[AntiGuv]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

[MineralMan]

"Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that."

Fine. They can also make vicious animals that attack without warning if you don't. Quite frankly, most of the folks I see with pit bulls don't look bright enough to train anything.

Now, a golden retriever is not a breed that does a lot of attacking, if my research is correct. Labs, neither, or even huge breeds like Newfoundlands.

Pit bull? Keep it the heck out of my yard, OK? I have no tolerance for them, and if yours is off leash and comes into my yard, it will never come out of my yard again...guaranteed.

[wideawake]

Perhaps you're right.

Everyone I've ever known who has had a pit bull as a household pet has had real problems. But it may be that fewer people have the expertise to properly train a pitbull than have the expertise to train, say, a springer spaniel.

[PaulJ]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Maybe. But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans. It's a chance some of us are not willing to take.

[CommerceComet]

Yeah, whatever. On a "fantastic-family-pet" rating, I would rank a pit bull about on par with a black mamba.

[ZULU]

I agree.

True some dogs are individually nuts - like some people. Some breeds are more aggressive or stronger than others.

But the final responsibility lies with the owner. If your dog isn't crazy, and knows who is the boss, and has not been abused or mistreated, he/she will be a fine animal regradless of breed.

Buster Brown had a Pit Bull, so did Teddy Roosevelt. These arguments about Pit Bulls are like arguments about guns - they are better directed at idiotic owners than the dog or the gun.

[A2J]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Sigfreid and Roy would probably attest to the fact that lions, leopards and tigers are wonderful pets, too, though I don't think people would appreciate seeing them being walked on a leash in their neighborhoods.

[T Minus Four]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Yeah, until my five-year-old pushes down your five-year-old. I'd consider one if I lived with my family alone on a deserted island.

[annyokie]

While that may be very true, most dogs owners do NOT obedience train their pets, be they Yorkies or Rottweillers.

Obedience train your dog. Make your life and the lives of those around you, not to mention your dog's life easier.

[Crawdad]

I'm just curious. What was the dog's name?

[auggy]

"Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that."

So can Poodles.

I've never heard of a poodle going off.

[Capitalist Eric]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Ummm... I hope you're wearing your flame-retardent suit. It seems that this is one of those polarizing issues, where people come out of the woodwork to attack pit-bulls, usually with only the information that has been spoon-fed to them, by the media... And ironically, they'll feel so superior, because they'll think they're "well-informed," when they actually don't have a clue.

Just like a Democrat.

Good luck- you're gonna' need it.

[deadhead]

"Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly."

I agree, AntiGuv. I have a pit-bull mix. Lucy is 8 now, adopted her when she was 4 months old. I have to admit, I was hesitant about adopting her since her Mom was a pit-bull. But, I did and I am grateful that I did. An awesome dog. She is sweet, smart, a wonderful pet. I trained her. I watch her like I would any other dog around children. The little ones in my family and my friends children love her.

There aren't any bad dogs, just bad owners.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly.

Empirical evidence seems to indicate that many (perhaps most) are unable to provide proper training.

And that said, after seeing how "hard-wired" my Lab is to fetch (did it naturally as a pup with *no* training), I can really see how this breed may indeed be hard-wired to attack, such that you're always at some risk with the breed.