MYTHS ABOUT THE
AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

by Edward Hinkle

MYTH: Pit bulls bite more people than any other breed.
FACT: It is hard to pin down, as accurate records by breed are seldom kept. Those records available show what a myth this is. Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, has kept accurate records since 1980. During a 7 year period from 1980 through 1987, this is what was recorded. Total bites: 1,593. Pit bulls: 30 bites, or 1.89% of the total. Other studies tend to show the same results and because of so many mongrels that have similar features to the American Pit Bull Terrier, it seems reasonable to assume that the figures are actually much lower.

MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers are born mean.
FACT: In a letter to James Huffman of Columbus, Ohio, Alfons Estelt of the American Temperament Test Society, Inc., an international dog temperament test organization, wrote the following: "The American Pit Bull Terriers participating in our temperament evaluation have thus far shown a passing rate of 95%. The other 121 breeds of dogs in our tests showed the average passing rate of 77%. While the heredity factor is of measurable importance, these results show that a dog, even if used for dog fighting, is not pre-disposed as such, but is brought by his environment."

MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers have 1600 P.S.I. in jaw pressure.
FACT: Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia states, "To the best of our knowledge, there are no published scientific studies that would allow any meaningful comparison to be made of the biting power of various breeds of dogs. There are, moreover, compelling technical reasons why such data describing biting power in terms of "pounds per square inch" can never be collected in a meaningful way. All figures describing biting power in such terms can be traced to either unfounded rumor or, in some cases, to newspaper articles with no foundation in factual data." Need more be said?

MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers lock their jaws to the death.
FACT:  Again from Dr. Brisbin: "The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of "locking mechanism" unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier."

MYTH: All American Pit Bull Terriers are bad and should be banned.
FACT: On July 17,1987 on ABC's "Good Morning America" program, Mr. Marc Paulhaus, S.E. regional director of the Humane Society of the United States stated: "Serious dog problems tend to be cyclical in nature. Breeds tend to change, but there is always a bad dog. A few years ago it was the Doberman, currently it's the pit bull, a few years from now it might be the Rottweiler or some other breed."  On the same program, Mr. Gordon Carvill, President of the American Dog Owner's Association, stated:  "If we pass breed specific laws then we eliminate the other 120 breeds that have the potential to attack people."

As you can see from these examples, myths are just that, and many more exist about the American Pit Bull Terrier. But before you believe them, you should evaluate for yourself the validity of each.