General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Pitbulls Used to Be Considered the Perfect "Nanny Dogs" for Children -- [View all]Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)The "Our Gang" dog Petie? A pit bull.
Pit bulls were regular dogs, not vicious, not dangerous. Until gangs & groups started breeding them to be fighters, since they do have the wherewithall to do that, and their bites are dangerous. Since then, the breed has been damaged. Unless, I guess, you get one whose ancestry is clean...very expensive.
They were never bred to attack people, though. Which seems to be your beef against them.
As my post above tells you, pit bulls are misidentified frequently. It's not like, say, a mastiff or collie, whose features are clearly identifiable. People are always referring to any neighborhood short haired medium sized dog that is not clearly another breed, as a pit bull. Esp. if it bites someone.
But a real pit bull is clearly identifiable, if you've ever seen one up close and personal. They are very scary looking to me. But I've never seen one misbehave, I've gotta say. But most people haven't seen a pit bull up close and personal.