“They are mean dogs!” That’s the comment that often comes out of people’s mouths when the word “Pit Bull” is used in any form or context, but I am here to enlighten those people that firmly believe that pit bulls are the mean, attack dogs.
The term “pit bull”, or “pit” and “pitty” for short, is often used to describe dogs with blocky heads and a muscular build, but there is no singular breed of dog that is a “pit bull"; it’s more of a broad characterization. The main breeds of dogs that fit into this broad spectrum in America are the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and more often than not, the American Bull Dog. All of these breeds have the characteristics that put them into this category, but so do a lot of canine cross-breeds that have very little of the “bully breed” in them. Many animal-related incidents that are stated to involve a pit bull actually don’t because many other breeds possess body characteristics of pit bulls, and it is easier for the individuals to pile more bad PR onto a misunderstood breed than to get all of the real information.
The media often portrays pit bulls as vicious guard dogs of mobsters and attack dogs that belong to criminals. I recently watched a "Game of Thrones" episode where the big bad villain named Ramsey had pit bulls that everyone was afraid of because they were such mean dogs that would attack whenever Ramsey dictated. This episode came on right after I had a discussion with a friend who believed pit bulls could not be sweet dogs, and it made me incredibly angry. These types of shows don’t exactly combat the mentality of pit bulls being mean dogs. Yes, pit bulls are strong dogs, but they are more likely to bowl you over while trying to play than to purposefully attack you. In fact, violent interactions between dogs and humans have been studied in depth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they stated in 2014 that dog breed is an incredibly poor predictor of dog bites, and pit bulls or bully breeds are no more likely to bite someone than other breeds of dogs.
Pit-bull-related or assumed-pit-bull-related attacks are not any more common than violent interactions of other dog breeds, but they garner much more media impact because of the breed and the perception that people have about how awful these dogs are. Chihuahuas are just as likely to bite someone, but they are cute, little, innocent dogs that people excuse because they were probably afraid of the person that is so much bigger than them. Well, I have news for you, pit bulls get scared too, and humans can tower over them, making them feel like they need to defend themselves. Most violent acts by animals—dog, cat, bird or otherwise—happen because that animal feels threatened by the actions of the humans around them. People do not like to admit it, but most do not know how to properly interact with animals. Animals are like people in that each one needs to be approached in a different manner, and you need to be able to read their body language to see if they are open to interaction.
Due to the overwhelming number of reported “pit bull attacks” in the media, there have been many breed-specific legislations enacted in the United States, as well as other places in the world. That being said, it has been reported that the number of dog attacks in places of these jurisdictions has not lowered after enacting the legislations. These types of actions range anywhere from outright bans on owning a bully breed to providing conditions upon which someone can own a pit bull. There are multiple states that have specific government documents stating that the owner must take full responsibility if their pit bull injures another person, animal or piece of property. That’s all fine, but I think that people should take responsibility if any of their pets did that, but maybe that’s just me. England and Wales prohibit the ownership of American Pit Bull Terriers, as well as three other breeds of dogs due to the Dangerous Dog Act.
Pit bulls possess many positive personality traits that are not expressed widely in the media, such as their desire for affection from humans and their playful manner. Pit bulls tend to think that they are lap dogs that can curl up with you on the couch because they just want to be as close to you as possible. People consider them to be loyal dogs because they will only obey their owners, but they are loyal to just about anyone that will love on them and provide no threat to them. They are playful dogs, and because of their size and strength, they need to be trained properly to know what is appropriate play style for play with other animals, children or even adults in the household. With the proper training, a dog in the pit bull category can make a perfectly well-behaved and lovable pet.
They say that pit bull owners have to be smart people, and I think that this is for multiple reasons. The first one is that pit bulls are very smart dogs that require an even smarter owner to raise them properly. The second reason being that it takes someone who really knows how to use their brain to see through all of the media junk and bad reputation that surrounds a fantastic group of dogs. Pit bulls deserve to be loved, not to be discriminated against and put in a box of steryotypes that they can’t get out of.
