Pitbull in wrong hands makes truly lethal combination

I have previously been asked to comment on the american pitbull terrier and the question put to me is: "many people say the american pitbull terrier can be a fantastic well balanced pet, others say they are ferocious, unpredictable land sharks, who is right?" My answer is - "they both are".
Before you get a dog you need to understand what the breed is all about.
Don't be surprised if your guard dog starts guarding, develops territorial aggression and becomes wary of strangers.
Don't be surprised if your hunting dog starts rounding up the neighbourhood cats and don't be surprised if your american pitbull terrier shows aggression towards other dogs.
Pitbulls were bred to fight and that's what they do best.
If you want a balanced reliable pet dog, you can pick any breed.
However, never forget what it was bred for.
After having been involved in dog control on a national level and dealing with aggressive dog complaints for more than 25 years, if we had to produce a formula for aggressive dog behaviour it would look like this:
Ten per cent is about the dogs' "potential". You can manage this, but you can't change it. An american pitbull terrier has a high potential for attacking, whereas a labrador for example has a low potential for this behaviour.
Ten per cent is about the dogs' "personality". Again, you can manage this, but you can't change it. An american pitbull terrier generally has a dominant personality, whereas a labrador has a more gentle personality.
Eighty per cent is about "placement" - the environment the dog lives in. A dog is the product of its owner, to an influence of about 80 per cent.
If an american pitbull terrier is brought up in a stable, balanced environment, in my opinion, it is still of high risk because of potential and personality. If the potential and personality can be well managed then it can be a fantastic well-balanced pet.
People say because of the american pitbull terrier's dominant nature you have to be very firm with them.
Care needs to be taken because "being firm" can be the catalyst for an attack.
If you establish a dominant hierarchy with your dog, then the dog is entitled to challenge your position.
How many times have you heard people say "the attack was unprovoked and completely out of character"?
There is always an underlying reason for an attack, even if we don't know what caused it. Often a dog may not display aggression until it is about 18 months old when it reaches puberty, or 4 years old when it reaches adulthood (or thereabouts).
Previous unblemished behaviour should not put the owner at ease, especially dogs with high aggression potential and dominant personality.
American pitbull terriers unfortunately are often attractive to people who do not provide stable, balanced environments, which make it a deadly combination.
In order to fix this, we need to address the wider social problem.
Simply removing one breed (if that is possible to police) will result in them being replaced by another breed with a similar potential and similar personality.
John Payne has worked in dog control for 25 years, with Tauranga City Council and at a national level with the New Zealand Institute of Animal Control Officers.