My Sweet Little Poochum-Woochums

(I dropped this comment on the Jewamongyou blog)
I can only comment on my own pit, [that's him in the picture to the right] that my daughter got as a puppy, and promptly turned over to me, because it is a major pain-in-the-tuchas, aside from the issue of aggression. Took over a year to housebreak while destroying every rug in the house, chewing and scratching and tearing through every barrier we put up. A professional may have been able to train him, but I wasn’t. I think there is definitely something to the comment above concerning breeding; this one came from a thug environment and would have been perfect in a junk yard. Fortunately for everyone we have a large fenced-in yard, but I feel terrible about my neighbors small children, and I have to be constantly alert to his whereabouts and keeping all doors closed at all times. He goes nuts when anyone comes to the door and will definitely attack, or at least try to intimidate any stranger. A lawsuit waiting to happen, but so far, so good, knock wood. I have to use muzzle and choke chain to take him to the vets.

With respect to his bite, before he got too fat, I used to have him grab a rope and swing him hard in circles, and I would tire before he would ever let go. When he was very small he once grabbed my T-shirt tail when I stooped down and just hung from my back for about a half hour. His upper palate is grooved such that I believe he could be just as tenacious without teeth. They were bred for grabbing a bull’s throat and never letting go. However he has never bitten anyone and gets along well with our other dogs, including a very small poodle. Submission is not optional, though.

Bottom line is he is far too unpredictable and requires constant vigilance, is not worth the effort or potential trouble, we can’t have any visitors unless we cage him while he barks and howls the entire time, he only respects me because I can slightly out-alpha him and he will always challenge anyway. I only have one friend that isn’t afraid of him and they get along fine. I’d get rid of him in a heart beat, except that I love him like a brother, g-d help me.

Jurisdictions are right to ban them, especially if the owners are not super-responsible, but even then Chaos lurks, and many, many are given up and very few of those are ever adopted. Breeders need to be more responsible, but that will never happen. If you want a dog, get a Lab.