American Pit Bull Terriers and aggression: The myths, the facts, the truths

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When someone says, "Name an aggressive dog breed," the American Pit Bull Terrier is perhaps the most named breed. Let's face it, a lot of people, dog lovers or not, think that this is true. And technically speaking, it is. People say, "Oh, it's a bad owner, not a bad dog," or "The breed is born bad," but truthfully, none of these are behind this statement.

What is a Pit Bull?

To have an opinion on Pit Bulls, you need to know what one is. A Pit Bull refers to any dog descended from bull-baiting dogs from England. However, in this article it is used as slang for an American Pit Bull Terrier.

Breeds often confused for American Pit Bull Terriers

Many people see a stocky, broad headed dog and think that the dog is a Pit Bull. But that isn’t all the case. There are many breeds of dog that have short coats, broad heads, and stocky bodies. However, these four dogs are the dogs that are most often confused with an American Pit Bull Terrier.

• American Staffordshire Terrier

• Staffordshire Terrier

• American Bully

• American Bulldog

Temperament of the American Pit Bull Terrier

Like most, if not all, terriers, the American Pit Bull Terrier is best described as brave, loyal, intelligent, a little stubborn, highly affectionate, and obedient. Just ask any Pit Bull owner. However, these dogs are not for first-time owners because they need a lot of exercise, are highly strong, and need to be properly socialized or they will become scared and shy of people or other animals. And a dog that is scared of people tends to bite when scared or threatened. American Pit Bull Terriers are strong dogs and can weigh anywhere from 30 to 60 pounds, so they can easily push over a child or even a weak eldery person. However, contrary to belief, Pit Bulls do not have locking jaws and can not in any way lock their jaws on a person. They just have incredible jaw strength due to their history of being bull baiters.

The attacks

Perhaps the thing that Pit Bulls are known for is their fatal attacks. In 2020, 52 people died due to being bitten and mauled by a dog. According to Dogsbite.org, 33 of those attacks were from a Pitbull or Pitbull mix. That’s around 72% of the attacks! However, around 20% of the attacks were caused by a dog who previously had problems with aggression, which is common in untrained Pits. A majority of the attacks were of children aged 10 and under, some of which were unsupervised and the dog was provoked. Here is proof of this from Dogsbite.org,

“4-months old, was mauled to death by a family pit bull while her mother was asleep on the couch. The baby died of exsanguination (bleeding) due to extensive soft tissue damage, according to Montgomery County Corner, Dr. Kent Harshberger. The manner of death was ruled an accident. On January 9, just before midnight, police were dispatched to 114 Vermont Avenue after reports of an infant not breathing. The baby's father, Parker Terwell, called 911 after he arrived home and found the infant alone lying on the floor and not breathing. Terwell said the baby's mother, Mary Shoup, was asleep on the living room sofa. Terwell informed officers that "Shoup is on prescription medication." These prescriptions included: Alprazolam, Bupropion and Sertraline, according to an affidavit seeking a search warrant. Terwell also told officers he had thrown a Marijuana bong into the kitchen trash can before police arrived, according to the affidavit. As of February 8, no criminal charges have been filed.” There is a case where the owner commanded the dog to attack a man, as shown here, “55-years old, died after being attacked by a pit bull and a female friend. About 3:40 am, deputies were dispatched to a home on Pug Lane after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor who witnessed a woman assaulting a man and commanding her pit bull to attack him. Arriving deputies found 38-year old Melissa Wolke on top of Abner punching him in the face, while the dog attacked him. Police had to Tase Wolke to get her off Abner. The Rockcastle Coroner's Office said Abner suffered dog bite wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Wolke was arrested and charged with murder. Wolke appeared to have blood on her hands and feet, and had a large clump of hair in her hands that was consistent with the victim's hair. Wolke later told Kentucky State Police that she was going "redneck" on the man and that she was the owner of the pit bull named "Denali," a former fighting dog. The initial cause of death was ruled to be asphyxiation. The severity of dog bite injuries inflicted remains unknown.” Both of these deaths have been unprovoked. and could have been prevented. However, there are some cases where the dog hasn’t been provoked and just attacked, as shown here. “2-years old, was mauled to death by a family pit bull. Police and paramedics were dispatched to a home in the 5600 block of Darby Close at 1:53 pm for a dog bite, according to Misty Holley with the Portsmouth Police Department. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found the 2-year old with life-threatening injuries. The child was transported to a local hospital, where she died. In the audio dispatch log from Portsmouth Police and Fire, the dispatcher said the child suffered severe injuries to her face. "We have a pit bull who just bit the complainant's daughter's face completely off. She's not breathing." After Engine 3 arrived at the scene, the fireman reported, "We have a pit bull that's covered in blood here." The owner of the dog surrendered the 1-year old male pit bull to Portsmouth Animal Control, which placed the dog into a 10-day quarantine. One neighbor told reporters the family had just moved in a day or two earlier. As of March 15, the case remains under investigation.” Nothing else was recorded of the case, so nothing else is known, such as if the dog was provoked.

Breaking the myths

Due to these attacks, many myths and misconceptions have been formed due to desperate people trying to find an answer as to what would cause this. These myths are wrong, and here's why.

“Pitbulls are born aggressive due to their history.”

The easiest explanation to this is by thinking of this scenario as a person. Take the world’s worst dictator as an example. Say Adolf Hitler had children, and those children grow up to be aggressive dictators. Babies are not born a way and then stick with it. Aggression is a learned trait, whether accidental or on purpose. Outbursts of aggression can be caused by factors of pain, such as abuse or even simply stepping on the dog's tail. Another factor to consider is by putting yourself in a dog's shoes. Would you like it if you were taken to a dog park, with all these strange dogs giving you funny looks. How would you respond? Or, if that 2 year old keeps nagging you and pulling your delicate ears and getting in your face and shouting? Or that one man that always seems to kick at you or curse. Or being chained up for your whole life, only getting socialization when someone comes to feed you. Or sleeping peacefully and someone comes and wakes you up as you get comfortable. Or listening to loud family members constantly all the time? The possibilities could go on and on. Saying that a dog is born aggressive is saying that a dog is born knowing how to sit and stay and come when called.

“Pitbulls have locking jaws.”

I debunked this myth in a different article, but I’ll do it again. No breed of dog, big or small, has locking jaws. A dog's jaw is connected by a hinge point, so that the dog can open and close his mouth. There is no joint that allows him to clamp on and never let go. If a dog does have a locked jaw, that is a sign of a severe tetanus infection and should seek veterinarian attention.

" An aggressive pitbull was trained for dog fighting.”

This is a mixed answer, because not all Pits are trained for fighting, but rather just poorly trained or not trained at all. It is true that dog fighters train dogs to be aggressive, because that is what is needed. A dog can also become aggressive due to lack of control, such as if the owner rarely or never trains it, or lacks the ability to train it. Just think, a dog that isn’t trained to come when called, won’t come when called.

“Pitbulls are only used as fighting dogs.”

The reason why Pits are used as fighting dogs to take part in the illegal sport called dog fighting, is because they are built with lithe muscles, have quick movements, and a tight-clamping jaw. But they are not the only breed used in this cruel sport. Dogs such as the Japanese Tosa, Presa Canario, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, and Cane Corso are also trained. That is because these dogs are large, strong, and have strong guarding instincts due to being used to protect houses and livestock.

Cancelling Pit Bulls

Due to these attacks, Pit Bulls have gained reputation of being bad, murderous beasts with an instinct to kill. So in response, many towns, cities, states, and even countries have banned these dogs from even living in an area. The reason why this isn’t effective is because other breeds of dogs can still attack and kill, despite not being a Pit Bull. In fact, many attacks are from household classics, such as the braveheart German Shepherds and the friendly Labrador Retrievers. Even airports and some train stations lack service to a person who has one of these dogs aboard. Dog training classes, dog boarding facility and even insurance companies, too. People attack and kill people, and yet they get sent to jail. Do they get banned from entering a place, banned from living in an area, or even sent to dog shelters? If you take the Pit Bull out of a town, take the person who made them that way out too.

I am not saying that people who hate Pit Bulls are bad people, as they have their own opinions. However, I feel that a certain dog breed shouldn’t be targeted as a murderer when people do it all the time. Mosquitoes kill on average one million people yearly due to transmitted diseases, but we haven’t cancelled them! Chihuahua’s and Jack Russell Terriers are shown to be snappy, fearless, and even aggressive, but many people still own these dogs with no fear. It all comes down to damage. A 50 pound Pit Bull can do more damage than a 15 pound Jack. Happy reading, and of course, Canine Good.