Before Pit Bulls were exploited...

[lspencer534]

for dog fighting and demonized by the media, they were known as the "nanny breed' because they were so gentle with children and protective of them. This is the true nature of the Pit Bull.

True or false?

[JRD77VET]

I will say true. I had a pit (Laser) when I was in my 20's and it was one of the nicest dogs I've had. Good with my friends and extremely protective of me.

[Rodnok1]

I've experienced both extremes with pits. One of my neighbor's have a pit that is scared of it's own shadow and the other neighbor had one that was the meanest dogs ever been around. He was brought up nicely just mean as hell, even the neighbor was afraid of it. I imagine alot are deamonized as I've had more issues with other breeds roaming than the pits running loose. I guess the issue really is they can be so powerful when they do bite it's bad. Perhaps they have been bred to be mean by some even. One of my parents neighbors had a son who purposely made his pits mean, he ended up in jail over it as they attacked people more than once even after the courts told him no more dogs period.

[Millenium Vette]

Originally Posted by lspencer534

for dog fighting and demonized by the media, they were known as the "nanny breed' because they were so gentle with children and protective of them. This is the true nature of the Pit Bull.

True or false?

I honestly have no idea about that, but those Pit Bombay kitty cats are a force to be reckoned with....

[LilRedCorvette]

We would get a lot of pitties at the dog rescue org I used to volunteer with...a lot of them were big cream puffs. One in particular that I remember was a cream/light fawn color female with a mauve nose who gave the sweetest kisses but was afraid of everything.

We had an adoption event at a local Petsmart and I was walking her inside when she stopped cold; she was afraid of the automatic open/close store doors we had to pick her up and carry her into the store, her legs stuck straight out as we went through the doors.

[Uncle Meat]

What was the pitbull original purpose?

Today's pit bull is a descendant of the original English bull-baiting dog—a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head. When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, people turned instead to fighting their dogs against each other.

[Barn Babe]

It was the truth because if a pitty showed aggression towards people, it was "culled." Now, however, with thug types breeding them to be "badass," it's not always the case. I am a firm believer that it's 90% training and upbringing, but when you let a strong, tenacious animal of any kind be aggressive, you have problems. I naturally give them the benefit of the doubt, but you always need to be alert to body language.

That being said, the only one I have personally owned was a true nanny dog. She was one of the most gentle, trust worthy dogs I've ever known.

[Barn Babe]

Originally Posted by Uncle Meat

What was the pitbull original purpose?

Today's pit bull is a descendant of the original English bull-baiting dog—a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head. When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, people turned instead to fighting their dogs against each other.

It's heartbreaking what has happened to them. I love the "newish" sport of pulling. People can show off how strong their dogs are without anybody getting hurt.