it's not an evil animal, and not a wild animal:

A dog has a food drive, a play drive, a prey drive and defensive drive, for purposes of my explanation.  

The APBT issue is a breeding enhanced behavioral issue - the APBT has the same prey drive as many other dogs, with a few key exceptions.  It's prey drive is mainly triggered by other animals, but sometimes, unfamiliar people.  

The APBT's prey drive is like a skipping record.  It has no final conclusion, and instead, the prey drive blends with play drive.  When it is preying on an object, it also is at play, and may be seen wagging it's tail during the attack - like a lab retreiving a tennis ball.  It can continue this prey/play for a long time, and you will have many bites because like a cat, the APBT's attack has turned into a game.  
Additionally, on the attacks on humans, I think in certain individual animals, there is a heightened defensive drive, which triggers a prey response, and you see the "Play" attack which results in massive damage.  To the APBT, what may have started as defense of owner or property, or as prey drive turns into a fun game.

Just the thoughts of a guy who knows a little - - about dogs.

*A little about me:  I have owned three APBTs.  I have owned many other dogs.  I am a hobbiest trainer, and I don't claim anyspecial skill or ability because of that - a hobbiest is NOT a pro, and I of course defer to the pros.  I have also shown Great Danes, which is a completely different topic than the behavior of the APBT, but I throw that in for what its worth.

thought yall would be on this like gulls on a piece of bread...like ants on candy...!!!

I want to get others thoughts though.  feel free to chime in.

My nieghbor had a pitbull, but it died of old age, it was something like 14 years old.  Anyways I would see the dog on a daily basis, and all it wanted to do was play ball with me.  The doggie always brought me a 2" ball and dropped it at my feet telling me to throw the ball and  the doggie will bring it back to me.  My wife, was very unconformtable around the dog because of news stories.

ETA: But when my children were younger, and when they play outside, I would always stand outside with them... Just in case.

I was told by a neighbor who has had them for many years--that the key is having only one, and never letting them play rough. If they play rough, they LOVE to fight, and they learn to play-fight harder and harder over time. Terriers just seem to gravitate towards it.

Get one, don't tease it (no kids!) and it's a normal dog.
Get a few kept together and they can get very rough.
~

Remember "terrier = terror"

I own a pitbull and a Jack Russell. The pit is 8 now and the jack just turned 1 1/2.

I play hard with both on the floor at their level and when I want them to stop they do. My pit protects my two little ones like I have never seen. She throws her body in front of me between the boys when I play fight with the kids absorbing the play taps so the kids can get away. It is a female pit and a male Russell.

The Pitbull gets a bad wrap if you ask me.

RW3

your dogs are a reflection of you, your dogs will do things you will let them get away with.  any medium to large breed dog should only be kept by experienced, responsible people.  kids should never be left unattended with any dog, especially anything bigger than a toy chihuahua.  dogs should never be left chained up, instead in a locked kennel, or crated indoors.  if your dog ever kills anything, unless hunting partner, it is directly your fault.

alot of pitbulls that have been human aggressive and used for fighting have been adopted by expert dog handlers who never have any problems with them for the rest of there lives.  with that said 99% of the time a dog does something wrong it is the owners fault, i.e. letting your kids play with dogs while there is a female in heat.

with all this said pitbulls are one of the most human friendly dogs if not the most friendly, i'll explain why.  


Pitbulls were bred to be courageous, utterly devoid of pain sensations (they, no doubt, felt pain but were bred and encouraged not to express that pain), tenacious and determined.

A quality that was never bred into them was human aggression. Human “aggressive” (aggression may not be the most appropriate term, it is more likely that these dogs simply had a lower bite threshold) dogs were undesirable as these dogs required extensive handling prior and during their fights - most of theses dogs were also family pets so no human “aggression” was ever tolerated.

Pitbulls that exhibited human “aggression” were typically killed, meaning that only human friendly lines were perpetuated and desired. It is highly unlikely, however, that these culled dogs were naturally more aggressive towards humans than their bred counterparts but their bite threshold may have been much lower meaning that it did not take much for them to turn around and bite their handler. Animals were bred for an increased bite threshold, as far as humans and only humans were concerned, which decreased the likelihood of humans becoming victims of dog bites.

Hobo was a Good Dog and I still miss Him,,,,,,Sum Bitch Had a Heart of Gold

Say what you will about the Breed and I'm sure theres a reason why,,,,,,mine however is a Loving Experience