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Pit bulls are no more prone to attack than any other dog breed. I have an 11 pound terrier that resource guards and will growl, snarl and snap/bite if she is guarding her bed or another item. The only dog that has ever actually bitten me was a chihuahua.

My father in law has a pit that was dumped out by his deer hunting cabin. The dog was a pup and was emaciated. He took the dog home, named him 'Bones' and nursed him back to health. He is one of the most gentle and best mannered dogs you could ever want. Remember the Little Rascals and their dog Petey? He was a pit. Nobody thought he was a scary mean dog and he was around the kids on the set.

The bad rap pits have gotten is that they have been used as fighting dogs because of their extremely powerful jaws and body strength. Unlike a dog with less jaw strength if they bite, the pressure exerted is much stronger and will do more damage. If you train them to be mean and want to fight or attack, then they will. A dachshund can be trained to be mean and attack too, but unless you are laying on the ground and let them chew on you for awhile, they are not gonna do much damage.

Bottom line, if a dog is truly attacking, and it is a large enough dog to do serious injury to the child or person, then you would have justification to defend yourself or another. A standard poodle is gonna get shot if it decides to attack. A miniature poodle is gonna a punted down the road.