Chances are you’ve heard or read something anti-breed. Maybe saying that pit bulls are the most dangerous dogs, or that they have a locking jaw, or that they kill people. Pit bulls raised wrong may do this, but so will every other breed of dog- including Labs, Chihuahuas, and other popular breeds.
Or you’ve seen pictures of stout, muscular dogs with cropped ears and a savage look. Pictures such as this:
Mixed into the barrage of pictures such as those above were a few portraying thinner, more friendly dogs with wagging tails and a huge canine grin. Perhaps some like these:
And the first thing that pops into your mind is that these adorable pups can’t be pit bulls. Those bigger ones with legs as thick as tree trunks must be true pit bulls. Yet those dogs are not. They are American Bullies, mixes of bulldogs, mastiffs, cane corsos and other “dangerous” breeds. (So yes, they may have pit bull lineage but are not pit bulls!) These dogs are usually called pit bulls, and any time they attack a person it is blamed on the innocent pit bull.
Some turn to breed bans to solve the nonexistant problem of pit bulls and other “dangerous breeds.” However in places where a ban is in effect, dogfighting and dog attacks on humans have not decreased. Such bans encourage criminals because they are breaking the law even more.
This isn’t about dogfighting or that all pit bulls are innocent, sweet angels that wouldn’t hurt a fly. They’re not. Sleazy people use pits for horrible purposes, like dogfighting. They aren’t trained right. Plus, dogs used in dogfigting aren’t aggresive to humans: any dogs that attacked a human was killed and not bred in the past.
But the next time you ask a person you see on the street what breed their pup is and they reply, “pit bull” don’t shy away and avoid them. Chances are that doggie is less agressive than your Chihuahua, for it been proven that smaller dogs are more aggresive but since they do less damage than bigger pups owners often don’t see it as a problem.
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User Comments
Priscilla
On September 26, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I have a red nose pitbull and he was the best guard dog and father to his 8-puppies. He helped me train them to go outside and do their business. He will always be my best pet ever. He has a mean side to him but not as a fighter only as a protector of me and I am grateful as every house on my street was broken into execpt for ours and I guess it was because my pit would sleep on top of the couch looking out the window and everyone that would drive by could see him! he’s the best!
Turkey
On January 25, 2010 at 12:39 am
That article was full of falsehoods. Breed bans don’t work? That’s why severe attacks on humans drop wherever bans are created. How about restrictions instead of bans? They work too, just ask San Francisco. Think pit bulls have to be trained to be aggressive? Nope. Pit bulls are naturally aggressive to other dogs and are responsible for half of all media reported severe attacks on people. Oh, but I thought human aggressive fighting pit bulls were killed? Wrong again! Man biters that won in the ring were not killed but bred on instead, dogs like Chinaman. Here’s the problem with pit bulls: their owners don’t have a clue about the dogs. Just take Priscilla here: even though only 1 in 600 pit bulls gets adopted from a shelter due to severe overpopulation, she bred her pit bull and made even more dogs to fuel the problem. Which means she didn’t neuter her dog – another no-no. And to top it all off, she admits the dog is mean and thinks it was a great protector. However if she knew anything about pit bulls she would know that they should make horrible guard dogs and should be friendly to all people. Human aggression of any kind is not part of the breed standard and should not be tolerated, yet Priscilla bred this aggressive dog on. And you wonder why there are breed bans??
Kinga
On February 6, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Turkey: where there are breed bans, people who use pit bulls for illegal or unethical reasons will most likely just hide those dogs from authorities. And, because all breeders who breed healthy dogs with good temperaments of the banned breed will stop breeding those dogs, leaving the dogs to be bred by unethical underground breeders with extremely aggresive dogs. Or, those who want an aggresive dog will just turn to another breed.
A study in England found that breed bans did not lower the number of dog bites in “aggresive” breeds. Also, law enforcement in Cincinatti wasted 1600,000 dollars trying to enforce their pit bull ban, and animal control couldn’t correctly identify the exact breed of each dog that was supposedly a pit bull. There are over 800 breeds in the world, and quite a few look similar to the pit bull terrier.
And, pit bulls are not naturally aggresive to other dogs. Some pit bulls may not be well suited to live with other dogs, but that does not make them aggresive. One thing I can agree with is that some owners don’t ‘have a clue.’
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