Quote:
Originally Posted by octothorp
...I tend to agree that any dog can be a good dog or a bad dog, and so much of it lies in the responsibility of the owner (and, to a lesser extent, the breeder). That said, I think the danger with bull terriers is that a bad bull terrier is going to be a lot more dangerous than a bad chihuahua, or even a bad retriever.
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We have two dogs: A one-year-old Borzoi (perhaps the least manly big dog on the planet) and a five-year-old Australian Shepherd.
I love our Aussie and generally think that she is a terrific dog for our family; she is incredibly affectionate, sensitive, playful and gentle with our kids, our other dog, and the cats, but does this make her a "friendly" dog? Not in my estimation. She is frequently dog-aggressive, has issues with unfamiliar people, and little tolerance for unfamiliar toddlers. My wife is a professional dog trainer, and she stopped taking her to work to demo because she was so temperamental outside of the house. Taking her for walks is difficult because of how she reactes when we encounter other dogs, and having people over to the house is challenging.
I think the same issues that my Aussie has are what is likely to affect many Pit Bull Terriers, and why I would not classify them as "friendly". Like our dog, I expect that Pit Bulls are great around the house, with family, familiar friends, and with familiar animals. But much like our Aussie, Pit Bulls can be highly territorial and insular: protective of the pack. What makes Pit Bulls especially dangerous is that if my Australian Shepherd decides to attack an outsider, I can pry her off of him. When a Pit Bull finds the determination to do so, his owner cannot.
Certainly, ownership responsibility and training is an important factor when it comes to any dog's behaviour, Pit Bulls and Australian Shepherds included. But a couple of things to bear in mind: first, not all dogs within a specific breed are the same. Our Aussie comes from a line of high-performance and championship dogs (winners of the sporting group at the Westminster three consecutive years now), but most of the females are also aggressive. I've met other Australian Shepherds that are not. Many times, selection within the breed plays a part. Second, we still know so little about dog behaviour that there really is no such thing as the perfectly predictable dog, especially when instinct is still a major factor. Our Borzoi breeder also had cats, and was incident free for over twenty-years. Then suddenly, without warning, three of her older—and what one would consider most "predictable" dogs—chased and killed the cat that they had lived with for over a decade. My Borzoi is actually terrified of the cats (it's hilarious), but because of centuries of breeding, there is no way in hell that I will trust him not to suddenly decide to eat one. It is what he has been bred to do.