pitt bulls around 2 year old

[kris123]

Ok, maybe not the place to ask but I thought this would be the place to get honest answers.  My bf has a pitt bull and my son Ryan has been around him, but my son likes to smake dogs and messes with cats.  My bf said his pitt bull would never hurt kids and he has been around his son since he was7 and has never hurt him.  I don't know what to think.  He loves this dog and I am not sure if things progress that he would give up his Dog, but is it smart to put my son around him?  My oldest is scared of the dog, she is 13.  So what to do???? Please advise

[kris123]

BTW my son has been around him but both me and Ray have been there and I have kinds held my son and keep him from smacking him.  Oh I am so so confused.

[aly79]

i am deathly scared of pittbulls if you look into the bread one bite can take something off cause there whole head is there jaw i mean most dogs just have there jaw bone for power of the bite but with the pitbull its there whole head that thought just scares me plus a lot of cities forbid pittbulls to live in city limits and i have seen what one can do its just to scary for me if i see one loose my kids get put inside the house asap cause you never know when one will turn   i dont mean to scare you i mean most dogs act how there raised which is pretty good but you just never know truly speaking you never know with any animal good luck

[heatherlynn22]

any dog can be mean. i've been around pittbulls that are the sweetest, most gentle dogs EVER while i've been around the "nice" dogs that turned out to be horribly mean dogs. it all depends on how s/he was raised. if s/he was raised in a happy, loving home the dog will be happy and loving. if s/he was raised in an abusive, mean home the dog will most likely be either extremely nervous or a mean dog.

don't judge the dog based on the breed. i remember hearing this a few times "there is no such thing as a bad dog, only a bad owner."

[jenstam]

I would NEVER trust a dog around a small child. Especially a pitbull. People can say all they want that their dog would never hurt anyone but my daughter Brooke spent a week in the ICU due to being bit in the face by a dog when she was one. The dog, the neighbor told me was harmless, a real sweetie. The dog was a golden retriever of all dogs! He was laying down next to where she was. She walked past him and he jumped up and grabbed her face. It happened so quickly. Her face became infected and since it was so close to her brain and eye, they hospitalized her for a week. NEVER, EVER trust a dog. My answer would be a DEFINITE NO. I would not allow that dog near my child. Your 13 year old is right to be afraid. Animals are so unpredictable, not to mention a dog with a reputation like pitbulls. Just this morning I read an article about a pitbull who chewed off all the toes on a 4 month old baby while the mother was sleeping. She didn't hear the baby cry because she had taken sleeping pills. Beside the point, but the point is don't trust the dog around your child! I have witnessed how quickly things can happen. I am now terrified of most dogs, friendly or not! SCARY!!

[AnnieBrooke]

I don't think I would have a small child around a dog, whether it is a poodle or a pit bull.  Any dog can do damage to a child, and kids can inadvertently startle dogs.

[have 2 kids]

We've owned dogs for over 20 years.  I would never leave any dog and young child alone ever.   I don't care if it's the sweetest dog ever.

[kris123]

my sister has a little dog that tries to bit my son and of course my son goes after him and tries to hit him.  angie said he almost bit him in the face today.  I told her to get rid of the stupid dog, but she won't.  So that is why I asked.  This dog is blind though, so that may have something to do whith his bitting.

[snagglepuss1]

I agree with the other posts, dogs are wild animals at the end of the day, a child does not stand a chance with a dog if it attacks, there have been too many incidents recently of seemingly tame and sweet family dogs attacking children and killing them. If your gut says it's wrong, then go with it!

[GermanBaby]

I am a veterinarian and I have a special interest in public health - animal bites being near the top of my list. The majority of bites are in children and a large percentage of them are from "family" dogs. Dogs treat children as "puppies". Children should NEVER be left unattended with any dog no matter how friendly.  

[mami1323]

I own a pitbull and he is the most gentle dog ever.  My son actually sits on him and pulls his tail and uses him as a stool to climb onto the couch.  My dog has never bitten him.  However, I would never leave him unattended with him or any dog that is.  You never know, it could take one little incident.  Dogs are still animals and can snap at any moment.  

[91004]

I have owned pittbulls in the past that were very sweat and wouldn't bite, but I would never ever let my kids around a pittbull. When they bite they are biting to kill. I don't let my kids go around any dogs unless I know they will not bite. If you oldest girl is afraid of the dog that really isn't going to work anyway.

[avik7]

i own a pitbull and he is seriously the sweetest dog and he absolutely loves all the children in the neighborhood. they always come over to take him for a walk, play with him, give him baths . his so sweet and very gentle and careful around anything and everything.

[kris123]

humm, I just don't know.  This guy isn't the greatest any way ya know.  

[tatorbug40]

Even if you are standing right beside him,  if your son decides to hit the dog, the dog may/will snap back, and these things can happen VERY fast!  I agree that it isn't just the breed of dog-  as said-  any dog, even well raised ones with great personalities can snap and bite a person.  ANY DOG...  they are animals, and no matter how sweet the dog- this can happen...  my suggestion is to not let your son and the dog near each other, and I am not trying to be mean or anything,  and you haven't really mentioned this, so maybe you do say something to him-  but I would teach your child not to hit an animal-  this is not to say that he won't still do it-  I have two small kids,  but if you keep restating this instruction,  eventually, he will get it...  and I'm not saying this as some insane animal lover-  I say it for your sons safety.

we had a huge falling out with our old housemate-  he got engaged to a woman with a small child (about 4 or 5) and we had a very very sweet lab mix, and the child would come to visit us and would always hit hailey (our dog),  her mom would never tell her not to do it-  this was our dog, and at the time our only baby...  I would always step in and tell the child,  please don't hit hailey,  she is a sweet dog,  but we don't want her to become agressive toward you or any other child because you keep hitting her...  finally after a few months of this DH had enough and he snapped and yelled at the child and her mom for never correcting her-  we moved out within a month, and the once friendship is pretty much over- the mom was offended that DH yelled at her child and her....  the day we were moving out our housemates dog (also a gentle lab mix) bit the child because she was hitting her...  right as I was trying to talk thru why we were so worked up over it with the mom...  just proved my point...  

on top of it all-  even a gentle pit naturally has a more agressive personality then some other breeds and could snap even quicker....  could-  not saying pits are bad...  but you hear lots of stories...  

I'd keep your son away from the dog.  (short answer)...  :)

[mami1323]

kris, this justs adds to the ever long list of why this man is not for you.  Please think carefully.

[jenstam]

I hate to add to this, but even people that say they have the sweetest dog ever and even if they KNOW 100% that their dog would never do something like that it can and does happen. Even with the sweetest family pets. They are animals and we as humans don't always understand their behaviors. Something can happen to trigger very primitive responses so you can never, ever be certain that your dog would not do something like that. I say keep your child away from the dog at all times and also teach him not to hit animals. I used to have neighbors whose kids were outside hitting their dog with a broom and swinging kittens around by the tail and throwing them. The parents never taught them or told them not to do it. Matter of fact, they thought it was funny. What a shame not to teach a child to be kind to animals! They have to learn to respect ALL living creatures, not just humans. Well, they didn't really respect humans either.

[mami1323]

You know, I hate that, when children mistreat animals.  I know it's ridiculous but it bothers me when I see kids chasing away birds.  It may seem like nothing but I think it's wrong.  Why scare the bird?  When Jayden does it I yell at him and say leave the bird alone.  

[AnnieBrooke]

You are also in the position where if you did let your son be around a dog a lot (knowing he likes to get after dogs) and he did get bitten, if the bite was a bad one and required medical attention, you might get investigated by the Children's Services Division about what in the world you were thinking, letting a 2-year-old (who you already don't think you can trust not to poke at dogs) be in contact with the dog.  

[vsentz]

I completely and absolutely agree with the posters that say NEVER leave a child alone with a dog... even if you are standing right there accidents happen!!!!
I own a boxer (long story... I'm more of a tiny, cute dog... but this one's more my husband's) and she's very sweet. She's stupid and she's mellow. I could swear she'd never hurt us, and in fact she defends Maddie from strangers and acts protective.

But you never know: one time we went to visit my sister in law and took our dog with us. Maddie was starting to crawl, but my niece and nephews were like 3, 4 and 6 y/o's. My idiot dog snapped and hurt my niece and my one nephew AT THEIR HOME! because they'd walk pass her while she was chewing on a bone... or she was eyeballing food on the table.
I was so upset with this damn dog... but in the end, that's all they are: dogs.

I keep a gate up when Maddie is in the house running around and playing. My dog stays in the other side of the gate, and even when she does things in spite because she's not happy that we dont' let her in with us (like peeing in the house, or chewing on stuff) I don't care, she's a dog, and as much as I care for her, I prefer to protect my child!!!! also, she's a very dirty, slobbery, hair shedding dog... so, no thanks! ;)

I work in a newspaper, and the stories sometimes here are heart breaking! I remember reading about a gramma that kept her baby grandson. While the baby was in his exersaucer, the dog laying next to the lady, she stood up to make a bottle. Then she heard screaming and commotion...when she saw what it was...., she found the baby almost destroyed on the floor...., she grabbed a knife and jumped in to save the baby... stabbed the dog, but he attacked her instead and got good part of her face and arm. The baby grew wings that day, and the grandmother was in serious condition in a trauma hospital.

It was a pitbull.

I am petrified of those things.... (I really apologize for my fellows that own these kind of dogs), I am scared of ANY dog for that matter, that could potentially harm my kid.

Not too long ago I had a nasty scare with another dog (a black lab) snapped at Maddie while she was trying to pet him (she got so happy and excited that screamed and scared him)... the dog owner swore that even when he snapped at her, that he would never harm any baby or kid.... I'm sorry, I'm not taking any chances to prove him wrong. She wasn't allowed to pet that dog... or any other dog I don't know for that matter!!!!

Then again: I am super safety-psycho mom... lol ;)

And Kris, if he doesn't make you happy... then I'd consider cut the 'tree by the root', ya know?

[mami1323]

Jayden always runs to pet dogs and I always grab him and say not every dog wants to be pet.  It's not something you want to take a chance with.

[jenstam]

I FREAK if I see my son running towards a dog. ANY dog. I am so scared of dogs around children. Not only was my daughter attacked in the face by a dog when she was one, but my mother also was attacked in the face when she was a very little girl. He ripped her top lip open all the way through her nose. She had to have hours of surgery to reconstruct that portion of her face. That dog happened to be a pitbull. She was just petting him and he attacked her. He was a family dog. She has a scarred face to this day and it has affected her whole life because of how it made her self esteem lower. My daughter does have scars on her face as well, but they aren't bad. We did go after the homeowners and got a hefty settlement for her when she turns 18. Something I would gladly give back for her not having to had gone through that though.

[tatorbug40]

v-  that grandma is now on trial for the death of her grandson.  it is a very sad story...  

a few months ago a stray pit-bull wandered into my MIL's back yard-  she kept Colten at the time for us-  she called over and over to animal control services-  it just happened to be the time when San Antonio was switching over to a "no-kill" system in the shelters,  so they just kept telling her they didn't have room (easy to become no-kill if you just ignor the problem)-  this dog made himself at home in their yard and would eat the other dogs food...  my MIL couldn't go outside or take Colten out...  I flipped out after two weeks of it and sent letters to every organization I could-  mayor, etc...  I was ticked off that acs wouldn't come get this dog-  i even tried to save his life with craigslist-  no one wanted to take the dog,  but everyone wanted to send me nasty e-mails about how I was discriminating against pits, etc... blah blah blah-  because we were unfortunate enough to have this dang gone dog end up in our (my MIL's) yard, we are suppose to care for him!!  I don't think so-  it took me a morning of ranting to every city official I could (after 2 days of the craigslist abuse I got for trying to save him) and they finally came and got the dog...     this one was a stray-  we had no idea how he had been raised...  and I finally had to tell them that the dog had knocked down my MIL while she was watering her plants (which he did-  he was just trying to play,  but she is 73)...  

[AnnieBrooke]

It's unfortunate but I believe the law is that once a stray takes up residence on your property, it's "your" dog (or cat, for that matter).  I can't remember the time limit, maybe you have a month to do something about it.  So waiting it out (for the animal to stray off to better feeding grounds) doesn't work.  You have to be that proactive.

Back to the main point, don't have the child around the dog, kris.  And while you're at it, re-think having yourself around the man.  He does not sound like a good one, with the drugs thing with his ex, and all.

[tatorbug40]

Oh,  we were proactive-  it was two weeks of everyone calling a few times a day!  he is gone now...  

[scorpiogirl32]

i would just like to add my 2 cents in. any dog can attack and i do belive that german sheperds are responsibal for most the dog bits you only hear about pitbulls cuz every one thinks there so bad from watching animal planet i think that thay also have the more dangeros bite ive had pitbulls and just like any other dog thay can bite in a sec you are not supposed to have any dog alone with children. right now i have a peek a poo and if her teeth were alined right and she was bigger she would have taken my kids arm off but she has some meesed up teeth lol so she just sounds mean you dote here about little dogs attack cuz thay cannot really kill no one just bite ankles lol well just go with your gut and do what you feel is best for your kids. best of luck ***Angie***

[melimeli]

wouldn't put my child at risk because I was in love

[bullie101]

I own a Kennel and breed/Show English Bulldogs my family has been involved with Bulldogs over 35 years but not the PitBulls mind you..  I also have 3 kids who have been around our bullies their whole life and not once have any of them ever growled or went for one of my kids or anyone else.  That being said we show them weekly 10 year old daughter does Jr handling with our French Bulldogs so they are well trained and socilized.

BUT... My 5 year old son was attacked last year by a Chow Chow causing him to be hospitilized for 2 weeks.  He was also bite in the face which has left him with 3 puncture scars  that will never go away.  After his attack with this Chow Chow we thought we would have to sell all our english and french bulldogs as we was affraid of him being terrified of them.  He loves them all just the same and it thank god has not affected him.

This Chow Chow belonged to Family and it had never showed any agression before it's attack on my son so you can never trust ANY dog ANY breed at ANY time alone with a child.  My Children are never left alone with any of our bulldogs at anytime as much as we love them and know they are great docile dogs they can never be trusted.  This is especially with a child who just wants to pet and get close to a dog, they can't talk to us and tell us if they are grumpy and want to be left alone , their only way is growling or snaping and sometimes the unthinkable "Biting"...