CIARA
In general the APBT is not human aggressive. When properly socialized as a puppy, an APBT will lead a quiet and peaceful life. Some APBTs may go a lifetime without ever being in a confrontation with another dog, mainly due to the owners care and awareness about the breed. There are some cases of irresponsible pit bull owners that have and will train their dogs to attack people. That is one big mistake that should be avoided all together. If you have ever owned more than one a pit bull you have probably broken up a few fights every now and then in your own backyard. The APBT is a very focus animal with a never quit attitude that pound for pound is one the strongest dogs in the world. If you were to unleash an animal of this caliber on a human, well, there is really no competition. APBTs are not guard dogs, nor were they bred to be a guard dog. Their sole purpose in life was to be a fighter back in the pit days. If you are looking for a guard dog get a German Shepherd or a Rottweiler instead.
Tantrum, my Blue Nose Pit Bull is a very social and tranquil dog. Whenever we go on walks around the neighborhood, we come across children that will run up to him and start petting him without a care in the world. At times we have encountered older people that have an erroneous misconception about the breed and if they see us coming they will literally pick up their toy poodles start walking the other direction. It is a sad display of ignorance, but Tantrum does have that look to him that most people find intimidating. If they only knew what a sweet dog he is!
TANTRUM
Tantrum has been my very first Blue Nose Pit Bull that I have owned and the very first APBT that is non-aggressive towards other dogs. While taking walks at the park I have come across larger breeds like English Mastiffs or Great Danes and I can honestly say that he doesn’t want to start a fight. Now, I am not saying that he won’t fight; I am saying that he is a social animal.
Several years ago my cousin came home one night with this skinny, ugly, frightening looking dog. I could literally count the bones in his tail and rib cage, he was scarred up bad and you could tell he had been used in dog fights. The next morning I realized that the dog he had brought home was a poorly treated American Pit Bull Terrier. Of course, not knowing anything about the breed, I was afraid to keep him around. I had heard so many horror stories in the news about how bad these types of dogs were that I didn’t want anything to happen to my two toddlers.
Over the next few weeks I kept him in my back yard, watching him to make sure he was “safe” to keep around. He put on some weight and I slowly began to bring him around my children and family. His name came to be “Scar” because of the condition he was in when we found him.
To this very day Scar has been one of my favorite dogs ever. He was excellent around people, but he had one fault that I could not break. His over aggressiveness towards other animals was extreme. He could not come in contact with another dog of any color, shape or size; he would instinctively want to attack no matter what. The aggression he displayed was due to his poor socializing as a puppy and his previous owners used him for what I believe to be back yard dog fighting. To keep Scar safe and out of trouble I avoided meetings with other dogs and exercised him regularly to keep his mind occupied.
After that I ended up with a total of six pit bulls with Scar being the pack leader. The introduction was progressive until Scar was accepting of the other dogs. Since then, I have been passionate about raising pit bulls because there is not another dog out there that does it for me. I am a true fan of the American Pit Bull Terrier.