For probably most of my life (quite q good number of years) I believed all the viscous prejudice about Pit Bulls. Interestingly enough their breed is actually American Staffordshire Terriers; were once considered the "Nanny-Dog" because of their gentleness, behavior, loyalty, and loving .
Then the drug dealers, criminals of all distinction chose this particular breed to teach them to kill . (Any breed could have been chosen. What if they had chosen the Collie?? America's beloved Lassie!!) The methods used to do this were unspeakably horrible.
But there are many levels to this question, and the short answer is…no, because you can’t breed “aggression.” You can only teach it.
Then the drug dealers, criminals of all distinction chose this particular breed to teach them to kill . (Any breed could have been chosen. What if they had chosen the Collie?? America's beloved Lassie!!) The methods used to do this were unspeakably horrible.
But there are many levels to this question, and the short answer is…no, because you can’t breed “aggression.” You can only teach it.
1. Pit bull
This is a breeding grouping that consists of several breeds, each of which have a different history. They essentially all came from a mixture of bulldogs and terriers (hence, “bull terrier”) but several lines have descended from that mix. To say that a Staffordshire bull terrier will have the same temperament as an American pit bull terrier is foolish, but in America, both will be called a pit bull and are subject to breed-specific legislation aimed at pit bulls. The reason this is important is because when some site puts together bite “statistics,” they are putting anywhere from 4–30+ breeds into one grouping, them comparing them collectively to individual breeds.
This is a breeding grouping that consists of several breeds, each of which have a different history. They essentially all came from a mixture of bulldogs and terriers (hence, “bull terrier”) but several lines have descended from that mix. To say that a Staffordshire bull terrier will have the same temperament as an American pit bull terrier is foolish, but in America, both will be called a pit bull and are subject to breed-specific legislation aimed at pit bulls. The reason this is important is because when some site puts together bite “statistics,” they are putting anywhere from 4–30+ breeds into one grouping, them comparing them collectively to individual breeds.
2. Because of their appearance and reputation, pit bulls are far more likely to be obtained by someone wanting to use them as a status symbol or guard dog. Dogs in such a position are not properly socialized, are often kept outside instead of with the family, and are far more likely to get loose. Due to this, it is probably statistically accurate to say that a higher percentage of pit bulls are aggressive than other breeds, but it’s not due to some genetic difference. If our society treated other breeds the same way we treat pit bulls, you can bet those other breeds would be seen as far more dangerous.
3. As I mentioned earlier, you can’t breed aggression into a dog. You will often hear that pit bulls were bred specifically to be fighters, and in many cases this is true. But the traits that were bred into them for this purpose are traits that can be easily re-purposed for a loving family dog. For instance, pit bull breeds were bred with exceptional loyalty. If you want to teach a dog to fight and kill another dog, then you need a dog with that kind of loyalty to its master. The pit bull isn’t fighting the other dog because it wants to, but because its master wants it to. It’s like nuclear power…you can use it to power a city or to flatten a city. Another trait is a high pain tolerance, which obviously would be good for fighting. However, this also makes them less likely to turn on a child that pokes them in the eye or to hate human beings after one mistreats them. There are stories upon stories of pit bull breeds being brought to shelters in terrible shape with all kinds of illnesses and wounds, and they turn out to the be sweetest dog in the world. That’s the forgiveness of a pit bull.
4. Be wary of any site claiming “statistics” that show irrefutable evidence of pit bull aggression. These statistics are taken from eyewitness and media accounts, neither of which are reliable sources to identify a pit bull. In fact, the recent pit bull ban in Montreal was a reaction to a woman being killed by two dogs, which were said to be pit bulls. However, the dogs are registered as boxers and the DNA results of the dogs have conveniently not been released yet. With media accounts, let’s just say a headline with “pit bull” in it will sell more than with any other breed in the title. This means ANY pit bull attack will be reported with higher frequency and the story will spread more quickly, which leads to people only getting a small part of the story from which to draw conclusions
All of these things lead to one very important truth: pit bull owners need to exercise a greater responsibility than most other dog owners. There is a target on the back of every pit bull. You may want to bring your dog to the dog park and let him loose, but what happens when a black lab attacks your pit bull? Regardless of the outcome, the pit bull will be blamed, and until those attitudes change, pit bull owners need to be especially vigilant in protecting their dogs from the results of stigma.
Author:Quora
Author:Quora
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