On any given day, there is a legion of pit bull advocates out there who, like myself, are passionate about providing education and awareness for this often misrepresented and misunderstood breed.

One of the best things about October’s designation as National Pit Bull Awareness Month, is that it empowers everyone to partake in this worthy effort. Whether you’re a pit bull parent, bully breed advocate, shelter worker, volunteer or an animal lover, you can position yourself on the front line of education and awareness for this beautiful breed.

Here are some speaking points to help you carry out this crucial activism any time the opportunity presents itself.

Addressing five of the most common
misconceptions about “pit bulls.”

1. Why are there so many pit bulls in shelters?

“Pit Bull” is not an actual breed. The correct name for this breed is the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) as recognized by the United Kennel Club. Another breed that came from the same lineage as APBT and is often incorrectly categorized as “Pit Bull” is the American Staffordshire Terrier, as recognized by the American Kennel Club. Additionally, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and even American Bulldogs are often inaccurately labeled as “Pit Bulls” as well.

Regarding why there are so many American Pit Bull Terriers in shelters – this breed has been and continues to be a very iconic and popular dog. Because of this, they have been bred in abundance over the years, which has ultimately resulted in there being more APBT’s and subsequent mixes than there are homes. This surplus is compounded by other regional challenges like stray, unaltered and unmicrochipped animals in the community.

Further perpetuating this overpopulation issue is the fact that in many communities, there are sanctions against having “Pit Bulls” and “Pit Bull mixes” as pets. Most common is the list of “dangerous” breeds that are banned from residing in most apartment complexes, which almost always targets American Pit Bull Terriers and any dog that looks remotely similar to this breed. In addition, homeowners associations and companies that provide renters insurance often implement similar breed-specific restrictions that prohibit people from having or keeping American Pit Bull Terriers as pets.

These restrictions are a leading factor for why so many American Pit Bull Terriers are relinquished to shelters. And what’s worse, is that they tend to stay in shelters longer than any other animal population because of the aforementioned restrictions that make so it hard, if not impossible, to have an American Pit Bull Terrier as a companion animal.

2. Pit Bulls have “lock jaw.”

Lock jaw is perhaps the most common myth surrounding American Pit Bull Terriers. The simple truth is: APBT’s do not possess any special mechanism, muscle or bone that automatically causes their jaws to lock. Any dog can bite down and hold. But it’s simply that: an individual response that dogs have to an uncomfortable or scary situation, independent of any physical predisposition to do so.

In fact, studies have been done to compare the skulls of APBT’s with other canine breeds and it has been unanimously determined that there is no additional muscle or bone that triggers their jaws to lock down. If such an appendage existed exclusively in APBT’s, they would be an entirely different species.

3. Most Pit Bulls have been neglected and abused or were used as fighting dogs in the past.

Shelters don’t always know the complete history of the animals they care for. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they came from situations of abuse, neglect or dog fighting. While shelter law enforcement entities do rescue some dogs (American Pit Bull Terriers and other breeds alike) from bad situations, they tend to be the exception, not the rule for animal intake. In other words, a majority of APBT’s end up in shelters because they were either found as strays or were relinquished by their owners for extenuating reasons, such as: apartment pet restrictions, extraordinary veterinary needs or financial hardship.

4. Why are there so many negative stories about Pit Bulls in the media?

A dog bite is always an unfortunate occurrence for both the person and dog involved. However, these stories are often reported with limited (if any) contextual details. This deprives the community of the crucial ability to understand why the bite occurred.

That isn’t to say having the full story behind a bite would make it any less tragic. But to imply that a dog bit just because or out of malice sends the wrong message about dogs – especially American Pit Bull Terriers – to the community.

Dog bites are almost always preventable. When talking about or reporting a dog bite incident, several factors should always be considered:

• Has this dog been properly socialized with people?

• What were the circumstances surrounding the bite? Was the dog sick, injured, being cornered, taunted or handled inappropriately?

• If the bite occurred to a child, was the interaction between the dog and child being supervised?

• If the bite occurred to an adult, how was the person interacting with the dog before the bite occurred?

• Did the dog offer body language cues that it was uncomfortable with the situation and prepared to defend herself, if necessary?

• Were those warning signals noted and respected accordingly?

Also adding to this problem is the ambiguity surrounding the physical appearance of American Pit Bull Terriers, as discussed earlier in this article. “Pit Bull” is a culturally constructed, catch-all nickname for short, stocky breeds with muscular builds and blocky heads. This general classifications results in American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and even American Bulldogs being inaccurately grouped as “Pit Bulls” by the community at large.

This means that when a bite occurs, if the dog’s physical appearance remotely resembles any of the above mentioned breeds, American Pit Bull Terriers are usually held accountable and therefore, wrongfully villainized.

5. Pit Bulls are inherently aggressive.

Like any other canine breed, American Pit Bull Terriers range on the spectrum of intra-species aggression, which refers to their prey drive towards other animals. Just like some dogs are prone to chasing cats or bird dogs are prone to chasing birds, some APBT’s won’t get along with smaller, prey-sized creatures or even other dogs.

But intra-species aggression and aggression towards humans are two distinctive traits that should never be confused. Unless an American Pit Bull Terrier has been purposefully trained to attack humans, they generally love people. In fact, APBT’s are notorious for being very wiggly and friendly towards humans.

In general, aggression isn’t something that can be generalized across an entire breed – every dog is an individual and will have a unique response to other animals and humans.

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– Christina is a proud dog mommy to Sally and passionate about pit bull advocacy and animal welfare.

See more at: http://www.sandiegopetsmagazine.com/blog/renting-san-diego-pet-owner/#sthash.AGX2n0e6.dpuf

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