Why are so many pit bull owners in denial about the breeds high prey drive and animal-aggressive ten

Florence is a typical Pit, who is extremely people loving. She is very intilligent, easily trained, gentle and calm. She is always appropriate with other dogs while on leash, and I am always selective with which dogs she meets. We don't let our children talk to strangers and we should not let our dogs talk to strangers. Florence has always played nicely with other dogs, but play is always supervised. She and I run everyday 4-5 miles a day. We do tracking, hiking, camping, swimming, visiting friends and family all the time and go to nursing homes to greet people who can not have dogs anymore.

That being said, what makes pit bulls so easy to train is their drive and this also can make them very difficult to own. Pit bulls are working dogs and they need a job. Whether it was going in the field to wreslte a bull for the butcher, to guarding the farm, to being a great therapy dog, to being a search and rescue dog, to unfortunately being thrown into a ring and fight to the death with another dog.

There are different levels of dog-dog aggression in Pits. I have seen many with no dog-dog aggression and some with levels so high that the dog was very difficult to desensitize.

Please be aware that all breeds can have some dog-dog aggressiveness. The best way to avoid this is socialization as a puppy!! The first 14 weeks of a puppies life are so important. They must be around other dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. all the time!

My dog Florence has a high hunt drive for small animals. Pit bulls are a mix of an english terrier type dog and a real bull dog (not todays english bulldog), so they should have a hunt drive for small animals because they have terrier in them and desire to not give up on a job even if it means taking their life. I work everyday with her and i can now say after about a year of daily training she is very well behaved around critters, but I would allow her/or trust her in the same room unsupervised with my nephews new pet rabbit. Positive reinforcement and firm but fair rules must be used.