Why do Pit Bulls and Rottweillers have such a bad rep?

It is easier to blame the breed than those who train them to do the deed.

Pitt Bulls and Rottweilers are a very dominant breed. They need a firm handler from the begging. Most people get them as cute little puppies and don't bring them up right. Rottweilers are very very territorial and if left alone to long become aggressive. The worst thing with pit bulls is that they get more aggressive with pain. So hitting one is the worst thing that you can do. Most people think that when there dog is bad that you should smack it on the butt. Also both breeds have lock jaw, makeing the attacks much worse.

Mostly media hype. They rarely report other breeds biting if at all. Bad owners are the real reason for the bad reputation which is most unfortunate.

Those people deserve to be shot, and BSL is wrong although there are some cities adopting that hardline.

My APBT is two years old, and has been through obedience school and has passed his CGC (Canine Good Citizenship) tests and has the certificate. He needs one more class before he could train to be a therapy dog. He has become quite a good representative for the breed. Many people he meets are amazed he isn't vicious! People have been trained by the media that these dogs are born killers. Not true.

Pits that are brought up right make lousy watchdogs though. They just want to lick people to death and play no matter who shows up.

You cant find a better dog, just be prepared to pay a lot of attention to them because they are not given to just laying around......they want to play and work.

EDIT: Pitbulls jaws do NOT physically lock. They have very powerful jaw muscles compared to other breeds, making it seem like they lock.

Pit bulls and Rottweillers get the worst rep because a lot of them are bred by disreputable people for the purpose of being vicious. Thus they breed vicious, unpredictable animals often for illegal dogfighting or to guard their property. These two breeds in particular, when they do bite, are genetically designed to NOT let go. Other breeds bite just as often but they're not as likely to be so persistent in not letting go.

The other thing is that more people who ought not to own dogs choose to own dogs that look mean and vicious because the people are irresponsible and don't train their animals. Now an untrained poodle or sheltie or greyhound is just going to be annoying, but an untrained Rottweiller could easily kill a human. So I do believe it's the human's fault and not the dog's in general when they are vicious.

I had a female rottie for 12 yrs, 2 yrs ago she had to be put down for health reasons. She was without a doubt the best dog I have ever owned. The problem is, irresponsible people who take on a large powerful breed with bad intentions. Those types of people use the dog for not so nice purposes such as fighting and things of that nature. Its NEVER the dogs fault...its the stupid, and idiotic people who get them for the wrong reasons. I can tell you this...when i'm ready for another dog...it will be another Rottweiler.

Dobermans used to have VERY bad reputations. It's all a matter of breeding. So many people bred pitbulls for fighting temperament that the entire breed came to be seen as vicious. It's a shame, because you cannot tell by looking at a dog what kind of breeding, training or temperament it has... so people give in to their fear and assume all dogs of a certain breed are dangerous. Hmmm....maybe there's a lesson there about how we view other PEOPLE as well...?

I have an American pit bull he is the best do, he is now 10 years old and never has bitten anyone or even tried. He does have one problem, when strangers come in the house he tries and lick them to death lol.. He loves children also, he is such a good dog.

They have bad reps because of stupid people. It's that simple. I actually have 2 Bullmastiffs and it's so bizzare, and almost funny the way people are afraid of them when we are out walking. It's so strange to me. My dogs are the sweetest animals in the world. Then you have these little tiny yappy dogs that bark and bite - but, it's "cute" when the small dogs do it. It's so dumb. It's the bad rep. Bullies have a bad rep as well. Amstiffs, staffies, rotts, bullies and pitts...they all have it prettty bad. If you have a large breed, it is so important to raise them proper.

I agree.. It's truely a version of racism. Like certain people think certain races are bad.. the same goes for dog breeds. I have a Pit bull and a pit bill mix.. both are as sweet as can be. Just like racism of humans.. it stems from ignorance.

they get bad press because most of them are brought up to be fighter dogs. the other dogs dont get that much air time cause no one really shows em off.