It's a fact that pit bulls are one of the most maligned and misunderstood dogs in the world. It's unfair, but pit bulls seldom garner positive publicity. Ignorance about the breed takes the form of inaccurate myths: "Don't pit bulls have locking jaws? Aren't they just vicious by nature?" The breed has also suffered from the stigma of erroneous media coverage and general misinformation, leading to city-wide bans, pets being torn away from their families, and the deaths of countless innocent dogs. One in four of all animals brought into shelters are pit bulls, and their average euthanasia rate hovers at 93 percent across the board. Pit bull rescues can only save so many.
Something needs to be done to save this breed from its undeserved bad reputation.Thankfully, there have been recent movements to educate people to the truth behind the most common pit bull myths. If given the chance, pit bulls can be very loving companions, and in some communities, they have even become heroes, saving people and their guardians from harm. It's time to strip away preconceptions and show what loving companions these dogs can be. Learn the top myths surrounding pit bulls and why they're untrue, then help debunk them by telling your family, friends, and social media followers the real truth about pit bulls.
http://www.ranker.com/list/pit-bull-myths-debunked/anabel-conner,
Pit bulls are good guard dogs.
This is a giant whopper of a myth! Because of their innate love of all things human, pit bulls are completely useless as guard dogs. They will consider strangers to be friends as much as they consider family to be their friends. Unless you feel an intruder would be discouraged by being licked happily and profusely by your bully breed dog, then look elsewhere for a dog to guard your property.
The only way in which the pit bull makes a good guard dog is through its appearance and its much maligned reputation. Unfortunately, in the past, they have been linked with disreputable people, such as drug dealers. This should not reflect on the dog.The pit bull breed has a natural love of people, so consider what these awful human beings had to do to these dogs to make them aggressive.
Pit bulls bite more than any other type of dog.
Untrue. Bite statistics are notoriously unreliable. Most people reporting dog bites to authorities and to the media are not experts in identifying breeds. In fact, in this important, groundbreaking study by the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine and Maddies Shelter Medicine Program, even experts who work in the veterinary, dog grooming, breeding, sheltering and rescue fields were unable to accurately identify breeds and breed mixes by sight, when compared to the actual, accurate DNA evidence. There have been stories on the news about pit bull attacks where the picture on the screen is definitely not a pit pull or bully breed. In addition to these facts, most dog bites go unreported, further skewing the numbers.
Thanks to the media and the public's craving for general sensationalism, the pit bull breed proves to be newsworthy. In this country, bad news makes the national papers and sells more than good news, which just tends to make the local papers. The media has transformed the pit bull from what it used to be known as – America's Favorite Dog – into the "devil dog" that we read about today. Nobody wants to see a story with the title "Labrador Attacks" or "Man Bitten by German Shepherd." Stories involving pit bulls are much more newsworthy, and unfortunately, their popularity does not seem to be waning.
The only thing a pit bull is good for is fighting.
Too much attention has been paid to the original use folks found for all bully breeds, which was sport fighting. Since the breed was selectively bred for and is excelled at this task, there is a common assumption fighting is all this dog is good for. The truth of the matter is that the pit pull is one of the most versatile of all canines, capable of excelling at just about any task his owner asks him to complete. His devotion to his master and to humans in general is what, originally, may have made him a good fighter... but if an owner asks not for that but for manners, good citizenry, obedience, agility, or service, there is little doubt of success. Most pit bull lovers will attest that the task this breed performs best of all is being a beloved companion.
Pit bulls can hold on with their front teeth while chewing with their back teeth.
Just as in the case of the similar myth that pit bulls have "locking jaws," this notion is completely false. A pit bull's jaws are no different than any other breed or type of dog's jaws.
The brains of pit bulls swell, making them go crazy.
This myth came about by way of the Doberman Pinscher when it was the vogue dog breed to malign. The truth is the same now as it was then: All dog brains are the same. In all the canine world, there is no affliction of the brain in which the skull becomes too small to accommodate a dog’s grey matter.
Pit bulls have locking jaws.
This myth is a total load of hooey: There is no functional difference between the jaws of bully-type dogs and any other dog breed. All dogs are from the same species, and none have locking jaws.
Pit bulls are naturally aggressive towards people.
Like all terriers, pit bulls might show some aggression towards other dogs if they're not socialized properly. However, pit bulls have no innate human-aggressive tendencies and are naturally kind and loving with humans. When the "bully lines" were initially being conceived and engineered by human breeders, aggression towards humans was specifically bred out of these dogs to encourage obedience, and the propensity for pleasing the master was to be the paramount hallmark of pit bull personality traits. Pit bulls are affectionate, intelligent, and highly trainable dogs. The highest obedience trial record of all time is held by an American Pit Bull Terrier named Maddy.
Pit bulls don't feel pain.
Pit bulls have the same nervous system of any other breed of dog. They can and do feel pain, just as any other dog, or human, for that matter. Historically, those dogs that would tolerate or ignore discomfort and pain and finish the task they were required to perform were the dogs that were bred. All dogs, pit bulls included, tend to handle pain with stoicism, but just because they aren't able to tell you they hurt, doesn't mean that they don't.
Pit bulls have more bite pressure per square inch than any other breed or dog.
Tests that have been done comparing the bite pressure of several breeds showed the pit bull's bite pressure per square inch (PSI) to be comparable to many other domestic dog breeds, and not the wildly exaggerated estimates of upwards of 10,000 pounds PSI that have been erroneously reported.
Testing has shown the domestic dog averages about 320 lbs of pressure per square inch. In a study for National Geographic, Dr. Brady Barr tested the PSI for three large dog breeds: Rottweiler, German Shepherd, and the American Pit Bull Terrier. With a PSI of 235, the American Pit Bull Terrier registered the lowest of all three.
Pit bulls can 'snap' and turn on a person.
There is no dog, no matter the breed, that “just snaps.” Behaviors are not “just because.” Dog aggression is nearly always preceded by some kind of warning, and there is always a reason behind an attack. However, many inexperienced owners do not recognize the dog's behavior as aggression, or refuse to acknowledge it as a warning sign.