# Any estimates of what percent of shelter dogs are pitbull & pitbull mixes?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-estimates-of-what-percent-of-shelter-dogs-are-pitbull-pitbull-mixes/665437>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 5, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-estimates-of-what-percent-of-shelter-dogs-are-pitbull-pitbull-mixes/665437 "2013-08-05T21:11:00Z")\
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**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-estimates-of-what-percent-of-shelter-dogs-are-pitbull-pitbull-mixes/665437/16 "2013-08-06T22:29:17Z")

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It stands to reason that nearly all dogs in shelters are pit bulls (or mixes), since there is such a strong tendency (for people other than dog lovers) to call every dog a pit bull.

From an earlier thread on the subject:

> [@Are pit bulls more dangerous than other dogs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/20):
>
> Pit bulls have become the victim of the current wave of dog-hating hysteria, especially in the media. Any dog that has a short snout gets labeled as a pit bull now.
> 
> How well did y’all do with identifying the pit bull in that chart that **chiroptera** linked? For the answers, see these charts:  
> [Journalists Guide to Pit Bull Identification](http://i43.tinypic.com/2nuinow.png)  
> [Journalists Guide to Dog Breed Identification](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/crysania4/1469517/185868/185868_640.jpg)

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