Talk:American Pit Bull Terrier

Reason for not being recognized by the AKC

According to several sources, the breed was not recognized by the American Kennel Club as a specific breed and to avoid the association with dog fighting.

"Dubious" tags on UKC's claims of pitbull "friendliness to strangers" and "unwillingness to attack humans"

Given the huge number of pitbull attacks on humans, the UKC can be easily said to be "full of s**t" on these breed standards, since those attacks are so common in the breed, absent extreme training. Pitbulls are very, VERY assertive dogs, in a physical sense, for better or worse, unless they have an uncommonly good upbringing which works against their natural grain. I have read too much on pitbulls and known too many real-life pitbulls to be fooled otherwise. 98.242.135.224 (talk) 11:25, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Everything is not a American Pitbull Terrier 2601:407:8582:6A0:4B7:3801:37DE:B09C (talk) 02:53, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

Even the most friendly breed will attack in the right circumstances. The pitbull family (American pitbull as well as the Amstaff AKA theAmerican Staffordshire Terrier) aboslutely require firm training and will freely assume an alpha dominant role if permitted, which is the reason these dogs are involved in an inordinate amount of bites, however, these dogs also want to be with their owners constantly, though the Amstaff is a little more laid back and will not seek to initiate a fight (though they will certainly finish one.) The American pit bull, generally speaking, is much more likely to initiate a fight as compared to the Amstaff. 2600:8804:6F0F:6D00:EDB1:D876:FEE7:47F4 (talk) 17:24, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

I agree, and the United Kennel Club is a euphemism, it should be called the For-Profit Dog Jail Industry.

Since you're admitting only anecdotal evidence, I get to say that my pitbull loves meeting strangers and makes fast friends with them, and is very sweet and loving around babies and children, and even other dogs and cats. I've known many bully breed dogs in my life, and I've been bit twice... Once by a Chihuahua and the second time by what I believe to be a Cairn Terrier. My Pitbull was rescued (by me) from someone who was abusing her when she was 6 months old. Everyone who meets her tells me that they want to keep her because she is super sweet and loves people so much. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mermaidbebop (talk • contribs) 02:24, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

@Mermaidbebop: Welcome to Wikipedia. Please note, though, that Wikipedia is not a soapbox or a battleground, and Talk pages should not be used as platforms for personal views on a subject. Nomopbs (talk) 03:41, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Most aren’t the real APBT https://www.therealpitbull.com/facts/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1007:B105:CEA3:D8D1:5D97:46D1:87F1 (talk) 06:19, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

The breed or the owners?

People don't like the breed because of its ability to fight. ITS NOT THE BREED. Its the owners. they breed it into the dog. creating bad genetics. contact me at duma108@[redacted] to discuss.

~night-raven — Preceding unsigned comment added by Toboe (talk • contribs) 14:56, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

I think people don't like the breed because its the most neglected breed in the world. Many of its owners don't know or care about teaching it how to behave, but keep it chained to a plywood doghouse. That's what we need to change. Dwightlathan77 (talk) 23:13, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

I think you both are off your rocker. You are incapable of actually parsing this situation out and refraining from using human conceptions of blame instead of simple cause-and-effect statements. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wvguy8258 (talk • contribs) 03:57, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

Pitbulls are owned by people who want to own a dog capable of killing other people & dogs. It is therefore to be expected that such people will self select for certain cultural & character traits in themselves - which would widely he held to be negative outside their own squalod social circles. Fluttershypegasus (talk) 22:06, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

With respect, you are talking utter bollocks. In the wrong hands, any dog can kill. Cassianto^Talk 22:49, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

In regards to the original comment: "People don't like the breed because of its ability to fight. ITS NOT THE BREED. Its the owners. they breed it into the dog. creating bad genetics."

I think we can all agree that it's not the dog's fault that it has been bred to be a psychotic killing machine... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.199.5.24 (talk) 06:02, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

I think it can also be the result of bad breeding. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1007:B105:CEA3:D8D1:5D97:46D1:87F1 (talk) 06:20, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

Lead doesnt explain why so many states prohibit the dog breed

Surely, the lead should note why states have enacted prohibitions on the dog breed? Snooganssnoogans (talk) 00:17, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

I agree, really strange that it's not mentioned. Even worse is that the article itself doesn't explain it. The "Temperament" section is devoted to either praising the dog for being too friendly ("The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed ...") or debunking the one very vague line that talks about its aggression. It reads like it was written as a defense of the APBT, without explaining what it is even defending the dog from... Prinsgezinde (talk) 18:59, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

I reverted an IP edit that had made the "Temperament" section such a mess, but it's still far from good (or neutral). Prinsgezinde (talk) 19:10, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

According to the American Bar Association in Resolution 100 they say "Breed-discriminatory laws occasionally are proposed and sometimes passed by local governments. These proposals usually come after a well-publicized and emotional dog bite incident within or near the local community and are best described as “panic policymaking.”" Should we add this to the article?AjpDrumm-NJITWILL (talk) 19:06, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

No to the suggestion from AjpDrumm-NJITWILL to include an internal resolution from the ABA. Firstly, it's an internal resolution. Secondly, the ABA are not experts in policy-making nor animal behavior - their stated goals are the setting of academic standards and formulation of model ethical codes. Thirdly, the resolution's considerations only address 'dog bites' and ignore the severity and type of attack. Fourthly, and most importantly, their motivations are questionable. Their members stand to benefit from the repeal of legislation preventing ownership of dangerous breeds - many of their members practice personal injury law, so the resultant increase in dog attacks (and associated litigation) could be in their favor.

In any discussion of breed prohibition, it should definitely include data from the first-year after pitbull bans were repealed in Denver, Colorado. The 30-year ban on pitbulls in Denver was lifted at the end of 2020. In the first year of the ban (2021), pit bulls were responsible for more reported bites on people than any other breed and topped the list for multiple-bite incidents. It seems 'panic policy-making' goes both ways, but one prevents injuries and death to humans, the other encourages it.

References

Pit bulls

Why don't people or news reporters tell truth about this breed. Because they weren't bread for fighting they bread for babysitting. I have a blue nose a 7 month old grandson I went to the bathroom and my pit came and got me to tell my grandson was a wake. So they are not bad breeds. Everyone that is assuming that they are bad needs to look up and read about a pit. Most quit assuming. 2600:6C40:6B00:F0C1:BC0B:CF14:C9A0:72D3 (talk) 01:19, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

I do believe that APBT are more likely to be aggressive than any other dog breed due to the long line of genetics that were breeding into APBT to be fighting dogs. So they might not be bad dogs but it’s in there genetics to be aggressive. 74.127.205.218 (talk) 02:35, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

No dog breed was ever bred for babysitting, let alone APBTs, which were indeed bred for bullbaiting and dogfighting. The idea of a "nanny dog" is laughable to begin with, "pitbulls are nanny dogs" is downright hilarious. 2A02:C7C:6E16:E000:C9E8:5D79:EF5B:B07D (talk) 10:52, 10 October 2023 (UTC)