
Is the Pit Bull right for you?
So you want to know if the Pit Bull dog breed is the right canine choice for you. An equally good question are you the right one for it? Each can be answered using the table below. You must be able to answer yes on all points
Consider a pitbull if:
You are responsible
Image is not that important to you
You have time to provide love
A Human friendly breed is important to you
You are healthy enough to provide a Pit Bull with good exercise
Your housing situation allows Pit Bulls
You can handle the financial costs involved with vet care, food, training, and toys
Your future is relatively certain and if you will be moving choosing a place that allows Pit Bulls will be one of your primary considerations
You are educated on the breed and are prepared to deal with its individual needs
Do not consider a pitbull if:
Breeding sounds like fun and you might know some people from the ally that might buy pups
You think animals should be able to roam freely
You want to either build a tough image or perpetuate one
You have no idea where your next home will be or when it will be necessary to find one
Your housing situation does not allow the Pit Bull
GOT NO MONEY
You think Pit Bulls are or could be the next fad
If You are not willing to make sure they are responsibly confined and you are unwilling to socialize them. The Pit Bull is by nature a loving breed to humans and loyal breed to its owners.
Many Pit Bulls if not properly trained and socialized have a prey drive towards other animals that can get both them and their owners into trouble. Through responsible socialization and training however it is rather easy to acclimate a Pit Bull to accept other animals rather easily and live with and amongst them in an harmonious manner.
Pit Bulls are not naturally human aggressive. The majority of attacks on humans reported to be by Pit Bulls are made in error through misidentification of the breed or through the wrongful lumping of mixed breeds in with reported bite statistics. When accounting for and removing the false reporting and skewed lumping in of mixed breeds compared as a ratio against the number or pure bred Pit Bulls the Pit Bull has one of the lowest bite rates to humans of any of the canine breeds. This is often hard to understand when reading bite statistics as such statistics to not compare population to bite ratios nor do they accurately report the Pit Bull as an individual pure breed unto its own. Such reports are falsely skewed and work create prejudice and bias among those ignorant to the actual reporting standards used. Additionally such reports are considered non-scientifically valid and should not be used or considered when accurate assessments are needed.
As with all medium to large breeds of dogs the Pit Bull can cause harm to humans. Such occasions typically stem from irresponsible ownership, treatment or breeding practices. When breeding many people do not understand the negative impacts a bad breeding program can have on the long-term health of their offspring. On of the leading causes of bites by Pit Bulls is mental illness that it has been acquired through the use of inbreeding practices. Because the Pit Bull breed is naturally a human friendly canine breed it is important to review any known genealogical history to determine if mental illness played a part in any attack that is seemingly unprovoked. When considering a Pit Bull as a pet one should avoid choices where considerable or close inbreeding has taken place.