Actually, pit bulls have been found to be the least likely to bite people in tests of dog breeds-at least when they’re raised the same way as other breeds. I am not quite sure what kind of studies showed them to be more dangerous. In one test of dog breeds, ranking most to least likely to bite people, pit bulls ranked fourth from the bottom. Poodles and Golden Retrievers and I think even Labradors all ranked higher.
Not sure I agree with the premise, but I have known some nasty poodles in my time... if they put a poodle’s brain into a pit bulls body it would be a monster to be sure...
Might be a grade b horror movie in that somewhere...
Every year Pit Bulls account for anywhere 50% to 70% of all dog bite fatalities. Rotties generally account for most of the rest.
Dog bites and serious injuries and fatalities from dog attacks are totally different issues. A Yorkie might be more likely to bite than a Pit Bull, but I’d rather suffer or have my children suffer through 100 Yorkie “attacks” than 1 Pit Bull attack.
I am not aware of the study you mention. I know there is a commonly cited temprament test, where Pit Bulls did favorably, but those results have no statistical significance as the samples are anything but random. The problem is that all the dogs are brought in voluntarily for testing. Most people with dogs they know to have problem tempraments are not going to have their dogs tested, so the results by breed are meaningless.
The fact that most shelters have more Pit Bulls than all other dogs combined is another indication of how problematic they are.
I realize there are good Pit Bulls and this ruling in now way punishes them or their owners. If you are the owner of a well bred, well trained, well socialized, well supervised Pit Bull, the chances of an attack are very small, so liability won’t be an issue.
Unfortunatley, only a very small percentage of Pit Bulls are well bred, socialiazed, trained and cared for. Only a small percentage of dog owners have the experience, skill, assertiveness and responsbility to safely own Pit Bulls. They are extraordiary dogs that require extraordinary owners.
The responsibility of owning a Pit Bull is closer to that of owning an a wild animal, capable of killing, than it is to that of owning a Beagle or a Golden Retriever.