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Facts About Pit Bulls 
by Cindy Cooke, V.P. 
Dog Events
UNITED KENNEL CLUB

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Facts About "Pit Bulls"

This is an email I received from Cindy Cooke, V.P, UKC
It is presented here unedited and uncommented.

Before addressing your comments, I would like to give you some historical background about the United Kennel Club, where I work.  C. Z. Bennett founded U.K.C. in 1898 for the purpose of registering purebred dogs.  Mr. Bennett was concerned about what he saw as the over-emphasis on conformation in A.K.C. events.  He wanted a registry that would emphasize the "Total Dog," and encourage breeders to breed for intelligence and working ability as well as good conformation.  The United Kennel Club was conceived for the purpose of emphasizing each breed's individual working qualities and ensuring that those qualities continue to be linked with the breed's characteristic appearance.  U.K.C. currently recognizes 309 breeds of dogs and sponsors 10,000 events annually.  We are the second oldest purebred dog registry in the United States and the second largest in the world.

The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), also known as the American Staffordshire Terrier, was one of the first fifteen breeds registered by U.K.C. in 1898, and we have registered thousands of APBTs since then.  We are very familiar with the history of this breed and his relatives, the Bull Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the Miniature Bull Terrier.  For many years, we have led opposition to breed-specific ordinances for the reasons listed below.  We have now joined with other dog organizations in funding the Canine Defense Fund of the American Dog Owners' Association.  Through this Fund, we fight breed bans and assist legislators in drafting MORE EFFECTIVE and less draconian laws. First, let me address some of the misconceptions about so-called "Pit Bulls":

* MYTH: The "Pit bull" breeds have been selectively bred for the purpose of dog fighting."  In fact, the overwhelming majority of breeders is, and has been for decades, selectively breeding the bull terrier breeds as companion and working animals.  Dog fighters represent a negligible minority of the fanciers of these breeds.  Most dog fighters are not selectively breeding at all and few, if any, of their dogs are even purebred.  These people are not educated in the methodology of selecting and fixing particular traits in a breed.  They look for big strong dogs that can be made mean enough, usually through abuse and neglect, to fight with other dogs and to menace people.

* MYTH: The "Pit Bull" breeds have been selectively bred to develop a strong fighting instinct and a low level of fighting inhibition, which make these breeds of dogs hazards to humans as well as to other animals. Once again, I must point out the thousands of bull terrier dogs who regularly participate every year without incident in conformation shows, obedience trials, agility trials, weight pulls, and other events sponsored by U.K.C. and other registries.  By the way, a review of the history of these breeds reveals that the 19th century breeders selected dogs that would not attack humans because there were always three people in the pit with the dogs.  The dogs had to be willing to be pulled out of the fight by their owner without causing injury to the owner.  The worst of the old fighting dogs were NEVER bred or encouraged to attack people.  That is a twentieth-century phenomenon that has grown up with the crack epidemic in our cities.  The drug dealers and gamblers who keep "attack" dogs are certainly not wasting their time or energy selectively breeding these dogs.  They buy dogs from irresponsible breeders and keep the mean ones. 

* MYTH: The "Pit Bull" breeds have a particularly well-developed chase instinct, which causes these breeds of dogs to be dangerous around children. The chase instinct is natural to all canines but to say that it is stronger in the bull terriers than in other breeds is to display a woeful ignorance of dogs.  The chase instinct of the bull terriers is not nearly as strong as, for example, that of the beloved Collies, Beagles, and Cocker Spaniels!

* MYTH: The "Pit Bull" breeds have a tendency to attack even those persons that exhibit no provocative behavior.  Dog attacks have become such media events that virtually every reported dog bite is transformed into an unprovoked attack on an innocent child by a semi-mythical monster dog, the dreaded "Pit Bull."  While I am not making light of dog bites, nearly all of them ARE provoked, albeit unintentionally, and nearly all of them involve a breed other than one of the bull terrier breeds.  If these dogs have such a tendency, how do you account for the hundreds of conformation, obedience, agility and other titles earned every year by representatives of this breed?

* MYTH: The "Pit Bull" breeds have a tendency to fight to the death and never quit a fight once engaged, which results in more severe injuries than those inflicted by other breeds.  It is the nature of animals to avoid fights where possible, to fight only as long as is necessary, and to quit when beaten or when the opponent concedes.  Dog fighting created unnatural situations where dogs were not allowed to concede or to flee.  Naturally, they fought to the death where they had no alternative.   Remember, too, these were artificially stimulated attacks on other dogs--not attacks on persons.

* MYTH: The jaws of "Pit Bull" breeds are unique in that they can exert 2000 pounds P.S.I. when biting, and the jaws lock, creating a tendency to tear flesh, which results in grotesque injuries to human victims. All dog jaws work in the same manner.  There is nothing unique to the jaws of the "Pit Bull" breeds that cause them to lock.  Their jaws are large and powerful, as are the jaws of many other large breeds.  Likewise, all dog bites tear flesh in exactly the same manner regardless of the breed of the dog.  The extent of the injuries is based solely on the size and strength of the dog involved.  This particular "myth" originated in a Ripley's Believe It Or Not cartoon. There is no scientific evidence anywhere to back it up.

* MYTH: The "Pit Bull" breeds have a combination of agility, stamina and strength, together with a genetic predisposition to aggressiveness, that make them uniquely dangerous, even to their owners, among all breeds of dogs, especially where improperly trained or raised. There is no evidence that any of the "pit bull" breeds are more inclined to viciousness or aggression against people than any other breeds. A five-year study published in the Cincinnati Law Review in 1982, vol. 53, pg. 1077, which specifically considered "pit bulls," concluded in part that:

...statistics did not support the assertion that any one breed was dangerous, ...when legislation is focused on the type of dog it fails, because it is ... unenforceable, confusing, and costly ... focusing legislation on dogs that are "vicious" distracts attention from the real problem, which is irresponsible owners.

On the web site of the American Temperament Testing Society (http://www.atts.org/stats1.html) you can see for yourself that the American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier breeds scored higher than the Golden Retriever. Consider the thousands of owners of bull terriers in the country who have these dogs living in their homes with their children.  What kind of reckless, even fearless, men and women could even face the creatures described in this statute in a cage, let alone in their homes?  These dogs are family pets, no more agile than a Border Collie, with no more stamina than a Jack Russell Terrier and no more strength than an Alaskan Malamute.  If this so-called "predisposition to aggressiveness" is truly genetic, then why does it only appear in the tiniest minority of bull terriers and in virtually NONE of the REGISTERED American Pit Bull Terriers?

* MYTH: There has been an alarming rate of attacks by pit bulls and other dangerous breeds against humans nationwide.  Not long ago, on ABC Television, John Stossel hosted a special program about fear.  The theme of the program was how Americans are alarmed and caused to be fearful by misleading stories in the media.  This "alarming rate of attacks" is just such a false alarm.  It is not supported by any hard evidence.  Accurate dog bite records are seldom maintained by breed. Still, in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch, Texas, where such records were maintained for a period of seven years,  "pit bulls" accounted for only 30 of the 1,593 reported dog bites, fewer than 2%. The actual number is probably less since, when a dog attacks a person, it is nearly always reported as a pit bull, even when experienced dog people can see with their own eyes that the dog is a mixed breed or even another purebred breed.  No policeman ever reports shooting a mutt when he can report that he was attacked by a "pit bull."  No criminal ever describes his guard dog as a mongrel when he can boast that he has a "pit bull." 

Please consider the following factors:

1.  The vast majority of all purebred American Pit Bull Terriers/American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers, Bull Terriers, and Miniature Bull Terriers are beloved family companions who cause no problems in their communities.  These dogs attend hundreds of dog shows, obedience trials, agility trials and other events without incident. A breed ban that penalizes many innocent pet owners to punish a few wrongdoers is a bad law. I have checked all fatal dog attacks since 1986 and no dog registered with the United Kennel Club has been involved in any of these highly publicized "pit bull" attacks.

2.  The majority of dog bite cases involve mixed breed dogs.  It is not possible to visually identify what, if any, purebred dogs make up the biter's ancestry.  To date, no test, genetic or otherwise, exists to distinguish one breed of purebred dogs from another, much less determine the origins of the mixed "pit bull" type dogs involved in most of the attacks.  No ethical veterinarian will testify to the "breed" of an unregistered dog because it is not possible to determine, by visual inspection or otherwise.  Animal Control people are seldom qualified to identify the purebred dogs they encounter, let alone guess the genetic makeup of the mixed breeds. In fact, I have personally observed numerous trials where so-called expert Animal Control Officers, when asked to review photographs of dogs, regularly misidentified the breeds of dog. Who is going to make this determination of a dog's breed? Who is going to pay to train Animal Control officers to recognize the hundreds of breeds of purebred dogs and distinguish between them, let alone look at the mixed breed dog and determine the breeds of his ancestors?  Who is going to compensate the angry owner whose Boxer or Mastiff or mutt is mistaken for a "pit bull?"  No law with a definition this vague can be enforced or upheld on appeal. 

3.  The American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Association of Animal Control Officers, all major dog registries, and thousands of responsible dog owners throughout the United States strongly oppose breed specific ordinances.

4.  Where accurate statistics are available, "pit bulls" certainly do not lead the dog bite statistics--the champion there is, nearly always, the beloved German Shepherd.  Every breed of purebred dogs occasionally produces dogs with bad temperaments.  More to the point, bad owners can make bad dogs out of any genetic material.  It makes no more sense to penalize all bull terrier breeds in these circumstances than it would to round up all Methodists because a few had turned to a life of crime.

 5.  History shows two things:

a. Breed specific statutes are unenforceable and don't work. The most recent jurisdiction in our area to repeal their breed-specific ordinance was Saginaw, Michigan (June 29, 1998). After 11 years, the Animal Control department insisted that the ordinance was unenforceable. Just a year ago, Prince George's county in Maryland enacted a breed ban. The Prince George's County Animal Control Officer has already taken a public stand in favor of repealing it.

b. Statutes that impose heavy penalties on dog fighters and on people who let their dogs run loose are the most effective tools in reducing ALL dog attacks on people.  States that have made any participation in dog fighting--owning, handling, watching and gambling--a felony have made significant inroads in the problem of dangerous dogs.  Also, those small minorities of communities where dog leash laws are seriously enforced have virtually no dog bite problems. It is a sad fact that many jurisdictions, like yours, have succumbed to hysteria and enacted breed-specific vicious dog ordinances.  It is also a fact that nearly all such ordinances have been struck down on appeal.

Victims of dog bites do not care what breed of dog has caused their injury--they want laws to protect them against all vicious dogs and their owners.  The community of responsible dog owners wants strong legislation against irresponsible dog owners; we want strong enforcement of existing leash laws; we want dog fighting rooted out of our communities.  We need laws that will effectively deal with the problem of vicious dogs without criminalizing otherwise responsible dog owners and their pets. Remember, punish the deed, not the breed!

Very truly yours,

Cindy Cooke

Vice President, Dog Events
UNITED KENNEL CLUB

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