Pit bulls, not so much and I don't care how friendly they are "most of the time." Bringing a pit bull into a home with small children is little different than bringing in a rattlesnake and turning it loose.
My wife and daughter have been breeding dogs for over 25 years.
We have shown at AKC shows for all that time.
The problem is that Pit Bulls were only bred to kill and fight. Hundreds of years ago they took a Bull Dog and mixed it with a Terrier.
Bull Dogs were originally bred to fight a Male Bovine(a Bull) and latch onto the Bull’s snout and not let go.
All Terriers were bred to kill vermin. Mostly rats. So, they are all naturally aggressive. Even little Jack Russell Terriers were bred to kill rats. The result was the American Staffordshire Terrier(official AKC name).
So, they took a naturally born killer and crossed it with another breed(bull dog) that had incredible jaw crushing strength. Just like a wolf’s. Then over the years they selectively bred the most aggressive dogs to fight Bulls in a ring(a Pit).
They also started fighting dogs against each other.
Again, through selective breeding. Meaning the dead dog does not get bred, they came up with the Pit Bulls of today.
All dogs are aggressive to some extent. Chihuahuas can be nasty little buggers. So can Wiener Dogs. In fact Daschounds are some of the worst biters around. Again, because they were bred to hunt and kill BADGERS and other animals.
The difference is that a Chihuahua will come up from behind and bite you on the back of your calf or ankle. Maybe on your hand if you are sitting next to it on the couch.
Same with a Dachshound.
The DIFFERENCE is that none of those smaller canines can KILL YOU. Pit Bulls, Wolf Hybrids, German Shepard Dogs, Cane Corsos, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, Chows, Akitas can kill you. Which is why they are dangerous.
The real problem is that most of those other breeds are EXPENSIVE. Therefore, the people that own them typically train them. Some of these canines are over $5000 for a pup.
Pit Bulls are bred extensively in the hood of US cities.
They are also bred extensively in the Southern US and Mexico.
In the northern part of the country, most dog owners get their canoes neutered or spayed. In the poorer parts of the southern US, they do not. So, there are a lot of puppies born. Many of these Pit Bulls come from down south and are shipped to shelters all over the country. Shelters are VERY PROFITABLE. They SELL dogs(Adoption). They are part of the problem. They bring pit bull puppies in from various places and SELL them to stupid Do GOODER Yuppies who VIRTUE SIGNAL by ADOPTING a PIT BULL MIX from the shelter. The shelter then registers the adoptive puppy as a “LAB MIX” because they know that insurance companies will not cover people than own a Pit Bull.
ALL PIT BULLS SHOULD BE EXTERMINATED.
IF you ADOPT one from shelter, you are part of the problem.
The biggest threat a Golden poses is licking you to death.
With Labs, it’s getting beat up by their tail.