Pit bulls are known to be one of the most aggressive breed of dogs out there, but why do they have this reputation, and is it true?

The term “Pit Bull” isn’t really a specific breed but so many breeds fall under that category. This means that breeds that aren’t actually “Pit Bulls” that are aggressive, give a bad name for all of the dogs that fall under that category, which is just not true. In fact, a study from the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) actually showed that only 43.5% of dogs labeled under the term “Pit Bull”, actually did not have any of the breed’s DNA.

In my opinion dogs aren’t naturally aggressive or mean, it is how they are raised and trained to be. If you teach a puppy to fight and be aggressive, then that dog will grow up to be an aggressive dog because that’s all it knows. You often see this with “Pit bulls” because they are very strong dogs so people use them for “protection” or fighting. Another problem is that Pit Bulls’ accidents are reported more than other dogs mostly because of their bad reputation. If you think about it you hear a lot more about Pit Bulls than you do German Shepherds or Chihuahuas attacking, yet people say that Chihuahuas are super aggressive.

In my experiences with Pit Bulls, they are one of the sweetest, gentlest dogs and don’t deserve the bad reputation they get. I personally have a Pit Bull mix and he is the biggest baby out of all my dogs. They are very loyal and protective dogs, while being gentle and loving at the same time. This goes along with why people use them for fighting. They are very protective and loyal to their owners, even though they can be treated horribly, and so when they are trained by their owners, they are loyal to them and listen to them. All dogs can be aggressive just like a Pit Bull because it all depends on how they are raised.

I’m not the only one who feels this way either, others that I have talked to express their feelings on this topic as well.

Qs:

Do you think that Pitbulls deserve the reputation that they receive?

Why do you think that they have this negative reputation?

A: Victoria Spears (12th grade), said that, “No, I don’t think they deserve the reputation they have. I believe that they have this reputation because, historically, Pit Bull breeds have been used in things like dog fighting which gives a lot of people fear [of] them, as well as the fact that people tend to mislabel the breed Pit Bull.”

Kaylin Davis (college student) also said that, “Personally, I have only ever seen Pit Bulls being the most gentle and loving dogs. We have a Pit Bull mix and he is the sweetest ever along with his mom who is pure Pit Bull. They aren’t aggressive dogs unless the owner makes them that way.”

To sum it up, I want to bring this to people’s attention. It isn’t fair to all of the dogs in the shelters who are just in there because of their breed even though they could be the sweetest dog in the world. We shouldn’t judge an animal based off of the reputation that they have because it may not always be accurate.