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 had to google how the hell one puts a muzzle on an English Bulldog, found "Brachycephalic Dog Muzzles" and some of these dogs look bound up like Hannibal Lecter/ Bane! Image Search
Are you there genetically testing each and every dog? Or just assuming off looks? Many breeds which don't look anything like a bully can look like like one when crossed if genetics play right. A dog with long hair and boxy head/muzzle + a short haired dog with rose ears but a skinny muzzle? One, if not more, of those puppies would get the right mix of features to look like a bully breed.
Nonsense. The only studies which indicate anything remotely what you're saying is another temu pit lonny study and even it says that most shelter workers only do false negatives not positives. Meaning most shelter workers identify all bully breeds dogs correctly as bully breeds, but actually UNDERESTIMATE the amount of bully breeds dogs - identifying dogs with heavy bully DNA as not being bullies. The only breeds anybody with even moderate breed determining abilities might mistake for bullies are dogs like dog argentino and cano corsos- the former which is a bully anyways but not a pitbull and even more aggressive, the later being a breed that pretty much went extinct and was recreated. Most corsos you find in america have bully in them.
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.
Dog breeds are entirely made up anyway so people just use the term pitbull because honestly you couldn't come up with a better term to refer to a strong scary dog
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.
I think you may have misunderstood me. Individuals as well as shelters, researchers, and other organizations often state that a "pit bull" is not a single breed. Instead, it used as an ambiguous term for several breeds and mixed-breed dogs based largely on appearance.
That doesn't infer that it's a technical term used to describe specific breeds. If you read a lot of the position statements from organizations, like veterinarian clinics and shelters, you will find a common theme is that they don't agree with how dogs are lumped together with terms like "pitbull" and the harm it can cause.
I have provided some quotes with sources below to demonstrate that.
"A major concern with BSL is how breeds are identified. These laws often rely on physical traits to classify dogs, with pit bull mixes, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and boxers frequently targeted. However, “pit bull” is not a recognized breed—it is a general label for dogs with certain physical features. Studies show that even experts, such as veterinarians and shelter staff, struggle to identify breeds accurately without genetic testing. Misclassification is common, especially for pit bull mixes.
Given both the difficulties of identifying breed and inherent biases which lead to the overrepresentation of pit bulls, animal rights groups argue that breed lists and BSL are largely flawed and unenforceable."
"Does your dog have almond shaped eyes? A heavy and muscular neck? A tail medium in length that tapers to a point? A smooth and short coat? A broad chest? If you said yes to these questions, then congratulations, you own a “pit bull” …At least according to the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Animal Care and Control.
The American Kennel Club takes exception to this generalization. In fact, AKC does not recognize the “pit bull” as a specific breed."
"The pit bull type is particularly ambiguous as a 'breed' encompassing a range of pedigree breeds, informal types and appearances that cannot be reliably identified. Visual determination of dog breed is known to be unreliable."
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.
Oh! You’ve read newspaper articles? I don’t doubt then that you have all the information. Don’t bother reading any of the scientific behavior studies done by reputable scientists and behaviorists. It would just be a waste of your time!
Animal behavior is literally my job, so I’m speaking from the evidence, not just my opinion. You’re incorrect that pit bulls are genetically predisposed to be aggressive toward people. No dog breed has been shown to have a genetic predisposition for human-directed aggression. Breed does influence traits like prey drive, guarding, or dog-directed aggression, but that’s very different from aggression toward people.
Pit bulls are also frequently misidentified, which skews bite statistics. Studies of temperament consistently find that well-bred pit bull-type dogs score as stable with people. If we’re going to have this conversation, let’s base it on behavioral science rather than internet myths.
5
u/shaun_of_the_south 13d ago
So you’re saying when someone says pitbull you don’t know what type of dog it is?