Good Dogs...Bad People?
Most people who think or say that "Pit Bulls" are inherently mean, have most likely never met one and rely on the inaccurate media hyped portryal of "Pit Bulls" as the basis of their opinions. The Pit is, contrary to popular belief, very human-friendly and will not naturally be aggressive towards humans. The Pit is, however, extremely loyal and eager to please, so that if an owner wants a dog to be aggressive toward humans and reinforces this behavior from an early age, the dog will most likely be aggressive towards humans as an adult.
Pitbulls are just naturally aggressive towards people?
Many people equate or confuse aggressivness towards other dogs with aggressivness towards people. I have seen newspaper reports in which "concerned neighbors" are quoted saying things like, "This time it killed a stray cat; tomorrow it may be my children." Yet animal-aggressiveness is an entirely different thing from human-aggressiveness. There is no reason to infer from its killing a cat that a dog--any dog, not just an Pitbull--will ever show aggression toward human beings. Dogs can and do discriminate, even if irate neighbors cannot.
Pitbulls compared to Labrador Retrievers?
A well-bred pit bull is so reliable, that even if he is badly hurt in an automobile accident and is in extreme pain, he won't snap at his owner who tries to pick him up--unlike most dogs in that situation. Well-bred pit bulls are like labs in that they will never try to dominate their owners through threats, such as growling or baring teeth or snapping. Sure, they will try to dominate you--by outsmarting you, by doing something sneaky to get their way when they know you're not looking. But it is a very rare pit bull that will growl when you pick up his food dish or reach into his mouth to take a bone away. The analogy to labs is fitting because both of these breeds were selectively bred for tasks that demanded an extreme level of generosity toward people. Can you imagine a lab that snarled when you tried to take the duck from his mouth? Such a dog would have been culled from a serious performance-based breeding program. Likewise, any Pitbull that showed the least sign of aggression toward people was culled as unsuitable for breeding. In any case, such a dog would have been unsuitable for fighting purposes: no one would volunteer to be its handler or to referee the match. As a result of this careful breeding history, the Pittbull is an extremely easy-going, human-loving dog.
It's a Documented Fact!
The American Canine Temperament Testing Association is an organization that titles dogs for passing its temperament test. The test consists of putting the dog into a series of unexpected situations, some involving strangers. The dog fails the test if it shows any signs of unprovoked aggression or panic around people. Of all dogs that take the test, 77% on average pass. But among pit bulls who take the test, 95% on average pass--one of the highest passing rates of all breeds.