Ok, so I know many of you may not read this or may not care, but I wanted to
do this in case it helps just ONE person have an open mind. My main goal
is to educate those who don't know anything about the breed, and give reasons
why APBT's are NOT for the average owner (and hence why so many problems with
them have arose). And yes, I wrote this all myself b/c I'm at home w/ a
cold and have too much time on my hands ;)
Myth:
Pit Bulls weren't bred for anything "useful" because they were used
only for dog fighting.
Fact:
Pit Bulls were originally bred to fight bulls, hence the name. "Sometime during
the nineteenth century, dog fanciers in England, Ireland, and Scotland began to
experiment with crosses between Bulldogs and Terriers, looking for a dog that combined
the gameness of the terrier with the strength and athleticism of the Bulldog.
Immigrants
brought these bull and terrier crosses to the United States. The Pit Bull
Terrier's many talents did not go unnoticed by farmers and ranchers who used
their APBTs for protection, as catch dogs for semi-wild cattle and hogs, to
hunt, to drive livestock, and as family companions." (from
UKC) Basically it is necessary to understand that they are a WORKING
breed. For a dog to be dumb enough (no offense) to risk its life fighting
for its owner, the breed naturally defaulted a sense of "owner
loyalty" and genuine love for humans. EVERYBODY wanted one of these
dogs because they could have a dog that protected the farm and farm animals,
and still have a family dog that was great with their children (high pain
tolerance=more children tolerant). Aside from that was the bull
fighting. When the organization of fights with bulls became difficult to
arrange, they started fighting dogs with other dogs simply because it was
easier. It eventually became illegal with the emergence of animal rights,
but small dog fighting "communities" still remained and it wasn't
very tightly controlled. A long while later, gangs began to emerge.
Obviously the violent nature of gangs and their interest in illegal activities
led to their interest in fighting Pit Bulls [insert beginning of intense
prey-drive/dog aggressive genetics here]
Myth:
-Pit Bulls are unpredictable around humans and other dogs.
Fact:
The funny thing is, they are very predictable (probably more-so than very
intelligent breeds). Listed below are reasons why.
-Dog aggression is not to be confused with Human aggression. By
nature, Pit Bulls are VERY "people-soft" and will do ANYTHING to make
their owner happy. It is a fact that Pit Bulls have a natural tendency to
be Dog aggressive. When people fail to realize this, it gets out of
hand.
-From personal and second-hand research and experiences, I found that behavior
"evolves" like this for the average APBT:
-Age 0-6 months: Just like any other puppy,
sociable in the presence of other dogs.
-Age 6m-1year: Dog begins to get very excited
around other dogs and while very friendly, acts in a spastic, erratic way and
takes a steam engine (or prong collar) to get them "out" of this
state. This is not aggressive at all.
-Age 1yr and on: Dog is bigger and looks very
intimidating when it "freaks out" in front of other dogs (even though
friendly). Other dogs are intimidated and act out in aggression towards the
Pit Bull. This is when it is likely to happen. After many
encounters like this, the dog begins going into defensive mode. This
"stage" can be avoided if proper obedience training is done at the
6m-1yr phase.
-The above constitutes for the Pit Bull's natural high prey drive.
This means that anything small and fuzzy (or other dogs) excites them and they
don't know why.
-Pit Bulls that are given exercise to satisfy these drives, have no natural
"urge" to satisfy it in any other way.
-For example: 1.) Playing tug exercises the
"urge" to use their jaw muscles (they don't have all those cheek
muscles for nothing!)
2.) Using a "flirt pole"
or "spring pole" allows them to "chase" something and grab
onto it, so it satisfies their prey drive.
3.) Going for long walks,
swimming, running, doing agility or weight pulling satisfies their high energy
needs.
-Pit Bulls that are given NO outlet for these drives, have an urge to
satisfy them. Just like a Rat Terrier has a natural urge to go looking
for rodents will dig compulsively if given no energy outlet.
-Situation example: A Pit Bull lives with a
family that includes small children. This family is so busy with other
things (aka life) that the dog just pretty much stays around the house, doesn't
get played with, and only gets let out to go to the bathroom. One day,
the kids are at home, playing with this Pit Bull and getting it excited; the
parents aren't really paying much attention. This collection of
excitement causes the Pit Bull to respond by doing what any dog naturally wants
to do, play back! Since dogs don't have hands (yes, I got that memo),
their way of playing is with their mouth. The Pit Bull grabs onto one of
the children, just like it would another dog if it were play-fighting.
Keep in mind the dog was never formally taught how to react with another dog or
a child (or the difference). The adults scream and the dog releases, who
has no idea what is going on or what it did wrong. A day or so later, you
hear on the news "Family Pit Bull mauls son; had dog for [x]
years." One of the parents says "I have no idea what happened,
he's never been mean before." That turns into the dog being
euthanized with the owners reasoning of "he/she just can't be
trusted." Now, given that I have explained the "details"
behind what happened, would you look at it any differently if you didn't know
anything about the situation? Do you think this would have happened if
the owners understood the breed and its needs to be socialized and trained it
accordingly? Would you call this dog "unpredictable?"
Myth:
Pit Bull's have locking jaws, so they can't let go even if they wanted to.
Fact:
There is nothing on a Pit Bull's (or any other dog) skeletal or muscular
anatomy that can allow this to happen...it's that simple!
-The reason why this has become a common myth is because Pit Bulls are bred for
endurance and naturally have a very high pain threshold. This natural and
incredible endurance is what gives the breed its tenacity! By that, I
mean that if a Pit Bull wants something, it has enough muscle behind its jaws
that it doesn't have to let go if it doesn't want to.
Myth:
You can't keep a Pit Bull with other dogs or other Pit Bulls.
Fact:
We have established that Pit Bulls have a natural tendency to be dog aggressive
if never taught differently. This doesn't mean that they cannot live
happily and harmoniously with other dogs.
-Decreasing the likely-hood of competitive situations is the key to
multi-Pit Bull or multi-dog with Pit Bull families.
-Examples: 1.) Spay or Neuter your dogs.
Absence of hormones= reduction of natural urges. This has been proven
through studies done with performance-testing comparing herding breeds
that were spayed/neutered vs intact. It showed that intact dogs had a
significant increase in natural "urges" or drives.
2.) Avoid keeping dogs of the same sex, intact or not. If you keep Pit
Bulls of the same sex, you are more likely to have a constant competition for a
certain status in the "pack." Females have different status
than males in packs of dogs, so males aren't going to compete for female's
"spots," and vise versa. This isn't to say that Pit Bulls of
the same sex cannot be kept together successfully, it just takes much more
management and attention.
3.) Treat both dogs equally. Do not give
preference towards one dog or the other. If you do so, then the other dog
is going to compete for your attention. That means if one has a rawhide,
the other gets a rawhide. If one gets a stuffed ball, the other one gets
one too. Even if they act like most dogs and think the "grass is
greener on the other side," the fact that you have two of the same toy available
is going to reduce the chances of a squabble.
4.) Supervise rough play. Never leave them unattended. If play gets
too rough or they do something you don't want, let them know! That brings
me to the last piece of advice.
5.) TRAIN YOUR PIT BULL! Reprimand unwanted behaviors (positive
reinforcement when possible), and reward them when they do something you
want. Do this, and I guarantee they will do anything in their power to
please you!
From all of this, I hope I have shed some light on the behavior of
APBTs. I hope that you can see why disasters can happen when in the wrong
hands, and why this breed is NOT for everyone! I don't expect to make you
"like" Pit Bulls if you don't care for them, I just hope that I can convince
you that they aren't demon monsters who act-out viciously and
un-provoked.
I do realize that after reading this, some skeptics will say "well if
they take so much effort to keep, they need to be regulated." You’re
exactly right! However, there is a difference between regulation and
extermination. If you are going to argue that Pit Bulls are
"weapons" in the wrong hands, then they should be TREATED like
weapons. Make people register their Pit Bulls like people register their
guns. People with certain criminal records aren't supposed to be
able to purchase guns (but that's a whole other story), therefore people with
certain criminal records shouldn't own Pit Bulls. While I still think
that nobody should be told what kind of dog they can or can't have (remember
that thing called the Constitution?), if regulating them in some way is
inevitable then so be it. For those who still think that banning the
breed will help, do you really think that it is going to reduce dog fighting
and/or dog bites? NO! Certain recreational drugs are illegal but it
is still a HUGE problem. This has already been proven when Amsterdam
recently lifted their Pit Bull ban because it showed NO decrease in dog
bites.
Ok, ending rant here. I'm sure I forgot something but if I do I will add
it later.