armed robber.

But those rarely get reported and don't get focused on.

That site you linked to is nothing more than a scare tactic. I wonder if the people know they're using their pictures.

I have found all the Pits I have met so far, to be goofy clowns,who adore people, the first one my kids played with in the dog park,I didn't tell them till afterwards what it was, so they would behave normally .
They seem a very popular pet here, and most people seem to love them. I have found people more wary of one of my dogs,because he looks very GSD, and they don't seem to be such a popular pet here more of guard dog.

http://www.katu.com/news/local/7751607.html

Wow they used THAT as an example of pit bull aggression? That was an accident. A horrible accident, but nothing more. And of course the dog is not dangerous! *headdesk*

I'm disappointed that the parents returned the dog to the shelter.

The media will use anything to fuel anti pitbull feeling. Poor dogs just have to look at someone and they're obviously about to attack.