The proper name for a pit is American Stafforshire Terrior. Pitbulls are bread to fight, AST’s are not. The fighting dogs that are brought in to our shelter have litterally made me throw up. The human beings that are capable of training and using a dog in this manner are disgusting. That is the point I am trying to make. The dogs that are pitbulls can be dangerous because they are trained from birth to be aggressive by having food witheld. Any dog will become aggressive due to this training. AST’s do not have this problem.
The bigger picture is that if the humans responsible were actually held responsible, we would learn much more. The homes that we go into to take dogs out of are disgusting. We often contact social services because of the living conditions and the child neglect. It is not just about the violent dog. If a pit mauls a child, it is likely due to abuse for fighting.
I suppose then that you’ll agree with the CDC when they wrote:
Additional strategies to encourage responsible pet ownership and reduce dog bites include regulatory measures (e.g., licensing, neutering, and registration programs and programs to control unrestrained animals) and legislation (7). “Dangerous” dog laws focus on dogs of any breed that have exhibited harmful behavior (e.g., unprovoked attacks on persons or animals) and place primary responsibility for a dog’s behavior on the owner. Because a dog’s tendency to bite depends on other factors in addition to genetics (e.g., medical and behavioral health, early experience, socialization and training, and victim behavior), such laws might be more effective than breed-specific legislation (7). These prevention strategies require further evaluation.