Pit bulls’ surprising past: Nanny dogs

The Nanny Dog, Americas most beloved and Favourite Family Breed for more than 100 years The American Pit Bull Terrier. Decorated War Heroes in BOTH World Wars. The breed attributed for the highest weight drug seizer, The American Pit Bull terrier. Even The Little Rascals has Petey!

I love my Pit. We have an 8 year old American Pit and just got a 6 week old Blue Brindle Pit. They are both very spoiled and very loving. Any breed can be mean, it's all in how they are raised!!!!! So judge the people raising them, not the dog. All they want is to be loved unconditionally.

People in the 1800's took people from Africa then turned them into slaves. People in the 1800's fought a terrible bloody war for their "right" to have slaves. So just because it was done in the 1800's doesn't mean it is the correct thing to do.

No matter what the breed, it’s all in the socializing, disciplining and loving.

More kids are bitten by golden retrievers. I have a pit. I tell children, that my dog WILL bite them.

We have a pit who's adorable, but is a serial nipper, is this a reflection of the way we're acting as a couple always bickering etc? If so, should we part company for the dogs sake?

poodles and chiwawas have bitten way more people then pitts but I guess people just want to report pittbuls so they have a bad reputation.

I have a PitBull and she is a big baby

Hey, its great to see some positive press on pitbulls. my husband loves them and so do I. In fact, my male Loot, used to sit by my son's crib and whine once he would wake up. We have one now and my son is so in love with him and we are too. A very great breed of dog!

It's not the writer who is ignorant. Like most dog owners, the negative commenters, and the general public the writer has simply gone with what is popular: the generic sticker of "pitbull" that has been placed on around a dozen different terrier breeds over time. These include (but are not limited to): AMPT, AmStaff Terriers, and Bull Terriers. With in breeding, the term pitbull has grown to include any dog that has strong features and guardian characteristics like the Mastiffs, Bulldogs, and Cane Corso. In short, saying pitbull today is like saying laptop. It's not a specific breed. The writer's history is correct that the label applies to the dog in the picture. Before you criticize, do your own homework. I also recommend you meet a pitbull. Maybe one of the many who work for the police force.

Pit-bulls may get a bad-rap because of owners, but when anyone is mauled to death by a pit-bull, it is the pit-bull that did it. Comparing today's hybridized killers to 'Petey' in the Little Rascals is giving the modern-breed a kudo is certainly does not deserve. If liberals want to ban something worthy of being banned, they should go after pit-bulls; they are not banned in some communities for nothing. Bad pit-bull owners don't maul people to death, pit-bulls do.

This article is false. The dog they are referring to is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Which is the breed that was the English building block of the American Pit-Bull Terrier & American Staffordshire Terrier. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier has been recognized by the AKC since 1975 and is a PURE Breed(Unlike the pit bull which is still not recognized by the AKC). Not to mention the breed standard for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier puts a 38 pound limit on males and a 28 pound limit on females. Basically we (Americans) took a very old-time stable dog and ruined it by making it huge and unstable. As the owner of a pure bred Staffordshire Bull Terrier, i find it insulting when people call him a "Pit-Bull" because it undermines hundreds of years of breeding. Staffordshire Bull Terriers are EXTREMELY rare in the US. Google it.

Thirty one people in the U.S. were killed by dogs in 2011. Anyone care to guess which breed of dog was responsible for the most deaths? It wasn't the chihuahua or the cocker spaniel.

How about 10 times the fines for dangerous dogs, like pits, rots, and german shepherds. 4 pit bulls on the loose 4000 dollars. Any untagged dogs auto put down by officer.

Lovely-- look at all the pit nutters out in force. It's amazing how people identify breeds by characteristics-- "Beagles are great hunting dogs!" "German Shepherds are great guard dogs!" -- Of course they are, that's what they were bred to do. But not Pit Bulls, oh no, they're just lovable wiggle butts who'll lick you to death. Or disembowel your toddler.

vick can die and go to hell. it's the owner's fault not to give the dogs freaken disipline. it's bad enough as it is

Jeremy... same dog-do YOUR research first. Staffys are a TYPE of APBT...People just don't want their staffys known as a pit...I own a "colby" and a "staffy" same head, body mass, same temperment- just my colby is taller and weighs more...
Pitties are the BEST! The one time in my life I have been bitten by a dog it was a Chihuahua! lol

I've known this for years and have tried to express to the best of my abilities the greatness off the APBT. My son had his first dog at 2... an APBT named Wesson. I love the breed to this day and hate the ignorance especailly from uppedy suberbia. RIP Isis and Dreco.

This is hardly "surprising" at all. Anyone who has spent 2 minutes with an APBT would know the only attacking this dog has an instinct for is for kisses and playtime. They're fantastic with children, adults, and even other animals! I can't tell you the number of times my #$%$ has nearly been handed to me by a Chihuahua, Miniature Poodle, Schnauzer, and Labrador but every APBT I've spent time with I've got nothing but hugs and lots of love. Be careful though they have a thing for tripping you when you play chase. Lol. :) This breed takes a lot of love, patience, and discipline. Treat em right and they'll be your loyal friend for life.

Slight correction. The breed that they refer to, that was nick named "The nanny dog" is NOT the pit bull. Its is called a STAFFORD SHIRE TERRIER, Which is a completely different breed of dog, than the Pit bull terrier" or "American pit bull terrier" and also has a very different temperment than pit bulls. Most North Americans including myself, have mistaken the stafford shire terrier, or "staffy" as they are called in England, for pit bulls. However, if you go to England, you will only make that mistake once. They are VERY quick to correct your miss understanding of the breed. The pit bull terrier was bred from the Staffy going back to the 19th century, and is not the same dog as the staffy, any more than a ST. Bernard and an German Shepard are the same breed. (see wikapedia under STAFFORD SHIRE TERRIER for confirmation of details.) ;)