# Are pit bulls more dangerous than other dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728 "2013-01-19T17:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/101 "2013-01-24T19:55:19Z")
I know my anecdote is not data: A friend when I was a kid, his cousin got a dog named “Prince”, an adorable pitbull puppy. We used to play with it while it was teething and would always nip at us, but it was cute. Eventually we weren’t allowed to play with Prince because we were making him soft. He was then chained to a pole in a front yard and had almost no social interaction, and he went insane and would try to maul everyone who came near him. They were weaning Prince to get into dog fighting. Should prince have gotten off the leash and killed someone, I don’t think it was because he was a Pitbull. I will probably get a pitbull someday and my dog won’t kill anyone unless they break into my house, because I’m not a sociopath raising an animal to try to show how much of a man I am by owning a dangerous dog. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/102 "2013-01-24T21:18:25Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > -Breed designation in these reports is not reliable: the CDC has concluded so. That goes for statistics (of course including those on websites like ‘dogsbite’ some of which are fake, though repeated all over the web), and goes double for ‘anecdotal evidence’\* > -Talking about Schnauzers and Chihuahua’s is a dodge (though small breed dogs can injure little kids). The issue is differentiating among comparably strong breeds. APBT’s per se aren’t that large, but are strong for their size, so it’s fair to compare them and other bully breeds to breeds like Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, etc. not Schnauzers. > -A typical misunderstanding of the owner issue. The implicit assumption is some kind of uniform distribution of incidents, breeds and owner types, from which we can simply compare the relative incidence among breeds (again with the serious caveat from tendency for laymen to call any muscular short coat dog a ‘pit bull’ if it bites somebody). But the disproportionate majority of almost _any_ negative social statistic occurs among a small proportion of the population. Back to your ‘anecdotes’ which human dog aggression incidents you ever read of _don’t_ occur in poor minority or white trash neighborhoods? And in those neighborhoods, dogs that laymen call ‘pit bulls’ are more like 90% of the dogs than 5% > -Your B has a similar fatal flaw. It doesn’t compare what proportion of owners say their dog isn’t human aggressive _before_ v _after_ it’s involved in an human aggression incident. You say they say it before, but what media account of a dog aggression incident ever includes a quote from the owner before it happened? If you can assemble statistics showing a high incidence of HA in pit-type dogs adopted out of shelters to middle class owners who say their dogs aren’t HA _before_ the fact, I’ll be all ears. OTOH of course trash owners say their dogs ‘never showed any sign of aggression’ _after_ they bite somebody, though they ignored or were even proud that the dog was human aggressive _before_ the sh\*t hit the fan. > > \*A recent hilarious example I saw was a guy screaming ‘ban pit bulls’ next to his facebook icon, a picture of his big brindle mastiff-like dog with trimmed ears, that 90% of laymen would probably call a ‘pit bull’ if it bit somebody. Breed designations may be unreliable when taken from laymen eyewitnesses, but statistical evaluations, particularly those cited in this thread, are done by animal control experts. If the dog can’t be accurately identified, it’s listed as “other” or “unknown.” Regardless, even if the identification is off from time to time it doesn’t begin to account for the huge difference between pit bull attacks and those of other breeds. We’re not talking a few percentage points here and there. We’re talking multiples of 10 or more. There are schnauzer breeds that grow to more than 70 pounds, much larger than any pit bull, and are very powerful. But I could easily name 30 breeds off the top of my head that are larger or much larger than pit bulls but not remotely as dangerous. One doesn’t have to assume a uniform distribution of pit bull owners to conclude it’s much more than an ownership issue. Again, the incidents of pit bull maulings is so much greater than any other breed it’s grasping at straws to play the “it’s just the owner” card. Plus, I’d love to see anything remotely resembling evidence to suggest that “white trash” neighborhoods are 90% pit bull owners. I’m guessing you pulled that figure from your nether regions. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/103 "2013-01-25T02:56:57Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > Breed designations may be unreliable when taken from laymen eyewitnesses, but statistical evaluations, particularly those cited in this thread, are done by animal control experts. That’s not true. The citation from the CDC states that there are no scientific basis for the breed designations for dog bite and attack reports in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/104 "2013-01-25T06:42:08Z")
**rogerbox** , that’s so sad. More anecdotal evidence, so take it as you will. My neighbor has had two dogs in the past – one was a male yellow lab, the other a female boxer pit bull mix. One was the sweetest, most well-behaved dog. The other bit several people and had to be put to sleep. Guess which one. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/105 "2013-01-25T12:30:53Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Would you have felt better if it were a pack of poorly-socialized dogs of a different breed? > I find we keep repeating that it is the fault of the owner (who you describe as being neglectful) and not the dogs. Have you reported him for running a business in a residential area? In our case, there are so many people doing something commercial out of their homes that grasping at that straw is a little desperate. We were told by the city attorney that the law was clear, if the dogs bit someone, we could call the police. If they acted aggressively and didn’t bite, we could call animal control who would put the situation of a list and maybe drop by once in a decade. We could bring a civil suit anytime we wanted, but he didn’t think we had any damages to claim, yet, and it would depend on a judge to determine if a trial could go forward. Lots of expenses, little chance of success. A man in a nearby town was torn to pieces by three ‘pit bulls’ who were annoyed, apparently, by his using a lawn mower on his own property. They jumped their fence and attacked him. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/106 "2013-01-25T17:46:31Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That’s not true. The citation from the CDC states that there are no scientific basis for the breed designations for dog bite and attack reports in the US. Animal control experts aren’t taking cheek swabs to determine breeds after bites and maulings. They’re determining breeds by physical characteristics. Just like any breed, there are consistent traits among pit bulls and pit bull type dogs that not only define them to experts but also match the traits dog owners are looking for. They’re not mistaking black labs or great danes for pit bulls. They know what to look for. Basically if it walks like a pit bull and quacks like a pit bull, it’s a pit bull. Once again, even a lack of precise designation in some cases doesn’t begin to account for the sheer number of pit bull-associated attacks. The experts could be wrong half the time and pits would still be responsible for vastly more maulings than any other breed. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/107 "2013-01-26T05:01:27Z")
Many dog experts here. Can you offer any insight into something that has long bothered me? When I lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, almost 20 years ago, one day I read about an incident in a neighborhood I had formerly lived in, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. A residential suburban neighborhood. A pit bull saw an old lady out for a walk on the sidewalk in front of her house and attacked her with no provocation at all and killed her. The horror of violent death striking without warning like that was worsened for me when the police told the newspaper that this individual pit bull held extreme hatred for and aggression against women. The police were going to have the dog terminated with prejudice, but citizens protested and campaigned to let him live. So the cops changed their minds and enrolled him in a police dog training program. So what’s with the violently misogynistic animal? I mean, WTF? (And you have to wonder what kind of police dog he’d be when half the population is female.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/108 "2013-01-26T05:08:40Z")
It was probably trained that way? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/109 "2013-01-26T05:59:32Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It was probably trained that way? And that someone trained it that way is the WTF for me. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/110 "2013-01-26T08:06:35Z")
People are sick fucks – what can you say? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/111 "2013-01-26T10:11:06Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > FYI - in addition to fighting bulls and other dogs, Pit Bulls also have a long history of being especially child friendly beasts. They were called “the Nanny Dog” because they were so good with little kids. And I mean _little_ kids - the kind who can’t be trusted not to pull or poke them. > > A google image search shows all sorts of wonderful photos from a hundred years ago. Here’s a bunch of them collected here > [Wayfair Return Policy [2023] » Must Read BEFORE Returning](http://www.ywgrossman.com/photoblog/?p=676%2F) > > And here - (oh man, the bunny ears) > [Wayfair Return Policy [2023] » Must Read BEFORE Returning](http://www.ywgrossman.com/photoblog/?p=1103) > > And here - [Wayfair Return Policy [2023] » Must Read BEFORE Returning](http://www.ywgrossman.com/newblog/?p=1013) > So when you talk about how pit bulls were bred to be aggressive towards other dogs, in fact, they were also being bred to be babysitters. I like pit bulls and have had nothing but good experiences with them (we own one, in fact), but the “nanny dog” stuff you hear bandied about by pit bull enthusiasts seems to be a myth. (The “nanny dog” appellation is also applied to [English] Staffordshire Bull Terriers.) I haven’t been able to find anything that historically supports the nickname or their role as babysitters. Yes, there’s some pictures of bull-type dogs (I don’t think all of those are American Pit Bull Terriers in your postcard collection) with kids, but a picture of a child with the family pet doesn’t exactly prove anything. The earliest and closest I could find a reference to the pit bull being called a nanny dog is from the early 70s when a Staffordshire bull terrier was referred to as a “nursemaid’s dog.” If you can cite anything before that, I’d be interested. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728/112 "2013-01-27T06:38:47Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Many dog experts here. Can you offer any insight into something that has long bothered me? When I lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, almost 20 years ago, one day I read about an incident in a neighborhood I had formerly lived in, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. A residential suburban neighborhood. A pit bull saw an old lady out for a walk on the sidewalk in front of her house and attacked her with no provocation at all and killed her. The horror of violent death striking without warning like that was worsened for me when the police told the newspaper that this individual pit bull held extreme hatred for and aggression against women. The police were going to have the dog terminated with prejudice, but citizens protested and campaigned to let him live. So the cops changed their minds and enrolled him in a police dog training program. > > So what’s with the violently misogynistic animal? I mean, WTF? (And you have to wonder what kind of police dog he’d be when half the population is female.) Who knows how accurate the police were about the dog’s history. If it had attacked women before, it may have been merely coincidental. Or, sometimes dogs target certain types of people (gender, ethnicity, hair color, whatever) for reasons unknown to anybody but the dog. That’s been addressed by Cecil himself: > **[Are some dogs racist?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344025/are-some-dogs-racist)** Or, just maybe some sick f\*\*k trained his dog to hate women. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pit-bulls-more-dangerous-than-other-dogs/647728.md?page=5)