More on Pits: The Facts

Taken from Best Friends Magazine

Issue: March/April 2008

 

Fear:

 Pit Bulls have "locking jaws."

Fact:

 "We have found that the American Pit Bull Terriers did not have any unique mechanism that would allow these dogs to lock their jaws.  There were no mechanical or morphological differences...."  Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, University of Georgia

 

Fear:

 Pit Bulls have massive biting power measuring thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch.

Fact:

 "On average, dogs bite with 320 pounds of pressure per square inch.  The bite pressure of a German Shepherd, an American Pit Bull Terrier and a Rottweiler were tested.  The American Pit Bull Terrier had the least amount of bite pressure of the three dogs tested."  Dr. Brady Barr, National Geographic

 

Fear: Family pet pit bulls turn on their people.
Fact: "There is no documented case of a single spayed or neutered Pit Bull maintained as a companion animal being involved in a fatal attack on a person."  Karen Delise, founder of the National Canine Research Council -http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/media2.asp

 

Fear:

 Pit Bulls attack without warning.

Fact:

 After doing temperament tests on 1,000 dogs, the institute found that "Pit Bulls signal like other dogs."  Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hanover, Germany. 

 

Fear:

 While there are some Pit Bulls with good temperaments, they are the exception, not the rule.

Fact:

 The American Temperament Test shows that Pit Bulls consistently score above average for all breeds tested year in and year out.  American Temperament Test Society - http://www.atts.org/index.html

 

Fear:

 Pit Bulls are more dangerous than other dogs.

Fact:

 "A dog is only as dangerous as his owner allows him to be."  Diane Jessup, Founder of LawDogsUSA - http://www.lawdogsusa.org/whypitbulls1.html