Pit bulls: dangerous monsters or misunderstood companions?
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IDAHO FALLS — When we run stories on involving pit bulls, we frequently get comments on how the breed is a danger to society. Others insist the dogs are misunderstood and misrepresented in the media.
October is Pit Bull Awareness Month, and it’s as good a time as any to take a deeper look into the pit bull debate — are they nature’s serial killers or angels?
(Full disclosure: I am a pit bull owner and tend to lean toward the latter end of the spectrum. But I will attempt to lay out the facts in as balanced a manner as possible in this column.)
History of the pit bull
Pit bulls are a type of “bully breed.” Bully breeds range from the mischievous, big-eared French bulldog to the tall, watchful bullmastiff.
After the bloodsport of bull-baiting was outlawed in the United Kingdom during the 1800s, dog fighting rose in popularity. Dog breeders found they needed the strength and power of bull-baiting dogs and the tenacious agility of the terrier. Thus the pit bull terrier was created.
As time went on, the pit bull’s inherent loyalty was recognized, and some people began to breed pit bulls for farm work and companionship. Of course, breeding specifically for fighting continued.
Today, pit bulls are generally split up into three separate breeds: American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier. However, “pit bull” is also often used as a catch-all for dogs with physical characteristics such as a muscular build and a square head.
“It is likely that the vast majority of pit bull type dogs in our communities today are the result of random breeding,” the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said in its official statement on pit bulls.
This is true for my dog, Storm, who was featured in the video above. Those familiar with pit bulls will note Storm has a taller build than what most would recognize as a pit bull. I believe this is due to his parentage of an American pit bull terrier and an American bulldog, though I can’t be certain.
Pit bulls by the numbers
Pit bull type dogs seem to consistently appear at the top of dog bite and fatal dog attack statistics. Two studies from 2015 and 2016 found pit bulls, as compared to other breeds, were responsible for the majority of dog bite injuries.
The 2016 study, published in Clinical Pediatrics, found that over a four-year period, 50 percent of surgeries performed as a result of dog bites were due to injuries caused by pit bulls. The study was conducted at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The 2015 study focused on injuries caused by dogs. The study, published in Ophthalmic Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, found pit bulls were associated with 25 percent of eye injuries. It was conducted at the Harborview Medical Center in King County, Washington.
In both studies, it is unclear how the authors determined the breed involved in each instance. It turns out, east Idaho’s local hospitals don’t track breeds involved in dog bite injuries.
“We do not track the type of dog, as it doesn’t typically impact the treatment we provide for a dog bite,” Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Coleen Niemann said.
While this may seem like a minor detail, it’s important to note a 2015 study published in The Veterinary Journal found dogs are misidentified as pit bulls at a shocking rate.
The study looked at animal shelters to determine how many dogs were actually pit bull type dogs and how many were misidentified. The study found visual identification is not a reliable method for identifying pit bull-type dogs.
Some shelter staff only correctly identified pit bull-type dogs 37 percent of the time.
In other words, it’s difficult to rank something that is frequently misidentified.
When studying dog bites and dog-bite related deaths, researchers often look at how many are reported and what breed of dog is responsible. The accuracy of the data is left to the reporting party.
On the other hand, pitbullinfo.org broke down the numbers of dog bite-related deaths in what it says are the “only scientific peer-reviewed studies available with breed-based data for dog bite-related risk information.”
It found per 100,000 dogs, Malamutes are six times more likely to be involved in a bite-related death than pit bull-type dogs.
In fact, according to pitbullinfo.org’s breakdown, Malamute, Chow Chow, St. Bernard, Husky Type, Great Dane, Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher and mastiff breeds are all more likely than pit bull types to kill a person.
In addition, the American Veterinary Medical Association reviewed 65 different studies on dog attacks and found a dog’s breed has little to do with aggression.
The AVMA found unneutered male dogs were much more likely to be aggressive, regardless of breed.
Owning a pit bull
Growing up, my family always had golden retrievers. I don’t think anyone would deny those are wonderful dogs. When I started a family of my own and began thinking about getting a dog, pit bulls weren’t necessarily at the top of the list. Then I met Krook.
Krook is my brother’s dog, a black and dark brown pit bull with a booming voice and the sweetest disposition. When visiting my family, Krook would come and cuddle with me and was so gentle around my daughter, who was just starting to walk at the time.
That’s when I started researching pit bulls and found much of the information presented above. After a while, and many discussions with my wife, we decided to adopt Storm.
Storm is two years old and bursting with energy. Anyone who has owned dogs knows each comes with his or her own personality and Storm’s personality is that of an overactive or distracted toddler . He is loving and cuddly but has a tendency to knock my kids over when running through the house.
Even though he likes to play rough with other dogs, I have never seen him exhibit any real aggression. He even graduated obedience school in the top of his class.
“Given the powerful impact of socialization, it’s no surprise that dogs that are chained outside and isolated from positive human interaction are more likely to bite people than dogs that are integrated into our homes,” according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Unfortunately, pit bull type dogs that find themselves in these conditions may be at greater risk for developing aggressive behavior.”
No matter what, people will still have their opinions about pit bulls and will easily find whatever information they want to support those opinions. The truth is, pit bulls do end up in shelters across the country, and because of the stigma that comes with the moniker of “pit bull,” many of them are killed without ever getting much of a chance.
“All dogs, including pit bulls, are individuals,” ASPCA said. “Treating them as such, providing them with the care, training and supervision they require, and judging them by their actions and not by their DNA or their physical appearance is the best way to ensure that dogs and people can continue to share safe and happy lives together.”
CLARIFICATION:A previous version of this article made a comparison between a pit bull’s behavior and a child with ADHD. The language of the article has been modified to remove the reference to ADHD, in lieu of the specific symptoms the writer was trying to convey.