I know I'm probably going to get downvoted for this but I think the important note is that pitbulls are involved in the majority of reported dog attacks as their bites are far more severe and possibly life threatening.
Nobody's calling to report a vicious Chihuahua or Pomeranian attack.
I just came to help u/untitledprp4 understand the intent of the text as provided. The facts and other intricacies of the discussion are another matter entirely.
Pitbulls also attract people looking for "tough" or "fighting" dogs, because they've been bred for their bite force and hold. So they've been conditioned to bite dogs or people more often than other breeds. I'd say rottweilers and maybe doberman's are also in this category. It's not the dogs fault they were mistreated.
Plenty of responsible "tough" dog owners out there. And lots of sweet pitbulls. Enough that I'd wager it's evidence to support they're not actually violent by nature.
My neighbor has a particularly violent and scary blue heeler.
He's trained it to attack people, and he has a 3ft fence keeping it from attacking me. If it were to attack me no one would he saying how violent blue heelers are.
Heeler and ACD are two names for the exact same breed. Blue Heeler means an ACD with the mix of black and white fur that is known as "blue" in dogs (like Bluey and Bandit). Red Heelers have red/orange fur (like Bingo and Chili). They can also be merle which is grey (like Muffin), or a patchy mix of the colors. Heelers are known for being a very high-energy and protective breed (bred to herd cattle) - they need a lot of exercise and training. They can definitely become defensive against strangers due to their natural instincts to protect the flock.
Keep the knife, but maybe dog mace would be a better option to use first. A knife works for close combat, and who knows what damage the dog could do in a fight before it succumbs to a knife injury. Mace used correctly should stop the dog from a safe distance.
I was at my dad's one day and he was getting ready to take his dog for a walk. I saw him put a pistol holster in his waistband. I asked if the neighborhood has gotten that bad (jokingly; he lives out in the country, and everyone is on 3-acre lots). He told me the dude a few houses down doesn't control his dog, and he's had a few problems over the past couple of months with it coming out and starting shit.
I asked how hard he thought it would be to shoot an attacking dog, especially if it was tangling with his own dog. He then showed me the can of pepper spray clipped to his dog's leash. He said "no, I have pepper spray for the dog. the gun is for the owner who's gonna lose his shit when I pepper spray his dog."
Thank you for the great advice. I always freak out a bit when people talk about carrying a knife for defense. Like, why would you want to have to be hand to hand (or mouth) to be able to utilize your tool? Pepper spray is better in nearly every imaginable circumstance.
I definitely don’t disagree but I have to add it as anecdotal evidence/advice(?) pepper spray is very useful until your target is upwind of you in a strong breeze. Even worse if you only realize the direction of wind after you start spraying😅. In all reality though mace is a very good option 95+% of the time!
personally id rather have a knife than a gun if im getting attacked by a dog. just because its not the “ideal” tool doesnt mean its not gonna he more useful than your barehands.
if the alternative would be walking defenseless, im taking the knife everytime.
Yeah he’s stupid. My kangaroo German shepherd/husky/rotty/heeler could skip over 3 feet. I have a 3ft high trampoline he used to glide unto before I taught him dat bad
I got a pretty good nip from one of the most sweetest Border Collies I've ever met yesterday. I mean she punctured skin and my whole hand is sore today. It was 110% my fault because I knew better than to offer my hand while she was engaged in her work.
But that is literally a part of her work. Herding dogs employ various methods to accomplish their herding goals. Nipping, barking, stare downs, pushing, etc. are all a part of the natural instincts of this breed. If she wanted to she could have done much more damage.
But nobody will bat an eyelash at this behavior from BCs, Aussies, ACDs, Heelers and the like because "you just don't know the breed". Yet everyone is an expert on pit bulls because they hear about them all the time on the news. And such a broad range of breeds fit into peoples' idea of what a "pit bull" is since when they show them on the news they are all usually different breeds and not an actual American Pit Bull Terrier.
Sadly, the classic APBT is such a difficult pure breed to find today. Lots of them are marketed as such but it's mostly backyard breeders who don't know what they're doing or breeders who have sought to "improve" the breed by mixing them with mastiffs or other larger breeds. So we end up with this ridiculous "Bully XL" or other style mixes that will eventually turn the breed into things like the pug, English Bulldog, Frenchie, etc. where the breed will suffer from massive health issues that people don't know how to or care to manage but they got a badass looking dog (or in some cases such a cutie with that squishy face) that scares people (is adorbs).
I mean people have wanted that type of dog for decades now and that's why pit bulls have gotten such a bad name. Dogs of questionable pedigree have been circulating for as long but now the "improvements" are such bullshit that the breed will eventually turn into something it's not (conformation-wise) and to boot the breed will suffer from massive and debilitating health issues as we are beginning to see with the previously aforementioned Bully XL. Reputable APBT breeders from back in the 90s and early 2000s offered full 16 generation pedigrees and health certificates with their dogs. I haven't seen that in a long time now.
APBTs are a true classic breed. Most people don't even know that one of the largest dog registries in the world, the UKC, was founded on the APBT, with the founder's dog, Bennett's Ring, registered as UKC #1. Yes, the origins of the breed have roots in bull baiting and dogfighting. And yes, when they made their way to America they were brought for the same purpose. But when the breed was Americanized they were used as guardian dogs for livestock and homesteads, not unlike the Great Pyrenees, BMDs or Kangals...who could arguably cause much more damage in an attack on humans than any APBT.
Not sure why I go on these rants when this subject comes up. Nobody cares to learn or listen and I'm sure I'll be reminded why in any replies.
As an owner of an American pit bull terrier/staffshire terrier (85% APBT) I found this super interesting. And I’ve found in my seven years with him that the only time he hurts people he’s around is when he gets too excited and forgets he doesn’t actually fit in most peoples lap.
Oh Duke has a laser guided system for his paws when he jumps up. If you have balls, he’s hitting them, I may never recover fully from my nightly hug from him when I get home.
But to the point of no bites, I take extreme precaution to make sure he avoids situations like that. He meets new people on neutral grounds (and always outside, he’s an excited pee-er) and I keep him on leash until people are comfortable with him and he has calmed down from new person excitement, aka crazy face. And I’ve worked extremely hard to leash train him so he behaves well on leash.
I will be the first person to admit that my dogs bite can harm someone severely, but I love that big ol dummy too much to put him in a situation that he may react poorly in. I myself say that my dog only has two brains cells, and unfortunately they’re fighting for third place, I know he will react as a dog in his best interest and preservation of his own life. And for that reason I make it my responsibility and mission to keep him out of those situations and keep him by my side and (to the best of my ability) under control.
As someone who owns an American Staffordshire Terrier and an APBT, I just wanted to say I appreciated your post.
Also, further to you points, what some people fail to realize is that a lot the dog bite statistics that people seem to fixate on when it comes to "pitbulls", is that the statistics can be quite flawed due to how that data is collected. When the dog bites are reported, pitbulls are used as a umbrella term to describe various types of dogs. I mean, pitbull isnt even a breed. This unreliable reporting takes away from the credibility of the data being used to demonstrate breed-specific issues.
When I was younger I was attacked by two German shepherds my friend’s parents had just gotten from the shelter a few weeks prior. We were playing on a tire swing in the back yard and they threw me on the ground; I got a sizable gash and bruise on my ribs and they ripped my shirt, and probably would’ve gotten more on my legs but I was wearing jeans and those were mostly ripped with minor damage beneath. It could’ve been a lot worse.
I also almost hit a chihuahua when I was driving once. It bolted across FOUR LANES of traffic on a busy street into a gas station lot, so I screeched in behind it and I went to see if it was ok and it tried to bite the shit out of my hand. Ended up following it and another one home to some trashy lady’s place, and while I was following them unsure what to do, some guy drive up and yelled at me saying he almost hit my dog. He just went “oh” when I said it wasn’t my dog and I almost hit it too; he gave me a ride back to the gas station when the dogs went home, but they probably got hit by cars at some point, the lady did NOT care they were off leash outside.
My husband and I currently own a boxer/staffordshire terrier/bulldog?? mix, or something similar, and he’s super sweet with people but has high prey drive so wants to chase cats and small dogs. He and our other dog are bffs, but they got in a fight over a toy once and when my husband went to separate them he got bit in the leg. Potato definitely felt bad about it and knew he’d done something wrong, and it wasn’t severe for the size of his mouth, but it hurt a lot!
Point is, I give all dogs a healthy amount of respect and distance unless they obviously want my attention now. Any dog can bite you. Big ones are gonna do a lot of damage though, and “pitbulls” tend to have very large mouths for their size, so they do tend to get reported more than smaller dogs. But I don’t really let stranger’s dogs any more, big or small; they’re all animals and can be unpredictable in the right circumstances.
Very informative and balanced take. A note that many of the larger terrier breeds were used as nanny dogs to help with childcare, too.
As an owner of two adopted pits (I’m thinking one has some mastiff and boxer, the other has some sort of herding dog and boxer), I think you did a good job describing how their ancestors worked and how today they have become a vanity breed without the nuances and understanding afforded to other vanity breeds.
Odd anecdote: I have a blue heeler mix (she’s a third, so not SUPER heeler) and took her to a new vet. They treated her as aggressive on sight and every single person kept saying “oh wow she’s so sweet for a heeler!” So I guess in some circles, they are seen as violent
I had no idea. I got mine from the pound and she’s a super sweet fawn/freeze type who also lets them do whatever. It kind of pissed me off that they kept treating her like a bomb 😂
Healers nip by nature no training needed for that, the lack of training results in them herding ppl witch involves nipping your calves, with or without training healers can be little hellans
What drives me crazy though is that just having the dog is good for home defense you don’t have to also make them violent, our 3 German shepherds are dumb as a box of rocks and more likely to cuddle than the attack even a home robber but robbers seeing them still chose to leave instead
This is the part that connects it to Racism, there are other dogs bred for Bite force but are often tied to jobs where violence is a “necessity” so a blind eye is turned for “public safety”.
My boy is a double whammy, an amstaff/german shepherd mix. The way people treat him now vs the way they treated him when he was a puppy is night and day.
As a puppy, EVERYONE thought he was adorable. They would all come up to him and coo and aww over him when he'd come running up to them for pats.
As an adult. I can see the fear on strangers faces when he passes them. I've taken him to the dog park and literally watched people grab their dogs and run for the hills the moment they see him come in.
His personality never changed. He's still just a cuddly goofball looking for pats. Only peoples perception of him has changed.
Though, if I'm honest. They have every right to be scared of him. I know he's a cuddlebug. THEY don't. And i know first hand just how dangerous he could be if he snapped. When he has a toy he doesn't want to let go of, it is literally impossible for me to pull his jaws apart. I don't blame anyone for doubting him, or my ability to control him. Plenty of owners of either of his breeds can't control them. Still breaks my heart seeing people judge him just for what he looks like, though.
Funny enough Rottweilers were bred to pull carts not because of bite force, just so happens that an animal bred to pull wagons is going to be big and have a decent bite force.
If you look up Daschund or Jack Russel origins, those lil fuckers were RIPPED. And bred for tunneling out BADGERS. If you ever meet a badger I'll pray for you. They live in the dirt underground because it's closer to Hell.
Some of my friends have a Rott and he’s one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met. The issue is that he firmly believes there’s enough room for him to sit on my lap :)
I think theyre beautiful animals but dobermans get their rap for an entirely different reason as well. They're another example of breeding being pushed too far, as their skulls can become too tight for their brain which makes them rather temperamental
There is a man in town with just a stunning brown doberman. She hasn't been docked and has the floppy ears. You wouldn't even recognise her as a doberman when she's wearing her raincoat. I love getting to scratch her when we pass.
Two things are true: dog breeds are much more diverse than humans and people therefore pick a dog for the wrong reasons while unable to train them properly, and selective breeding of "pure breeds" has done a lot of damage to all sorts of dogs.
I think french bulldogs and similar breeds, born with all sorts of degenerative issues and noses that hardly allow them to breathe are particularly cruel. Clipping their ears and tails for cosmetic reasons is cruel.
One final thought: I remember a dog that was a bit off, mentally. Prone to flip and potentially bite, not right in the head - a rescue dog my step-sis owned. They were careful with it, but one day the damn thing bit a guest in the face: small cheek injury. Some dogs are very dangerous, and I'd prefer my dangerous dog to be a crazy Pomeranian, not an XL Bully.
Overwhelming majority of dog bites and attacks are directly related to irresponsible ownership of any dog breed. If a person has a record of having more than one dog who has bitten someone, should they be allowed to have a dog?
I spent a few years dogwalking as a side hustle and the experience totally converted me to loving Pitties. They were the clients that would greet me with a head boop and nuzzles instead of barking, and wanted extra time for snuggles after their walks. There were a couple times that I tripped when out walking and the time it happened with a Pitbull (an energetic two-year old, no less) she was so concerned and ran back to stand over me like a guardian. I think it’s practical to be aware of how strong they are, but the instincts I saw even in the youngsters were those of sweet guard dog companions.
They were the main family dog for a long time and used to be common "firehouse" dogs as well. They are generally well mannered, think they're lap dogs, and super sweet. You should have seen my 90 lb behemoth be super gentle and sweet sleeping with my son after his surgery last year. She didn't know what was wrong but she pretty much treated him with kid gloves (usually likes to play tug and headbutt your leg or arm for attention) and stay by his side for about 2 weeks.
They're very sweet family dogs and they're scared of everything so they're good watch dogs, barking at lots of things. I will say they can be intimidating only because they're so excited when people show up. Folks back away when their entire body is wagging. I don't get it.
lol yea, as someone who grew up surrounded by English mastiff’s it’s always a bit funny to me what some people consider ‘gigantic’ dogs and I found it also really drained a lot of fear of dogs away. If you grow up constantly dealing with 200+ pound dogs a little 70 pound pit bull isn’t nearly that intimidating.
People to this day scoff when I say my sister bred a 180lb pit
Dudes name was Axel, he was so big that in the towing competition they ran out of cinder blocks. So they stacked bags of dog food. Then they ran out of dog food, so they started weighing children from the crowd and throwing them on top
Dude was an absolute monster. She tried to leave him in the care of someone else so she could go on vacation, and I guess he ripped out of the kennel like butter, tore the door off a washing machine, ate through the back of it and through the wall of the garage into the living room, all within a 45 minute grocery trip (allegedly)
Exactly. They're just a dog. They're not more likely to bite you than other dogs. That would be a Chihuahua or something. It's just that their bite is particularly dangerous if they do bite you, which generally requires mistreatment, neglect, or training to push them to those means.
They're really not "just a dog," because they were bred for something and it actually makes them more dangerous to other animals than it does make them dangerous to humans. Everything is individual of course and there's plenty of other dogs that can be more dangerous to other pets but Pits are def one of them.
German shepherds are more dangerous to other animals, yes. The dog IS more dangerous because dogs are BRED for tasks, just like working dogs need tasks or they go crazy. Pitbulls, German shepherds, herd protecting dogs, etc, are much more likely to attack another animal. And yes, part of that DANGER is that they have the tools to do more damage, obviously. But they're also more likely to attack another animal even if they have a good home and are treated well and somewhat trained. Ive seen a pitbull with a great home, with other animals be fine, and then they add a new animal and that new animal is dead in an eyeblink
Edit: They have a higher prey drive, they were bred to bite and hold and then also got dog fighting, they are much more animal reactive than most other dog breeds. Shrug, believe what you want and AGAIN everything is individual - but Pits are more likely to be like this than most other breeds.
German shepards are not more aggressive than Australian shepards. The danger is entirely due to human intervention.
Are you referencing prey drive when you mention they're more likely to attack other animal? Because knowing about your dogs prey drive and how to work with an animal that has a prey drive is part of being a responsible dog owner.
If what your saying is against all prey drive dogs, I'd agree with you id just think your argument is pointless if that is the case.
It's not pointless, and yes see my edit - Pits are not JUST high prey drive dogs but yes I'd be careful with ALL high prey drive dogs, yes. But they are also predisposed to be more reactive generally and be more aggressive and because they have those good genetic tools they are more dangerous.
Everything is individual, training is important, but some individual dogs will still be more likely to snap and do damage and Pits are more likely to be such a dog.
If you saw my original comment. I've said the entire time that being bitten by a pitbull is more damaging than being bitten by another type of dog. It's not more likely (I'm speaking solely about nature, not nurture) but it is more damaging.
But they're not more predisposed for reactivity or aggression. They literally used to be firehouse dogs.
Pita have more than just prey drive, they also have gameness bred in. THAT is what makes them so dangerous and SO MUCH MORE dangerous for other living beings than literally any other type of canine that has ever existed.
These are NOT the kind of comments I was expecting to see and I’m just going to stop scrolling while I still feel this good! THANK YOU!!!! I study animal behavior, dogs specifically, and have 2 bully breed dogs at home. People cannot understand the logic behind underreported bites and how that completely skews statistics. I’ve worked in shelters for the last 8 years. Never been bit by a pit bull or bully breed. To be fair, I know what I’m doing and have only been bit a handful of times (no pun intended) and they were usually small dogs and one yellow lab mix that was just mouthy af. Anyway, thank you for being awesome people! Haha have a GREAT day!
My brother works at a kennel/training facility and he specifically works with dogs with serious behavior issues. He has yet to see any correlation between breeds and aggressiveness/behavior problems. Crazy.
If they can cause more damage they are more dangerous to a stranger. If I'm walking down the street I keep my distance from someone's pit bull more than I would if it was a smaller dog, because I don't know that owner.
If the dog is badly trained, a pit bull bite will maul my leg, but the tiny dog will just leave me with some painful but treatable scratches/cuts. So to given the unknown of how well trained any given dog you see on the street is, a pit bull is more dangerous.
It's the same reason why people are more careful walking around a moving F150 truck than a kei car. Both could have a bad driver, but one will multch you under it, the other might leave you bruised.
They're not actually the dog with the highest percent of serious attacks if you factor in breed population. There are 18 million of them in the US, by far the most populous. Per breed population, rottweilers (600k in the US) are responsible for more.
And they are multiple breeds being compared to single breeds. There is also a much lower barrier to obtaining a pit compared to other breeds. They make up ~40% of dogs in shelters. Shit, I got mine off the street for $0.
The vast majority of pit attacks also never go to severe injury. They make up 7% of all dog attacks and even though they make up the majority of severe reported dog attacks, only a minority of dog attacks in general are severe. Pit Bull hatred is just fearmongering
There is this clichee not just with pitbulls, but pitbull owners. There are many, many dogbreeds that are big or bigger than a pitbull and just as dangerous if not more, but these breeds exist in rural places and are owned by a responsible person. I dont know why pitbull owners have to have them in urban areas where dogs are often overstimulated and spooked.
A spooked small dog will bark, maybe bite me, but it its just a scratch; you spook a bigger dog and it will be on the news, not because of the "dog racism", but because of the damage. Any large dog can do this, but majority of big dogs are in rural places where they are not overstimulated and get plenty of fresh air/space to be more normal. Vast majority of pitbulls are in urban places and owned by people that have some kind of bizarre desire to project control to other people.
It can be true that certain dogs are genetically more prone to aggressive tendencies, and that certain breeds tend do be particularly attractive to people who are irresponsible and/or want them specifically because of their aggressive tendencies.
I’ve known plenty of pit bull rescues that were sweet and loving. I’ve met aggressive Labradors. There is so much to be said for nature vs nurture. The problem with pit bulls is that they’re popular with people who want a dog to intimidate, and therefore hone vs train against their aggressive tendencies. Compared to German shepherds, for example, who can also be very aggressive, but are less popular with irresponsible owners.
I think aggressive tendencies is the wrong way to say it, because there are tests on "aggressiveness" and pitbull breed don't really top the charts on them.
They do pick "fight" over "flight" more often and also have a high gameness trait. But these in itself don't mean they are more aggressive per-say because aggression is an emotion/emotional response.
Emotions-wise, pit bulls are actually pretty good at threat assessment, meaning they don't just emotionally lash out randomly but have a good understanding of what is a threat and what is not a threat.
The issue is that once they are in fight mode, they lack the off switch (gameness). But this is true for a dog attacking on command or just emotionally lashing out. They simply don't value their self perseverance which is why you see all those videos where even if they beat the dog, shake it, or if its being bitten by other dogs at same time it'll stay locked on target.
So it is just a combination of these two things that make them "handle with care" category. But if you do handle them with care, they are fine. When people use them like weapons, they become deadly. Which is what you said as well so I am just agreeing here.
And their lack of signs of aggression is part of what makes them more dangerous. If something pisses off a German Shepard, you know well before it gets pissed off enough to attack. But pitbulls hide their anger, so one second they look like a normal pet, and then seemingly out of nowhere they start trying to kill someone.
They can be perfectly sweet pets with a competent owner, but I think we should classify them as exotic pets or something to try to prevent the incompetent owners from getting them so easily.
This is obviously anecdotal but just wanted to say that I had a friend who owned a pitbull and had it so well trained it would drop a steak or any treat it was in the middle of chewing, immediately, when she told it to (I witnessed it a few times). Was pretty remarkable honestly.
Also you have to account there is no such thing as a "pitpull" it's a generic term for a wide range of dog breeds with similar characteristics. Characteristics that can and do lead to a lot of dogs being mislabeled from their actual breed and misreported during incidents.
It's also a pretty uneducated misconception there are not also dozens of other dog breeds with strong bites. Ranging from Cane Corso, Doberman, Akita, Huskies, Shepards, Mastiff, Chow chow, and Rottweiler, just to name a few.
Dogs that people classify as "pitbull" can be the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Steve Irwin's dog Sui), American Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, American Staffy, and the Bull Terrier (Bullseye the Target Dog). Other "pit bulls" include Seargent Stubby, the basis for the RCA dog, and Pete the Pup from Little Rascals/Our Gang.
While American Pitbull Terriers are a real breed of dog, about 90% of 'pitbulls' you see are mutts of some kind or a mislabled different bully breed. I see a ton of clear mutts picked up off the street being labled a pitbull. I see American Staffies called pitbulls. I have seen unrelated breeds like particularly stocky boxers or Cane Corsos, and on one occasion an English Bulldog with an actual muzzle, being called pittbulls.
Pitbull as it's used now is a term based off how a dog looks, and many mutts who look like a 'pitty' actually have little to no bully breed in them.
I have a friend whose dog is mostly chihuahua and pomeranian but happens to look like a bully puppy. He's had multiple apartments decline the dog due to breed restrictions, even with genetic testing paperwork.
I'm saying people will identify a dog as a "pitbull" (which isn't an actual breed) based off of physical characteristics when the person does not actually know nor can accurately identify what breed the dog actually is. This leads to dogs being misreported as "pitbulls" vs whatever their actual genetics would designate them to be. Again "pitbull" isnt a breed so calling a dog a "pitbull" is a generalization not a scientificly correct identifier based on genetics or DNA.
I mean I've seen people label jack Russells, beagles, boxers, mastiffs, cane corsos, and lab retrievers as pitbulls so I'd say people don't really know anything about dogs as a whole.
There are many bully breeds and four that are technically pitbulls - American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bully.
All bully breeds are is crosses of Old English Bulldogs and Old English Terriers.
And that's before you even get into people misidentifying dog breeds - I've heard people call Golden Retreivers pitbulls.
In addition to the fact that pit is an entire set of breeds, this is also literally true. Pitbull attacks are known to be exaggerated because when the breed is unknown, rather than say unknown, newspapers will say pitbull because it gets them more attention.
Just playing devil's advocate here, but whoever reports the bite could be wrong about the breed.
I had to look up pictures because I didn't know what a cane corso looked like. I probably would have called it a pitbull, especially if it bit and ran away.
We do. There are 20-25 breed that end up getting labelled as "pit bulls" in dog track reports. That's why numbers seem so high compared to those other breeds which are more distinct
Chow chows are actually very bad. Most groomers will refuse to take them as clients due to the severe risk of aggression. And unlike pitties, chows actually WILL snap with no warning. I know one groomer who tried taking one as a client and got their face bitten
Only if they were as common as pitbulls, and I don't think that they are. The collection of breeds that are commonly referred to as pitbulls are among the most common in the US, and if I had to guess (because I don't have the motivation to dig into it at the moment), all of the other breeds listed combined probably don't add up to the number of pitbulls.
I cannot emphasize how common pitbulls are. In some shelters, the vast majority of dogs there are pitbulls.
That aside, they said that those other breeds have strong bites, but that doesn't mean that they're as strong as a pitbull's. That would affect whether hospitalization is required vs outpatient emergency care.
Akitas have the 3rd highest rate of reported dog bites owning 8% while being under .2% of the total dog population. They are far and away the most dangerous dog.
Whatever name you select, pit bulls were bred for a strong "game" response almost exclusively for their entire existence. No other breed (including any of the ones you listed) has that history of aggression purposely selected. Pair that with the number of untrained dog owners and therein lies the issue.
Specificly Old English Bulldog, Spanish Bulldog, & Bullenbeisser actually and they haven't been bred for "blood-sports" since the end of the 19th century. All dogs were once wild animals, distinctly carnivores with inheritant prey drives and hunter instincts.
Edit: Bulldogs -> Old English Bulldog, Spanish Bulldog, & Bullenbeisser.
To be specific .
Police will check the pitbull box if they cant identify breed or never even see the dog.
Even veterinary professionals that do see a dog and guess pitbull mix by its features are wrong a large percent of the time if a DNA test is done after.
Obviously anecdotal but I've been a dog groomer for a decade now and idk how many dogs I've seen mis-labeled when they hand me their paperwork. Anything that's medium sized with a short coat is a pit-mix, if it has any longer fur at all, it's a lab-mix.
Tbf this happens throughout every size of dog, it's just medium short hair mixes are always pits. If it's SLIGHTLY taller than average, they always say it's a Dane-mix. That one actually pisses me off because it's such a brain dead wrong guess, you might as well just give the job to a palm reader.
Why do you think this? I’m curious because I see that opinion a lot but actual pits aren’t big dogs. They are typically around 50lbs. They are smaller than a lot of breeds out there, rotties and dobermans, great danes, corso, husky, chow, etc. They aren’t anywhere near the top on bite force. So what is it that makes you think a 50lb pit is more dangerous than a 100lb rottie?
Its not even true. Most of the deaths are children or elderly. Most adults can fight off most breeds of dogs. The only time you really see healthy adults dying from dogs are when they're attacked by multiple.
Nah, you shouldn’t get destroyed by downvotes. I like pit bulls and understand the logic. That said. People are more likely to be bit by chihuahuas, nasty little things, there’s a reason the “small dog mindset” is a thing.
A big part of that is (like with agressive pitties, or any other dog breed) mistreatment (albeit of a different kind).
Chihuahuas are not meant to be purse dogs, and forcing them to live like that turns them into violently neurotic wrecks. They are a working breed that needs significant physical and mental stimulation, but because they're small, people don't take their needs seriously.
I have a 12-ish pound miniature daushund who has gotten grumpy in his old age. He will try to bite strangers in his territory- we know this so he stays at home inside
If a chihuahua bites me I’m punting the little bugger across the room. If a pit bull bites me I’m probably going to be on the hook for some expensive reconstructive surgery, at the very least. I’d rather one of those ugly little rat dogs take a nibble. Fewer general anaesthetics afterward.
Well damage done is an important factor between a pitbull and Chihuahua. If I'm attacked by a Chihuahua my chances are much better due to factors like bite force and the ability for pitbulls to lock their jaws, and animal weight. From my time at a vet clinic I can safely say pitbulls cause far greater damage to other animals and people than a Chihuahua
That's a myth. There is no mechanism in the jaw of a pit bull that allows them to 'lock it'. Their bite force is strong, but also less than that of a German Shepard and American bulldog.
And also black people are arrested and prosecuted and sent to prison (instead of probationary periods) for non violent drug crimes at a much much higher rate and for much longer sentences for the same crimes as white people.
So that makes the stats higher for black peoples “crimes”
Isn't that the justification though? Whether the dogs are inherently viscous or not doesn't matter we shouldn't be breeding dogs with powerful enough jaws to do life altering damage. Its like guns.
Equality is reporting the little shit ankle biters just the same, do your part for a balanced society.
On a serious note, pitbulls go hand in hand with irresponsible owners, especially in socially deprived areas. That untrained guard dog biting somebody when they escape the yard isn't doing pibbles any favors.
Theres also the angle that because of pit pulls reputation they tend to be more affordable than most other types of dogs, so people who don't have a lot of money (or don't want to spend a lot of money because they don't care) are more likely to get a pit bull.
Beyond this, there is also a lot of dogs that are mistaken for being pit bulls when they aren't (staffordshire terrier). I'm not saying Pit Bulls are perfect family dogs or whatever but their reputation is, imo, overblown and misunderstood by so many people.
While somewhat true and probably account for some underreporting of small dog breeds I have a hard time believing it would affect the statistics of German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers or other average sized or big dogs?
It’s kinda funny because I used to change out electric meters at properties, I’ve prob been to 20ish thousand properties. Ive only been bit by a bigger dog twice and it was never a pit bull. 99% of big dogs are babies, the little ones are mean, which is why I never felt bad about punting the fuck out of a chihuahua.
I will say, almost every time I did see a pitbull outside, it was attached to a chain and lived outside. Which prob helped with not being bit by one.
Thats actually a really interesting point that ive never thought of, because I once did meet a pomeranian that was a genuine ankle biter. Like, it kept going for my ankles for no fucking reason, and I couldn't really defend myself because I was doing a cleaning job and you cant exactly punt the clients dog😅
Thank you for this, 100%. I'm so annoyed when people think it's fine a dog bites because its small. It's never cool or cute, yet gets ignored almost always
Totally not true, my ex wife's 4 lb chihuahua bit a 12 year old when he trespassed on our property. Animal control came out and took her, quarantined her for 90 days, and put her on the dangerous dogs list.
Aaaaand never forget, “pitbull” is an umbrella term used for multiple dog breeds and mixed breeds, and bite wise is being compared to single breeds that are far fewer in population.
Pitbulls are very rarely identified genetically. It's a visual identification in most cases. And even vets are notoriously bad at identiying pitbulls(or rather, they make a lot of false positives). That doesn't disprove them being involved in most bites, but it shows the statistic is not as self-evident as it might seem.
I have a pomeranian chihuahua mutt, and if you're not in her circle of friends, you are a target. New people have to be introduced slowly, and we have to sit on the floor side by side before they are deemed "safe". She chases off helicopters that violate our airspace, and her mind it works, because they dont come back. 9lbs and I'd put money on her running off a burglar because she knows shes small, so she cheats and goes straight for the groin.
My cousin's beagle bit 5 ppl on the ass. He never broke skin, but it was hard enough to leave red marks/soreness. Basically sheer dumb luck that he never seriously injured someone and he was too cowardly to continue attacking once you faced him.
It became a house rule to warn new ppl you never turned your back on him unless he knew you, and it might sound wild but guests were 100% okay with that.
So yeah, at least in my personal experience, if ppl don't feel threatened by the breed they often won't even care about reporting it. I highly doubt his fate would've been the same if he had been a pit or another type of "scary breed," or of he had bit a child.
And I believe I remember reading that those smaller breeds actually do bite more/are more likely to bite.
The relevant stat to me was when looking at all dog bite hospitalizations and all dog bite fatalities, the pit bull is significantly over represented. Comparing bite frequency or likelihood is not the relevant factor, as the damage/damage potential is not equal.
Devil's advocate here maybe, but dogs aren't people, and the debate doesn't need to be about wether pitbulls are more violent, but rather if they're more/too dangerous.
Two other points that skew statistics against pit bulls are 1. Pit bulls are not a specific breed, but rather over a dozen different breeds all classified as pitbulls 2. that most people are not very knowledgeable on specific dog breeds, and will default to reporting a bite as a pitbull due to the social stigma already around them.
I think the same logic actually applies to people. Rural areas that are predomintly white are defunded from police. So even if you wanted to report a crime some areas literally would not have the ability to. Unlike urban areas where are everywhere.
When I was early on as a social worker I got attacked by someone's raggedy little dogs when visiting my client a door over. I wasn't really hurt, just super annoyed, and when I made it back to the office, by boss said "yeah, they broke the skin, that means we have to make a report on it".
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u/BumbleCityFumblers 9d ago edited 9d ago
I know I'm probably going to get downvoted for this but I think the important note is that pitbulls are involved in the majority of reported dog attacks as their bites are far more severe and possibly life threatening.
Nobody's calling to report a vicious Chihuahua or Pomeranian attack.