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Theres something about this statement that just sounds so right. I can't put my finger on it tho.

I hate it when you agree with me, Steyr Aug. It means I must have committed some kind of sin. 

When I worked in a prison the inmates would often say they wouldn't rob a house with a little dog in it. The big ones (dogs, not prisoners, but come to think of it ...) were usually very docile. Many of the prisoners (the nastiest ones, usually the rapists/ white slavers -- which was actually the name of their federal crime, white slavery, even if the "slaves" were brown or other) tended to consider pit bulls great pets, just as Pariah does. I've never met a pit bull owner I liked. There's always something very sick about them. ALWAYS. And they don't know it. They are always bullies.

BTW, anyone who wants to adopt a pit bull can come to the humane society where I live: The only animals there that are up for adoption are pits. Everybody else gets adopted right away.

One thing pits do have going for them, however, is that they are invariably smarter than their owners.

I guess the little ones get attached to one person and shut out the rest. The big dogs do tend to be nicer.

The owner of the pits I was talking about in a previous post put out a sort of "Bad Ass" vibe. But when you live in Cleveland you have to get used to certain things or you could get hurt. I guess I never really new him that well. He could have been hiding bodies in the basement for all I know. We only new him on a neighbor level. We would wave and say hi and things. He was really nice to us. But the dogs loved to play together. 

If someone can tell me any purpose, any at all, that a chiuwawa (sp) or jack russel or poodle or any dog that you can kill by kicking it hard serves, besides being a suburban watchdog, than maybe I will rethink it.

The smarter the dog, the more I like it. (I like all dogs; it's certain breeds' owners I despise). I got a poodle because I really do like dogs and also wanted the burglar alarm value. She saved us from a break-in when she was 6 months old (My Hero Dog!). More than anything, I needed a hypoallergenic dog that doesn't shed. One of my kids has terrible allergies to fur.

Now I have three poodles. The latest one is the biggest. Poodles are far smarter than any real dog breeds except for border collies. Man, border collies are amazing!  I think poodles are smarter than most people, don't take up much room in the bed, offer extraordinary comfort to lonely children and old people (mine do "volunteer work" in camps and a nursing home), keep you nice and warm during your naps, don't eat much, don't smurf much, don't shed, don't slobber all over you when they kiss you, are always at your side without being too emotionally needy (like Labs and other retrievers), and they tell really good jokes.

I'm new here so I'll tread lightly, for now. 
I agree mostly with Og, despite his passionate use of language. Any dog can attack, Pit's attack more than any other dog and they are very good at it. This makes for a dangerous recipe. Yes, there are many other dogs that have attacked humans and yes Pits are treated far worse than many dogs. It is an unfortunate situation but dealing with the reality of the situation, Pits are treated more violently than most dogs due to their greater threshold of pain and they do attract people who want a 'tough' dog. The bottom line is basically this, if you have a Pit Bull (however you want to describe the breed) you and anyone close to you, are in danger of getting attacked and it will most likely be fatal. It doesn't mean it's a certainty but the statistics prove it is more likely than any other single breed. I have trained dogs and have studied both dog and wolf behaviors and know that Pit Bulls are a breed with certain characteristics, as a Retriever retrieves, a Pit Bull fights. It IS what they were bred for and despite the fact that they were originally bred not to attack humans, humans were also not part of the pack. The Pit Bull and the humans lived separately, never sharing the same living space. As we have adopted them into our homes we have made ourselves part of the hierarchy and made ourselves vulnerable to attack. One can argue forever about one's personal dog being a 'baby' and never harming anyone but I've owned both a Retriever and a Pit Bull and the Retriever has never once Retrieved a thing (lazy boot) and the Pit Bull has long passed on (of old age) without having ever attacked a single person. I was luck and very well informed. If my Retriever has a sudden urge to Retrieve, no big deal. I have kids now and will never own a Pit Bull again. It's not worth the risk.

It's all fun and games until someone has their fuzzy slippers delivered unexpectedly! 

Great, hadn't thought of that. 
Well, there goes another perfectly good dog to animal heaven. (gets shotgun).

Welcome to the forums.

Thanks.  And don't worry, my dog's not dead. We just went hunting. Got some real nice bunnies to make slippers out of. 

I agree, people are the problem with Pit Bulls. We created them through selective breeding and continue to foster their negative behaviour. I remember 20 years ago there was a proposed ban on Dobermans. Like you Pariah, I have owned Pit Bulls and have fostered more dogs than most people see in a lifetime, most being Pit crosses. I've both worked and volunteered for the care of dogs and from my experiences most Pit Bulls are fine. BUT, if they are subjected to the smurfs that tend to be attracted to them they have a higher likelihood of attacking and killing humans than any other breed, including Mastiffs, which I've also fostered. Mastiffs were trained to kill other animals, not of its breed or family. Pit Bulls were and are trained to kill their own kind. In the mind of a Pit Bull (and any other canine for that matter), once we allow the Pit Bull to sleep, eat and coexist with us, we are of its own kind and become a target. A Mastiff doesn't look at humans as a threat or target because it hasn't been taught that we are so. Pit Bulls are taught and it is in their genetic makeup to kill their own. We have, through our own stupidity, lowered (or raised) ourselves to their level and thus have become a target. The Pit Bulls I've had in my home were wonderfully sweet dogs but one day, through my own negligence, I almost lost a foster dog. These two sweet lovable dogs (one mine and one a foster) ganged up on a larger and very non aggressive dog and tore it to shreds. It needed over 100 stitches and a blood transfusion. After the attack, they returned to their normal selves and were as sweet and loving as usual. If that would have been a human he/she would have surely died. Just because you have not personally experienced the unpredictability of this breed does not make it safe. It only make you lucky, smart and attentive. I never have, and never will leave any person alone with any dog and it sounds to me as if you are reasonable and very careful with the care of your dogs but unfortunately most aren't. The reason you always here "they've never attacked before, they're the sweetest dog" is because some dumb amateur has gotten ahold of a Pit Bull and have not take proper precautions to control it. If only most people were as careful and as attentive as you seem to be with the care of you animals, there would not be an issue. But since we live in the world we do, Pit Bulls are a problem. It's not pretty, but it's the truth.

i'm a proud Staffordshire Bull Terrier owner, and what I've read in this thread has made me absolutely furious.  Whne I get home from class and swim practice I will post.

You guys are biased, and what you say is ridiculous.  Any owner/former owner of a "pit bull" who was raised with them, will look at a picture of anyone's "pit bull" or variant and think "awww" and feel a real sense of love.

Perhaps you should read regular joes post.

Thanks so much for posting that again. It was inspiring the first time, now its just legendary.

I hate dogs

Even hot dogs? 

Pit Bull Problem

That is so smurfed up. 

then again that is brazil where every dog owned is a status symbol.  They leave all these guard dogs outside in their little fenced "houses" and feed them when necessary.  I know, I grew up there, they don't know how to treat animals, or dogs.  Had that been any other type of strong dog, doberman, german shepherd that would have been the same case, I guarantee you.

I think my family owned the only kind, well treated "pit bull" (staffordshire bull terriers are actually lower to the ground, and shorter) in all of Brazil.  Probably the only well treated "fighting/guard dog" in all of Brazil.