# It's never a pit bull! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471 "2011-10-03T19:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/21 "2011-10-04T12:26:44Z")
I only thought one was a pit bull, but I was wrong. Then I tried one that sorta looked like one, and it was wrong. At that point, I just clicked them all until I found one. And it was one of the last I would have picked. But I knew going in that my only exposure to the pit bull was that dog on Tiny Toons, which I now suspect was not a pit bull, but actually a Dogo Argentino. That’s the face he has, anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/22 "2011-10-04T12:37:16Z")
> [@Rex\_Goliath](#): > > I have a Boston Terrier that people sometimes think is a pit bull. People are dumb. I had two (now dearly departed) Bostons (hence my user name). People were always asking me, “Are those pit bulls?” I’d look at 'em like they were idiots :dubious: and say, “Yes. Those are pit bulls. And they are hungry. GTF off my porch.” I figured if people are that stupid they can confuse a Boston terrier with a pit bull, then they’ve either never seen a pit bull before or they deserve to be licked to death. It’s been six months since my last old dog died. I’m thinking of getting another dog from the shelter. They have mostly pit mixes. I’m not opposed to this at all. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/23 "2011-10-04T12:41:28Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Ha ha ha! You ARE joking, that’s right, isn’t it?😃 Naw, dachshounds can be vicious little shits. Same thing with chihauhas (sp), though my theory is that they have brains so small they can’t handle the sensory overload and therefore live in a state of perpetual freak-out. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/24 "2011-10-04T13:04:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ETA: Never mind… the original pic is the Presa Canario (as identified in the answer). I realize that’s what the link says and probably what they’re usually called in English, but calling a _perro de presa canario_ a Presa Canario is like calling a German Shepherd dog a German Sheep… (a _perro de presa_ is a hunting dog; _presa_ is prey) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/25 "2011-10-04T14:32:44Z")
People always think [Captain](http://www.flickr.com/photos/62555962@N00/5180640486/) is a pit bull. Because he has a square head. People are stupid. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/26 "2011-10-04T14:36:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I realize that’s what the link says and probably what they’re usually called in English, but calling a _perro de presa canario_ a Presa Canario is like calling a German Shepherd dog a German Sheep… (a _perro de presa_ is a hunting dog; _presa_ is prey) And the name is even shortened to simply “presa” in English sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/27 "2011-10-04T14:55:34Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Ha ha ha! You ARE joking, that’s right, isn’t it?😃 Of course. [Dachshund\* Saves!\*](http://images02.olx.com/ui/1/27/82/2402582_2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/28 "2011-10-04T15:01:02Z")
So if I can’t tell the difference between [this](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images21/PitBullTerrierTiggerFetch1.jpg) and [this](http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/boston-terrier.jpg), I’m stupid? I guess I’m stupid, then. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/29 "2011-10-04T15:14:55Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if I can’t tell the difference between [this](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images21/PitBullTerrierTiggerFetch1.jpg) and [this](http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/boston-terrier.jpg), I’m stupid? I guess I’m stupid, then. Well, you said it… A Boston is going to top out at around 15 _maybe_ 20 pounds. They are pretty small dogs. A “pit bull”\* is not a huge dog by any means, but they are going to be about twice the size of a Boston, and a great deal more muscular looking in general. I suppose someone could confuse a Boston with a APBT puppy, but you would have to be fairly ignorant about dogs to do that. In addition to size, the ears, head shape and (especially!) muzzle of the two dogs are completely different. They are just different dogs; a LOT different. It’s like confusing a Great Dane and a Boxer because they are marked similarly. Possible, sure; but anyone doing it knows little to nothing about dog breeds, and therefore should have their opinion disregarded. \*“pit bull” is not a real breed. I prefer American Pit Bull Terrier, but even that annoys me, since the dogs being discussed are almost never APBTs. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/30 "2011-10-04T15:15:43Z")
Unfortunately, sometimes it’s the dispatchers that are part of the problem. Back when I [found a lost dog in need of rescue](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=607220), the first question dispatch asked was “Is it a pit bull?”. He seemed quite disappointed when I said I had no idea, but I didn’t think so. (It turned out to be an Australian Shepherd.) ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/31 "2011-10-04T15:20:20Z")
I got curious about this a few years ago during another hate on pit bulls wave. I went to the shelter and they had 18 pit bulls. With all but one I was able to “make friends”. Half of em would just lay their head in my hand. IMO the problem is not that pit bulls are bad tempered, but what happens if you get a bad-tempered (or ill treated) one. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/32 "2011-10-04T15:23:11Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > People always think [Captain](http://www.flickr.com/photos/62555962@N00/5180640486/) is a pit bull. Because he has a square head. People are stupid. My neighbor was berated for bringing ‘dangerous pit bulls’ to Petsmart when he had his English bulldog and pug with him. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/33 "2011-10-04T15:23:44Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if I can’t tell the difference between [this](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images21/PitBullTerrierTiggerFetch1.jpg) and [this](http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/boston-terrier.jpg), I’m stupid? I guess I’m stupid, then. The noses are remarkably different. Boston ears usually stick up. Unclipped pit ears are usually floppy. Pits are generally 10-15 pounds bigger/heavier. Also, the black/white fur pattern is not as common in pits: mostly you see other combinations, all black, all white, brown/white, brown/brindle. I’ll give you this, though. Both breeds and all bully breeds, including boxers, descend from mastiffs. [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mastiff_Type_Breeds) So I can see how one might confuse the two pix above, especially if you only ever see pit bull mixes and have never really encountered a full-bred Boston. Still, that line of questioning rankled me. Because of the thread title. It’s rarely a pit bull. It’s never lupus either. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/34 "2011-10-04T15:25:46Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if I can’t tell the difference between [this](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images21/PitBullTerrierTiggerFetch1.jpg) and [this](http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/boston-terrier.jpg), I’m stupid? I guess I’m stupid, then. And I should also add that I didn’t say you were stupid. I said you’d deserve to be licked to death. Bostons cannot hold their lickers. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/35 "2011-10-04T15:35:52Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I play a similar game a lot. I peruse CNN local news from across the country and look for the ‘Toddler killed by Dog’ stories. Before I click the link I always sit there and say to myself: > > Was it a poodle? Was it a schnauzer? Was it a dachsund? Was it a cocker spaniel? > > Nine times out of ten I get the pay-off: Pit-bull! Bingo. Imagine my chagrin when the 10th time I come up with a rottweiler. Uh, if you are indeed taking the contrary position to the OP, I will (once again) take the trouble to fight ignorance. There’s a _reason_ you see “pit bull” in the news that’s not necessarily the one you’re implying. [Here’s a good page](http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/resources/media-myths-politics/) to start learning about the media perception problem. A real eye-opener is [here](http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/2007%20Media%20Bias.pdf). warning – .pdf that might shake one’s misconceptions] But we don’t have to go far to find an example of how the words “put bull” are used to grab attention. Not far in time or distance. Yesterday, in this very forum, in the other topic containing the words “pit bull,” [this was posted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14318963&postcount=23). Relevant portion: > [@](#): > > However, it’s instructive to note that there was an another dog attack yesterday that did not make the TV footage, YouTube, or the Straight Dope – an attack in which a six-year-old girl was sent to the hospital in serious condition with bites to her face. Why isn’t this attack bigger news? The dog in question is a yellow lab. Why are we making multiple threads about pit bulls due to a video in which no one was injured, but no one has made a thread about the yellow lab attack that hospitalized a child? > [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Both dogs are boxers. I found a boxer running loose in my neighborhood a few years ago. After I lured him into range with dog biscuits, I grabbed his collar and brought him into my living room to check him out for a tag with a phone number. Couldn’t find any, so eventually called animal control. “Where is the dog now?” the officer asked. “Stay well away form him, he might be dangerous.” Where the dog was, at the moment, was standing with his front paws on my lap licking my face. > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Send a cop here NOW before it slobbers on someone! It’s too late, see above. > [@Crazyhorse](#): > > How about the headline [_Man Almost Attacked By Pit Bull_?](http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/editordetail.php?id=249) That’s great! Heck, I was almost mauled to death by polar bears! At the last second, only the fact that they were in a zoo saved me. > [@Arden\_Ranger](#): > > I am not going to deny that there are some Pits that are just mean and dangerous. But they aren’t all like that. You’re right – the message is not that pit bulls _cannot_ be dangerous. It is that _all_ dogs can potentially be dangerous. And it’s not the _breed_ that determines whether or not a dog is dangerous (although in my experience, the generally submissive and human-adoring pit bulls are _more_ reliably safe around humans than some others, and there’s a historical record that supports that. > [@Norse](#): > > A dachshund is definitely not the ideal handbag-and-sofa dog for inexperienced dog owners and will be a handful unless properly trained. _Miniature_ dachshunds might be a bit lap-doggier. But I do not intend to stigmatize any breed. > [@Norse](#): > > ETA: And the same reasoning is what makes me inherently suspicious to the Staffordshire bull and similar breeds. They were bred for attacking and not giving in. There’s a stubbornness there which may potentially make the animal a dangerous one if not properly trained. Two misconceptions with that statement. Staffordshire Bull Terriers proper were bred for attacking _animals_, not people. And they (and American Pit Bull Terriers) were also bred to be safely handled even when in an “aroused” state, which is how dogfighters lived through the practice of their sinister hobby. Old-school dogfighters separated fighting pit bulls with their bare hands, just like Michael Vick _killed_ pit bulls with his _bare_, 100-million-dollar-quarterback hands – without any fear the dogs would turn on them. > [@Zsofia](#): > > People are stupid. That might be the takeaway from this thread. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/36 "2011-10-04T15:41:11Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if I can’t tell the difference between [this](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images21/PitBullTerrierTiggerFetch1.jpg) and [this](http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/boston-terrier.jpg), I’m stupid? I guess I’m stupid, then. Don’t take it personally – not “stupid as a person” but “dog stupid,” in the same way that architecture students would roll their eyes at my stupidity if I confused “baroque” with “romantic” styles. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/37 "2011-10-04T15:42:23Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > People always think [Captain](http://www.flickr.com/photos/62555962@N00/5180640486/) is a pit bull. Because he has a square head. People are stupid. Call me crazy, but haven’t you referred to Captain as a pit bull before? And not for nothing, but Captain looks just like my Maya, who _ **is** _ part pit bull. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/38 "2011-10-04T15:54:29Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > . It’s rarely a pit bull. It’s never lupus either. I got bit by a pit bull with lupus. Came down with a bad case of fibromyalgia ☹ And the vicodin barely takes the edge off… ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/39 "2011-10-04T15:57:41Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Staffordshire Bull Terriers proper were bred for attacking _animals_, not people. And they (and American Pit Bull Terriers) were also bred to be safely handled even when in an “aroused” state, which is how dogfighters lived through the practice of their sinister hobby. I won’t argue against that. But I’d like a bulletproof guarantee that these breeds’ instincts can distinguish between “humans” and “other animals”, not between “my pack” and “everyone else”. And since dogs are pack animals who regard their owners as their pack leaders and disregard the species difference, I’d need some pretty heavy proof that their minds are wired according to the first concept and not according to the last concept. In other words: Will these breeds regard an unknown human as “human - don’t attack under any circumstances” or as “not a member of my pack - may be attacked under certain, dire circumstances”? With my knowledge of canine psychology (admittedly gained from experience with other breeds), I strongly suspect the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471/40 "2011-10-04T16:02:13Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Call me crazy, but haven’t you referred to Captain as a pit bull before? And not for nothing, but Captain looks just like my Maya, who _ **is** _ part pit bull. No, he’s supposed to be some manner of Catahoula. I did post a furious pit thread about the woman in our dog training class who didn’t want to introduce her dog to my dog as instructed by the teacher because she was afraid of him, assuming he was a pit bull. (Which puts you in that “not that there’s anything wrong with that!” trap.) Meanwhile she was fine with the snarling dachshund who really did seem quite capable of fear biting. That’s probably what you remember. ETA - and of course he might have some pit in him, but he’s built nothing like a fighting dog. His body is very houndish, it’s just his square flat head people don’t like. And that he’s brindled - for some reason people seem to be afraid of brindled dogs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-never-a-pit-bull/598471.md?page=3)