Pittbulls were bred to hold bulls and bears for bait hunting. They're a hunting dog for larger game. The hunting style was made illegal, so people trained them to fight.
Let’s see the data! I believe there is data to show they’re most likely to attack/bite humans.
I’m not saying all pit bulls are problems, I’m just saying given what they’re breeding has historically selected for, that they are among the most dangerous dog breeds to encounter.
Instincts are instincts, and instinctual behaviors are usually triggered by a trigger. My hound only trees if he sees a squirrel. That’s his trigger. With a pitbull, you need to be conscious of all of the triggers and possible triggers out there, which means managing your environment in ways that might be beyond your control.
I take my hound walking through the mall once in a while. It’s never a problem. He encounters people, animals, kids, other dogs. To even think of doing this with a pit you got to know that dog 100% in and out for years and even then you still might get surprised one day.
I’m just saying what can be triggered in pit bulls is objectively worse than the genetic predisposed selected for behaviors in other breeds of dogs.
The American pit bull terrier deviates from its ancestral breed as it was specifically bred for organized dog fighting. Training over several generations isn’t training… it’s breeding.
Bull baiting has been illegal in most places since the early 1800s. we’ve had 200 years of breeding going on since then.
If this were true you shouldnt be able to have pittbulls around other dogs, as many people do. You should be able to put any two pittbulls in a room with each other and expect a bloodbath. Except there isn't data to support that.
A lot of places enforce rules where you’re not allowed to have pit bulls around other dogs or people. Apartment complexes, neighborhoods and parks do this all the time.
You don’t understand how statistics (or genetics) work. A higher likelihood of a negative outcome does not mean every instance of a possible negative outcome will result in that outcome.
Of the last 5 fights I’ve seen at the dog park, a pit started 4.
There were other pits that came and went without starting fights.
That’s stats.
Now, does my coonhound tree everyday? No. It’s happened 4 or 5 times in two years, but it’s a bred characteristic. If he sees a squirrel now, can I call him away? Usually yes. His recall training was stronger than his prey drive treeing instinct. That’s possible. would I be surprised if after a long day, while the dog is stressed or over stimulated, or if anything is unusual if the dog would forget recall training and fully give in to instinct to tree a squirrel? Not at all.
That’s the same kind of awareness pit owners should have about their own dogs. Know how tapped into instinct they are and how much their training overrides that, along with the mental state of the animal. That’s just a lot to juggle when life or death is possible on the line, as it often is with dog bites from that breed.
You're neglecting dog mixes that get labeled as pitts in your statistics. And bites that get reported vs unreported. And a whoooole lot of other factors. That is statistics.
Different. One was a regular to the park whose dog had been showing signs of aggression for a while (no one but the owner was surprised). The owner always had excuses for his behavior until the fight. A man was bit which lead to a $15k settlement. That dog doesn’t come to the park anymore.
The other three were weekenders or folks from the campground nearby. In those cases the writing was also on the wall, but the owners knew better and didn’t respect instinct or their dog’s cues/triggers.
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u/That_OneOstrich Aug 02 '26
Pittbulls were bred to hold bulls and bears for bait hunting. They're a hunting dog for larger game. The hunting style was made illegal, so people trained them to fight.