Pure bred and properly socialized APBT's are actually less likely to snap at kids. Pit's have an amazingly high pain tolerance and are quite immune to the poking, pulling, prodding behavior that gets most children bitten by dogs.
Mm, maybe you're right and I am just reacting to events hyped by the media.. I'd prefer to see some research though.
The problem with the research is that "Pit Bull" is a generic term for different types of gladiatorial dogs and mongrels. The sad fact is that irresponsible breeding and ownership creates huge problems. A proper APBT should not be people aggressive at all. They were bred as pit fighting dogs and the owners had to be able to seperate dogs and treat their wounds without being mauled. The dogs they call "Pit Bulls" today are usually massively oversized creatures, probably from tainted bloodlines from certain types of neo-mastifs, bull dogs, rotts, and others. A true Pit is a terrier and should average between 30-55lbs full grown. Bear in mind that the dog is heavily muscled so they actually appear smaller than they are. They can still be dangerous if not properly bred or raised because of their "gameness". Basically they are completely fearless and no amount of physical damage can discourage them. They need strong owners who will train and socialize them properly. The thing that bugs me about it is that this is true for a lot of dog breeds. Dogs are dangerous, period.
Yeah, I've never really had a problem with pit bulls. The one I knew was about the nicest, most easy-going schmo I've ever met. I've had Dobermans scare me by barking and acting aggressive. I had a mother Great Dane that likely would've taken me apart when I looked in on her new pups, had she not been on the end of a chain. But the only dog to ever BITE me was a Golden Retriever mutt that we had for a couple years that, for some odd reason, suddenly started biting kids when he was about a year old. Oh, and a pure-bred Husky my roommate got that was a couple years old and had spent most of its life in a kennel without any human interaction.
When i lived in Texas a few years ago, my neighbors had a pit bull. He was the nicest doggy. It didn't matter what time I came home, 3-4 in the morning, Tiger would be awake (I could hear his tail hitting the dirt as he wagged it), and expecting some pets and attention.
Guess sensationalism sells newspapers in New Zealand as well. Unfortunately our dog charges other dogs too, never attacks them but I can see how that'd be threatening. George may well have been protecting the children, dogs are awesome like that. I've heard Jack Russell Terriers are fearless, or perhaps he simply bit off more than he could chew confronting the two other dogs. Might well be true. Par for the course for most any dog, though Pit Bulls do have much more of a bite than most other dogs. So no child was mauled nor were the people who broke up the dog fight? Objectively speaking, two dogs killed another dog not sure that merits being put down.
Part of it maybe be the "pit bull culture" aka pits are likely to be owned by a certain type of person... You know the young hardman thug type. They love pitbulls. Aside from this, there is the fact that pitbulls are favorites for illegal dog fighting. A battle hardened fighting dog has mile-high agression, and isn't something you want anywhere near children.
You mean insecure little man-children who devote all of their energy to maintaining an exaggerated masculine image to compensate for their fears.
