When you hear that the neighbor down the street has pitbull dogs, you may automatically assume that these are savage animals that you must avoid at all costs. These dogs have a bad reputation for being attack dogs, even though such dog breeds as the American Pitbull Terrier and the American Staffordshire terrier have scored higher in tests for temperament than some of the dog breeds known for being good family pets. Many times the reason that these dogs are so vicious is that the owners train them to be that way by keeping them continually chained up.
Pitbull dogs are used in many occupations. These days, pitbulls are used to sniff out drugs and perform rescue operations. These dogs are the easiest of all dog breeds to train because they try exceptionally hard to please their owners. It may amaze you to enter a home where there is a pitbull terrier and find it curled up with a teddy bear. Although Pit Bulls do have strong jaws that can do serious damage to a person or another animal, they can be trained to be docile family pets.
It is the result of a few misled pitbull dogs that have turned vicious that society has branded all pitbulls as being dangerous dogs. Some cities have enacted legislations making it illegal for residents to own these dogs or to have them within city limits. It is true that there have been incidents when pitbulls have attacked children and adults, but if you take a close look at the number of such incidents you will see that they are not as common as ordinary dog bites to strangers and others that enter your home. The reason could be that when a pitbull dog does bite it clamps down and won't let go.
Some airlines will refuse to take a pitbull in its cargo hold because of an incident where one pitbull chewed its way out of the cage. When you look at any puppy's nature for chewing anything and the fact that the dog was probably really scared and did not know what was happening, this can be a normal reaction. It was the fact that the dog also chewed off electrical cords that resulted in the ban. But instead of punishing all pitbull dogs and their owners, the airlines could put in a regulation requiring a specific type of carrier that a dog cannot chew through.
Owners of pitbull dogs are really surprised when something happens and the dogs attack. Quite often, these dogs see children as being small animals that are invading their territory so they try to protect their turf. It is too bad that humans cannot understand the language of animals so that we can really know what they are thinking and feeling. If that were possible, we may be very surprised to learn that the reason that pitbull dogs are seen as being vicious is our fault rather than theirs.
