Are pitbulls really bad with young children?

Question

I just bought this beautiful seven week old pitbull and my family are telling me to get rid of him because i have a 3 yearl old and a 10 month old. I don't want to listen to them so i have been searching online and nothing good comes up. Please someone help me i am not giving up on him. My family doesn't like him because hi bites a lot but i think it is because he is just a puppy am i right or wrong?

Answer 1

better start training him now, if he's already biting. You don't want your children to be next.

Answer 2

no pits are lovers, least mine is, they only get a bad rep because they are more capable of doing worse damage than other dogs and because of this people train them to be mean and do it. my pitbull is great with people and kids as long as i am there to introduce them and tell him its ok, we does perk up and get ready to attack if someone bangs on the door or rings the bell but he is just protecting me as soon as i say its ok and calms down and wants to play.

Answer 3

i grew up my entire child hood with pits and and they were great but watch that young children dont terrorize them because they can turn mean, socilize it around everyone you can. and do more research, try talking to a certified breeder.

Answer 4

well if you feel that your kids are safe with the puppy then keep him if you are having doubts then find the puppy another loving home...I seen that most of the answers so far have been from pit owners so I am sure there is some partiality there. Just remember it is  training the puppy but it is also teaching your kids not to be rough with the puppy. Pit Bulls are on the bully breed but that doesn't make them bad dogs, personally I think little dogs are way worse with small children. Well whatever you decide good luck

Answer 5

I have a Border Collie/ Pit Bull mix and I have two young children.

He is very good with the kids. Keep in mind- It's all about how you raise them! These idiots who fight them and torment them should be hung!!

Pit Bulls are just like any other dog, if you show them love, they will show you and your kids love in return.

Answer 6

PUT HIM IN A TRAINING CLASS NOW!!! pitts are known to have a short temper, and they can bite down HARD.

Answer 7

No!There are the sweetest dogs in the world. When i was 4, we had a pitt bull dog farm.  

Answer 8

I was watching a program tonight about the fighting pits that were  seized from Michael Vick. All but 2 were rehabilitated and some were adopted by families with children, a handsome male was trained as a therapy dog. I have been around both male and female pitties and they are extremely gentle, good natured dogs. The "mouthing" is normal for a young pup regardless of the breed.

Answer 9

pitbulls can be fine and the nicest thing in the world but can one day snap and literally kill one of your kids. i knew somebody who had a pitbull and she got that pitbull and another dog when they were puppies and they both grew up together but one day when the pitbull was about 3 years old it just lost it and brutally slaughtered his puppy friend

Answer 10

He's not biting out of aggression, he's a puppy, and he mouths. You would have that with ANY puppy, be it a pit bull or a yorkie.

Your puppy explores the world with his mouth, he'll chew on anything, including you, that he can get his mouth on.

If you want to train him to stop biting, when he nips, yelp. A yelp is the equivalent of a high pitched scream or squeak. In his litter, his mother and litter mates would have yelped when he bit them to signal him to stop. Dogs have much tougher skin than ours, so he was trained on how hard to bite his family, but now you have to train him again that NO biting is okay.

Its unfair that they are targeting him because of his breed. Pit bulls are an excellent family dog, I recommend them above golden retrievers and Labradors.  They also test higher in intelligence and friendliness than goldens do.

Turn him into a model citizen, enroll him in training classes for puppies, basic and advanced obedience. Make him the most well behaved dog on the block.

ADD> To the ignorance clearly being displayed on this question, pit bulls are not short tempered. They are actually one of the most even-tempered breeds. They don't bite when they get angry, the most they'll do is relocate themselves. They are family motivated dogs, and extremely intelligent too. They don't "bite down hard" they don't have "lock jaw" or any of that other ignorant c**p. They bite and release because HUMANS are a foreign object that under no circumstances would they ever put their mouth on for an attack or prey.

Answer 11

i have a pitbull and she has NOO aggression in her body. people give pitbulls such a bad rep becuase they are such powerful animals. i mean look at their history, they were bred to fight and kill bulls. but im letting you know pitbulls are a handful. they need ALOT of exercise. if they dont get enough outside time they will tear your house apart. and you need to lay the law with them. you need to spend alot of time in the next few months really training the dog. "drop it" "come" "no"

pitbulls are VERY VERY smart dogs and they LOOOVE to please their owners. that dog will do anything to protect your family when it gets older. please just make sure to socialize your puppy properly both with people and other dogs. take her to dog parks, petsmart, just anywhere you can.  

Answer 12

a golden retriever could be bad with children if the owner trianed it to be. since the were bred to be protectors, their temperments might be different than a golden. the biting could be teething, but if you've watched a few episodes of the dog whisperer, tell him in the dog way to stop. the mother and litter mates normally do this, but you got him pretty early, when they get taught this. tell you family to take a chill pill.

Answer 13

My two pits play with my 9 month old daughter all the time, she bites them , pulls on their tail, pulls on their ears, tries to gauge their eyes out and they do nothing. They just sit there and let her play with them. She never gets to rough, we stop her before she does. Pits are known as the Nanny dogs, they score higher on temperament tests than most other breeds. They score about the same as a lab, and no one would ever expect a lab to bite a kid.  

Answer 14

pit bulls are NOT bad with children, unless they are taught to be.  right now, your pup is in the puppy stage, and this is the best time to train him to be around your kids, and that is the key, make sure that the kids are around the dog alot, supervised.  if either child or dog do wrong, correct them.  i have 2 pits bulls, and friends with small children, and my dogs have been raised around these kids, they are fine with them.  just make sure that the kids dont pull ears and or tail, or be too rough with the pup, as well as the pup not being too rough with the kids.  pups love to jump on kids...its a sign of love and affection, but this behavior can be easily corrected.  your family needs to get out of the ice age, and stop being so afraid of a breed that has a bad rap due to bad publicity.  when in reality pit bulls are very loving, loyal family dogs.

Answer 15

No, keep him, they are the sweetest animals, and make excellent family pets, they are very tolerating of children, my friend has a pit bull and the children can do anything to this dog, she won't even show a ounce of aggression, most pit bulls don't have a aggressive bone in there body. Check out some of the videos od pit bulls on Youtube.com, you will see a lot of pictures of pit bulls with children and families.

Here are 2 really good videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY0kmzg8S...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ9Te3A17...

Answer 16

NO!!! They are not! I have a pitt bull and my little sister (6) and brother (10) are just fine with him. I've always had pitts and grew up around them. Like any dog if you raise it right it's a great dog. As for bitting hello hes a fricken puppy, at seven weeks he's teething. All dogs do this, all animals with teeth do this. Not to mention puppys chew naturally. Buy some toys, tell them to get over their ignorance and love your pup.

Sorry, but i cant stand people who dont even give a dog a chance just cause of its breed.

Answer 17

I do not think you are wrong for having a pit. It's all about how you raise them. Raise them to be mean and they will be, and vice versa. You are also right about the biting, it's a puppy thing. The stigma pit's have is awful, and unfair because most of them are very sweet natured. However, I would not ever leave the puppy in the room with your children unattended. I wouldn't suggest leaving any dog in a room alone with such young kids. On the news 2 weeks ago here in OK. they had a story about a lab puppy eating(and killing) parts of a baby. This all happened because the mother left the baby in a room unattended. Taking the puppy to a dog class might help to alleviate your families worries somewhat, and also help the puppy to realize you are in control. I hope this helps you.

Answer 18

Well, I used to have pet bull dog but he died. :( He was my baby cousins favorite thing in the world. Fact: Pit Bulls are nicer than they look and also, they are some of the nicest and gentlest dogs in the world.

Answer 19

You must train him. He needs to know you are the leader. You can find a lot of books on this. The dog whisperer, Cesar Milan has a few books out.

Pits are as aggressive as their owners let them be.

Your kids need to learn how to act around any dog, and respect them. No pulling the tail, ears, feet, no grabbing food out of his food dish, and so on.

Answer 20

Pit Bulls are not bad dogs. It is the humans that break them. Read up on training dogs and don't give up. Puppies do bite, it's part of their curiosity instinct. Try mimicking the mother if he bites you since he is so young, A mother would snap at her puppy so use your hand as if they were teeth, it will mostly startle the dog, don't harm it though. Also if he still bites then go and do something else, he will eventually learn that biting leads to being ignored, etc.

I hope this works and good luck!

Pit bulls are amazing dogs and you won't regret it! :D

Answer 21

Absolutely not! With proper discipline i would trust a pittie around my children faster than a lot of other breeds. My male pit would never bite anyone, unless they threatened my granddaughter. They play for hours at a time and i've never worried once.

Answer 22

no dog is necessarily bad but pit bulls, they can turn on you anytime.