This week I overheard an animal care specialist advising an enquiring pet lover about pit bulls… which ones bite and attack. Sadly, even the animal care specialist gave outright misinformation. Her response was that the pet owner should beware of the ‘ones with the broad heads.’ Huh?!
When it comes to pit bulls, there’s no shortage of myths and misinformation. You can hear those myths spouted by the media, the general public, and even so-called “experts” on the breed. Here are some of the more common myths and the facts, the truths follow:
Myth 1: Pit bulls have locking jaws. Once they bite, they can’t let go, even if they want to.
FACT: No dog of any breed has ever been found to possess a mechanism in their jaw which would allow them to “lock” their top and bottom jaw together. There is no such thing as a locking jaw!
Myth 2: Pit bulls have a unique bite style consisting of biting down, holding, and shaking.
FACT: Biting, holding, and shaking are not unique behaviors for pit bulls. All dogs will perform these behaviors. A dog may “bite and hold” when it is playing or when it has been taught to do this. You have probably seen police K-9 dogs, which are commonly German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois, doing bite work. These dogs are specially trained to bite hard and to not let go even when someone is hitting them. Straight down to the tiniest toy breed you will witness playing with toys in this way. Tug toys and rope toys are popular because many dogs enjoy grabbing, pulling, and shaking them. This is a natural behavior that all dogs engage in.
Myth 3: Pit bulls are genetically driven to kill people.
FACT: Foolishness. Dogs are not machines; they are living organisms. Like all living organisms, a dog’s behavior is influenced by both genetics and environment. How a dog owner manages his or her dog will determine whether the dog becomes a danger to humans. No dog is driven entirely by genetics to attack people, and no dog breed has been created or bred into such a state that all dogs of that breed are compelled to attack people. Dogs that are raised as beloved family pets do not kill people.
While some irresponsible breeders and owners may try to create “killer” dogs, these people are abnormal and mean, and their activities are unethical and, in many cases, illegal. Responsible dog breeders understand that dogs are meant for companionship and love, not for fighting and killing. In fact pit bulls are dogs with excellent temperaments.
Myth 4: Pit bulls are not good for anything except dog fighting.
FACT: Nonsense. Pit bulls have excelled in many working-dog sports such as agility, search-and-rescue, tracking, weight pulling, carting, hunting, obedience, therapy and more. Millions of pit bulls serve society today as faithful family members and beloved companions.
Myth 5: Pit bulls are very aggressive.
FACT: Pit bulls are no more or less aggressive than any other type of dog. Many of the behaviors we expect from and encourage in dogs, including hunting, tracking, guarding, and even playing, are actually modified forms of aggression.
Pit bulls have a reputation for aggression toward other dogs, in fact, many other breeds and types of dogs are also known for such aggression. Inter-dog aggression is actually a very common behavior and is not limited to pit bull type dogs.
Pit bulls may be aggressive toward small animals, but again, this is common with all breeds and types of dogs. Dogs are essentially domesticated predators. Many dogs will exhibit predatory behavior toward small animals that they consider prey.
A few pit bulls may be aggressive toward people, but again, this is not unique to pit bulls. All breeds and types of dogs may be aggressive toward people.
Again, aggression is an individual trait that varies from dog to dog, and has a lot to do with a dog’s environment and owners.
Myth 6: Pit bulls cannot be trained or controlled.
FACT: Dogs are, generally speaking, trainable and controllable because they are intelligent domesticated animals. Pit bulls, likewise, are intelligent and domesticated, and like all dogs, they are obedient, friendly, and handle-able. LawDogs USA, for example, opted to use pit bulls exclusively as drug detection dogs because the organization found pit bulls to be so trainable and eager to please.
The overwhelming majority of dogs are quite trainable and manageable, and any behavior problems that a dog displays are more likely attributable to owner error than to something inherent or genetic.
Myth 7: Pit bulls are unpredictable; they can turn on anyone, even their owner, at any time.
FACT: Pit bulls are no more or less unpredictable than any other type of dog. Often, a person who claims that a dog is “unpredictable” simply doesn’t understand dog behavior. In the overwhelming majority of dog bite cases, the humans involved don’t understand or have missed canine warning signs preceding the bite.
Myth 8: Pit bulls do not feel pain.
FACT: This is utter nonsense, a legend started by dog fighters to justify the cruel activity of dog fighting. After all, if fighting doesn’t hurt the dogs, how can it be cruel? The myth is further perpetuated by fearful individuals who buy into the Hollywood monster myth of the unstoppable pit bull beast. Pit bulls do indeed feel pain, just as any other dog does.
Myth 9: If a pit bull bites down and tastes blood, it will become aggressive and unstoppable.
FACT: Dogs bite because they are scared, in pain, or defensive. They bite so that the offending person/animal/object will go away—and it usually works. As a result, a dog learns that biting is a very successful tactic for getting what the dog desires. Subsequent bites have nothing to do with the “taste of blood.” In reality, the dog is repeating a behavior that has gotten a desired result in the past.
There is no need for great public fear of the pit bull. They are dogs that should be treated as pets…loved and cared for and in return they will respond to us in the same way…just like any other dog!
Dr. Chante Wildgoose
The Freeport News
