Aggressive Behavior Analysis

Pit Bulls are known worldwide for being inherently dangerous and extremely vicious, but according to the American Temperament Test Society, Inc. 86.8% of American Pit Bull Terriers have passed their temperament tests better than Collies, Golden Retrievers, and Beagles. Many people don’t know that the term “bully breed” refers to more than forty breeds that hail from the same root breed. The history of the Pit Bull goes back to about the nineteenth century, during that time they were used to protect livestock, families, and even children as nannies (the Canine Journal). Today Pit Bulls are used as therapy dogs, police dogs, and of course a simple companion. Many myths about pit bulls circulate, which scares society into believing that they are dangerous to us and our families the question of banning Pit Bulls has been hotly discussed around the world, but banning Pit Bulls will not stop illegal breeding, fighting and distribution of Pit Bulls, other dogs from biting, and the problem will grow. The question of whether or not Pit Bulls should be banned is a hot topic in recent society, but the real question is should Pit Bulls be punished for the actions of their owners, or should laws be enforced at a higher degree.

In over 700 cities across the U.S. the pit bull has been outlawed, such as the city of Denver, where the Pit Bull has been vilified since 1989. Many other major cities across the United States have also fallen into the banning of breed specific dogs such as Miami, Fl, New York City, and Seattle. Every military installation across the country also prohibits Pit Bulls and strictly enforces these laws. In cities where the Pit Bull isn’t outlawed there are usually still strict regulations to owning a pit bull such as liability insurance, sterilizations, and extreme measures of containment to keep these dogs from escaping their homes. Per the American Temperance Testing Society (ATTS) “Among all of the breeds ATTS tested – over 30,000 dogs through May 2011, 83 percent passed the test. How did Pit Bulls do? They showed an above average temperament, with 86 percent making the grade.” In conjunction with the ATTS, the American Veterinary Medicine Association also states that “controlled studies have not identified this breed group as disproportionately dangerous.” Much like many other natural laws such as Darwin’s Law of Evolution and Murphy’s Law ,the debate of Nature vs. Nurture should also be brought into account when talking about dog breeds and their “innate ability of aggression” because while it is true that every dog have certain characteristics and personality traits, it’s a strong accusation to say that Rex the Pit Bull is more prone to biting or injuring someone more so than Trixie the Toy Poodle. Either one of those dogs can be raised by their respective owners to have very different personalities and Trixie is just as capable of biting someone as Rex. A common place for misconception is that breeds like the Pit Bull are a popular choice for criminals and criminal activity such as

Most shelters and veterinarians can speak to the fact that dogs are greatly affected by previous and current owners. Dogs that have been neglected while they were puppies can negatively affect how they view people. Anxiety medication has become available to dogs and so has forms of therapy for dog’s social behaviors. The people who own “Pit Bull” breeds are more often than not those affiliated with illegal activity and violence. Veterinarian, Roger L. Welton, makes this statement “Pitt Bulls become a danger to society when they are purposely tormented and brutalized into being violent animals by sociopathic individuals who view the dogs as a means to elevate their status by having vicious dogs protect their property, or to make them money by cruelly fighting these animals with one another. It is the despicable human element that creates monsters where there were once innocent animals with the potential to make loving pets...Rather than blame the dogs for their irresponsible, often cruel treatment, we need to hold the people who mistreat them accountable for the consequences. Search and prosecution of these people needs to be more aggressive. Penalties need to be more severe, and the media needs to care more.”(Welton, "Web DVM") People that treat “Pit Bulls” violently lead to the dangerous behavior these dogs are known for. Most

This is “Dog Attack! The 10 Ways of Eliminating Aggression In Dogs” and I hope you have enjoyed the book. A positive review would be greatly appreciated if you really like it.

206). Further research shows that Pit Bulls aren’t the most dangerous breed of dog. They are ranked higher for their tolerance than they are for their aggression (Baldwin, S. 2016). No matter what real facts and statistics say, Pit Bulls are still being discriminated against and banned all around the world. As the years, have gone on, it has been harder and harder to own a Pit Bull. Many neighborhood or apartment complexes won’t allow you to live in their facilities if you own a Pit Bull or anything that remotely looks like a Pit Bull. If that isn’t enough, most insurance agencies won’t cover you, your family or your home if you own a Pit Bull (ReidHead, J, L 2017). Because of all these regulations and limitation when owning a Pt Bull, owners and Pit Bull advocates are working harder to push their point that it’s the owner that makes the dog. With proper training and responsible owners Pit Bulls are not a threat or a danger to society. Pit Bulls are no more dangerous than any dog breed with they are trained and raised responsibly. In this paper, I be explaining how irresponsible Pit Bull owners are the cause of Pit Bulls aggression towards people and other animals by explaining the history of the breed, Pit Bulls involvement in dog fighting, gang violence and true statistics surrounding the breed. To solve this problem, I recommend that all future and

One reason a dog may become aggressive is their living arrangements. Living indoors compared to living outdoors affects their behavior greatly because a dog who lives indoors tends to have more positive socialization than a dog who lives outdoors (The Star). The most aggressive dog can be a dog who transitions from living indoors and outdoors. Another reason a dog can become aggressive is the amount of positive socialization the dog gets (The Star). Their living arrangements affects this as well, but so does the type of socialization a person gives to the dog.

to owners who were more likely to raise aggressive dogs, and media sensationalism in the

Also another test done by the Journal of Forensic Science showed that “vicious dog owners reported significantly higher criminal thinking, entitlement, sentimentality and super-optimism tendencies. Vicious dog owners were arrested, engaged in physical fights, and used drugs significantly more than other dog owners." Which reveals how Pit bulls are often used in wrongful means and given a bad name when it all boils down to the owners.

Scores of people believe that if a dog displays aggressive behavior towards other dogs, they will become aggressive towards people too. As robin rock, who works for Petfinder, clearly states in her web article

Pit bulls are amazing family additions, and they are truly loving and protective. According to researchers at the Institute for Animal Welfare and Behavior pit bulls are harmless. The test results of 415 dogs were analyzed. The test consisted of a veterinary examination; a learning test; situations of dog-human, dog-environment, and dog-dog contact; and obedience. Escalation in aggressive behavior was scored using a scale of 1-7. The results show no indication of dangerousness in specific breeds, so pit bulls are just as innocent as the common golden retriever (Schalke et al. 97-103). Another study by a Georgia-based group called the American Temperament Test Society has put twenty-five thousand dogs through a ten-part standardized drill designed to assess a dog’s stability, shyness, aggressiveness, and friendliness in the company of people. A handler takes a dog on a six-foot lead and judges its reaction to stimuli such as gunshots, an umbrella opening, and a weirdly dressed stranger approaching in a threatening way. Eighty-four per cent of the pit bulls that have been given the test have passed, which ranks pit bulls ahead of beagles, Airedales, bearded collies, and all but one variety of dachshund (Gladwell 26-28). Studies have proven that pit bulls are loving, friendly pets if they are treated right. My sister’s two pit bulls live in her household as well her toddler, Camden. Her son

When you think of dog attacks what is the first breed you think about? If I were to take a guess I would say that it is probably a pit bull. The media is not bad but it is hooked on only sharing the most negative and most popular topics and exploiting them and has guided you to believe that pit bulls are the most dangerous breed of dog. It is true that the pit bull is bred to be a very powerful dog, so that makes it easy for the media to target this dog to add attention to the pit bull. Pit bulls are just a type of breed and like all the other dog breeds they are bred and raised to do what they are needed to do. Even though they are seen as the only dog that attacks people and other dogs, it is not the only dog breed that has attacked people there is a lot of good history not known about the pit bull. I will be writing about pit bulls, the issues, the good, and how we maybe able to fix the stained name of the pit bull.

First of all, have you ever wanted a vicious dog? Then get a Pit bull. Have you ever wanted a nice and friendly dog, then get a Pit bull. The chances of thus happening in 50/50. But it’s is not only Pit bulls that have this drastic change is attitude, it can be any dog. (Even a chihuahua) All Pit bulls are just accused of being savage or violent because of their scary look. The truth is Pit bulls can be the nicest dogs you’ve ever met, or they bite off your face. (Remember they are ancestors of wolves)

They aren’t born aggressive. A dog's breed has far less to do with aggression than owner-dependent factors such as how a dog is trained. If a dog was raised to fight or was brought up in a poor home environment, the dog is more likely to be aggressive regardless of its breed. The American Temperament Test Society evaluated the temperaments of various dog breeds, 85.3% of American Pitbull Terriers passed the test whereas other breeds such as Border Collies and Old English Sheep Dogs ranked in the 70th percentile. In many cases, the influence of owners have no effect on the conduct of the dog. Take Lilly, for example. Lilly was a Pitbull gifted to an alcoholic as a method of sobering her up. As any humans can infer, living with an alcoholic is no easy vocation, even for a dog. However, Lily’s hard home life didn’t clog her judgement. One night, Lilly’s owner passed out on a pair of train tracks with a train hot in pursuit. Thanks to none other than Lilly, her owner was pulled off the tracks just in time. Although her owner escaped without scratch, Lilly wasn’t as fortunate. Even with life-threatening injuries, Lilly remained by her owner’s side until help arrived. Ultimately, Lilly had to undergo several serious surgeries and ended up losing a leg. Lilly, a pitbull, put her inattentive owner’s life above her own. Even today, Lilly and her owner remain best friends even though that commitment almost cost her her

The media, whether it is reporting on a political campaign or a celebrity’s latest fashion choice, has a strong influence on the opinions formed by the American public. Many people do not take the time to research and read studies on what they see in the news. The American Veterinary Association has recommended keeping in mind that “in contrast to what has been reported in the news,” data cannot be used to make conclusions about breed specific threats (Sacks et al., 2000). Breed discrimination is unfounded because studies have shown that Pit Bulls are not the most aggressive dogs. The American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior reported in their Position Statement on Breed-Specific Legislation (2014) that Jack Russell Terriers, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers were the breeds most commonly referred for aggression. In 1982, Pinckney and Kennedy found that in a study of 73 fatal dog attacks throughout the United States only six of them were attributed to the Bullterrier whereas 16 were accredited to German Shepherds. Interestingly, these other dogs do not get as much mass media attention as the Pit Bull. Following the logic of banning the most dangerous dogs, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds should also be heavily regulated, however, they are not. This could be due to the larger musculature and general imposing physical presence of Pit Bulls when compared to the fluffier Golden Retrievers. Breed specific bans on Pit Bulls unfairly single out one breed while ignoring data that reveals other dogs to be more likely to display

While aggressive behaviors may seem unprovoked they ultimately have some cause, even if we don’t always see it right away. Chances are, the dog is responding, likely out of fear, to something. Its important to look at potential triggers and try to understand why the dog is responding in a certain way to those triggers. Aggression can be caused from a variety of sources both neurological, physical, and environmental. Heightened aggression can also be the result of poor training or a lack of proper socialization from an early age. Be sure to take all of these factors into consideration when determining the cause of aggression for a dog. Too often “natural aggression” is a label used to excuse aggressive behaviors without actually getting to the real cause of them. Because of this, the real underlying problems in a dog’s behavior is never addressed. In short, does natural aggression exist? The answer: only because we’ve created