Dogs bite 4 to 5 million Americans every year.
Few attacks are fatal. Unless it is a pit bull or a pit-bull cross.
If a poodle bites you - you probably won't go to the hospital and you won't die.
If a pit bull bites you - you are going to the hospital and you might die.
Just like an alligator or a lion is not a suitable pet, although a lizard or cat might be, a pit bull or pit bull cross is not a suitable pet.
Consider: Pit bulls make up 6% of the dog population, but are responsible for 68% of dog attacks and 52% of dog-related deaths.
One person is killed by a pit bull every 14 days, two people are injured by a pit bull every day. There is not a breed of dog more dangerous because violence is in their DNA.
Pit bulls were bred to go into the pit and fight.
Some say no dog has a predisposition to aggression.
Just like Father Flanagan said in Boys Town, "there is no such thing as a bad boy."
But there are bad boys and bad dogs and if the bad dog is a pit bull, there is danger.
Every kind of dog is neglected and abused. Not every kind of dog responds by killing and injuring people.
Consider: Different breeds have genetic predispositions to certain kinds of behavior, though that can be influenced by how they are raised. Why do herding dogs herd? Why do pointing dogs point? That's selective behavior. It's in their DNA.
Pit bulls were descended from the old English "bulldogge," used in the sport of bull baiting, where spectators watched dogs tear apart a bull. It was banned in the 1830s, and bull baiters moved to dog fighting and bred accordingly.
Bulldogge owners crossed the bulldogge with terriers for dog fighting prowess. Thus was born the pit-bull terrier, the most dangerous dog known to man.
The pit-bull terrier's breeding history separates it from the Doberman and Rottweiler which were bred to guard their masters and their property.
Pit bulls were bred to kill other dogs.
The pit bull is quicker to anger than other dogs, due to their high level of the neurotransmitter L-tyrosine. Pit bulls are more tenacious; their attacks last for 15 minutes or longer, and nothing—blows, kicks, sticks, or whipped by hoses—can stop them because of their insensitivity to pain. This has to do with brain chemistry. The body releases endorphins as a natural painkiller. Pit bulls generate higher levels of the endorphins.
Most dogs warn you before they attack, growling or barking. The pit bull attacks without warning. Most dogs bow to signal they want to frolic. The pit bull may follow a playful bow with a lethal assault.
Pit bulls were not originally bred to be aggressive to people. But irresponsible breeders let the dogs' block against being aggressive to people disappear over time.
Raised responsibly, pit bulls can be playful, intelligent, loyal and loving. Until the genetic time bomb goes off - if it does. And it may not.
Who knows.
As for me. I wouldn't chance it. That latent aggressive gene may erupt any time.
If it were a poodle, it wouldn't matter. But we're talking about pit bulls which can tear off your arm or bite off your face.
From my point of view, pit bulls should be regulated like other dangerous species, like leopards or crocodiles. You can keep them at home, but don't be surprised if one day they maul you - maybe to your death.
Good luck pit bull owners. I wish you well and hope you never have cause to regret your decision to keep such a potentially dangerous dog in your life.
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While a lion has many similarities to the house cat and can be trained similarly, they make poor pets. In the event that they bite their owner, it will likely have a more lasting impact.
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