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Decca · 03-17-2009, 08:12 AM

Pit bulls, for the record, are a breed TYPE rather than an actual breed. They, plus chows, rottweilers, boxers, bull terriers, bulldogs, and several other (often surprising!) breeds on the national restricted breeds list are part of a family known as "bully breeds", so-called because their stubborn, forceful natures often cause them to "bully" other breeds.

To elaborate on DanaC's post, pit bull type dogs have a special jaw/muscular structure that caused the jaw to lock into place when the dog bites down; while other breeds thrash their heads back and forth after biting to tear flesh from bone, pit bull types are forced to thrash in order for their jaws to unlock. This is why most other breeds will bite down and back off, while pit bulls bite down and fling their heads wildly from side-to-side before letting go. The reason for this locking-jaw mechanism is that pit bull type dogs were bred for fighting thousand-or-more-pound bulls in pits, as a sport... hence the name "pit bull". However, pit bulls were ALSO bred to be very pack-oriented; no single dog can bring down a fighting bull, but a pack of them easily can. This leads into the reason a pit bull can be such a great family dog, but be a hazard to people outside the family. Pit bulls are GREAT at reading body language... and humans are TERRIBLE at speaking "dog"! Many (NOT ALL) dog attacks from this breed, assuming the specific dog in question is neither poorly bred nor poorly trained, come because the dog read a miscue from a human outside its pack, and reacted instinctively to protect its family. It's not necessarily an aggressive reaction; more a protective one.

I worked for a dog rescue in North Carolina before my husband and I were transferred to Hawaii, and one of the main focuses of the rescue was to educate the general public about these amazing breeds, and try to undo the damage caused by drug dealers, "gangsters", and people like Michael Vick who have turned this amazing breed into something to be feared, because of poor training, physical and mental abuse, and poor backyard-quality breeding.

03-17-2009, 08:12 AM	#21
Decca Resident Denizen Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: O'ahu, Hawaii Posts: 63	Pit bulls, for the record, are a breed TYPE rather than an actual breed. They, plus chows, rottweilers, boxers, bull terriers, bulldogs, and several other (often surprising!) breeds on the national restricted breeds list are part of a family known as "bully breeds", so-called because their stubborn, forceful natures often cause them to "bully" other breeds. To elaborate on DanaC's post, pit bull type dogs have a special jaw/muscular structure that caused the jaw to lock into place when the dog bites down; while other breeds thrash their heads back and forth after biting to tear flesh from bone, pit bull types are forced to thrash in order for their jaws to unlock. This is why most other breeds will bite down and back off, while pit bulls bite down and fling their heads wildly from side-to-side before letting go. The reason for this locking-jaw mechanism is that pit bull type dogs were bred for fighting thousand-or-more-pound bulls in pits, as a sport... hence the name "pit bull". However, pit bulls were ALSO bred to be very pack-oriented; no single dog can bring down a fighting bull, but a pack of them easily can. This leads into the reason a pit bull can be such a great family dog, but be a hazard to people outside the family. Pit bulls are GREAT at reading body language... and humans are TERRIBLE at speaking "dog"! Many (NOT ALL) dog attacks from this breed, assuming the specific dog in question is neither poorly bred nor poorly trained, come because the dog read a miscue from a human outside its pack, and reacted instinctively to protect its family. It's not necessarily an aggressive reaction; more a protective one. I worked for a dog rescue in North Carolina before my husband and I were transferred to Hawaii, and one of the main focuses of the rescue was to educate the general public about these amazing breeds, and try to undo the damage caused by drug dealers, "gangsters", and people like Michael Vick who have turned this amazing breed into something to be feared, because of poor training, physical and mental abuse, and poor backyard-quality breeding.