Dangerous Dogs Or Loveable Pets

Recently in the local Boston news there was a repot of a teen aged child that was viciously attacked by a Pit bull. Which in turn raised the ever so popular question of : How dangerous is the pit bull breed? This particular topic struck me and I felt it was something that needed to be addressed. I know that pit bulls have a reputation of being violent aggressive dogs. Dogs that are breed to be aggressive, agitated fighting dogs.

I must say I have to beg differ on this statement. Yes I know that the only time you hear about these dogs is when they attack some one and that you rarely hear about non-pit bull attacks. Pretty much pit bulls as bread have a very large unfair stigma attached to them. Its like one bad apple spoils the bunch, which is what I strongly believe has happened here. With such an overbearing stigma attached to these dogs it makes sense that people as a general public would be afraid of these dogs. But if you only here one side of the story what would you believe?


Especially when the story you keep hearing is always negative? Again here lies the question of: How dangerous is the pit bull bread? Lets start with how pit bulls were the most popular family dog in the first part of the 20th century. Or how about how pit pulls have achieved the 4th highest passing rate of the American Canine Temperament Testing Association out of 122 other breeds. They also passed this temperament test with an average over all score of 85.3% compared to other breads that scored 81.9%. The temperament test focuses on and measures different aspects of temperament such as stability, shyness, aggressiveness, and friendliness as well as the dog's instinct for protectiveness towards its handler in the face of a threat. With over all test scores this high how could this breed of dogs be considered so dangerous? Plenty of other breeds of dogs are just as dangerous and unpredictable. There are a lot of dogs breeds in this world that are known for being naturally aggressive. Not aggressive because they were made that way but born naturally aggressive.

Yet you never hear about any of these dogs on the news when they attack some one. Is it just not reported or has the pit bull picked up such a bad reputation for this that it is instant 5 oclock? Pit bulls are naturally loyal intelligent complains that rely on the companionship of their owners. If you watch TV shows like Animal Cops on Animal Planet you will notice that a lot of the dogs rescued on this show are miss treated pit bulls living in horrible conditions, with no food or water. It is no wonder that these have caught such a bad reputation . Living in the conditions that they do, would make any animal or person for that fact act out aggressively. With issues like these it has to make you wonder, is it the dog or the owner. Any dog or animal can be made aggressive if miss treat it.




By: Frank Bilotta