During our Pit Bull Leash Manners class this week, a woman came up and asked why her "Pit Bull" was somewhat leery of strangers. I looked at her dog and he was NOT a Pit Bull at all, but what looked like a very large American Bulldog mix.Of course, no matter how much of an expert one might be, it can be very hard to tell a dog's breed from looks alone. Dogs that come from shelters are often mistakenly labeled as one breed or another. Based on temperament, which is what I like to go by, this dog seemed more like a guardian type of breed than a Pit Bull. The shelter that the woman got him from called him a Pit Bull, the neighbors called him a Pit Bull, and she called him a Pit Bull. But honestly, I'm not sure that he had any Pit Bull in him at all.
A Pit Bull's temperament makes them effusive with strangers, not leery of them. They are generally 30-65 lbs, not 100-150 lbs. Of course, any dog, purebred or not, can have temperament or conformation problems that aren't correct for their breed. The problem is that many different dogs that look somewhat similar are all lumped into the "Pit Bull" bucket. And when these dogs have fear issues with strangers or don't do well with people, it reinforces an incorrect and negative stereotype that is inconsistent with the temperament of true Pit Bulls. It's like a bad case of mistaken identity in a bank robbery.
Temperament is the way to go when judging a dog's behavior. A wiggly butted boy that will walk up to practically anyone and give kisses is more likely to be a Pit Bull. A dog that is more reserved or leery of strangers is probably more of a guardian type — and this behavior is actually correct for their breed. I'm not saying that one is bad and one is good. I'm saying that one often gets confused with the other, and too often it's the Pit Bull name that's used to describe dogs that are NOT Pit Bulls at all.
Many of our readers already know this, and those of us who work in animal welfare with Pit Bulls have known it for eons. BUT sometimes we need to just reiterate that HEY, this is a problem for Pit Bulls. If a dog bites someone because he's stressed and uncomfortable, and his breed is jotted down as a Pit Bull in the newspaper, the shelter euthanasia (and reason for) statistics go up, and the conditioning effect on the public continues that these dogs are not good with people. The sad irony is that they are one of the best breeds with people.
I would like dogs to be judged based on WHO they are, NOT by what they look like, and in fight bust cases on WHO they are, not WHERE they came from. I think it's best to judge dogs on an individual basis. We keep saying this again and again, but after class I realized that it NEEDS to be said again and again, like a McDonald's commercial. I guess there's a reason they don't just play commercials one or two times.
— Marthina McClay, CPDT
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Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU Marthina!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post Marthina! It's a really important message that is worth repeating over and over and over again...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome guys! Thanks for the nice comments.
ReplyDeleteMarthina
Great post, Marthina. I'm really glad you put this out there. SOOOOOO many people are confused about not only what a Pit Bull is looks-wise, but also Pit Bull temperament. It is important that we keep guiding those new to the breed, to help them understand it better, and hence be better guardians and advocates.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right many dogs get wrongly labeled pit bull. I have even seen boxers called pit bulls. More education about bully breeds is needed.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post - we really need to keep saying this over and over again!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! My baby girl is half American Bulldog with some Staffy in her, so she's leery of strangers (cringes away and occasionally barks), but effusive in her love with any friends and family. In fact, once she knows you (or if you have given her a treat) she will remember you as her buddy!
ReplyDeleteI'm usually asked if she is a pittie, but when I respond with am bulldog they say 'same thing'. *Sigh*
Thanks Daya for saying that she's Am Bulldog! Also, this is another common trait with any guardian breed, they will be very loving and bond with their people and the friends that they've gotten to know of their poeple.
ReplyDeleteAm Bulldogs are great dogs and family companions. Again, this is an individual thing. I've seen Am Bulls that never had any guarding behavior at all. While it's good to separate out the breed we must also at the same time be careful not to generalize and peg a dog as "something" until we assess.
Thanks!
Lots of dogs are effusive - that does not make them pit bulls/APBTs (which I realize you weren't arguing). Some pit bulls are soft or shy or fearful, this does not make them NOT pit bulls. Then there are dogs who look like pit bulls, are stranger friendly, and have no APBT in their genetic lineage.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read posts like these, it just makes me feel like no one wants to give this breed any leeway. You have people who claim they are genetic monsters, ready to turn on you any second. And, on the other end, if the dog doesn't display human friendliness, is fearful, or aggressive, or soft, then all of a sudden he doesn't qualify for the APBT team.
I realize you're probably not arguing that dogs who exhibit fear-based behaviors couldn't possibly be pit bulls. It's just an impression I get, and one that I've been getting from other pit bull advocates for years. I just think it's a simplified argument that has the potential to dismiss the complexities of canine behavior.
Sorry, I wish I could edit my comment instead of double-commenting.
ReplyDeleteI just want to point out that my comment was not meant as an attack or an insult, and I hope it isn't construed as such. :)
Hey Rinalia,
ReplyDeleteNo problem. This blog is here so people can speak their minds. This is a very good point you brought up. You're right though, I'm not arguing the point that a Pit Bull can never, ever have a flaw. We've taken dogs from fighting busts that were very fearful initially as we pretty much and I say pretty much knew that it was an environmental thing. These dogs snapped out of it however. Pit Bulls are resiliant as well. We did have one girl though that is still very soft and a bit shy. We aren't saying now, "Wow, she much NOT be a Pit Bull because she's shy!" I know you're not saying that we're like that but I do want to make that clear in case there is that misunderstanding. Also, there's a differene in being a bit shy and biting people and then the dog mistakenly called a Pit Bull which was more the point of the blog.
This is a general set of behaviors that are generally seen in temperament correct Pit Bulls that I was talking about. Not saying that it can't be deviated from in ANY way. BUT when I hear that a 150lb "Pit Bull" (they generally aren't that large) bit a person and it was this and that THEN in the papers called a Pit Bull I find the extremely damaging to ANY breed. Then all across the country MORE Pit Bulls will die because of these articles, i.e. shelters put them down and don't want to adopt them out or people won't adopt them because they're "attack dogs" which is incorrect. I'm a bit jaded because I had Dobermans as a teenager and lived through that crap with them too.
This is also why I say that there can be variances in the breed and they can still be the breed in question. I do see that it probably wasn't as pointedly clear as it should have been.
Thanks for bringing this up because there is a little of of an "all bad" and an "all good" thing that can happen too and that's not good either. Again, this is why I said at the end that we MUST assess on an individual basis and go by temperamnet. Our little Jakob from the lagre Missouri dog fighting raid is a bit shy right now because he's very confused as to where he is etc but we would never say, hey, he must not be a Pit Bull. He's fabulous and he'll do fine. :) Thanks again and don't worry about double posting. This isn't about agreeing all the time it's about sharing views and I very much appreciate yours!
Marthina
Really, really excellent points in the post and in the comments. Great topic for discussion, Marthina!
ReplyDeleteTo Rinalla and all,
ReplyDeleteSorry for my double post now too! :) In addition to what I wrote above I also wanted to say that the example I used in this article was a dog that was already over 75 to 80 lbs and wasn't even a year old yet. She told me he was still a puppy. He not only was leery but he had lunged at tried to bite a relative that was staying over. In combo with the way the dog looked AND the temperament he didn't seem like a Pit Bull.
And you're right, many breeds are effusive with people. Goldens, Labs etc. In fact along with Pit Bulls these dogs generally INCREASE in socialbility and don't DECREASE. Again, a breed generality and all dogs must be evaluated on an individual basis while considering breed standard.
Even the Lab breed could be ruined by calling most dogs that bit people Labs. After a while the public gets the wrong idea.
EXCELLENT discussion! I just did an adoption today of a mastiff mix who showed a lot of guard dog qualities and, in the run next to him, was a pit bull mix also needing a home. The pit bull mix was very into the people visiting and not super aware of what was going on around him. The mastiff mix (who had been labeled a pit mix by the ac that released him to me) was leaning on adoptee and wagging his tail but his eyes were focused on everything going on around him, typical guard dog behavior :)
ReplyDeleteCatherine
You are so right, we can't say it enough because it goes in one ear and out the other for most people.
ReplyDeleteOMG isn't that true Anon!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marthina (et. al). I absolutely agree that too many dogs who clearly AREN'T APBTs are misidentified (and no APBT should be 150 lbs, for sure!) I appreciate that you took my comment in the spirit I intended, as an opening point for discussion. :)
ReplyDeleteUltimately, we have the same end goal - judge each dog individually (while being cognizant of genetic/breed influence).
What's funny is that our Lane isnt a purebred Pit Bull. We adopted him thinking he was, and what's funny is we really want him to be, opposite of many. Lennox is 100% Pit Bull and I think his tendancies rub off on Lane and make him behave more "Pit" like, which we know he must have some in him, but who knows really..he could have 2 breeds mixed that make him look "Pit" like. I really wanna DNA test, but MOST do not include Pit Bulls, only some include Am Staff..ugh!! I will love him the same no matter what he is, but it is funny how certain traits are just always there in the breed.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Rinalia! I think you're right we do agree that there's no black or white in canine behavior, it's too complex. Genetics, environment, all have influence.
ReplyDeleteKembree: I love your point about just loving them anyway! Isn't it true? Our Dexter is mixed with God knows what but he's just a lover boy and we adore him. DNA schmena right?
Marthina
Don't you love that guess which one is a Pit thing? Its crazy how so many can look like one in a picture but then you really have to meet one in person to know..I think so atleast
ReplyDeleteYes, I think so too. That's a fun game too!
ReplyDelete