Good Article on Pit Bulls
Pretty neat bite statistics in this article that conclude that pit bull bites are common because the breed is popular:
When it comes to perspective, the issue of animal bites can demonstrate just how much interpretation is required. An animal bite can be anything from an insignificant nip by a small dog to a life-threatening injury from the instinct-driven mandibles of a wild animal.
No animal bite reported is higher than that of the pit bull. A total of 17 pit bull bites were recorded in 2003, but this does not necessarily mean that pit bulls are an uncontrollable breed. Pit bulls are a very popular breed, which makes them common. They are also sometimes purchased by owners who want a guard dog and that affects their training and behavior. Labradors are also very popular and not known for biting, yet there were nine bites attributed to this popular breed.
There were only eight more bites by Pit Bulls than Labs this year.
Shih tzus are not terribly common at all in Council Bluffs. Neither are vislas, weimriners or lhasa apsos for that matter. Yet the aggregate number of bites attributed to these dogs was four. If there were as many vislas, weimriners and lhasa apsos in Council Bluffs as there are pit bulls, the city would appear to be under almost constant attack by show dogs
And the interesting stats listed (click more below) show that there were 31 reported cat bites.
DOGS
Beagle 2
Boston Terrier 2
Boxer/Mix 4
Brittany Spaniel 1
Bull Dog 1
Cattle Dog 1
Chow/Mix 6
Cocker Spaniel/Mix 2
Coonhound 1
Corgi 1
Dachshund 3
Dalmatian 4
German Shepherd/Mix 6
German Short Hair 3
Golden Retriever 1
Great Dane 1
Heeler/Mix 1
Husky/Mix 6
Lab/Mix 9
Lhasa Apso/Mix 2
Mix 2
Pekingese 1
Pit Bull/Mix 17
Pointer 1
Poodle/Mix 1
Rat Terrier/Mix 1
Rottweiler/Mix 5
Schnauzer 3
Shih Tzu 2
Spaniel/Mix 4
St. Bernard 1
Terrier/Mix 3
Unknown 1
Visla 1
Weimreiner 1
Wolf Hybrid 1
CATS
Domestic Long Hair 3
Domestic Medium Hair 31
Domestic Short Hair 1
OTHER
Ferret 1
Squirrel 1
Mouse 1
December 28th, 2003 at 12:29 pm
BUt you have to be careful with statistics. While pitbulls were responsible for only 8 bites more than labradors, you could also wlk away from those stats noticing that pitbulls are responsible for nearly twice as many as the number two biter, as many as the number two and the number three combined.
I’m not sure that stats even backup the authors conclusions:
“If there were as many vislas, weimriners and lhasa apsos in Council Bluffs as there are pit bulls, the city would appear to be under almost constant attack by show dogs”
but the stats given do not include population information for the breeds. Maybe there are just as many, or maybe there is one particularly aggressive pit bull blowing the curve. Dunno.
But probably the biggest problem with drawing any conclusion from this data is given in the opening:
“An animal bite can be anything from an insignificant nip by a small dog to a life-threatening injury from the instinct-driven mandibles of a wild animal.”
I tend to think that pit bull bites are of a different nature than what you might see from a Pekingese. But I could be wrong.
A better statistic would come from tracking the number of stitches given to bite victims over a years time divided by the number of animals registered to the breed with in the test area.
It’s also true that the situation plays a part. Pitbulls are often employed as protection – an occupation that implies at least the threat to bite — thieves do not find themselves bitten by lhasa apsos.
My personal belief is that pit bulls represent at least the threat of deadly force. When I see someone with a pit bull, I treat them with more trepedation than I would someone I knew to own hand guns. I think they appeal to people for similar reasons, but a hand gun is more easily controlled, and in the case of hand guns, the owner is generally held more responsible.
As an example, if I knew every household in my neighborhood had a gun permit, I probably wouldn’t worry about letting my child walk our dogs. But if I knew every house had a pit bull in the yard, there’s not a chance I would. I’d probably move.
I’m sure that there are exceptional pit bulls that are part of loving families that haven’t hurt anyone, but its obvious that many aren’t in this situation, and that those that are in loving families are still more likely to hurt someone than other breeds. I have no stats for that, but I have known two families in my childhood neighborhood that had pit bulls, and grew up in an area where they probably represented 3 – 5 % of the dog population.
In one case, the dog nearly ripped that arm off of a friend of their child and had to be put down, in the other case the dog killed a neighbors dog.
December 28th, 2003 at 3:15 pm
The problem with pit bulls glenn (and the article almost touched on it, but not quite) is they attract owners who shouldn’t own any breed of dog. Drug dealers in cities, for example, use them to guard stashes. People get pit bulls and train them quite specifically to be dangerous. Those people shouldn’t have any dog.
I agree that the numbers in this article are interpreted for a desired result but some temperament data can be found here:
https://saysuncle.com/archives/001638.html#001638
December 28th, 2003 at 3:49 pm
When my mom was little her dad had a pit bull named Buzzy. My mom says he was very gentle and never bit anyone. His favorite toy was an eight pound cast iron ball he used to like to carry around in his mouth. Gotta love that jaw strength!
Yours,
Wince
January 3rd, 2004 at 6:12 pm
Not only that, but pits are if anything less likely to attack humans than average, and for that reason, they make crappy guard dogs. A pit will take a bullet for you if you are personally threatened, but if you leave him in charge of guarding the house while you’re away, forget about it. Any dog-savvy burglar will pat him on the head, say “nice doggy,” and then help himself to all of your valuables (including the pit bull).
January 14th, 2004 at 5:04 pm
another factor to consider is that many dog people say are pit bulls are actually mixes and other breeds most people who are not dog savy will easily confuse a white boxer with a pitbull also mastiffs and many other breeds are labled as pitbulls that arent. Pitbulls arent mean they are some of the best dogs to have around children when the dog are not trained to attack. The problems with pitbulls is they are extremest if thier owner teaches them to attack then thats what they will do and they will do it till they cant anymore. thats a trait that was bred into the breed when making it a fighter also when the bred was created man bitters were killed at the first sighn of human agression so they were not allowed to mate and pass thier genes on. The people who bred the dog needed to be able to work close to thier dogs to train them and tend them after fights so a dog that is human agressive would have been bad for the owner.
January 25th, 2004 at 11:05 pm
i was the victim of a pitbull attack two years ago. The dog was supposed to be a “family dog”, owned by a “family friend”. It attacked me while I was visiting them, and it was unprovoked. I will have to live with extensive emotional as well as physical scars over my arms, shoulders, and face for the rest of my life. After surviving a near death experience, i personally wish that the bread would be outlawed. I know that many other people disagree, and this will probably never happen. So, instead, i would like to raise public awareness. Pitbull owners must realize the importance in properly socializing their dogs. They must also realize that if their dog ever attacks another animal, it should be put down immediately. I know thisis a hard decision, but the dog that almost killed me had attacked another dog and also killed a squirrel. Once any dog tastes blood, they will attack again. I just wish that people woould realize that very special care must be taken with pitbulls, they are a risk and after everything i have had to deal with, i just want pitbull owners to be more aware. If you are going to have these dogs, you must be very careful to do everything you can to raise them right. Attacks happen much to frequently, and i would never ever want anyone else to go through what i experienced.
January 26th, 2004 at 8:59 am
To the anonymous poster: you have to be careful with any breed of dog. And raise any breed of dog right.
January 29th, 2004 at 3:06 pm
My boyfriend and I have a 1 yr old Pit, “Winston” he is the best dog that I have ever had. He will sit on your lap like a person would and he knows “Give Winston Kisses (lick someone)” and right now he is in Dog School with a man and woman who train dog trainers. Not all Pits are bad…hey were even thinking of getting another one!
March 10th, 2004 at 2:19 pm
I am now,for the frist time the owner of a 7week old pit bull. as cute as he is a part of me still has resivations. especially since i have kids. Is there a proper way in bring up pit bulls gentle? If so i would like to know. All i can do is bring him up the best way i can and pray i did a good job.
March 10th, 2004 at 2:29 pm
Go here and scroll to the bottom then read upwards.
More resources out there at http://www.dogreader.com or do a web search on socializing dogs.
April 2nd, 2004 at 2:51 pm
I just got my puppy. He’s a pit bull/huskie mix. ABout how long do those kinds of dogs live?
April 4th, 2004 at 12:44 pm
i have a pit that is 1 1/2 yrs old….he is the best dog i have ever owned….ppl need to realize that its all in how u raise your animal…if u keep it away from ppl, of course its gonna go crazy when one walks in your home….since mine was 6 wks old, he’s been around hundreds of ppl…i take him every where with me….the only thing he will do to a person is lick them to death….
April 27th, 2004 at 9:21 pm
it’s some really dumb people out there