http://www.dapbt.org/American_Pit_Bull_Terriers/flash_detected.html

or are they super cute? You decide.:bobo:

Awww

I just watched a new episode of Animal Precinct-Miami last night in which an illegal pit bull fighting ring was uncovered and the dogs confiscated by the SPCA. Since it's illegal to keep pit bulls in Miami, they had to locate a PB rescue group operating outside the city. One dog was so badly scarred and so aggressive, he was deemed to be unadoptable and had to be humanely euthanized. Another, a female, was sweet and gentle. She had no scars and was thought to be kept only for breeding purposes. She found a home right away (outside Miami).

I think PB's CAN be scary, depending on how they were treated. But I've seen plenty of these shows on Animal Planet where PB's were rescued from bad conditions and were gentle enough to be adopted out. So for me, it's a toss-up.

That is like the cutest thing ever. How adorable are those? Some are so funny too.

Sweet photos!!

My vote is 'cute', but then again I'm partially biased ...

Addie the Wonder Mutt (http://www.veggieboards.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4200&catid=searchresults&searchid=1866)

Awwww.... :love:

I love the one that was dressed up as Elvis. :D

And that one they kept showing with that one baby (there were a few shots of the same dog and baby), they look like best buds. That is adoreable. :smitten:

That reminded me of something I saw/overheard once. I was walking across an intersection. Also crossing, from opposite directions, were a man walking a pit bull on a leash, and a woman with a small boy. The dog saw the child and started wagging his tail, and clearly would have welcomed a pat. The mother, though, tugged her boy away saying, "Those dogs are mean." The pit bull's owner looked disgusted, but let it pass.

The little boy looked up at his mom and said, "How do you know?" (score points for questioning authority!) But his mom said, "I read in the paper how sometimes those dogs kill little kids." Then they were out of earshot, and I didn't hear the boy's response.

I was really disappointed. I believe it's responsible parenting to teach your child how to approach strange dogs, and I wouldn't have had a problem with the mother telling her kid not to pat the dog without asking. It would have been wonderful if she'd added some words on judging dogs' body language. But instead, she thoughtlessly reinforced a negative stereotype, rather than taking the opportunity for an important lesson.

My vote is 'cute', but then again I'm partially biased ...

Addie the Wonder Mutt (http://www.veggieboards.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4200&catid=searchresults&searchid=1866)


My vote was already cute, but this alone would be enough to sway me. What a cute face!

I vote for cute.
Pitties are wonderful!

Pit Bulls can be cute and scary. In my small beach town, Pit Bulls are illegal to own.

My vote was already cute, but this alone would be enough to sway me. What a cute face!

Unfortunately, she knows she's adorable and uses it to her advantage whenever possible. :p

I think it is the people that 'own' pitbulls and train them to be mean that are the scary ones. Giving the whole breed a bad rap. My friend just got a pittie and he is a sweet pup. My friend isn't going to 'trim' his ears either, which is cool.

( What some people call 'trimming' I call cutting off-they are EARS not nails! )

I think it is the people that 'own' pitbulls and train them to be mean that are the scary ones.

Pitbulls can not be trained to be mean. I'm not picking on you, but this is a common myth.

What's really scary are the lengths that people will go to trying to make their pitties mean. The abuse is downright horrifying.
The amazing thing is that even pitties who have known nothing but cruelty and abuse their whole life will still try to wag their tails and lick their rescuer's faces in gratitute.
A pittie with a rock solid temperment (strangely, with all of the poorly planned breedings happening, we still see a lot of them like this in rescue) can not be made mean.
Unstable temperments and bad breedings are another thing altogether, and I agree that it's ruining the reputation for the entire breed.

That being said, it's still bloody important to get pitties well trained. An unruly cocker spaniel is forgiven by society, an unruly pitbull, no matter how friendly, is not.
:sealed:

Now back to the cuteness....
(MEM gets off her soapbox and goes to play outside)

Pitbulls can not be trained to be mean. I'm not picking on you, but this is a common myth.

Why do you say that?

Why do you say that?
Generally when people say that pitbulls are "trained to be mean" they're talking about pitties "trained" for fighting or the silly people who think that pitties make good personal protection dogs.
There are a lot of myths out there about how to make a pitbull "mean", none of them work and all of them come down to abuse of the dog, pure and simple.
I've met pitties with proper temperments, nothing shakes them. Even the ones that had the crap beaten out of them for years are still convinced that everyone they mean is their friend and wants to love on them. They simply will not turn on a human. It's not part of their nature. And the thing is, is that when they come into rescue, the vast majority of the abused dogs have not been trained or socialized in the proper sense. They're just naturally sweet.

But like I said before, this only applies to pitties who have the normal pittie temperment.
So why the bad rep? It's complicated. There's a whole lot of ins and outs to it and to be honest, I'm still doing the research myself, and this is after a year and a half of reading everything about pitties that I can get my hands on, as well as listening to any pittie expert willing to give me information.
It has a lot to do with indiscrimate breedings and backyard breeders and people mixing in mastiff to produce bigger dogs (and passing them off as pitties) and with very few people actually being able to identify pitbulls, among other things.
Honestly, I find the whole subject facinating, but realize that not everyone wants to get as far into it as I do.

As a whole, they're really misunderstood. And while it's not *exactly* correct, usually I just let the whole "pitties are sweet if they're trained to be" thing go, because yes, they are sweet and wonderful, and <ahem> joyful dogs and yes, they do need to be trained. They just don't need to be TRAINED to be sweet and wonderful. The implied message is that they're dangerous from birth and need to have it "trained" out of them.
I just spoke out today 'cause I'm feeling a bit on edge anyways.

Honestly, I'd rather have people have the attitude of "they're sweet when properly trained" than "the only good pitbull is a dead one" that a seems to be prevalent in a lot of communities.

They scare the crap out of me. But I think they look lovely :)

I admit that I used to be afraid and wonder why when I heard somebody mention that they got a pitbull.

But then I met my husbands parents who have a pitbull in their backyard. He is probably the friendliest dog I have ever met. It is amazing the negitive reputation these dogs have.

Pit bulls are one of my favorite breeds, cute is definately my answer. My bullie is the cutest three legged dog in the world. Did I get a miniature pit or something? Little Man is tiny compared to those dogs.

Pit bulls are one of my favorite breeds, cute is definately my answer. My bullie is the cutest three legged dog in the world. Did I get a miniature pit or something? Little Man is tiny compared to those dogs.

Little Man is probably not a miniature pittie. Pitties are actually a lot smaller than most people realize. Average size for a pittie is somewhere between 30-50 pounds. Although, that's not always a hard and fast rule, some lines are bigger, the 'gator lines for example range from 60-90 pounds. In general though, if someone is bragging about their 90 pound pitbull, 9 times out of 10, it's a mixed breed.

....I just realized what a geek I am..... :surprised

There are more and more countries who are thinking of making these dogs illegal. In France I think they are required to be sterilised because they hope to eradicate them from the territory that way. They can no longer be imported, bred or sold there as far as I know.

In Denmark, pitbulls (and two other breeds, I forget which ones) have been illegal for more than 10 years.

There was some talk in Switzerland of making them illegal, but it didn't go through. The next time a kid gets killed by one, I suppose it will be discussed again.

I think there are some states in the United States that have made them illegal too.

There are more and more countries who are thinking of making these dogs illegal. In France I think they are required to be sterilised because they hope to eradicate them from the territory that way. They can no longer be imported, bred or sold there as far as I know.

In Denmark, pitbulls (and two other breeds, I forget which ones) have been illegal for more than 10 years.

There was some talk in Switzerland of making them illegal, but it didn't go through. The next time a kid gets killed by one, I suppose it will be discussed again.

I think there are some states in the United States that have made them illegal too.

Yep. Ontario Canada is banning them as well. Strangely, in France, they still allow the french mastiff...which is more likely to attack than the pitbull...
In England they still allow the Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, both of which are related to the American Pitbull Terrier and have the same sort of temperment.
Also, as far as I know, neopolitan mastiffs are still allowed in England, even though there have been reports of a few of them attacking children...

The problem is that such legislation is based on fear and misunderstanding. Most breed specific legislation does nothing to curb the problem, which is irresponsible owners.
Most people don't understand that there's a difference between dog aggression and human aggression. Nor do they seem to understand that a dog's behavior is the responsibility of the owner and bad behavior in a dog is not related to the breed. Heck, I still have scars from being attacked by a labrador retriever when I was 5. So should labs go on the banned list in every country??

So should labs go on the banned list in every country??

Well, as long as they don't ban hedgehogs!!!! :p

Well, as long as they don't ban hedgehogs!!!! :p

:smitten:
I love my hedgie!

<----you see that look? how can you not love that look??

I have two American Bulldogs and they just love everybody! A few days ago a lady said to me,"ewww why do you have pit bulls? Arn't you scared of them?" I felt so bad for my babys because this lady prejudged them thinking because they have a bully look,they must be monster demons.

I have two American Bulldogs and they just love everybody! A few days ago a lady said to me,"ewww why do you have pit bulls? Arn't you scared of them?" I felt so bad for my babys because this lady prejudged them thinking because they have a bully look,they must be monster demons.

People are stupid. :no: