Ive studied APBT for many years.....absolutely love those dogs, by far my favorite, I try very hard to get rid of the stereotype that has been placed upon them,but people are ignorant. A true APBT will be one of the friendliest dogs you can find, they were breed to love people, they made the worst guard dogs,because of that reason. only in the 20th century have they been distorted by improper breeding, they have lost that Game for fighting and the love of people that was so prevalent in the breed.
A true APBT is very hard to find now a days, they are out there though.
Let me first say that I like APBT's. I know people with the breed and I have friends who breed them. In fact my sons baby sitter whom we used to have watch him 5 days a week while we were at work when he was a toddler had a APBT. I knew the dog well and had no qualms about leaving him there.
The problem with the breed is not so much that they are more likely to attack. But that they tend to cause so much more damage when they do.
Unfortunately. The stats do little to dispel the myth that they are more aggressive then other breeds. Again. because they tend to cause so much more damage when they do attack.
And the difference is by no small margin
Between 1982-2010 PBT's are responsible for 1652 bites that caused bodily harm. And 166 deaths The next highest number is the rottie with 457/73
In all fairness. I would personally attribute a good deal of attacks to poor ownership. entirely too many people get APBTs because they want a badarse dog. And to a certain extent I can see the appeal to that. Much like I can see the appeal of owning a 357 magnum over a 9mm. But unlike a 357 or a 9mm Dogs can go off by themselves
Thing is. No matter what dog you own you have to remember that they are still animals with animal tendancies. My golden that I had to put down a couple months ago once bit my daughter on the mouth when she was little (at which point I proved that dogs can fly) Turns out that she decided to join him in chewing on his chew toy. Something I couldnt place too much blame entirely on him over because people dont like when you start eating their food either. Still. Afterwards I spent alot of time teaching him where he was in the pack so that would never happen again to the point where you could stick your face in his dish while he was eating at he would back off. Still you could always see he didnt like it. He'd raise lip. but he wold back off.
Any event. After several stitches in her lip She currently still carries a small scar on her lower lip from the incident.
Different dogs have different bite tendancies too. Goldens when they bite tend to do a quick nip then let go. At which point they are immediately sorry for it. So the damage is usually pretty minimal. He bit me on several other occasions when I was rough housing with kids and one other person who was trying to grab my extremely submissive lab. Each time was the same a quick nip then let go
I shudder to think how bad it would have been if it were a PB. Or a boxer or any number of other dogs who tend to take big or more powerful bites when they do bite.
Fact of the matter is. When they bite they can and have a tendency to cause alot more damage then many other dog breeds
The top 3 most agressive breeds are the dachshund, chihuahua, and the Jack Russell terrier. But they dont usually cause alot of damage when they bite. Lets face it. When was the last time anyone heard of someone being maimed or killed by a chihuahua?
One of the very things that make APBTs appealing are the things that can make them dangerous. Very powerful dog. Unfortunately they also have a very powerful bite.
In the end it mostly comes down to responsible dog ownership and knowing your dog.
the people that used to watch my son were my friends parents. Very responsible owners Very well trained well mannered dog
Their daughter and her husband are the breeders and friends of mine. Also very responsible owners. Yet they also recognize the dangers that these dogs can be. and as soon as one shows any signs of being aggressive after training. They put it down. No second chances. they are among the growing number who are working to breed the aggressiveness out of the breed and will only breed with other pits that they know to be non aggressive.
The families son also a long time friend of mine is what I would categorize as an irresponsible owner. So aggressive are his dogs that despite his assurances that they wont do anything. I refused to enter his yard or his home while they were out and would only approach his yard with buck knife in hand assuring him that if his dogs so much as came near me I wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Eventually I just stopped going over his house altogether. They were just too unpredictable.
Any dog no matter the breed can bite. But the bites on some dogs are worse then others APBTs are among those with the higher capability and likelyhood that a bite is going to be more severe. i place most of the responsibility on the owners though. As they need to realize that like with a gun. They possess a potentially deadly weapon. and must act in such a manner
