[PitBullSchutzhund]

As I'm sure some of you know by my name, Pit bulls are my all time favorite breed. But they are so misunderstood, and are the most abused dog in all of history. So I've collected myths about them, in order to prove them wrong. I hope it helps further educate you about pit bulls.

Even though organizations like National Geographic consistently prove the pit bull myths wrong, there are still unintelligent people out there who believe them, and that really irks me.


1. Pit bulls are the most powerful breed.

FALSE, look at a huge mastiff, then look at an APBT. It's been proven many times that the mastiff has the strongest bite of any breed. Doesn't surprise me though, look at them.


2. Pit bulls have locking jaws.

FALSE, a pit bull's jaws are built the same way as any other dog breed.

3. Pit bulls can hang on with their front teeth while chewing with their back teeth.

FALSE, this lie really cracks me up. No dog is capable of that.

4. Pit bulls don't feel pain.

FALSE, of course they do! They can feel pain just like any other bully breed, but the large breeds tolerate it better than the small.

5. Pit bulls have the strongest bite per square inch than any other breed.

FALSE, the mastiff can have a bite force of up to 1,000 pounds in total, more than the pit bull. Also Rotties and German Shepherds rank above them. The Dogue De Bordeaux has the largest head and the strongest skull and bite force in the whole K-9 world. The average domestic dog has a bite force of around 320 pounds of pressure per square ince. The pit bull ranked far lower than average at 235 lbs PSI. The highest for a GSD was 238, and the highest for a Rottweiler was 328. Compare that to the highest for a pit.

6. Pit bulls attack people more than any other breed.

FALSE, most of the time people mistake other breeds as the pit bull, thus giving the breed a very bad name. A lot of times, the media actually lies about dogs that have attacked people, saying it was a pit bull when it was a lab or some other large dog. Dogs that are referred to as “pit bulls” in statistical reports actually are a variety of breeds and mixes all lumped together under the “pit bull” heading. Many people have a difficult time identifying a real pit bull anyway. The media simply wants to blame the pit bull, just like in the beginning of the 1900s, the pit bull was the nanny dog and the German Shepherd was "bad", a dog breed to be feared. The media switches dog breeds when they know absolutely nothing about them. Also important to understand is the extreme popularity of the Pit Bull and pit bull-type breeds. By some estimates, numbers-wise they are the most popular of all dog breeds. It is only logical to assume that the breed with the higher number of
individual dogs would be represented with a higher number of bites. Viewing older statistical reports for the Center of Disease Control, one will see that trends in breed popularity reflect in the number of bites attributed to a specific breed during a specific period of time. Also, the media seems to favor blaming dogs that are the most popular dog breed of the time period, because they like to sway people. It is hard to pin down, as accurate records by breed are seldom kept. Those records available show what a myth this is. Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, has kept accurate records since 1980. During a 7 year period from 1980 through 1987, this is what was recorded. Total bites: 1,593. Pit bulls: 30 bites, or 1.89% of the total. Other studies tend to show the same results and because of so many mongrels that have similar features to the American Pit Bull Terrier, it seems reasonable to assume that the figures are actually much lower.

7. Pit bulls brains swell, causing them to go crazy.

FALSE. Prior to the boom in Pit Bull popularity, the Doberman Pinscher was rumored to suffer from an affliction of the brain in which the skull became too small to accommodate a dog’s grey matter. This would, according to the rumor, cause the Doberman to go crazy, or “just snap” out of no where and attack their owner. This rumor could never be quantified, and indeed had no merit whatsoever. Now that the Doberman fad has run its course the Pit Bull has inherited the swelling brain myth. It is no truer now than it was during the Doberman’s fad days.

8. Pit Bulls ‘turn’ on their owners.

FALSE. Dogs, as a species, do not perform behaviors “just because”. There are always reasons for behavior, and
when aggression becomes a problem the reasons can be such things as improper handling, lack of socialization or training, a misreading of dog behavior by the owner, or, rarely, disease. Aggression, when it presents in pet dogs, follows specific patterns. First occur warning signs, then more warning signs, and finally, when those signs are continually ignored or misinterpreted, the dog resorts to using its teeth. When an owner is startled by a sudden, aggressive outburst, it is because they have been unaware of problems that were brewing. This is true of all dogs, not just Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls, indeed no dogs, “turn” on their owners.

9. The only thing Pit Bulls are good for is dog fighting.

FALSE. Unfortunately, a large amount of attention has been brought to the fact that the Pit Bull was originally created for fighting other dogs in the pit. Since the breed was selectively bred for and excelled at this task, there is a common assumption that fighting must be all for which the breed is good. The truth of the matter is that the Pit Bull is one of the most versatile of canines, capable of excelling at just about any task his owner asks him to complete. This breed is routinely used for: obedience trialing, conformation showing, weight pull, Schutzhund, agility, and have even been known to participate in herding trials, search and rescue work, and a variety of other tasks including police and armed services work. But fanciers will argue that the task this breed performs best of all is that of beloved companion. As a matter of fact, the truth is that the pit bulls were not created for dog fighting, but instead were created for the purpose of bull baiting, hence the name pit bull. The dogs were thrown into a pit with a bull and were forced to fight for the enjoyment of sadistic humans.

10. Dogs that are aggressive towards other dogs are aggressive towards people.

FALSE, human aggression and animal aggression are two completely different things. Inter-dog aggression is a normal trait of the breed (as it is in many terrier breeds, among others dogs). Historically, humans were always in the pit, handling fighting dogs closely, while the animals were in full fight drive. A dog that was a danger to people and prone to biting was not feasible, and therefore carefully selected against and killed. Pit bulls who bite humans were most likely bred by idiots.

11. Red or blue nose dogs are: a special type of Pit Bull / rare / worth more than black nose dogs.

Um, no. Let's talk color in pit bulls. Pit Bulls are traditionally a performance breed. That means that they
were originally bred based on how well they performed a certain task, not what they looked like. Color was probably the least important thing that old time breeders of Pit Bulls considered. Today, Pit Bulls remain largely a working/performance dog, and so the old way of doing things as far as looks are concerned largely still holds fast. True, many Pit Bulls today are also bred with the show ring in mind, however color is of almost zero importance even in that venue. No one who really knows Pit Bulls is all that impressed by color. A flashy color does not a good dog make, and although many people have favorite colors, breed-saavy people know that it's what's under the coat that counts. Pit Bulls come in almost every color that is genetically possible in dogs. Some colors are more common (brindle or fawn for instance); some colors you don't see as often (such as spotted or black and tan). One thing is for certain, however: blue and red nosed dogs do NOT fall into the "rare" category--there are many of both colors out there, especially the red nosed dogs. There is, unfortunately, a faction of breeders (all unscrupulous), that are attempting to cash in on the current fad of blue and red nosed dogs. These people produce poor quality animals with no thought to health and temperament, their biggest selling point being coat color. Breeders of this type many times charge jacked up prices for their puppies, justifying the high price tag by claiming their dogs are of a "rare" or "special" color. The unsuspecting buyer is duped into believing their animal is extraordinary simply because he happens to have an "odd" colored nose. Breeders of this ilk are especially dubious because not only are they producing bad stock, but they lure their customers in by making false claims. Do not be fooled by this type! There are, of course, very ethical breeders that produce blue and red nosed dogs. There are many fine, healthy, stable examples of these color varieties out there. These are dogs bred by people who care about the breed, are knowledgeable about what they are doing, and breed for
MUCH more than just a snazzy color. There is nothing wrong with liking one color above another, but one should be an educated consumer. Realize that you aren't just buying a pretty face, but a living, breathing creature that is going to make real demands and require money to care for, time, and patience. Some people have the mistaken belief that blue or red nosed dogs are a special "type" of Pit Bull. When speaking of such dogs, these sorts are apt to make statements such as, "I have a blue Pit", or "My dog is the red nosed kind". Let's replace "brindle" with "red-nosed": "My dog is the brindle kind." Sort of silly, no? Brindle is just a color a Pit Bull may be, not a "kind" of Pit Bull. Well, ditto red and blue. There is a specific line of Pit Bull known for its red noses; this is the Old Family Red Nose strain. But this was a tight-knit family of dogs bred closely because of their superior ability in the pit. The genetic closeness of the dogs made it easy to pass on certain traits--it just so happens that the traits of the Old Family dogs included not only gameness, but the genes for red noses as well.

12. Pit Bulls cannot get along with other animals.

FALSE. If raised with cats, dogs, horses, hamsters, basically anything, pit bulls will be just as gentle with them as with their owner.

13. Pit bulls have worse temperaments than other dogs.

FALSE. In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society, pit bulls had a passing rate of 83.9%. That was better than miniature poodles (76.6%), beagles (80.3%) and collies (79.4%).

14. Bullets bounce off a pit bull.

FALSE. Bullets can strike any living body in such a way that bounce off. Dogs happen to have a very thin covering of flesh over their skulls so the chance that a small caliber bullet will bounce off the head of a dog thus increases. The skull of a pit bull is no different from other breeds.

15. A dog that is game is aggressive and wants to fight.

FALSE. This is one of the most common lies about the breed. Gameness is an individual's refusal to quit at a given task no matter how difficult the task may be to complete. Dog fighting is not the only test of gameness. Weight Pull competitions, search and rescue, and hog hunting also test gameness in a way that does not require a dog to fight or attack another dog.

16. Most Pit Bulls are owned by criminals and are used for dog fighting.

FALSE. Most pits are owned by civilians and kept as pets.

17. Pit bulls were bred to be human aggressive.

FALSE. Absolutely no, no, NO! Any fighting dog that so much as growled at a professional dog fighter, was killed, end of story. Any pit bull that shows human aggression is not exhibiting the behavior of a pit bull and should be euthanized, unless of course the dog is protecting his master and home from somebody who broke in. The dog fighter didn't want a dog that attacked him instead of the other dog! Common sense. Whoever believes that all pit bulls were bred to be human aggressive is an idiot.

For reference, here is the dog who possesses the strongest bite force of any dog. The Dogue De Bordeaux, a type of mastiff. They have the largest head of any dog breed, and the strongest jowels, which is why they are used in police work. If a criminal got bit by one of these guys, he would be in an otherwordly degree of pain.

[Blewvane]

My dog is part pitbull and she is the goofiest thing that you've ever seen.

[smackem]

Great thread.
Great presentation.

[Blewvane]

My dog may rip the shit out of animals stupid enough to come into her territory but she's never bitten a human, in fact she's asleep under my desk right next to my feet.

[PitBullSchutzhund]

Thanks. :)

My pit bulls don't kill anything, they are in fact rather uninterested in other animals, including other dogs. My chocolate lab is the biggest problem. She kills any non dog or non human creature that steps foot in our yard, including a little kitten, that was sad. She killed a possum a few weeks ago and left it behind the shed, we found it pleasantly by smell.

[Blewvane]

The best dog i had that did that was a red cattle bitch, she used to hunt anything in the yard, kill it, and then leave it on the back door step to show us how good she was.

[Blewvane]

Originally Posted by PitBullSchutzhund ↗

Thanks. :)

My pit bulls don't kill anything, they are in fact rather uninterested in other animals, including other dogs. My chocolate lab is the biggest problem. She kills any non dog or non human creature that steps foot in our yard, including a little kitten, that was sad. She killed a possum a few weeks ago and left it behind the shed, we found it pleasantly by smell.

That is because you have raised them the right way, most dickheads just encourage them to kill and then wonder why it goes mental and turns.

[PitBullSchutzhund]

Definitely, that's what gets to me. 99% of the time, it's the owner's fault when a dog attacks someone. Some dogs are just born aggressive though, no matter the training or handling, they just hate strangers. That very rarely ever occurs in Pit bulls however. That's not the correct temperament in them. Or, a dog can get a disease such as a brain tumor or Sudden Rage Syndrome. That's a creepy disease. For some reason it mostly affects the Bull Terriers or spaniels.




But other breeds can get it too, like this poor Shepherd.



It's genetic and can't be cured. The dog fixes it's gaze on one person, and one person only. That person is then attacked, completely for no reason. No provoking is necessary. After the attack, the affected dog snaps out of it, and doesn't even realize what he did! A boxer that came to my shelter got it, it's creepy, the way the dog's eyes just focus in on one person....

The dog could even be sleeping and then suddenly jump up and start attacking. It's also called Springer Rage Syndrome, because that's the breed most likely to get it.

They can also become fixated on inanimate objects and attack them.

Once the dog does it once, they have to be killed, because they could do it again.

This dog also had it, his gaze was fixed on another person instead of the camera man.



But anyway, talk about owner's fault. This dog is obviously very unhappy at being held this way. If he bit his owner, so be it. They deserve it.

[Blewvane]

I had a rottweiller that had bitten a neighbour and then a few days later he growled at me while i was feeding him. I went back into the house and cried for a moment, after he had finished dinner i went back outside with my rifle, called him over to me and then put a bullet into his head while he was standing between my legs. It broke my heart to do it but i loved him too much to have some stranger come in and put him down. For years i could not understand why he had turned so suddenly and then later come up to me as though nothing had happened.

[PitBullSchutzhund]

That's odd. You never know, he could have had a brain tumor or something. Rotties can get SRS, but if it had been that, he would have attacked you instead of just growling.

But I'm sorry to hear that, it really sucks.