Pit Bull Personality?

GOOF ball and stubborn.... kelly was my Papas dog ... great with the dogs and me I was 7 ... we dont think she would have hurt the cats but she was a tad to interested ... SHE was ONE family dog , ie she didnt like the new girlfriend and was put down when a marriage came about ... NO we were not offered her or else she would have lived with us

All of the pits that I have met in person have been nice, people-oriented dogs and I think that the breed is lovely. However, I would not own one because I have cats and I know that eventually I would like to have 2 dogs... For me, knowing what the breed was originally bred for, I wouldn't keep them together with other animals unsupervised and because of that (and the fact that I don't want to have to crate and seperate all of my animals) I wouldn't own one. Of course, I would also not own a high-drive terrier for the same reasons (might try to kill my cats).

They are great dogs, but IMO, unless you only want to be a one-dog (no cats) home, or are committed to keeping the animals seperated, it usually won't work well in the long run. But, that is just my opinion and I am sure that there are some pits that can be safely kept with cats and other dogs. But they are GREAT people dogs, so if that is what you're looking for, the pit might be for you.

Originally Posted by artgecko

They are great dogs, but IMO, unless you only want to be a one-dog (no cats) home, or are committed to keeping the animals seperated, it usually won't work well in the long run.

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Did you read any of my posts? Cats are not a problem with the breed if they've been raised around them. They don't have the high strung prey drive that many smaller terriers have. As a child I had hamsters, our pits had no interest in turning them into snacks... though they would try to sniff and lick a hamster like they would a young kitten or puppy.


Sylorna, Maslow is adorable.

My advice is buy one as a puppy.

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I disagree. there are so many homeless puppies including adults that are pit bulls and buying one just makes people think it's okay that they breed them.

anyways I LOVE, LOVE pit bulls and they are by far my breed of choice. I had a mix when I was growing up and she was the best behaved, most loyal, goofiest dog!

you need to research the breed before you go out and adopt one. you must be responsible and socialize them with people A LOT! they are very people oriented and you cannot let him/her get into a fearful stage of people. they are the biggest clowns of the canine world in my honest opinion.

I have came across a lot of pit bulls and mixes at the shelter where I work and they have been total love bugs. they are very smart, too. they probably can outsmart a human. but you must be responsible like I said and don't set him/her up for failure..

you need to socialize them and they won't "turn" on you. that's BS that people say they will "turn" on you in a matter of time. ANY dog can turn on you. you must respect your dog, treat him/her right but please know they have a high prey drive (most terriers do) so when you are ready to adopt a pit bull/"bully" breed I would have the shelter/rescue cat test them before you take him/her home.

http://www.pbrc.net is a great website and has lots of information.

and another great site :
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/

and another positive one
http://www.defend-a-bull.com/positivelypit.html

I wish you the best of luck on choosing your dog! it sounds like you are a very responsible pet owner and I am sure you will be a wonderful pit bull owner, just do your research before going out and adopting one.

they aren't a dog you can just go out and get, you have to do research first and let me be the one to say this, once you have one you won't want to go back to another breed. they are that great, you just have to do right by them!!

strange_wings- I am basing my rec. not to have them with cats based on the information that I have found on some good pit rescue websites....I had thought about getting a pit, and keeping them as an only dog (but with my cats), but because of my research (from said sites) I decided it wasn't worth the risk. I am not saying that all pits would be bad with cats, but because their agression (w/ animals) issues is mostly genetic I could still end up with a pit more prone to being agressive with my cats, no matter how well I socialize it.

Again, that is just my opinion and I'm not saying it is true for all pits (or terrier breeds for that matter).
Art

^ And I'm basing it on personal experience. Any and every single breed of dog can be aggressive towards other animals. It is part of their instinct, just let them roam unhindered in a pack with other dogs and those instincts will show no matter how socialized that dog was in your home. To pick pits and terriers out and to say that they will turn is far from fair or correct.
Unfortunately, most of the cat killing dogs I've seen have been hunting and herding breeds such as hounds, german shepards, collies, and more recently a black mouth cur (that one had a nasty attitude, I thought for sure I was going to be attacked).

Aside from that, Sylorna was asking people who own or who have owned pits. I suggest you spend some time with the breed before you make your mind up about them. Though there are breeds I would prefer not to own do to bad experiences with them, I wouldn't declare that all dogs of that breed would be the same way and say I would never have a dog of that breed. (unless it's about hounds braying )

Actually, Sylorna, I suggest you spend some time with the breed or any bully breed too. You said it will be a while before you adopt, check into breed rescues. I'm sure they would be more than accommodating in teaching you about the breed and letting you gain first hand experience to make your decision on.

I agree that it does depend on the individual dog. If you heard of my terrier's probably mix-- mostly Rat Terrier, part Boston Terrier or maybe Jack Russell and possibly some Staffordshire Bull Terrier mixed in-- you'd probably think there would be no way he could live with cats. If you saw what I call his "toy drive" you'd probably feel the same way. However he has NO prey drive! He is totally disinterested in small furry animals or other critters. I've seen squirrels run past practically right under his nose and he doesn't even give them a second glance! He is very interested in playing with and chasing toys (mostly tennis balls) but has a total lack of interest in other animals.

Come to think of it my other dog might be similar. She is a Golden Retriever who LOVES to chase squirrels, rabbits, or other small wild animals outdoors. She will also chase feral cats outdoors if they run from her-- BUT if she sees a stray cat and approaches it and it doesn't run or if it stops running she will instead start wagging her tail and try to sniff it and make friends (she's lucky she hasn't been attacked for that yet!) She even tried to "make friends" with a skunk when it did not run away as she approached it...

When she is indoors or around animals she knows she does not show any interest in chasing them, not even if they do run... She has met many different species and shows nothing but friendly interest (wagging her tail, sniffing, licking) in them all including rabbits, guinea pigs (photo), rats (photo), ferrets(photo), hamsters, a miniature donkey, 4-week-old kittens, etc...

Here is a video of her playing with a 4-week-old kitten (well more like being chewed on by him...)

Thanks for the advice guys. It certainly seems that when we get to that place it'll be time to go to foster homes/small rescues and get to know a few dogs before judging them.
you know I should have learned that lesson a long while ago when chester proved to me that a female siamese was not what I needed in my life at this juncture...a male black and white (and now a female of the matching sort) is just what the doctor ordered!
Anytime I have preconceived expectations about animals I get surprised...I'm sure a dog will do the same for me!

On another note, your 4 week kitten looks so much like one of the rescues from Dynahs litter. We named her Pebbles while we had her. I don't have any good pictures of 4 weeks, but here's a 6 week picture...you get the idea

I am fostering a WONDERFUL old Pit Bull at the moment. She showed up on my porch a week ago, and after a few days when it became apparent that she had no intention of leaving we brought her inside. I would have no idea of her age but her muzzle is greying, she is built very well and looks very healthy and vibrant though. She has a sadness about her so I'm certain she has been abused in some way, but she is a doll and a total sweetheart. When we brought her inside my two little "terrorists" - Bentley the Rat Terrier and Bella the Cairn Terrier mix decided to double team their assult on her! The poor sweet girl is more than 10x their size and all she did was try to run back outside. She is now residing in the "Geriatric Ward" ie: the basement where my 18yr old cat Hannah dwells also (Hannah refuses to have anything to do with the other cats, so she claims that as her territory) with my roommate. She completely ignores the cats, is house broken, has no food aggression, gives kisses, and is completely content to laze the day away on the couch! This is a dog who was clearly abandoned (we are pretty sure who did it) and abused (she has a hurt eye) yet she is still trusting and sweet natured. The sad thing is I cannot keep her longterm, so if any of you have any ideas of any dog rescues I could contact or know anyone in Ohio looking for a lovely senior dog - let me know!
My cousin also has two pits. The first time I met them I was sitting in my aunt's kitchen when he came over, all of a sudden there is a MASSIVE pit bounding towards me! Do you know what he did? He jumped up on my lap and frantically gave me KISSES! LOL It was like "New people! New people! New people! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!". The female is much calmer and also has a very sweet personality. He's had them for about 8 years now and they've never shown any signs of aggression at all.
My nieghbors also have two female pits. They're both very sweet natured, excellent with their 1yr old little boy, and as embarrassing as it is much more well behaved than my two toy terriers.
I've known a few others also, all of which were nice. Most have had excitable personalities, and quite a bit of energy, a few were very bad chewers also.
HTH

There's nothing quite like pittie kisses, is there?
Although they CAN sometimes be dangerous... I was walking a neighbor's foster American Pit Bull Terrier once, and I had stopped to chat with someone. Well, the dog decided this was a good opportunity to make her move... I wasn't really paying attention when suddenly, WHAM! She had tried to leap up and give me a kiss on the chin but unfortunately she misjudged the distance and ended up slamming her nose into my chin instead! I still got a nice kiss, but also a sore chin...and I saw stars for a few seconds.

Ten years ago I would have said you were crazy if you had said that today I would have 2 pit bulls. I too had subscribed to the media hoopla about pit bull dogs. I was very very wrong. Just this morning I left Maggie my 6 month old at the vet to be spade and the look she gave my wife and I as we left her brought tears to my eyes. They do like to chase my cats as long as they run from them but its not with any malice. Both my girls love the kittens that I foster and look for them after they've found homes. Very sweet girls that are better than a lot of the people that I am unfortunate enough to know.

My brother owns a 7 year old red female Pitbull named Amber. Amber was actually bred to be a fighting dog but supposedly she sucked at it. She actually was a bait dog when my brother found her in a fenced in lot when she was a year old chained up. The guys who owned her allowed him to buy her for a small amount thinking he would use her as a bait dog. Little did they know my brother wanted to make her a pet.

After two long years of getting her to trust him and other dogs she finally switched around. Needless to say it took a large amount of training and time to bring her back. Amber is now the sweetest most loving dog you will ever meet. She lives with my brother his two daughters, girlfriend, her three kids, and their other two dogs. Amber has never ever tried to bite or attack anyone not even a growl.

She is however Amber sensitive and delicate soul. She requires a gentle yet firm hand at all times. She knows her boundries and is kept on a strict line of rules. She is extremely smart and obedient. She also loves to get cuddles from anyone who is willing to give them. She also loves cuddling up with my brothers Bulldog Sienna and Shar Pei Jig and napping all afternoon.

In my opinion fighting pitbulls can be changed.

Anyways every pitbull I have ever had contact with has been sweet and goofy I personally love the breed.