• Many Pit Bull owners are enthusiastic, competitive or both.

• Today, a properly bred Pit Bull is so exuberantly happy upon meeting her owner's friends (or even friendly strangers) that new owners sometimes worry that their dog is too sweet and fun-loving to protect their home and family.

• A Pit Bull with the correct temperament will not threaten to attack a human without a very good reason, but will begin becoming alert to doorbell or the sight of a stranger approaching the house.

• Good owners of Pit Bulls are able to handle their dogs. What's important is that the Pit Bull must be trained: Successful owners know this and are willing to take on the reponsibility and joy of training their dog.  If the dog will be handled by a child, the child should understand the basics of training.

• Robust, quick and brimming with vigor, today's Pit Bull is an intelligent roughneck who wants to please and is ever hopeful of being a lap dog.  Supremely confident, he views the world as a giant playhouse created especially for his amusement and is something of a perennial puppy.

• Pit Bulls enjoy being the center of attention, are confident enough to adapt to unusual surroundings and have a higher than usual tolerance for pain.
  These traits place them among the top breeds in canine therapy work

• Good-natured with children, the Pit Bull has the sturdiness not to mind if his tail or toe is accidentally stepped on, and possesses the capacity to play for hours.

• The Pit Bull, also called the American Pit Bull Terrier, is considered the strongest dog in the world for its size.

• A Pit Bull was the most decorated hero dog during World War I.

• Pit Bulls require minimal grooming.  In fact, all they need is five minutes a day

• The Pit Bull is described as being reliable, hard-working, people-loving, and multi-talented.

• Pit Bulls have expressive faces and some can actually smile!  When greeting their owners and special friends, the dogs may give a large toothy grin, raising their upper lip until their muzzle wrinkles and their eyes narrow.

• Strong and sensitive; rowdy, yet gentle; outgoing, but devoted; easily fired up, but highly trainable; mischievous, yet sensible; energetic and serene; peaceful, but ever alert-these apparent contradictions could all describe the Pit Bull.  A zest for life, combined with occasional attempts to outwit his owner, endears the breed to many, but could be considered an inconvenience by others.  Some people would enjoy a little less dog.

  Reference: The Essential Pit Bull, By Howell Book House

Contrary to the media's portrayal of them, American Pit bull Terriers are not an inherently aggressive breed.  According to the American Canine Temperament Testing Association, American Pit Bull Terriers, when temperament tested, had a 95% passing rate, compared to a 77% passing rate for all breeds on average.  Pit Bulls are loyal, loving companions that make wonderful family dogs.  Their extreme loyalty is their downfall, as they will do whatever their owner tells them, even fight.

Pit Bulls with other dogs- From Pit Bulls for Dummies

Aggression toward strange dogs is a normal trait of canines. It's in their blood. This trait was acccentuated in the early breeding of fighting Pit Bulls. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult trait to have in today's world. Pit Bulls were bred for generations to be fighting dogs. This doesn't mean that they're vicious. It does mean that many are naturally inclined to behave confidently and sometimes aggressively toward other dogs, and most are naturally inclined to try to win a fight should another dog start it. Pit Bulls from lines that have not been selected for fighting in recent generations. No matter how long it's been since your dog's ancestors were used for fighting, the ability to fight another dog is one of the Pit Bull's original reasons for existence. Remember, also, that Pit Bulls were bred for gameness. The mellowest Pit Bull, who would never even dream of starting a fight, may also never dream of backing down from one that another dog's started.