Pit Bull Awareness Month Entry #5 – How Much Is That Pittie in the window?

I’ve gone over why pit bulls are good dogs, but there’s still an elephant left in the room; Why does no one want pit bulls, then? They fill up in shelters and it seems like no one adopts them. If they really are good dogs, why do pit bull type dogs crowd shelters all the time? Well, let’s look at the numbers first;

The top 3 breeds most prevalent in shelters in recent years have been Labradors, Chihuahuas, and of course, Pit Bulls. These three breeds are also noted to be the most popular breeds in the US. In 2014, Banefield, one of the largest Veterinary hospital corporation in the states, released Banefield’s Pet Health Report, which shows the Labrador, Pit Bull, and Chihuahua breeds were the top 5 owned in the US. Vet Street had conducted a poll with the conclusion the Pit Bulls were ranked in the top 3 dog breeds in 28 states. People love pit bulls, and they are becoming very popular, believe it or not! It’s no coincidence, and perhaps a tad obvious, that the more popular a dog is, the more popular they are in shelters, too. Animal People News has found this to be true with their study of dog breed popularity, the breed’s presence in shelters, and the rate at which they were euthanized;

“Pit bulls, mostly bred and sold by noncommercial “backyard breeders,” as recently as 1993 constituted less than 1% of the U.S. dog population… By 2003, however, pit bulls had increased about fivefold in popularity–and accounted for 23% of the dogs admitted to U.S. animal shelters”

Popularity helps explain their numbers, but doesn’t completely answer that question. Labradors seem to be the most popular breed, yet pit bulls take the spot light in shelters. Why is this?

There are a few factors weighing the pit bull down; the main one being Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) and general prejudice against the breed. Many areas in the United States have some form of breed restriction against pit bulls and pit bull type dogs. This makes it harder, and in some cases illegal to live in certain counties with a pit bull, which means dogs can be taken from the home and euthanized, sometimes with a time limit as short as 10 days. BSL has in the past included certified service dogs and therapy dogs, as well. I couldn’t imagine many people wanting to risk their pet being euthanized, or jump through the hoops and pay the fees some cities place to own a pit bull, when buying a lab puppy would be cheaper and easier.

Even in places where BSL is not a law or regulated, the amount of prejudice against pit bull type dogs is hard to ignore. It’s difficult enough to find a decent apartment that will allow dogs. However, pit bulls are the most common breed restriction on apartments. As if that isn’t bad enough, even home owner’s insurance can fluctuate on dog breeds, of course pit bulls being the most common to increase insurance. Pit bulls could be one of the hardest breeds to live with solely because of restrictions placed on this breed. It’s no wonder the most common reason dogs were surrendered to shelters was because the owner was moving (7%), and the second most common reason was for land-lord issues (6%).

If that was not enough, there are also many rumors surrounding pit bull type dogs, which keeps people from adopting dogs that would otherwise be a good fit. Including the myth that many pit bull type dogs were abused or used in fighting rings. In reality, shelters across the nation only receive 1-2% of their animals from cruelty cases, although some of that number could be inflated because they include animal hoarders. The social stigma surrounding pit bulls is also a factor; people want a dog they can walk in public, not be shamed at in dog parks. Pit bulls are usually the first to blame in dog bite situations, and unfortunately questions are often asked after the sentence (Warning, Graphic!). So it can be a little nerve wracking for the faint of heart; sadly pit bull owners will sometimes have to grow into thick skin, something that not everyone is cut out for.

There’s no question that pit bulls tend to stay in shelters longer, and no doubt for some of the reasons previously mentioned. However, the very people trying to get them out  of shelters can be the pit bull’s biggest enemy sometimes. Yes, I’m talking about the animal shelters and rescues themselves! In some cases, rescues and shelters have restrictions on their dogs, their adopters, and even what the adopter is allowed to do with their dogs. Having a strict and drawn-out policy cuts down on potential adopters exponentially, and even for the people that make the cut, such rigid guidelines can be a turn-off for some adopters.

Oliver, a dog that had spent over a decade in a shelter before finding his forever home

Just because they are a little bit more prevalent, and are potentially harder to adopt out, does not make them bad dogs! Most of the average pit’s grievances stem from their negative stigma with the human population, and not from the dogs themselves. So if you find a pit that you like, and that likes you back, don’t let that reputation keep you from getting your best friend!

Pit Bull Awareness Entry #4 Big, Bad, Pit

Now, I’ve been focusing so much on the confusion surrounding pit bulls, I don’t want to give off the wrong impression and try to slide the topic away from pits, while inconspicuously sweeping them under the rug. What I’m trying to say is, Pit bulls are awesome! I apologize that it took me so long to steer myself away from the studies and numbers and research to say that! So without further ado, I will finally talk about Pit Bulls, the breed(s).

The term ‘natural born killers’ gets thrown around when talking about pit bulls, as does ‘monsters’ and ‘inherently dangerous’. I can understand a person’s first reaction to a terrible dog attack, but time and time again studies have shown that breed is not a factor in human directed dog attacks. In fact, American Pit Bull Terriers tend to score very high in tests designed to determine a dog’s temperament. 86.8% of American Pit bull Terriers received a passing score on the temperament test provided by the American Temperament Test Society, passing more often than many other popular breeds including Beagles, Yorkshire Terriers, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers! Pit bulls on average passed the test more often than121 other breeds, with the average percent of dogs passing being 82%. So pit bulls, on average, passed more often than most other breeds. Pit bulls are not inherently aggressive, like some people may claim. However, it is believed that people have a bigger factor on a dog’s aggression towards humans than any genetics or breeding does, as concluded by researching dogs and their aggression towards people. A common myth is that because pit bulls were used for fighting, they are genetically more aggressive than other dogs. Researchers have found this claim to be baseless, and found that pit bulls, and no other breed of dog, is genetically more likely to bite or attack than any other. Just like many other previous studies, how owners dealt with their dogs seemed to have a much bigger impact on the dog and aggressive behavior.

Another common misconception is that because a dog is dog aggressive, it will turn to people next. Dog-on-dog aggression is far different from human aggression and does not necessarily mean a dog aggressive dog is a threat to people. It is a myth that dogs see humans as if they were other dogs, and brain scans of dogs hearing and smelling people vs dogs show that it’s true; different parts of the brain would react differently (and more positively) when human related stimuli was present. Dogs definitely see us in a different light!

Contrary to popular belief, pit bulls do not have any special bone, muscle or joint feature that allows their jaw to ‘lock’ in place. In fact, the entire idea of a ‘locking jaw’, in the sense that the animal will forcibly bite down and then can not physically hinge it’s jaw open anymore, does not actually exist on this planet, not even in crocodiles or alligators! However, crocs and alligators have some of the strongest bites ever measured, which would explain the power behind their snap. In a scientific study to record the dog bites, of three breeds tested (Rottweiler, German Shepherd, and Pit Bull), the pit bull actually scored the lowest with a force of 235 pounds. The rottweiler scored the highest of any recorded domestic dog, with 328 pounds.

While there is a big fear that every pit bull looking dog has been used or trained in dog fighting, out of all pit bulls in the united states, only 3% have actually ever been bred/trained to fight and/or seen a dog fighting pit. That means that 97% of the population were just born to be loving pets. But even Micheal Vick’s dogs, who were bred for fighting and severely abused, were able to adapt to normal pet life! Even though the American Pit Bull Terrier breed was used and bred for dog fighting a hundred years

Although this dog is very tolerant, this is NOT something ANY kid should be allowed to do to ANY dog

ago, the modern APBT actually don’t share many traits with their ancestors and have little in common in terms of behavior and temperament in terms of dogs in general, as concluded by a Swedish study. They found that many of the modern working breeds actually have little in common, temperament wise (and as the case in some breeds, even physically!) then their true, bred-for-work ancestors. Despite their history, pit bulls are trained and used as therapy animals, service dogs, police dogs, military dogs, and even search and rescue dogs. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, one of the 3 breeds lumped into pit bulls, are actually known as Nanny Dogs because they are very good with children.

In reality, the American Pit Bull Terrier is a breed recognized by their high energy and willingness to please, and noted to be very friendly towards people. In fact, aloofness or fear towards people is a fault in many Kennel Clubs and even a disqualification in others. Like most terriers, they have a high prey drive, and are not specifically bred for compatibility with other dogs as the Terrier group usually work alone. Considering their goofy nature and confident disposition, they can evoke scuffles, especially with dominant dogs. They are very smart and strong-willed, but obviously the pit bull is not a one-size-fits all. The APBT needs a handler that can meet their activity needs and keep them mentally stimulated, as well as properly trained. APBTs can be dog-selective, and tend to have a high prey drive, so caution should be taken in a multi-pet household.

‘Pit Bulls’, however, should be taken at face value! Pit bulls can be lazy or active, willing or stubborn, great with small animals or have a high prey drive. In the case of a pit bull, there is very little predictability. It’s hard to not make assumptions, but pit bulls vary just as much as any other mutt does. The important part is to train them, take care of them, and love them!

Pit Bull Awareness Entry # 3 Numbers Lie

Statistics can be very scary; how can hard numbers possibly be wrong? Look at this chart from dogsbite.org for example. Pit bulls were responsible for 151 deaths! It’s obvious from this chart that pit bulls do compromise more than half of all dog bite related deaths.

More like ‘split a hundred different ways’. Also the pop % is based off of Kennel Club papers… Which mutts do not have.

Wait before you jump so quick to conclusions! Let’s quickly revisit a previous post where I had mentioned what a pit bull is compromised of. The term pit bull alone is made up of 3 separate breeds as it is (American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier). So that makes that 60% a little less impressive, lumping 3 breeds together. But 3 breeds contributing more than half of those deaths is still rather scary…

Hold up, it’s not over yet! Pit bulls are often mislabeled, sometimes containing none of the 3 aforementioned breeds, or even any breed that is considered a ‘bully breed’. Some cities have a check list of what makes up a pit bull, which often end up including many breeds like pointers and gun dogs fitting the description of ‘pit bulls’. When taking that into consideration, pit bulls compromising 60% of fatal attacks start to sound a little more like mutts and unidentified breeds that were able to be called pit bulls.

That chart in particular, and many statistics floating around the web, are cited by the CDC, one would argue a very reputable source with little to no bias, with human well-being it’s main focus and concern. However, the CDC gathers much of their dog attack information from reports by the media, mainly news sources, which can definitely be biased and fixated towards their own agenda.  So while the CDC represents factual numbers from news headlines, those media headlines are much less trustworthy. Surely the dog experts trusted to identify some of those dogs that make headlines would be able to recognize a breed though. They wouldn’t lie, would they?

Pit bulls on this graph obviously outnumber every other breed combined… Notice how they do not define pit bull or link any source

I’m sure they wouldn’t purposely lie, but those dog experts get more than half of their breed guesses wrong. It’s simply very difficult to tell what a dog is made up of, and only DNA test, while still not fault-proof, are the only true. It has also

60% of 3 pure breeds, over 50 dog breeds possibly mistaken for pit bulls types, and any mutt that looks like it could be a pit bull, is starting to sound a little bit dubious, isn’t it? Frankly, pit bulls, in these studies, are not referring to a breed, but a characteristic; short hair and blocky heads, to be more precise.

A less biased study done by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2013 had some very interesting conclusions to the bite case studies they had investigated. The following is what they had found to be contributing factors in fatal bite cases;

• no able-bodied person being present to intervene (87.1%);
• the victim having no familiar relationship with the dog(s) (85.2%);
• the dog(s) owner failing to neuter/spay the dog(s)(84.4%);
• a victim’s compromised ability, whether based on age or physical condition, to manage their interactions with the dog(s) (77.4%);
• the owner keeping dog(s) as resident dog(s), rather than as family pet(s) (76.2%);
• the owner’s prior mismanagement of the dog(s) (37.5%);
• the owner’s abuse or neglect of dog(s) (21.1%).

In over 80% of these cases, at least 4 or more of the aforementioned factors were present. In only 45 out of the 256 cases (17.6%) was breed identification accurate and possible. The conclusion to this extensive study?

‘Most DBRFs (dog bite-related fatalities) were characterized by coincident, preventable factors; breed was not one of these. Study results supported previous recommendations for multifactorial approaches…’

Determining dog breeds without DNA testing is a craps shoot at best. With the added research that breed has no impact on dog bite fatalities, its baffling why so much emphasis is still put on ‘pit bulls’ in attack statistics, especially when recognition and educating on the real contributing factors could save human lives! I propose the extremest idea that we ignore the physical characteristics when reflecting on a dog bite, and instead consider the circumstances, and teach people how to better prime, prevent, and prepare.

Pit Bull Awareness Entry #2 Pitbull’s 5 minutes of fame

There’s no denying that pit bulls get a ton of negative media attention. I won’t say these stories are fabricated; witnesses see dog attacks with their own eyes, sometimes even able to record the incident. However, I will claim that pit bulls are over-represented in the news and statistics; partly because attacks by other dogs don’t make national headlines, or nearly as good of a story as ‘pit bull mauls child’. National Canine Research has shown that from the years 1966–1975, there was only one attack that could even be labeled as a pit bull type dog. Coincidentally, just when pit bull bite statistics began to rise, so did media coverage of dog fighting rings and scandals. When the news and media realized pit bull attacks conjured more of a reaction in the 1980’s compared to other breeds of dogs, reports of dog attacks involving ‘pit bulls’ skyrocketed. Even pit bulls involved in potential attacks were reported zealously! When pit bulls were obviously not even present in attacks, media would often reference pit bulls in some manner, comparing the dog’s features or the dog’s temperament to that of a pit bull.

Snippet from ‘The Pit Bull Placebo; The Media, Myths
and Politics of
Canine Aggression’

During this time is also when many erroneous ‘facts’ began circulating, with fear mongering stories published from Sports Illustrated, People Weekly, and Time Magazine all comparing pit bulls to loaded guns. Hence the beginning of America’s most feared, and most misunderstood dog breed. When pit bulls began to fall out of style as the dog of intimidation in the mid 1990’s, the media began focusing on the next big topic; Rottweilers. During that time, there were only 400+ paper headlines involving pit bulls, while in 1987 there were 850+. It’s apparent that the media was in it to report the newest fad to get people’s blood pressure rising. Pit bulls quickly fell back into popularity, however, as the ASPCA had released a statement saying that the media has told them multiple times they were not interested in dog attacks unless they had involved pit bulls.

I have addressed in a previous post, dogs are very commonly misidentified as pit bulls. You’d be surprised that even 900+ dog experts had a very difficult time identifying a number of mixed dog breeds in one study, and there have been more studies involving the appearance of mixed breeds, often times looking nothing like either parent or apparent mix of either parent! So in studies where breeds are identified by ‘dog experts’, where said dog experts, on average, get roughly 88% of their breed guesses completely wrong, it’s easy to believe at least a portion of those statistics are skewed due to dog experts often being completely wrong on a dog’s breed, and the definition of a pit bull being rather broad and including the 60+ breeds that are commonly mistaken for pit bulls. In many cities, a simple chart of appearances is used to determine if a dog is a pit bull. This one for San Fransico would make Labrador Retrievers legally be pit bull type dogs! The statistics are skewed, and to the well trained eye, one can even see the news mislabel some dogs as pit bulls. Like this Labrador that police had claimed was a vicious pit bull.  Whether the mislabeling is intentional for the better ratings (it’s undeniable; people are scared of pit bulls more so than other dogs, and news stations thrive on people’s fears) or simply a mistake out of ignorance is uncertain. But one thing is for sure; it does happen, more frequently than it should.

Arfee, the confirmed black Labrador that was misidentified as a pit bull and shot dead by police

Pit Bull Awareness Entry #1 What’s In A Pit?

October is national Pit Bull awareness month! To celebrate, I thought I’d throw out some popular misconceptions about pit bulls. I’ll start with probably the hardest and most misunderstood (whilst being the most important) idea of a pit bull;

What exactly is a pit bull?

Is it a pit bull? Or is it a Boxer/lab mix, neither of which are even bully breeds!

Pit Bull started out as a nickname for the American Pit Bull Terrier, but legally, the definition of a pit bull includes American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, and the Staffordshire bull terrier. The legal definition it also includes any mix of these breeds, or any apparent mix of these breeds. That means, any dog that looks like these dogs are legally considered pit bulls. To the vast majority of people, that’s any blocky-head dog with short hair. That’s like saying any dog with floppy ears and a long snout is a coonhound, even though there are only 5 kinds of coonhounds and probably hundreds of dogs that would fit that description! Science has proven that less than 1% of a dog’s genetics make up it’s appearance, meaning that what you see really means that only a fraction of a percent of what the dog is actually made up of. A dog that looks like a Husky mix, for example, may primarily be German Shepherd and Bull Mastiff, with only as little as 1% Husky or other Spitz type breed.

Studies have shown that as many as 75% or more of mix breed labels are wrong due to the fact that appearance makes up very little of what is in a dog. Dog experts commonly disagree on what an animal is mixed with also, which leads to even further confusion of a dog’s possible heritage.

A registered American Pit Bull Terrier

A Pit ? A Dogo Argentino? Nope! Boxer/Beagle mix!

Besides mixes, there are also a plethora of dog breeds that simply get confused as pit bulls, or wrongfully labeled as pit bulls. Most bully breeds, for example, are considered pit bulls. Bully breeds all come from Molosser type dogs crossing with other breeds. Bully breeds include dogs like the American Bulldog, the English Bulldog, the French Bulldog, and even the Boston Terrier. Then there are breeds that are not bully breeds, but still often mistaken for pit bulls. Such as the Cane Corso, Canary Dog, Mastiff, and Catahoula Leopard Dog. A lot of these breeds mistaken at pit bulls weigh 50 pounds or more, while the American Pit Bull Terrier generally weighs 25-45 lbs. That’s a big difference between a 30 lbs APBT and an 80 lbs Dogo Argentino!

Without a DNA test (which are hardly fail-proof), there really is no concrete assurance if you have an American Staffy or a Ridgeback mix. The moral of this post is to not judge mutts by commonly shared characteristics or broad labels, but instead by their individual personalities and temperament. So look past the pits, and love the dogs for who they are!

National Pit Bull Awarness Month!

National Pit Bull Awareness Month started yesterday with the beginning of October! National Pit Bull Awareness Month (NPBAM) began in 2007 by to pay tribute to the memory of her first pit bull. Ever since, NPBAM has grown tremendously in popularity and has been promoting educating people about pit bulls and honor pit bulls and pit bull type dogs for their loving companionship.

So how can we celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Month?

Signing up to volunteer at your local animal shelter or rescue is a great start! Donating or fostering are also great options to celebrate Pit Awareness! Of course, keep an open mind and maybe learn something new about pit during this month. And posting some adorable pit pictures is always appreciated! I’ll be celebrating with posts of pit bull facts and information for all of October!

The ‘Definition’ of a ‘Pit Bull’

I’ve come across a lot of myths and mis-information over the topic of ‘pit bulls’, even among self-proclaimed pit bull experts. Between the media trying to scare the shit out of everyone, breeders trying to sell their accidental litters for a decent price, and plain uneducated guesses, there’s a lot of confusion swirling around this animal. I’m no pit bull expert, but I have some knowledge on dogs and enough know-how to read up on a subject, so maybe I could try my hand as an educator, at least when it comes to animals. Many people don’t even know what a pit bull really is! Let’s start with that, shall we?

A pit bull is, well, anything you want it to be! No, really. A pit bull is defined in many dictionaries as an American Pit Bull Terrier, a bully breed, a mix of bully breed or any dog that appears to be a bully breed or mix of bully breed, a dog used for dog fighting, and an aggressive and tenacious dog. Those were about all the definitions I could find relating to the animal, but I’ll break it down bit by bit.

Firstly, Pit bulls are a recognized breed of dog under certain kennel clubs, formally known as American Pit Bull Terriers. The shortened word for American Pit Bull Terrier is often Pit Bull or even Pit, and APBT is the common abbreviation. It is true that pit bulls were registered under a different name (American Staffordshire Terrier) due to the name ‘pit bull’ being controversial (‘Pit’ referring to the area used to fight dogs), but the American Staffordshire as a breed began to drift away from the APBT and eventually became a separate breed all together. This makes APBTs and American Staffordshire terriers separate breeds altogether.

The list of bully breeds are mainly compromised by terriers, mastiff, and bulldog type dogs. All bully breeds originated from molosser type dogs, and are bred to have thick, stocky bones, pointed pendant ears and shorter muzzles. What breeds are actually considered Bully Breeds is a tad up in the air; some will say Boxers and Boston Terriers, or even French Bulldogs, while others would keep mainly to APBT, different Staffordshire Terries, maybe some different mastiff types like Cane Corsos and Canary Dogs. So it really depends on who is defining what a ‘bully breed’ is, as there is not set definition. According to the legal pit bull definition, any bully breed, even those that are not an APBT, can be considered a pit bull.

For the third definition, any mix of a bully breed can also still be considered a pit bull, even if it is known that one or more of the mix is not a bully breed. For example, a Staffordshire X Cane Corso mix can still be considered a bully breed, as can a Staffordshire X Greyhound mix, or a Staffordshire X Greyhound X Bernese Mountain dog, etc. Granted, after a while one would think that the definition would be moot after 1 part bully breed and 50 part hounds. However as far as I could tell, there is no defined rule as to how far off a bully breed needs to be bred out for it to not be able to be labeled as a pit bull, so for now I am assuming for as long as the lineage is tracked.

Now for the real screwy part of that definition; Any apparent bully breed or bully breed mix, may also be called a pit bull. That means a dog may not have any APBT in it, or even any trace of a bully breed, but as long as it looks like it could possibly be an APBT or any bully breed or any bully breed mix, it can be labeled as a pit bull.  Now just let that idea sit for a moment…

The pit bull breed was, at one point (and still today, but is very much frowned upon) used as fighting dogs. Any dog used in a dog fight were sometimes called pit dogs, as they would be fighting in an arena often called a ‘pit’. Eventually the name pit bull was coined (sometime in the 1930’s if my mind serves me right) and wasn’t yet used to describe a particular breed with a set of standards, but simply dogs that were used for dog fighting. Therefore, while not all pit bulls are fighting dogs, fighting dogs may be referred to as pit bull, regardless of origin (or looks).

I’ll be honest, I don’t understand where the last term came from nor have I really ever hear it used as just describing a dog that is tenacious and vicious. Tenacity, though, is known as a strong pit bull trait, and pit bulls are strongly associated with attacks on people, so that’s my only guess where that one came from, and how it was used. I never hear people use this definition, spoken or written, so I just assume it’s a dead meaning at this point, but I’ll still acknowledge it’s existence.

So now you know that the term ‘Pit Bull’ is actually extremely vague and could mean a number of different things. I hope I was able to teach someone something new, so now they can use the term or hear it and know exactly what it means, or more importantly, what it may very well not mean. I believe it is important to understand that pit bull can literally mean any kind of dog, so when one hears of a story pertaining to pit bulls, they can make their own judgement and take the term with a grain of salt since labeling a dog as a pit bull is very rarely so black and white.