She's going to turn on you.
They're dangerous.
My friend's friend's step-daughter's friend was killed by a pit bull.
They have locking jaws so they're more dangerous.
They were bred to kill!!
Kid's aren't safe with a pit bull in the neighborhood!
Whoa, whoa whoa....let's back up a bit here and discuss some of these claims.
"She's going to turn on you."
Dogs don't just "turn" on people. This is the whole Cujo thing blown way out of proportion. Cujo was rabid. (And fictional...but carry on). Rabid dogs don't really fall into the whole American Pet scenario, but okay. Let's assume a dog, not just pit bulls, but any breed "turns" on someone. There is typically a medical (rabies, underlying health issue that is causing pain that the owner may be unaware of, etc ) explanation for the sudden change in temperament. Or, you could be dealing with a dog that has been pushed beyond his boundaries and the human's are not noticing the signs. (Kids pulling a dog's tail, pestering a dog when it's trying to eat, etc) Every dog has a breaking point. Most cases of a dog "turning on" someone is simply a dog that has given warning signs that have been ignored and it has escalated to biting as a defense mechanism (fault of the human) or it is medically unwell.
"They're dangerous."
Really? So are every other breed of dog out there then. They all come with the same equipment. There are even recorded fatalities of children caused by Yorkshire Terriers and Pomeranians. You are 55 times more likely to die from a hernia than a dog attack.
Everything has the potential to be dangerous. Stop watching Nancy Grace. Stop being paranoid.
My friend's friend's step-daughter's friend was killed by a pit bull /
Kid's aren't safe with a pit bull in the neighborhood!
Statistically speaking, a child is exponentially more in danger of being killed by a step-parents, birth parent, or guardian than a pit bull - to the rate of almost 500 per year. Who's the real danger?
They have locking jaws so they're more dangerous /
They were bred to kill!!
The locking jaw thing...just NO. If you believe in that myth, go ahead and slap yourself for me. Pit bulls do not have locking jaws. Physiologically speaking, they have the same skulls as your little lap dogs. Don't believe me, here's a quote from Dr. I Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia (He's a scientist, and actually says things based on research, studies and FACT, not hyperbole...): Dr. Brisbin states,
"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."
And about the whole bred to kill thing.... Sigh. Animal Aggression (AA), which the potential is there for in ALL terrier breeds (yes, including your little Schnauzers), does not equal Human Aggression (HA). If you own a cat, chances are it would kill a bird or rodent given the chance, no? Does that make you scared of your cat? Okay...apply that same principle to dogs and stop being such an alarmist.
Fear breeds ignorance, and ignorance breeds fear. Stop watching Nancy Grace, stop reading that stupid blog that I refuse to name because I don't want more people to end up there, but every fellow pit bull lover knows which one I'm referring to (rhymes with: hogs fight dot blorg), and really educate yourself on what a real American Pit Bull Terrier is and isn't. Here's your first lesson:
THIS is a Pit Bull:
These are NOT pit bulls.
Unless you work for the media. Then, they are pit bulls. (Except no, they're not and THAT LITTLE BIT OF TRUTH IS IMPORTANT but all too often neglected because "mutt bites kid" doesn't have the same flair and scare mongering that "PIT BULL MAULS CHILD" does..)
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