As pit bull attacks continue to make media headlines, large numbers of the breed account for an overwhelming majority of dogs which enter U.S. animal shelters and never leave.
In a two-part series, Patch will investigate the facts and misconceptions surrounding the breed, and an ongoing program that is working to ready unwanted and abused pit bulls in the Town of North Hempstead for successful adoption.
Are pit bulls as dangerous as they are made out to be or are they getting a bad rap?
There is an absolute misconception, says one local expert.
"Statistically [pit bulls] are not the breed of dog that has the most dog bites," says Susan Hassett, the director of the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. "That's usually one of the smaller breeds."
Bites by smaller dogs like the cocker spaniel or lhasa apso are more common, Hassett says, but larger K-9's like pit bulls, German shephard's or Rottweilers usually get the headlines because more damage is caused when attacks occur — and more fear.
And Chihuahua or poodle attack will rarely draw much attention.
The strength difference between a 60-pound pit bull terrier and a smaller dog is the most significant factor when it comes to the danger perception — not necessarily the frequency.
Not long ago ago, pit bulls had a gentler reputation. Some were used as nanny dogs used by people to watch ther kids, according to Hassett. These days, pit bulls are frequently falling into the hands of the wrong type of owners for dog fighting.
"If those people were getting beagles and training beagles to fight, we wouldn't be hearing about it," said Hassett.
Remember Peetie of the TV show the "Little Rascals," or the RCA dog? Both were popular pit bulls that helped drive popularity, but along the way the breed's reputation changed in the public eye.
With pit bull attacks now consistently getting top headlines and high profile cases like that of NFL football star Michael Vick hurting the pit bull image, the dogs have attracted a tough reputation which has hurt adoption chances.
Pit bulls are now the dominant dogs at most pounds, but just a few decades ago it was different, according to Hassert, who has worked at the North Hempstead shelter for 35 years.
"If you walked in the shelter, every dog was a black and brown shephard mix with stand-up ears. After that, lab mixes," says Hasset, reflecting on the dog population when she began working at the shelter.
Now battling a bad reputation, large numbers of pit bulls are unfortunately finding it more difficult than other breeds to make their way out of shelters and into loving homes.
"We get all kinds of dogs in our shelter and they get adopted, these dogs are just tougher to get out," says Hassett.
On Monday, part two looks at the Progressive Pit Bull Program in North Hempstead which is working to give pit bulls a better chance at adoption.
Is the AKC racist to insist that only purebred dogs be permitted in their registry? To compare human race to dog breed is ludicrous. God/nature created human races. Humans created dog breeds via selective breeding, for different traits and different "jobs". I do spend a lot of time with pit bulls. In the past our multi-breed rescue accepted/placed pits, but we learned the hard way after our pits killed other dogs, in unprovoked, sustained attacks. Pits were created for unprovoked, sustained attacks, as this was necessary for pits to win dog fights. Want proof that pits are different? Essentially all USA dog fighters choose only pits. Pits do seem to not maul assertive/confident people (vets/groomers), but that doesn't save their elderly neighbors or passerby children, or little dog walking leashed down the street. There are videos of torn up pits, after dog fights, being sewn back up without anesthesia. So pits probably won't snap at you if you give them their vacs. But if you need a dog to rip the scalp off your neighbor or a visiting child, pits are the best. How come pit mongers continue to use the chi bite/pit mauling comparison. That's plain insane. Linda Henry, owner of 4 beloved house dog pits learned the hard way about her pits, as she now has no arms and only one eye. Chihuahuas cannot do that, no matter how their try. Pits do this repeatedly, from coast to coast.
There are some interesting statistics quoted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull that show that pitbulls account for much higher rates of "accidents", both in general and with respect to their relative population. See the section subtitled "Attacks on Humans".
Pits are known to sometimes act aggressively towards small animals. So don't bring your Pit around small animals, duh. It's that easy. It's people who insist on forcing a square peg into a round hole who've created this whole mess by treating their Pit Bulls like Golden Retrievers. They're not Golden Retrievers. Pits are pretty useless as guard dogs for the simple reason that they're too friendly! Dogs like German Shepherds and Rotties are great guard dogs because they've been bred that way. Pit Bulls do what we bred them to do, and if you can't figure out how to handle a Pit Bull, don't get one!
There are too many people who have pit bulls that are too careless or unable to control them. Why are pit bulls over-represented in attack and kill statistics? Poorly bred? Exactly why the breed should be allowed to become extinct.
i have worked in a shelter with many pits and doing that has led me to adopted my pit bull. Pit Bulls actually have test higher then golden retrivers on a temperment test which should is shocking considering most comments on here. Pit Bulls are not people or dog aggressive by nature. They do not JUST SNAP or are a ticking time bomb. That is something the media portrays.
Monster are not born they are created. We are blaming the wrong side of the leash. People and horrible ownership and training are the reasons pits get a bad name. Out of all the dogs Vick trained to kill that were rescued all but a few were rehabilitated the ones that werent were sick and died. 90% of those pits are therapy dogs now, how can a breed that is so monsterous and dangerous to people be therapy dogs? Especially ones who were trained to kill? So i ask you again how many of you have actually spent time with a pit bull? One last thing before i go, many media outlets label any dog that slightly looks like a pit bull a pit bull even though that dog may not be a pit bull. why cause it sells right now. every decade has had its dog to fear. 1st the rottie, then the doberman, then the shepard, and now the pit.
please poke around this site, like i said do some research because the media doesnt they dont care what they report as long as watch, view, or read what they write. They have dog bite stats for every year and trust me most dogs that attack people are not family pets they are dogs bought for the wrong reason and not socialized.
And I do NOT believe statistics because I would BET A LOT of dog bites go unreported but Pit Bull bites are always "good" press. There are an awful lot of Pit Bulls out there living happy and loving lives without incident...living with other dogs, cats and children. Susan, can I ask if you have ever really known a Pit Bull? I work with many and frankly, I would rather handle a Pit than a Chihuahua. Responsible owners KNOW their dog. As for insurance companies...I got dropped for having a Chow...never had an incident with her 10 years of life.My current Chow is a Therapy Dog and a Canine Good Citizen. Picking a breed to ban is arbitrary and capricious. EACH dog should be judged on its individual merit. It is IGNORANT to bash and entire breed.
favor and don't adopted or get one- they are living animals not some toy to play and dispose of when you get tired of it-get real people