Pitbulls and kids?

[tmatt]

How many of ya'll think it is a good idea to let a kid own their own APBT and have all of the training responsibilities that go along with it?

[HDMdogs]

ive had dogs that see children as the less dominant one and they sense that and act dumb at times and then ive had dogs that try to please the younger ones and do great!

it depends on bloodines, how temperant, and alot on the trainer!

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Whooo think you gonna open a big can o worms on this N.

I feel bar none there is no better catch dog when chit hits the fan. However I will never own a full blood here on the ranch around kids, horses, cats, chickens, calves or anything else I care alot about. Feel alot better with a cross that seems to be little smoother temperament.  Or in my case let your pals keep em at their place

JMO ain't trying to get the diehards stirred.  

[charles]

 it all depends on the dependability of the child and if the child knows how to handle the dog and knows how to reconise an aggretion growl or an startled growl and other tell tell signs if the dog is in a bad mood. me personaly, i let my 8yr old son feed and walk my big pit when i could get my son in the summer and the pit never showed any aggretions towards my son other than wanting to lick him to death. the pit never growled or anything, he just wanted to be petted and his back rubbed. my pit was a teddy bear with humans, but hated pigs. with the bad rep them dogs have because of irrisonsible pit owners, they have got a black eye and if a neighbor stuck their nose in your bizness, you might have to deal with the cops or social workers, but i highly dought it would ever come to that.

[co]

my pit is a lot like charles pit. she is scared of our little 6 pound dog but i have seen her throw and drag some big ole pigs around by herself i dont unt understand it lol but i love her

[tuskbuster]

 ive had  bulldogs just about 40 yrs now and raised my kids up around em. aint NEVER had any problems with them and kids and my sons still raise their house dogs with my grandkids .a dog on a chain or pen with very little to do with humans besides goin huntin is another  thing .raise em right .KIDS AND BULLDOGS.  JMHO

[Reuben]

My pit is well socialized but he is under my supervision when out of his kennel. I turn him loose with all my other dogs but I make sure they are always getting along.

I work 13 hr shifts so my wife lets him out alone (if I am not around) and he is under her supervision as well.

We might be overdoing it but I do know once a good pit gets fired up something is going to die...That is why we watch him close... as well as the ones we have owned in the past.

As soon as I get some 1/4 pit in a few mtn curs I will not need this APBT and he will be sold or given away.

To answer the question small kids are allowed around the dog as long as I am around. If a young teenager feeds and lets him out...is ok but the dog is let out alone and I don't have to supervise.

This is a pain in the rear and that is another reason why I will get rid of him when the time is right...

Yep, some of you will call it over kill but I have heard and seen pitbulls get loose and go catch a cow and actually kill an 800 pound steer (friend of mine paid for it )  and also catch a horse by the nose...etc. etc.

Once a pit catches a cow it is hard to break them of it.

got off the subject...but that is how I see it with the pits...

[Zaneo]

My pit is well socialized but he is under my supervision when out of his kennel. I turn him loose with all my other dogs but I make sure they are always getting along.

I work 13 hr shifts so my wife lets him out alone (if I am not around) and he is under her supervision as well.

We might be overdoing it but I do know once a good pit gets fired up something is going to die...That is why we watch him close... as well as the ones we have owned in the past.

As soon as I get some 1/4 pit in a few mtn curs I will not need this APBT and he will be sold or given away.

I agree completely! Couldnt have said it better
To answer the question small kids are allowed around the dog as long as I am around. If a young teenager feeds and lets him out...is ok but the dog is let out alone and I don't have to supervise.

This is a pain in the rear and that is another reason why I will get rid of him when the time is right...

Yep, some of you will call it over kill but I have heard and seen pitbulls get loose and go catch a cow and actually kill an 800 pound steer (friend of mine paid for it )  and also catch a horse by the nose...etc. etc.

Once a pit catches a cow it is hard to break them of it.

got off the subject...but that is how I see it with the pits...

[tuskbuster]

 i agree with you on that point reuben.other animals ,GOATS come to my mind  ,usually just bout anything that 'll get em goin. never had a problem around any of my horses.some of the newer CDs that ive gotten in the last 5or 6 yrs had would have issues if given the chance

[mutlycrewhogdogs]

i dnt see a problem with kids an bulldogs as long as the bulldog has a good temperment. I have to full blood pits an i have a four year old an a seven year old an my pits are calmer an gentler with them than they are me. My male will pull an pull but if my boys are playing with him or walkin him on a lease there is slack in th leash th whole time. Of course they are always under my supervision though.

[T-Bob Parker]

I dont trust any dog unsupervised with my daughter.

[coyote hunter]

My pits listen to my kids better than they do me. My two were housedogs before they were catchdogs. But i have no problems with them around kids, livestock, nor anything but a hog. I do keep an eye on them though. I live around donkeys and cowd and a few horses. They seem to be scared of them and come back tailtucked. As for my kids, i doubt theyll ever be aggressive towards them. Usually they cant wait to see them

[T-Bob Parker]

I dont trust any dog unsupervised with my daughter.

Ever.

I like my dogs as much as the next guy, but would you let your toddler wonder off into a cow pasture where a rogue bovine could reach her faster than you? Would you let her go play in a horse stall where even with a well mannered horse, 1 accident could end her life? Why, if you know what your pit or even cur can do to a hog with way thicker skin, would you wanna be all macho and let the dog be unsupervised around the most beloved person in your life. If your kids are older and know dogs, its different but as for my duaghter, it ain't happening till I know the question changes from trust a dog around the kid to trust the kid around the dog.

[BA-IV]

it ain't happening till I know the question changes from trust a dog around the kid to trust the kid around the dog.

This is the deal right here because kids are gonna be kids.   They're rough and playful and to a dog can be aggravating at times, and some dogs don't know how to take it.  My whole deal is that it only takes one time and my kid could be crippled, maimed, or worse and that's with everything, dogs, cattle, and horses.

[tmatt]

Ok, here is my dilemma. I have had APBTs for quite a few years and have had my 9yo daughter around 100 or more of them that I have owned, now I have a 7mo daughter that will also be raised around them. That is not my question, my question is should a kid Own a pitbull and be totally responsible for the training and socialization of the dog. I raise some very good game dogs and have never had a problem with man aggression or anything like that. I have a kid, 15yo, that is wanting one of my dogs and I am just not sure about it. I would feel responsible if, when the dog got older, the dog got out and got on another animal or another one of his dogs or something like that happened. Just wanting to see how ya'll felt about it and see if it could ease my mind about it or help me decide against it.

[tmatt]

I am sure ya'll have seen my other posts on here and know I am very much an advocate of the APBT, just not sure about this situation.

[Scott]

I'd have to talk to the kid's parents as well. Some kids are responsible enough...the majority are not.

[treeingratterrier]

I think a 1/2 pit with ill predispostion to fighting is just as bad or worse as a ill bred pure pit bull terrier,  some have to much agression in them even with crossing into a different breed of dog, I had a 1/2 pit 1/2 running walker almost kill me trying to catch my mule back 20 years ago, after that happened i never owned or hunted with another pit bull or part pit bull and went to all black mouth curs, until you are getting dragged by a mule because a 1/2 pit went off for some unknown reason on the mule you are riding you wont see it this way usually, Ihave had rat terriers i have had to destroy that were too agressive so i know its from the cross of the terrier with the bulldog that makes them wacky, most bulldogs are very passive, its the game bred pit bull terriers that have the ill temper that is ready to explode if lightly scratched, i let a child raise a old tyme bulldog before a registered pit bull terrier, too many wont destroy the bad blooded game pits that attack men or dogs too easy,,,,most of the cliches about hog hunters wrecks are always about a pit bull ripping a toungue off a herd bull or tearing off a ear off some cow with a baby calf ya know where there is smoke there is fire, nobody ever complains about a hound killing a child or man thats for surelol  Be kool if they would oulaw catch dogs especially pit bulls and nothing but hounds could e hunted on hogslol

[Bryant]

The problem as I see it isn't always the dog, or the childs fault.  Two kids start wrestling on the floor and dogs can't reason whether it is play or a real threat and acts to protect.  There's where the problem lies in my opinion.

VERY seldom do you ever hear of a dog bite case where the owner says..."Yep...that mean 'ole SOB...we just knew it was a matter of time before he got somebody".  No, what you hear is "We can't believe family pet Bruiser acted that way...we've NEVER seen him show ANY signs of aggressiveness."  Once those words are spoken, the damage is done and no amount of remorse can repair a childs mangled body.

Not to single out the APBT, but I would personally not leave my children unsupervised with any breed of dog that has a protective (notice I didn't say aggressive) nature.  Also not to start some debate on which is better, but this reason is why I PERSONALLY prefer the AB.  In my experience, the AB's seem to have a little more control of their own preydrive.  When I break my bulldogs off, they can shut down just as quick as they game up.  Perhaps I've been around the wrong ones, but the MAJORITY of APBT's I've been around took a little time to cool off after getting amped up.

Just my $.02

[tmatt]

Ok, let me rephrase this. Would any of ya'll that have raised or raises good temperament gamebred APBTs allow one of their dogs to be placed in the hands of a 15yo kid to raise, discipline, socialize, train, etc. I didn't want this to become a debate about whether kids should be around "pitbulls", or about which is better abs or APBTs, I already have my own opinions about that. I guess since I raise APBTs and have culled the abs that I have had ya'll know where I stand on that subject.