If you had ever in your life bothered to research the breed you would know that bull baiting and man biting are two completely different things. Before these dogs were bred to fight each other, they were trusted to control bulls until they were to be slaughtered.
Back in the day, for a while the only way to get bull meat was from a "baited" bull. Don't ask me why, I have no idea why they would think it would be any better than regular meat. They were, at that time, nothing more than working dogs, much like most other breeds when they still had a use. They weren't supposed to be cuddly and happy-go-lucky because they needed to be strong, determined and no-nonsense about their job. They were so good at it that when bull baiting was outlawed, their owners loved the determination so much, they decided to make a new blood sport.
In order to do this, however, they had to selectively breed dogs to fit their requirements. One, the dogs had to be willing and able to fight without giving up despite great pain. Two, they had to be extremely trusting of people in order for their owners to be able to separate them when the fight was over.
This is all fact, the handlers would wash each other's dogs to make sure nothing was put in the fur to hurt the other dog unfairly. They had to be able to get in the middle of two raging dogs and separate them without fear of retaliation, or "redirecting aggression", which happens in most other dog breeds when they fight. The dog had to know the difference between dog and person, or the dog's career, and life, ended there.
The breed was "refined" to make an extremely dog aggressive dog that was also extremely trusting and accepting of people. Anyone working in dog rescues where these dogs are permitted knows what I am talking about. There will be a Lab that might have been hit alongside a pit bull that was fought, beaten, starved, kept on a chain, and mutilated, and for the most part, the Lab will always be the one shivering, biting out of fear, or displaying other such unstable traits. The pit bulls, although not every one, but most, will still be wagging their tails (if it hasn't already been cut off), dancing around like it's just another day. The really sad part is, when these dogs are temperament tested, even after all of this, they show a remarkable resillience, whereas other breeds tend to be more fragile.
"WELL FREAKIN KNOWN for being friendly...that's a good one!!!"
Yes. They were and are well known for being human friendly...to anyone who bothers to research it instead of relying on media hype.
My daughter was attacked by a "Spuds McKenzie" dog, AKA bull terrier and pit bull. She was seven years old. She had Never seen the dog before. The dog was let out of his kennel by his male owner, the wife asked my daughter if she'd like a drink. My daughter stood up to answer the wife and the dog was on her neck in an instant. She never looked at the dog, wasn't agressive to the dog, nothing. The owner was on the dog also in an instant. If my seven year old daughter hadn't had on three turtle necks that day,(I'm not sure why she had on so many except it is cold in SoDak in January) her throat would have been a mess. As it was, she only had one bite in her neck. These dogs are scary!
"WELL FREAKIN KNOWN for being friendly...that's a good one!!!"
"Yes. They were and are well known for being human friendly...to anyone who bothers to research it instead of relying on media hype."
Thanks for pointing out how low class animal torturing criminals developed and selected the breed.
Once again the reflexive denial...on a thread where the Pits let go of the cow and charged the humans who were on their own property.
The track record of them being friendly just isn't there. This breed leads in all categories of serious maulings, limb removal and human deaths.
Since the last time we chatted over a month ago, Pits have killed an additional two humans. The good news is that the killing rate is far behind last years record pace. Law enforcement personnel seem very aware of the Pit problem, respond quickly and don't hesitate to shoot them.