Thank you for the overwhelming response and the shares to yesterday’s fun fact about pit bulls.
Once again, I am doing this is an effort to change the conversation, clear up the misinformation and replace fear with fact because that is what it comes down to.
Fear is horrible and can make us do stupid things. People are afraid of what they do not know.
Look at what is going on in the United States with the presidential election. Donald Trump is the equivalent of BSL. He is feeding on people’s worst fears and he is winning.
Yesterday you learned that you are 60 times more likely to die from a coconut than in a pit bull attack. I have scoured the internet and found a number of other items that people should fear more than a pit bull…
1. Did you know that a person is 16 times more likely to die by drowning in a five gallon bucket of water than they are to be involved in a fatal pit bull attack? #5gallonbucketsofwaterareevil
2. Speaking of drowning, do you know that you are 151 times more likely to drown in your bathtub than you are to be killed by a pit bull attack…#bathtubsthesilentkiller
3. An individual is 200 times more likely to die from taking over the counter aspirin than to experience a fatal pit bull attack. #aspirinthekilleramongus
All these stats are of course tongue in cheek but are based on real numbers and can show just how dangerous it is to look at pure numbers alone when formulating ideas. They, of course, have to be put into context. Unfortunately bite statistics from non reputable websites are what tend to fuel pit bull fear. This is also why organizations such as the ASPCA, the AVMA, and the AHS, all who have studied dog bite statistics in great depth and released their own studies on the same, point to the inaccuracies of the same and warn us there are many other factors which are much better indicators to the dangers that exist.
So on to todays fun fact…
One of the most prevalent “facts” being spread is that pit bulls have locking jaws.
This is not the case. Biologically and physiologically the pit bull is no different from any other dog. A mechanism for a pit bull’s jaws to lock is not there.
Do not believe it?
The proof is in the pudding. If you take the x-ray of a chihuahua and compare it to that of a pit bull, you will see that they are both the same except for the size difference. #pitbullandchistwinsies
"But Ken, their jaws may be the same but the size difference counts…”
Of course it does but if we are going to use size difference as a standard, we now have to use that same logic for any medium to large size breed.
"But Ken, when pit bulls bite, they grab and tear unlike other breeds…look at the pictures…"
Sadly this may be true, kind of, but it is also true of other breeds AND (and this is the important piece) the propensity to do this has more to do with individual dogs within the breed as opposed to the breed itself.
Take a minute to let that one digest….go ahead, the information below will wait.
Don’t believe me?
There is a wealth of scientific studies to back me up. As an example, this is a quote taken from the conclusion of the American Veterinary Medical Association literature review that encompassed 65 published sources…
“The substantial within-breed variation…suggests that it is inappropriate to make predictions about a given dog's propensity for aggressive behavior based solely on its breed."
Further to this, even if it is true that pit bulls grab and tear (which it is not), studies show they are less likely to do so than most breeds. If one researches pit bulls and temperament testings, they consistently test above average, meaning that a pit bull is less likely to bite you than many other breeds.
So what are good indicators of aggression? That is a fun fact for another day.
So let’s surmise:
Pit bulls do not have locking jaws
A pit bull’s bite is no diiferent from the bite of any other medium to large size dog
The propensity to bite comes down to the individual dog as opposed to the breed
And
You are more likely to drown in a 5 gallon bucket of water than you are to die in a pit bull attack
#changetheconversation
#replacefearwithfact
#dontbullymybreed
