I also didn't see that twist coming.

A pit bull's bite is very strong, so they can potentially do a lot of damage if they do bite. However, it's definitely more on the owner than the breed. Though I've not owned a pit, I've seen enough news stories to realize there are some shit owners who don't care.

There was a local story about a pit attack, where an elderly woman and her dog were just minding their business in their yard, and a pack of pit bulls came and mauled the shit out of both of them. Turned out the owner wasn't home much and just left the dogs in his backyard, where they would escape from time to time and run around the neighborhood. Of course he couldn't IMAGINE WHY his sweet little pitties would attack anyone. It's not like ANYONE thought they were a threat or anything. The woman was said to have lost chunks of flesh from her body, and her dog had to be put down. Everyone was quick to call for the death of the pit bulls and shit on the breed. Meanwhile, nearly every one of them failed to notice that the elderly woman's dog... was also a pit bull. It fought nearly to the death in order to protect its owner. I believe the pack was put down as well.

It just goes to show there's a right way and a wrong way to raise a dog.

Your brother's girlfriend has fallen into a common trap, Mr KingArthur. It's not exactly misinformation, but it is grossly distorted.

Pitbulls are fairly aggressive towards other dogs. If you've got a pitbull, you have to be alert when talking her on walks, because she will not hesitate to bark and growl at other dogs. *This* is what is meant by "their breeding" - they're very good at *fighting other dogs*.

However, pitbulls were also bred to be great around people, particularly children (they used to be called "nursemaid dogs"). The pitbull was conceived as the sort of working dog who could come into your house at night and sleep at the foot of your kid's bed. This tendency towards people-oriented docility is just as strong, if not stronger than, their tendency towards dog-oriented aggression. It's common knowledge amongst anyone who's had actual, firsthand experience with the breed, but sadly, the media rarely ever mentions it, which contributes to the completely unrealistic view of the breed that some people have.


I myself grew up around pitbulls; my family raised quite a number rescues, and my dad was involved in pitbull activism during the 1980s. I've known a huge cross-section of pitbulls over the years, running the gamut from total suburban sweethearts to grizzled, PTSD-addled fight veterans, and in my (frankly) very highly informed opinion? Even the *worst* of them was more trustworthy around people than most other dogs.

The real problem with pitbulls is the way the media treats them, constructing a sensationalist narrative that has little or no basis in fact. Pitbulls are an easy target for soft journalism: if a newsman needs a scary story to grab people's attention, pitbulls always work. The truth of the matter is, pitbull attacks are quite rare; the actual statistics indicate that pitbulls are one of the least bite-prone breeds in the country, and even allowing for the fact that pitbull attacks are generally more devastating than the attacks of very aggressive, bite-prone breeds (poodles and other dropkick dogs, for example), they are still not particularly dangerous. This does not stop reporters from jumping on each and every instance of pitbull-on-human violence, of course! In fact, in many cases, reporters will flat-out *lie* and claim a dog is a pitbull, even when it isn't, simply because they know pitbull stories sell better! (According to the latest studies by the American Veterinary Medical Association, fewer than *18%* of all dog-attack stories can be considered reliable re: breed identification) With all this disinformation, it's no wonder that public opinion is so often completely disconnected from reality.

Now, as I have argued in previous videos, it is possible to raise a "bad" pitbull, but it takes A LOT of work to overcome the breed's natural deference towards human beings. They make adequate guard dogs, of course, for the simple fact that many breed-ignorant people take one look at a pitbull and pee themselves in terror. But if someone were to rob your house while a pitbull was at home, the worst he'd get would be a very forceful licking.

"poodles and other dropkick dogs, for example"
Now, now. I had a half poodle and she was awesome. Mind your breed prejudice.

Obviously, she took after the half that wasn't poodle.

I'm not a dog racist, plenty of my dog friends are high yellow mongrels! I just don't want no poodle marrying my sister, is all.

I don't trust German Shepards. They are the most neurotic fucking breed of dog. You want to talk about a breed I trust less than pitbulls just based on my life experiences. It is German Shepards. I used to work at a vet clinic as kennel staff during my summers and weekends when I was 15. Put me in a room with the two breeds anyday and I am playing with the pitbull.