Are Pit Bulls truly vicious, or can they be safe, loyal family dogs?

Pit Bulls are very smart, and very anxious to please, and these qualities together makes then very trainable. However, they do seem to have something of a strong will, so they do best with strong leadership and focused training.

No they are not at all. Everything depends on their training. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Pit Bull is a description for a type of dog, but American Pit Bull Terriers are a breed. Other breeds that rightfully fall under the term “Pit Bull” include the American Staffordshire Terrier, the American bulldog, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Generally speaking they seem all healthy and yes, they are likely to be purebred. Unfortunately it is impossible to give you a 100% reliable answer about it. Feedback from our answers is very important for all the experts, so please mark the questions as useful/helpful.

No, it is not classed as a pit bull but if there is some pit bull blood in the dog, and it gets recognised, you are at risk of having the same problem again. In general, American Bulldogs cross Staffies are ok.

As a dog trainer, I have a different view from previous answer given. Pit Bull types are terriers which means they have a high prey drive. The cat was possibly viewed as prey and I am very sorry to hear of your loss. For your other dog, due to the size it is possible your Pit may react the same at some point. I don't think leaving them unsupervised together is a good idea as I'm not sure what the actual trigger was in the attack of your cat. In terms of rehoming, you would need to find a very suitable home and with no small children. Because your dog mauled a cat does not automatically mean he will be aggressive toward people, but sometimes dogs are reactive toward small children, especially babies and toddlers who don't know the boundaries of a dog. I never leave my own child and dog unsupervised and my dog loves my son. I would recommend hiring a canine behaviorist and getting a behavioral assessment from them. Best of luck.

Every dog has the capacity to be aggressive, even breeds considered more gentle such as a Golden Retriever. I personally think it's more the owners that lead the dog to have terrible behavior, typically from a lack of training and obedience. Staffordshire Bull Terriers are not for novice dog owners, they required experienced dog owners who are firm and consistent. They can be great family dogs, as they are very loving, but they need early socialization. I strongly recommend that if you get one, you enroll it in puppy preschool and training so it can learn socialization and start on training it. Best of luck, I hope this helps!