SOME humans. Not all. There are good lines of Pit Bulls from reputable breeders.
Even the ones from the bad lines are not beyond hope. Just look at Mickeal Vick's dogs. The HSUS and PETA wanted them put down on the spot, but they were proven wrong when the dogs were given a chance and rehabilitated. One even became a THERAPY DOG.

I say ban the HSUS and PETA for being so close-minded.;)

Person commenting on January 6, 2009: Are you kidding me?!?! "Thousands of years of breeding" pit bulls to attack and fight?! That is completely inaccurate. Only 60 years ago, pit bulls were family dogs, like Labrador Retrievers are today. Pit bulls (actually, I don't like that term--it's made up and is derogatory) were on posters after WWI with a child because they were part of the family! They have been bred to fight only the past two or three decades, and even so, doesn't mean every one of them is violent. They are still wonderful family pets when treated as part of the family--not abused, neglected, chained up outside with no attention, etc. I couldn't imagine if I had one of these dogs and the state passed a ban and my dog had to be killed. First of all, they would have to kill my dog over MY dead body. This country is supposed to have freedoms and justice. Go live in a Communist country if you want injustice like this ban on pit bulls.

Maybe do some research before you start attacking poor innocent dogs. i bet you have a chihuahua or something of that nature. my brother has chihuahuas and they act out way more than my pit

take my pit bull please!!! She keeps licking my children, and cats and everyone who comes in the house! She viciously licked the cable man!!!!!! My cats are soaked from their "baths". She follows my children around all the time licking her chops just waiting for them to stop long enough to lick exposed flesh!!! OH my LORD my friends had their babies crawling on my floor and she LICKD THEM!!!!!! they ran screaming from the house!!!
My mother was bit by the dog next door, the mutt, and my teacher in 6th grade his 2 year old son was killed my "Lassie" next door in 1972. Some one I work with had to put down his cocke spaniel because it bit his 3 year old in the face....BSL for cockers, Collies, Mutts oh yea and my useless Pit bull watch dog!!!

Do your research or just vote for Obama.
Keep drinking cool ade.
Ps they have not been bred for "thousands of years" take any dog and do what any thug could do, abuse it,neglect it, don't feed it, isolate it, inflict pain whenever it sees another animal and it will become aggressive! then give it to some criminal and see what happens.

[quote]it's in their genes.[/quote]

Wow I guess the Canine Genome Project can shut down and everyone can go home.
http://research.nhgri.nih.gov/dog_genome/
Who knew Genetics was so simple?

Frightening that anyone could be so uneducated to believe that.

http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/pdf/DowdAPBTbehaviormanuscriptV4format....
[quote]Previously published bite statistics when groups are compared to individual breeds are unrepresentative as corroborated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Veterinary Medical Association (CDC, 1997; CDC, 2003; AVMA, 2005). The current study has statistically shown, based on a defined temperament test, that the classification of dog breeds and dog breed types (breed groups), with respect to their aggressiveness toward humans is not supported scientifically. The complex and contributing conditions related to the upbringing of individual dogs are not considered by BSL and such laws unfairly target the vast majority of individual dogs, which are temperamentally stable.

The temperaments of animals are fundamentally and universally acknowledged to be influenced by age, sex, early socialization, early nutrition, training, health and genetics, while BSL only takes one of these factors into account.[/quote]

WOW... Have you ever owned a pitbull??? Do you know what they are like?? Have you ever had your children or neices/nepwhews around them??

I have owned 3 in the last 4yrs & still own 2 of them.. The one I do not own anymore got hit by a car when he was outside using the restroom.. I am expecting a little boy in the next 3 weeks & am not one bit concerned about my PITBULL being around him. I know that my PITBULL will be soooo protective over my son & I.. The older one has been around my nephew from the day he was born, & the younger one has been around my nephew since we brought the dog home when he was 7weeks old.. Neither of them have even attemped to nip, bite, or even grawl at him but my mothers chihuahua has biten my nephew numerous times.. One of my friends 7month old little girl will lay on my youngest dogs back pull his ears, tail, ect; and all my PITBULL does is lay there and look at her.. He will lick you to death before he would EVER think about biting someone..

Soo before you go and judge a dog why dont you go own one!! Its people like you who know absoutly nothing about these dogs & try to ban them.. Its the ignornant people who need to be banned not these loving & caring dogs..

I wish people would do some research and educate themselves! Most of the people who are against the breed is ones who do not know any and therefore only have an opinion based off the media! The media is part of the problem. Any large strong dog which attacks a person is automatically labeled as a pit bull type. There are so many breeds which resemble the pit but are in fact no relation to one. What happened to when the Pit was considered a hero and a friend? Ex:

STUBBY, PitBull Terrier mix, WWI. The most decorated war dog in U.S. history.

When Pit Bulls enjoyed being the nation's most popular dog during the W.W.I era, there were no problems with vicious Pit Bull attacks. Pit Bulls were not banned anywhere.

America's first war dog was a Pit Bull named Stubby who earned several medals and the rank of sergeant for his service in W.W.I. He received a hero's welcome and was even honored at the White House. He inspired the U.S. Military K-9 Corps. He also went on to become Georgetown University's mascot.

I will never surrender my Pits and would relocate out of Ohio before doing so! They are my family and I trust my life, my childrens lives with them! They would die to protect us and therefore they are in return more loyal than most people! If the Pit is banned, then eventually it may be your "favorite" breed since these criminals will find another breed to turn into a fighting, killing machine! So therefore, today MY BREED and tomorrow, YOUR BREED! EDUCATE YOURSELF!

Are you stupid? Do you own a pitbull? My pitbull seriously, wouldn't hurt a fly. He's in no way dangerous! I don't care that my town has them banned. He's still my family and he will never be gotten rid of by uneducated assholes who have never owned a pitbull in their life and think that the only thing he's good for is fighting. i am 100% against pitbull fighting. Maybe that's why i have a nice, easy going pitbull. He loves dogs, cats, and people and he's still a baby!!

Coming on here saying that pitbulls are only bred to fight is ignorant. If my boy was bred to fight, why is he not vicious? He's LOYAL and would hurt someone ONLY if someone attacked me. Trust me, they know how their owners are feeling.

Anonymous, if that is in fact your real name, might want to actually do some real research before spouting 'facts' he/she has deemed from most likely viewing too many rap videos. It might surprise you to learn that retrievers, sheep dogs, huskies, etc, etc, all have teeth and like all dogs, if not properly socialized, can be a serious risk for the safety of those in the community. You make no mention of labradors, which surprises me since they are deemed perfect family pets. Oh, wait, maybe you read about the first face transplant victim who had her face torn of by a labrador and now deem all labradors as being bad dogs. They say ignorance is bliss, so I must only assume that your life is absolutely full of bliss. I might also add that I am not a crackhead, or any other drug user and that yes, you are right in that 'pit bulls' are animals - however, are not all dogs animals. Facts, sources, etc, etc, where is any of this is your argument. Oh, media reports and rap videos definitely do not count.

I am not a thug or a crack head. I am a hard working member of the US Army and a nursing student as well. I have a pitbull terrier and she is the best dog I have ever owned. I did not get my dog to intimidate others. I adopted her because I fell in love with her temperment and ability to love. She is great with children and other dogs. I take her most places I go. Even friends and family, who have not liked pitbulls in the past, have told me how much they love my dog. It is not in a Pitbull's blood to fight, nor is it in my blood to fight in wars. Its a learned behavior that is established by an owner. If pitbulls should be band, then so should every person that has been trained how to fit in war.

pitbulls are popular in fighting because how small the risk is for them to attack people. the dogs owners can seperate them from fighting with little fear of being attack... fighting dogs is wrong. its because these people who fight there pits that gave them a bad reputation, this and the strength of their jaw and the fact that they can get jaw lock.
my boyfriend found an emaciated pit in a bad part of town and brought it home to get it healthy. i was extremely leary of this in the begining, i have a 6 yr old son and i didnt know the dog and it was a pit. i was dead set against having her. now, abaout a year later we still have the dog. i have never had such a well behaved dog and i trust her around my son very much. this makes sense if you do the reasearch before you open ur mouth... pits were used for "nanny dogs" it was just one of there specialties because they are so people friendly. (ever seen the little rasclals. they had a pit nanny dog even) pits can be dog aggressive wih is why its importaint to socialize your pits.
as i said, i was dead against having a pit. but when i did a bit of reasearch i found out that my fear was based mostly in the 1 in 1000 circumstance.

I am an ex dog warden in NY and a current dog trainer in a facility specializing in dogs with aggression problems. I have yet to see the “pit bull” act in the way you describe.
The other person who replied is right, they were known as the nurse’s maid dog because they were so good with children. I have seen much more problems with the Labrador retriever and the German Shepherd then I have ever seen with the “pit bull”. I in fact can’t remember the last pit bull I had in with aggression problems but I have had kennels FULL of GSD and Labradors. I put “pit bull” in quotations because most of the time what people call a “pit bull” is not a “pit bull” at all. I about guarantee you with the strong opinion about the breed, cant even identify the dog. So many breeds are commonly mistaken for “pit bulls” and this of course causes this perceived problem with the dog. The State of Ohio Dog Wardens are so bad at identifying the breed that they have listed a whole group of breeds that sort of look like the “Pit Bull” so they don’t have to do their jobs and figure out what is and isn’t. This would be like banning all shepherd dogs because if a problems with German shepherds (Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, ect….) all of the breeds have their own temperament. Look into it a little more and find that this breed has been some of the best narcotics and explosives dogs, assistance dogs and dogs named and heroes for saving their owners and others lives (Weela , Sgt Stubby).
AND KEEP IN MIND RETRIVER FAN!!! Ontario Canada banned pit bulls and then went on to try to ban the breed responsible for the next highest amount of bits, YES THE LABRADOR RETRIVER! Be careful the precedence you set. (by the way, canine population stats would show that these were the two most popular breeds of dogs, just makes sense doesn’t it?)

WOW you need a history lesson back in the early 1900s pitbulls were breed and raised to be nannies for children and as time when they were work dog they are such great dogs and such a willingness to please so before you badmouth the breed do your research

You are 100% correct! my son was attacked by a Pitt. Anyone that would leave their young child unsupurviser around any dog much less a Pitt Bull Is a n idiot. I value my childs life way to much to even chance it

Care to substantiate any of your opinions/beliefs with credible sources?

Claiming that a Pit Bull is predisposed to being killer, and it's in the blood is just an ignorant statement. No more ignorant than saying white males over 30 are predisposed to being serial killers and it's in thier blood to do so, or that black males are predisposed to being drug dealers and it's in thier blood. It's a profile and some people do fit profiles. Normally a very small percentage. Just like in the case of the Pit Bull. But do you even know what a Pit Bull is? Saying you have a Pit Bull is like saying you have a bird. Well what kind of bird is it. Is it a African Grey, or maybe a Macaw. There needs to be more said to qualify what type of bird you have. The term Pit bull is a generic term, normally given to several breeds of dog. First is the English Staffordshire Terrier or Nanny dog as it is referred to in England. These dogs are in the top 10 most popular dogs in the UK every year, and one of two dogs that have "good with children" listed in the breed standard according to the AKC. Check it out. Next is the American Staffordshire Terrier or AMSTAFF. Just a side note, there has never been an AKC Registered AMSTAFF that has ever attacked anyone. EVER!!!! Check it out at WWW.AKC.ORG. Next are dogs that just kind of get lumped in there. American Bulldogs or other Molosser or Mastiff type dogs, basically any dog with a blocky head and thick musculaur body that people can't identify gets called a Pit Bull.
So by definition a Pit Bull is a Mutt a Mix and Mix is NOT a breed of dog. So if you can't quallify what a Pit Bull is, how do you know you have one. It could be anything a American Bulldog Mix or a Mastiff Cross you don't know what it is. Unless it's a AKC registered AMSTAFF or English StaffordShire Terrier or AKC registred American Bulldog,you really don't know what breed of dog you have.
Secondly lets go to the Stats according to the American Temperament Test www.att.org
AFGHAN HOUND 161 116 45 72.0%
AIREDALE TERRIER 98 75 23 76.5%
AKBASH DOG 15 13 2 86.7%
AKITA 489 362 127 74.0%
ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG 6 4 2 66.7%
ALASKAN MALAMUTE 188 159 29 84.6%
AMERICAN BULLDOG 151 127 24 84.1%
AMERICAN ESKIMO 79 65 14 82.3%
AMERICAN FOXHOUND 2 2 0 100.0%
AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER 586 494 92 84.3%
AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER 548 457 91 83.4%
AMERICAN TUNNEL TERRIER 2 2 0 100.0%
AMERICAN WATER SPANIEL 7 6 1 85.7%
ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD DOG 27 21 6 77.8%
AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG 166 129 37 77.7%
AUSTRALIAN KELPIE 6 5 1 83.3%
AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD 589 474 115 80.5%
AUSTRALIAN TERRIER 16 13 3 81.3%
AZAWAKH 1 1 0 100.0%
BASENJI 163 110 53 67.5%
BASSET HOUND 33 28 5 84.8%
BEAGLE 61 49 12 80.3%
BEARDED COLLIE 45 24 21 53.3%
BEAUCERON 11 8 3 72.7%
BEDLINGTON TERRIER 19 18 1 94.7%
BELGIAN LAEKENOIS 4 4 0 100.0%
BELGIAN MALINOIS 229 209 20 91.3%
Wow the AMSTAFF and the American Pit Bull Terrier
did better than the Australian Shepherd
And check out America's Golden Boy
GOLDEN RETRIEVER 703 592 111 84.2%
He did just as good as the American Pit Bull
AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER 586 494 92 84.3%
WOW!!!! Bet the media forgot to mention that.
Let's talk about the Media. I recently read an article about a women being attacked by a Japanese Pit Bull. They later printed a retraction saying it was a Akita.
Lets also look at the CDC dog bite stats.
They say that Pit Bull "TYPE " dogs are at the top of the dog bite list with 66. But if you don't know what a Pit Bull is ........ See my point. A lot of dog bites are missed identified.
Here is another terrible story from July 08
A black lab puppy mauled and killed a two-month-old boy Monday morning, police said.
Police said it happened while the parents left the child in a baby swing unattended inside their Tulsa home.
Tulsa Police said the 6-week- old black lab bit the baby numerous times. They were unsure how long the baby had been dead when an ambulance was called Monday morning.
When paramedics arrived, the eight and a half-week-old little boy was dead. A forensic examination of the body is pending, but Tulsa Police said it was obvious the baby boy was mauled by a dog.
"Let's just say it was apparent the wounds came from the dog, and we don't know what caused the death of the child, but at this point it appears to be dog bites," said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham.
Police believe it was a 6-week-old black lab puppy which killed the baby.
The child's father was consoled by neighbors who gathered at the scene. The child's 17-year-old mother was visibly distraught. She was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis hospital to be checked out.
"The parents were home. There were several people home, three people at the time of the incident, obviously that's part of the investigation to determine how this tragic event unfolded," said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham.
Police are not sure how the baby was killed without the parents realizing it was happening. Police said the child was unattended in a baby swing for an undetermined amount of time. They were questioning the child's grandmother, who was also in the home.
Is the Lab a Killer?
Any dog that is untrained or left alone with children is a loaded gun. We all went to school and learned about elephants an lions, but the animal that we are most likely to come in contact we learned nothing about. I have owned and trained what people consider Pit Bulls my whole life, and I have NEVER had a dog that just did a Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde transformation. Never. Dogs always give dominance and aggression signs early. People are just ignorant in regards to dog behavoir and don't recognize
the signs. Dogs are NOT BABIES!!!!!! Some dogs need corrections like a mother dog would give. Some
dogs require a firmer hand or a more dominant owner. Pit Bulls were originally bred to kill dogs. Dogs not people. Any dog that was people aggressive was culled or put down. How can you have a fighting dog that you can't even physically put in the ring or break up a fight if you have to. Case in point Micheal Vick's dogs were bred to fight., but some of the are now adopted to loving homes all over this country. These dogs were bred to be loyal and will literally give it's life for it's family. Anyone will tell you that a quality bred " Pit Bull" loves the hell out of his people. Petey from the little rascals was one of the first Pit Bulls in this country and a great example of the bred in it's pure form.
The Bottom line is all Dogs bite, from Akitas to Pugs. But few dogs love as well and as hard as the Pit Bull.

Pit Bulls were not bred to be people-aggressive (because the dog-fighting owners didn't want to get bitten, obviously), just dog-aggressive. Because of this, they have to be socialized at a very young age and even then you have to be careful.
That said, my dog (a Papillon mix) was with a Pit Bull almost a year ago and they got along like good friends. We did watch them closely though.
Good breeders are trying to improve this by breeding dogs with good temperaments. Besides, not all Collies can herd, not all Huskies can be sled dogs, etc.
Pit Bulls were ORIGINALLY bred to help out on the farm. Holding hogs still, I believe. Later, selfish and stupid people did TRAIN them to fight.
Just because a dog was bred to fight doesn't mean it will. Yes, they will try to make the dog have the right temperament and body to do what it was bred for, but beyond that, it's all in training. You can't pass training in genes, it has to be taught.
Plus, canine temperament is 63% learned and 34% inherited. So, it makes sense that raising a dog the right way will make a better dog later on in life.