This is a disaster waiting to happen.

[u/GhostofTinky]

The dog isn’t allowed to be around a toddler because he growls at her. I don’t get it. A family dog is supposed to get along with the whole family. Why are the parents concerned about why the dog “doesn’t like her”? What about the child’s safety?

[u/doublepush]

Wow a lot of pitbull sympathizers. I will never understand the appeal of owning or defending owning this type of dog. The statistics are plain as day.

[u/Special_Wishbone_812 → u/doublepush]

Hard agree. Never own a dog that takes more energy than you’re willing to put into it, especially if it’s a huge, strong dog breed known to be “game.” Are some wonderful pets? Sure, but way too many stories are out there about “sweet” pits that mauled someone. Either they flipped on a dime or the owner was lying.

[u/Crafty_Breadfruit731 → u/Special_Wishbone_812]

They're prone to going senile (due to inbreeding) and this activates their prey drive at random times when they get older, even a well trained pit bull can snap at a random time

[u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF → u/Special_Wishbone_812]

The overwhelming majority are wonderful pets.

There's approximately 4.5 million pitbull or pitbull-type breeds. The chances of a pit all committing a severe or violent attack at less than 0.1% annually.

With that said there should be extreme regulations on them because of their breed, however everybody thinks they're way more violent than they are because they are the most violent breed. There's a reason why humans love dogs though, and that's because they're docile and domesticated animals.

[u/doublepush → u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF]

Burden of proof for the significance of that measurement is on you, can you show me a similar tracking of incidents for other breeds and compare the percentage of incidents vs estimated global population of that specific breed and/or variations of that breed? Honestly, what other breed of dog has as many registered or estimated individuals in North America that consistently are the perpetrators of domestic animal attacks/deaths?

[u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF → u/doublepush]

I'm not disagreeing with you. It's the most dangerous breed.

I'm simply stating that even with that taken into account, they are still great pets as long as the owner has an understanding of dogs.

As it currently stands the odds of being attacked by a pitbull are the same as being injured by a lawnmower and needing an emergency visit for it.

[u/iliveunderground → u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF]

You are right about the statistics. People on both sides of this debate suffer from confirmation bias and reliance on personal, emotional experiences. This is a nuanced topic and at the end of the day, dogs of all breeds are “safe” in the grand scheme of animals, which is why we love and integrate our lives with them. More children die from having televisions falling on them every year than from Pitbull bites. But that does not mean there are not real concerns that require intervention, because there are clearly things people do to increase or lower their risk.

Pit bulls that do act out violently are not randomly hidden among the breed’s population. Overwhelmingly, there were behavioral cues, circumstances that increased the risk, prior issues with the dog’s disposition, health factors like pain, or irresponsible training. This is where a clear media and confirmation bias comes into play for people who believe that all or most pit bulls are hard wired to “flip on a dime” and maul a person to death.

And at the same time, people who claim that pit bulls are actually “nanny dogs” are equally doing a disservice to the breed. Personally, I think there need to be stronger animal welfare laws, restrictions on over-breeding, education, and support for responsible dog ownership, done in a way that does not demonize or criminalize well-meaning, low-income dog owners but offers resources. As you have been downvoted, I’m sure this will also be an unpopular opinion, but I think that the stigma against pit bulls can feel like a proxy for racial bias against low income black people when the nuance is erased from the conversation.

Having said all that, BE is necessary for some dogs and is often the most humane option.

[u/doublepush → u/[deleted]]

That’s not even remotely comparable. Apart from various species of wild dogs, all dog breeds are human made from selective breeding over many generations to achieve a desired look or behaviour. To think that there are not breed specific behaviour issues is foolish, especially when combined with the statistics around incidents of injury/death caused to humans or other animals, so in this case we know the outcome and the reason.

[u/Chance_Managert849 → u/doublepush]

Keep your hysterics, I could pull statistics that determine the Earth as Flat, PBT is slapped on all kinds of dogs that should never be in an inexperienced home with children, but will be just fine with an owner that keeps them well trained and supervised. Real PBTs that are well bred and trained are great dogs in the right hands.

[u/ealysillyforestthing → u/Chance_Managert849]

Never give toddlers a bazooka. No amount of training will help.

[u/froglickingfrolicker → u/Chance_Managert849]

Lmao please show me statistics that determine the Earth is flat

[u/doublepush → u/Chance_Managert849]

Do you actually realize how many conditions and variables you just used to justify this breed of dog being widely available to the public? Certain dogs should never be in homes with inexperienced owners that have children. Your own words. Will be just fine with “an owner that keeps them well trained and supervised.” And you suggest that the breed title is unfairly slapped on other mixed breeds saying real Pit Bull Terriers that are “well bred and trained” are great dogs “in the right hands”
That’s like saying high performance race cars are totally safe if driver is properly trained in the driving conditions and nothing bad will happen as long as they follow the rules that usually require professional instruction or intervention to know.
If a family pet requires that many rules and cautions and special treatments to avoid said pet eating your loved ones maybe it shouldn’t be so casually viewed as a “cool/intimidating” dog to own