
Originally Posted by
ascendant
i have to disagree with the majority of you on here.
pitbulls are succeptible to a mental disorder, whether inbred or not. that is why you so commonly hear about them turning on their masters or attacking people unprovoked. i know from personal experience, did the resarch, and learned what i'm going to tell you about.
i regretfully can't recall all the specifics, but basically with pitbulls, there's a certain "fight or flight" chemical, similar to adrenaline, that sometimes "short circuits". when it does, it's similar to a human having an anxiety attack, which if any of you have had them, you know how dramatically it can affect you. the big difference with this chemical in the dogs though is that this chemical also temporarily affects their memory as the instinctive part of their brain is prioritized and other parts are temporarily shut off, which means at that point, they don't know who anyone is around them.
so now, imagine yourself in their shoes... you're in a state of pure panic and anxiety, you have no idea why, you're disoriented, your hearts racing, and there are people around you that you don't know (cause you can't remember them). at that point, it takes very little for them to be provoked and oftentimes in the disorientation, they'll attack without any provocation whatsoever out of complete panic.
we had a pet pitbull in my later teen years. we had him since he was a puppy, raised him ourselves, and were always gentle with him. long story short, one day i came home and he was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor trembling. nobody had been home all day and there was nothing in the house that indicated anything had occured that would've caused this. however, as soon as i called his name in concern, he came running at me and tried to attack me. he tried to attack me for the next 20 mins or so and i repeatedly kept hitting him off me till i finally got him into my sisters bedroom and closed the door. prior to me getting him to the room however, he did manage to lock onto my hand at one point, giving me a pretty hefty gash as he locked on and whipped his head back and forth. could've been a lot worse though.
later my father let him out and he was fine as if nothing had happened. my father also didn't believe my story cause he loved his dog and refused to believe i didn't provoke him in some way. after the incident however, i spoke to a vet who told me pretty much what i explained above with the whole chemical disorder thing. i additionally saw a show on the discovery channel which at one point during the show briefly explained that same issue with pitbulls. that is why when pitbulls are caught by any kennels or shelters, unless they have a tag, they're immediately put down. due to circumstances, some states have even outlawed breeding pitbulls and you can get a hefty fine for doing so.
luckily, our pitbull never did that again, but it goes to show that it could happen at any time for no reason at all. though the chance is slim, i personally wouldn't risk it. if a regular dog loses it, you can get bit. however, pitbulls are pretty damn tough, and when they bite down, they can get lockjaw. you're looking at some seriously torn flesh and with youngsters, more likely than not death.
it's late now, but i'll try and browse the web tomorrow and see if i can find more in-depth info on what i explained here that may make better sense of it and maybe even have statistics. after my personal experience and research, i would advise anyone and everyone to not get a pitbull.