I hate to put a negative spin on this but I don't like the fact that they show the dog going after the camera crew. APBT's are not good guard dogs.

APBTs are not as effective as guardian breeds because of years of selective breeding to be handled during combat by their owners. This does not mean they cannot and will not protect. If you ask those that choose the PB breeds in the protection sports you will find the PBs are consistently "softer" at the bite work than those that were bred for protection, they however shine in the other aspects of the sport. As for the camera crew, it was my observation it made Baby distressed, the rapid nervous bark and the straightening of the tail as it wagged shortly back and forth. I can't say my stable APBT would not act the same until it no longer caused him stress,the dog looked to be posturing to me...like "I don't know you or understand you, stay away"

People aggression was never allowed when the breed was first created. Dogs were killed immediately and on the spot if they were aggression to any human not just the owners.

I respectfully disagree, there were several notorious APBTs of history that were kept and bred and known to be man biters. My take is that historical dog men knew that dogs are animals and they could behave in irratic ways when excited....it was still the objective of the old time breeders to perpetuate a very handler friendly dog.

I'm happy this dog saved its family but it still is a negative story. They are showing a bad representation of this breed and their temperament. I understand that the dog was defending its territory but it was also obviously aggressive towards people, the way it was going after the camera crew.

I can say I don't know if the dog is HA, I think the camera crew stressed him from what I saw, and I think I also know the dog protected without fatally injuring the intruder or redirecting on his owner. Again I feel the dog was stressed by the intruder and postured then acted......nothing bad yet. I believe if the dog is as negative as you paint him he should have done more damage than he did IMO.

Plus the reporter kept saying how the dog attacked on command and what not.

And you put stock in anything a reporter says, or the fact that a 13 yr old boy interpreted what he told his dog in an excited state that some how is equivelent to a trained command to attack? If it were that easy.

I have 17 APBT's and only 2 maybe 3 would protect my family. They really have no guardian instinct. You see many people that have rotties or Shepherds to protect the family and keep people from stealing the Pits.

I have two as well, and my strongly bred APBT has way more guardian in him than PB breeders would say is good....he is very stable and has been a wonderful Pet Bull. They are all different and recognizing that is very insightful to guide their training and their handling. The only negative aspect of this story is a single mom was terrified after her child was attacked and all she wanted to do was escape the situation leaving Baby in a vulnerable condition, which I hope after she has some time to calm down will re-visit the issue of Baby.

Again I'm happy she saved the family but not a story I like to see because it feeds the public fear of Pit Bulls.

I moved to a town so I could have all my dogs, I would never move somewhere where my dogs could not come. She saved their life they should return the favor and find another place to move.

Geez...I wish I could stay out of these PB threads, but I just can't. I see where both Val and Lisa are coming from...though I think Val and I are more in agreement w/their history.

The dog didn't kill anyone. THAT is improper PB temperament...protecting is NOT incorrect. Read old Stratton books just for fun and look at how many unusual protection stories are in there where the dogs held intruders at bay w/out injuring them. IMO, that is correct PB temperament; they are not blind to threats, but they are not HA either.

As far as manbiters...well, that's two-fold. Both statements are correct. There were known manbiters (Zebo, who Simon is down from comes to mind as one legendary one) that were not destroyed. True, overall, manbiters were not tolerated...but to say that they didn't exist and weren't still great dogs is not entirely true. I think it would be more accurate to say that UNPROVOKED manbiters were destroyed...I don't see old time dogmen destroying a dead game dog who was a great producer just because it bit an intruder. It's relative to the situation, IMO.

I really don't see where this story SHOULD present the dogs in a negative light; I think most other breeds would've done more damage, but I see Lisa's point, too. The breed really doesn't need to perpetuate its reputation as defenders of man.

I think it would be more accurate to say that UNPROVOKED manbiters were destroyed...

And if they were really good, at the least were not bred.....

I think it's weird that this dog is like "a hero" to the family and they are getting rid of him after that, just to move in a place that won't allow that dog..weird..
I have to say that here in Vegas in (October I think or sept) a woman entering her house from coming home from work was rushed by a rapist and he grabbed her by her hair, dragged her up the stairs to her bedroom, well in her bedroom was her pit She would leave her dog in her bedroom when she went to work cause he had a chewing problem , well when the rapist opened the bedroom door to get his victim in the bedroom he did not know a pit was on the other side and so the dog attacked him but got a mouth full of his jacket the guy quickly took his jacket off and ran out , the dog was still hanging on to the jacket the whole time thrashing it around and did not chase the intruder . Too bad the guy did not get skin torn off, but I guess he did get scared and left. I bet she still has her dog..

Wow, that was amazing luck for that woman. I bet she still has that dog too.

I'm a little upset too by them giving the dog away. Molly never has saved my life but I'd go live under a bridge if it were the only way to keep my dog. If my dog had saved me or any of my children that dog would have a home for life no matter what.

Them giving it up and it's attitude toward the camera crew makes me wonder if it were really protecting the family or if they have had some HA issues in the past and are now considering the liability of having a HA dog. Just food for thought.

 Quote: Matt Wyrick

I'm a little upset too by them giving the dog away.

If that dog was mine, I would be VERY upset.

Any specific suggestions on how the image of this breed can be improved? I guess we get the dogs out in public and change minds one at a time? They once were American iconic dogs, beloved by the general public. Can we bring that back?