For the purposes of this blog, we are referring to all Bully Breeds as "Pit Bull" just so we are not listing off several types of dog every time we wish to mention it.
WARNING this blog is not for the sensitive!
Today, all over the news, there was a story of a 17 year old Saanich Pit Bull cross that bit a 16 day old baby, and many things are occurring on social media - and as a responsible, caring trainer, and a personal lover of these specific breeds, we felt the need to go on record with our expert advice on the matter, and confront the incorrect and dangerously inaccurate statements.
1) Pit Bulls can lock their jaws.
No, they can't - but they're in the top three of jaw strength, meaning you can't just pry them open unless the dog allows you to. They have absolutely no locking mechanism in their jaws.
2) The dog in question was jealous.
Dogs don't suffer from jealousy like you or I do. They do not possess the mental process to go, "Hey; that baby is stealing my people's time from me, so I am going to go over there and try and kill their new puppy". They don't even have that type of thinking format. They can have associations however, such as the baby represents a change in rules, and they dislike that change, so they wish to put the rules back the way they were before, and so they follow pack dynamics and assert their dominance in order to try and repair the changed rules. They also can simply assert pack dynamics without the association with rule change; any new puppy brought into a pack must be determined as dominant, or submissive -- and given the chance, -any- dog will attempt to teach the new human puppy that they are the bigger dog and therefore has more rank than them. It is 100% up to the owners to make sure the dog understands the baby is not something to be claimed or dominated.
3) The dog in question was a Pit Bull, so they should have expected this.
The breed has nothing to do with the deed. All dogs are capable of this act, and as a matter of fact, the Pit Bull is one the lowest on the list of potential breeds to attack. Breeds that are more aggressive on average than a Pit Bull might surprise you; Chihuahuas, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Boxers, Akitas, Shepherds, Huskies; this list goes on. The breed commonly referred to as the Pit Bull actually has no generic strain of aggression bred into them whatsover, unlike dogs like the German Shepherd or Akita. Associating a specific breed to a behavioural problem is inaccurate, and unfair to the breed; after all, you wouldn't blame an ethnicity on a specific type of crime. All races are capable of all crime, and dogs are no different.
4) This Pit Bull is vicious, so it should be put down.
A Pit Bull that bites a human unprovoked is not always "vicious". This could very well have been its first ever abnormal reaction. In fact, it is incredibly rare for a dog to be so aggressive that it actually lays teeth on a human. At least 80% of the time, dogs posture and fake out; they very rarely strike, and they have to feel directly threatened unless they are specifically trained to attack, such as protection dogs, or police canines. 99% of family pets do not reach this level of instability, and if they do, it is very unlikely that the owner of said dog would allow their baby anywhere near the dog in question. In this instance, it is my professional opinion that this dog was merely enforcing pack hierarchy. If this dog wanted to kill the baby, it would have, and it would have done it in half a second. If it wanted to correct the baby, or enforce pack dynamics, it would have been a quick nip or two - but with the power of the Pit Bull jaw, combined with the especially sensitive and soft skin of a newborn, the damage becomes bad, fast. Because the baby is in stable condition and the damage was not life threatening and on the face. This damage directly correlates with a corrective or dominance warning nip. Dogs that are seeking to kill something do not attack the face; with small animals, like a rabbit, they grab center of mass, and shake. This dog was not vicious; it was dominant. It was also seventeen; even dogs suffer from a deteriorating mind, and it is highly possible the dog was suffering from dementia, or Alzheimer's.
5) Pit Bulls were bred to attack, and have unstable blood lines.
The American
Pit Bull Terrier originally appeared as a cross breed between the Old
English Terrier, and the Old English Bulldog, first making their
appearance as the "Old Family Terrier", in the mid 19th century. They
were widely used as nannies and farm dogs, rehabilitation animals,
seeing eye dogs, service dogs, and as a guardian for both children and
farmyard livestock. Pit Bulls were excellent in this capacity; they were
widely known as the sweetheart of the farmyard life.
Despite
media dramatization, careful wording, and obvious breed racism, the CKC
and AKC describe the Pit Bull as intelligent, patience, enthusiastic,
athletic, high please drive, and extremely gentle - especially with
children and strangers. They seem to know exactly how powerful their
jaws are, and while they do not actually lock (despite popular belief),
Pit Bulls are very gentle with their mouths, and have natural bite
inhibition. Pit Bulls are very sensitive to the wants and needs of the
owner, and know inherently that humans have sensitive skin.
Pit
Bulls are naturally inquisitive, and compliant. Because of this, the
Pit Bull try very hard to accommodate the expectations of the owner,
even if that means going against their very nature.
After a
while, some unsavory folks noticed the Pit Bull's ability to adapt, and
it's naturally gentle nature - and trained them to either attack and
kill a bull or bear for sport, or become bait animals to train more
aggressive breeds. Pit bulls were not properly suited to become ring
dogs, but they did well in training other dogs, and it often cost them
their lives, because young Pit Bulls would not fight back. The dogs that
fought Bulls did so generally because of being raised to do so at a
young age, and while they mostly did not want to fight, they did to
please their humans - and they did a good job at it. Thus, the name "Pit
Bull Fighter" was coined, and today, we know them simply as Pit Bulls.
Despite this, it is unnatural and abnormal for the Pit Bull to have a
shred of aggression in them - but the same adaptive, pleasing nature
causes them to become exactly what their owners want - and more often
than not, humans make them aggressive because they are either unaware of
dog psychology, or think a Pit Bull should be aggressive, and teach
them to be this way.
Breeding effects behaviour, but only on a very low level. Puppies are blank slates when they go to their forever homes, and these behaviors are either solved, or encouraged. 100% of "aggressive" Pit Bulls were not born dangerous; they were made to be that way.
6) Pit Bulls are unpredictable and just "snap".
Partially already addressed, the Pit Bull is not so unpredictable. I've spent enough time with them and near them to understand that they are perhaps the most predictable breed there is. They are very sensitive to energy and training, and most owners don't honestly realize when they are allowing a dog to believe it is in control, which produces these so-called "unpredictable" Pit Bulls. Show me a home with one of these, and I will show you a home that has simply missed a few things. Every little thing effects a Pit Bull; toys, feeding, walks, play time, rules, and how it is all handled and employed. Things that seem innocent like allowing cosleeping, or up onto the couch; feeding a treat when they bark at you (unless you're teaching "speak"), or even letting them outside when they bark at you. These little things are all ingredients to encouraging confused pack dynamics. A dog in control can and will listen to the human when the human has something they want - but won't when they're in an excited or hyper state of mind. Dogs like this often obey flawlessly for treats, but won't when there's something more interesting. This often leads to the assumption that the dog is just "dumb", or that that may be deaf, or even that they're just too excited to listen, when in fact they're simply dominant. Aggression and dominance is not always hand in hand. It can be as simple as willful disobedience. Pit Bulls are just way more sensitive to these ques than other dogs, and rarely become aggressive - but they can and do become DEFENSIVE. Something that may seem innocent to you can be perceived as a threat to a Pit Bull, and they will protect themselves and their humans. In this case, it is highly possible this dog thought the baby was in fact a threat - something a simple as a shrill scream, a squeak, or a fast moving arm can trigger a defensive animal, and this would suggest that this family pet had missed a few critical training steps; especially with the age of the dog, and the increased likelihood of disorders such as dementia.
7) Pit Bulls can't feel pain
Pinch yourself. Did you feel something? Then you obviously feel pain. Pit Bulls are no different. Everything that is alive feels pain - even plants. They also scream out in pain, and are alive when they are picked and eaten. Read more: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/plants-feel-pain.htm
All dogs possess the ability to feel pain - even Pit Bulls. What they do have is an incredibly high please drive - that's the part of the dog that makes them want to satisfy their pack leader. When they themselves are the pack leader, they seek so much to please themselves that they ignore pain. These dogs love their humans so much that they will ignore pain to do what is asked of them. They love humans so much, they would endure excruciating pain and totally ignore it and drive through it. This does not just apply to trained Pit Bulls; this affects the entire multitude of bully breeds. Isn't that awe-inspiring? This is what created the rumor - Pit Bulls that broke their very nature to kill a bull, and ignored the pain of the fight because they loved their masters THAT MUCH. If that doesn't make you the least bit sad or feel pity, I don't know what will.
Remember guys, dogs are only capable of what we as humans teach them!
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