I have a pitbull. It is the first dog of any breed (my 4th dog) I absolutely don't worry at all about in terms of aggression, either towards people or other animals. You can tug on her ears, get in her face, ride her like a pony...no problem.(I can't even say that for myself!). I have had her for 4 years (I am her 3rd home!), and she's never shown aggression towards any living, breathing thing. She is incredibly playful and sweet. Her name is Sweetpea.

Pitbulls that are not nice are almost always damaged pitbulls. The Humane Society a year or two ago actually said they were in favor of ending the breed, not because they are inherently dangerous, but because they tend to attract the kind of owner who wants to make them dangerous. They are loyal and very trainable, which is why they make good fight dogs. And they do have strong jaws.

Most of my family is in Denver, where a couple of years ago they enacted a "pit bull ban" (that led to the euthanization of over 3000 dogs). People in Denver, as a result of this, are programmed to be fearful of pitbulls. I notice this when I visit there with my dog, who just wiggles with plea-ful joy while the majority locals recoil in fear. In Santa Fe, pitbulls are everywhere and people aren't afraid of them. How our society works with violent behavior, in both the human and animal realm, reflects how fearful we tend to live as a society. I understand the need for "safety," but short-term thinking (banning pitbulls), while convenient, isn't often long-term healing. (For example, why is it the dog who is punished so much more than its owner--who usually gets a slap on the wrist?) Sorry for the social commentary, but I see this with pitbulls.

I have also worked for an animal rescue that has taken many damaged pitbulls and healed most of them so that they may be adopted. Not all of them, because sometimes (like in the case of many of Michael Vick's dogs), they have been just too abused. Remember Oreo, the pitbull in NYC, whose owner threw him off the roof of a 6-story building...and he survived? They tried for over a year but could not emotionally heal this dog (big surprise), and the ASPCA eventually had to euthanize him, to much bad press and sadness. The owner who did this to Oreo got shamed publicly, due to all the press, but no real punishment, iirc. He, too, it was clear, was a "damaged puppy."

I love pitbulls.