Pit Bulls

Pit Bulls are probably one of the most argued over dogs in society today. Many believe that they are unsafe to keep as pets. There are a number of people who believe the entire breed should be exterminated. There are several examples of legislation that would introduce to law the required ban of this breed. I am of the mind that Pit Bulls aren't any more likely to attack than other breeds, but I will concede that when they do, the damage they can inflict is usually severe because of their size, the power in their jaw, their high pain threshold, and the fact that they won't quit once they have designated their prey.

I decided to visit the world wide web and attempt to gather some information regarding this breed of dog. My first stop was Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia the definition of a Pit Bull is:

"Pit Bull is a term used to describe several breeds of dogs with similar physical characteristics. The American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier commonly fall under the category of "pit bull." There are several other breeds that can fall under the rubric of pit bull, including: the Argentine Dogo, the English Bull Terrier, the American Bulldog, and the Perro de Presa Canario. These breeds are usually not included by breed name in any Breed Specific Legislation (see below), but are usually ensnared because of a broad definition, and confusion as to what a pit bull actually is. All of these breeds as well as many others (including Great Danes, Newfoundlands and Rottweilers) are members of the Molosser family of dog breeds."

Pit bulls are commonly thought to be vicious animals who attack for no reason. I have owned dogs all my life, and have known many families that have done the same. My ex-mother-in-law is a dog groomer by trade. With this exposure to dogs and their different breeds I have personally discovered that any one breed isn't necessarily the problem. The answer is in how they are raised and treated by their owners. My ex-mother-in-law stated once that she was bit more by smaller dogs than by larger ones, but because they are small they do a great deal less damage. When the larger animals would bite it was a much more frightening experience due to their size and strength, but she found that a larger breed biting was a less common occurrence in her line of work. She had also stated that she had found that smaller dogs were actually more prone to biting in general as they felt threatened much more easily.

That isn't to say that all small dogs are vicious, just more prone to biting when they feel threatened, which is often, probably due to their size. So why aren't we hearing a call for the ban on Yorkies? Quite simply it is because they are small and when they do attempt to inflict damage it is usually minimal, and rarely fatal, and it still remains very easy to pull a Yorkie off of its prey. That isn't as easily accomplished with a Pit.

Pits are a strong breed with powerful jaws. Well, they are actually powerful all over. Once they take hold it is nearly impossible to make them let go because of their strength, tenacity, and determination. They also have a high pain threshold that was bred into them, making the ability to beat them to make them let go of their prey nearly impossible to do. These characteristics don't make them vicious however. These characteristics make them a worthy adversary. There is no reason they have to be an adversary however. Viciousness in any dog comes from their training, socialization, and treatment. Pit bulls are no more vicious than golden retrievers, beagles or other popular dogs. In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society (ATTS), pit bulls achieved a passing rate of 83.9%. That's as good, or better than beagles who received a 78.2%, and golden retrievers who received an 83.2%.

I have also heard it said that Pit Bulls are not good with children. From personal experience I have found that the Pit my parents own is wonderful around all three of their grandchildren, including my son who is the oldest at eight. All three boys have tried to ride her on different occasions, and have occasionally pulled her ears and tail before we could stop them. She has never tried to hurt any of them. She simply hides under the bed when she tires of them. She never nips at them nor growls. She will just saunter away and stay out of their way. None of young the children in my family have ever been left with any of the family pets unattended, and we have not changed that rule. The rule applied to all breeds however, and always should in any family.

My parent's Pit Bull is also kind to the neighbors, and the only dog we have ever owned that didn't bark people passing on the street. She sits at the gate and hopes for a pat or two. The neighbors adore her, and have started a ritual of coming to visit her when they return from work in the evening and she eagerly awaits their visits. They all comment on her kind, quiet, loving demeanor. A neighbor of my parents, who owns a black lab, said their dog made more noise, chased people walking by the house along the fence line, and was very unsocial around anyone not living in their household. This is also the same story with a German Shepard down the street. My parent's Pit doesn't even chase the cats out of the yard, much to my father's dismay.

Through my reading and my personal interaction with the Pit Bull breed and others it has become obvious to me that the breed itself is not the true problem. The problem is commonly the way that they are raised, and the extent of damage a few dogs have inflicted do to poor training and raising by their owners. This applies to all breeds, but because of the Pit Bull's physical ability to inflict so much harm to people and other animals, their attacks, which aren't really any higher in number statistically compared to other breeds, easily make media coverage. This has subsequently given this breed a bad rap.

If you would like to do some further research yourself I have provided a list of links below to the pages I went to when compiling my information.

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.cfm
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pitbulls3aug03,0,2391732,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://pbrc.net/index.html
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/index.htm
http://www.pitbullregistry.com/
http://www.dapbt.org/collier.htm
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_pitbull
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_pitbull
http://www.americancaninefoudationlaw.com/
http://www.forpitssake.org/
http://www.chako.org/
http://www.nyx.net/~mbur/apbt.html
http://www.bannedaid.com/
http://www.pawsitivelypitbull.org/
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/sadreality.php
http://www.pitbullproject.ca/
http://www.pitbullpatriots.org/pbp/
http://pitbulldogblog.blogspot.com/
http://pitbull.wordpress.com/
http://www.workingpitbull.com/

And this is my parent's Pit Bull. Her name is Honey. You can click on the picture for a larger view.