Important Facts on Pit Bulls

The American pit bull terrier, commonly known as the pit bull, is often a feared breed of dog. However, the breed's defenders maintain that pit bulls are misunderstood and that much of what people think they know about pit bills is actually based on myths or may apply only to an individual dog, not the entire breed. Pit bull defenders say that the facts may help change minds about these dogs.

  1. Aggressiveness

    • Pitbulllovers.com says that pit bulls are not naturally aggressive toward people. They are, in fact, gentle and friendly dogs and great with kids, earning the nickname "the nanny's dog," which would imply they are safe around children. They are not killing machines or dogs that are associated only with gangs. A dog's behavior, no matter the breed, is developed by genetics and environment.

    Therapy Dogs

    • Because of their loyal and loving nature, pit bulls are often used as therapy dogs. You often see pit bulls in senior homes or visiting someone who was in an accident or is suffering from emotional trauma.

    Training and Intelligence

    • Just like any other breed of dog, pit bulls can be trained and controlled, contrary to popular belief. Happypittbull.com states that pit bulls have proved to excel in areas such as agility, tracking and search and rescue. Pitbulllovers.com states that pit bulls are intelligent, scoring an 83.4 percent passing rate on the American Temperament Test Society, better than the border collie, with a score of 79.6 percent.

    Jaws

    • There is a myth that pit bulls have locking jaws and that they cannot let go of something to which they have clamped their teeth, even if they wanted to. The truth is that no dog of any breed has ever been found to have a locking-jaw mechanism. It is the owner's responsibility to train or have a dog trained to recognize cues on when to let go of something.