Due to the stigma surrounding American Pit Bull Terriers, Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) is restricting ownership of American Pit Bull Terriers in parts of Europe and several U.S. states.
The Britannica, in partnership with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), explains Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) as “a blanket term for laws that regulate or ban certain dog breeds in an effort to decrease dog attacks on humans and other animals.”
“The laws are also widely called ‘Pit Bull bans’ and ‘breed-discriminatory’ laws,” the Britannica said. “Bans are proliferating around the world.”
Tied into the nature vs. nurture debate, Britannica said “legislation to combat poor animal ownership would be more effective than bans.”
This reiterates that how dogs are raised shapes their reactions and attitudes. Should dogs be punished for their actions, or should the owners be held responsible for their duties as the ones in charge?
Further supporting this idea, the ASPCA said that a dog’s “behavior develops through a complex interaction between environment and genetics.”
“When it comes to influencing the behavior of an individual dog, factors such as housing conditions and the history of social interactions play pivotal roles in behavioral development,” the ASPCA said.
According to Scott Ross from Chill Out Dog Training, his experiences training dogs “affirm that breed is not a useful predictor of aggression.”
“I wager my personal safety on this fact several times each week,” Ross said. “Breed is merely a rough guideline for temperament and physical capacity.”
Ross also said that “each dog, Pit Bull or otherwise, ought to be judged on its personal history and not its lineage.”
The Human Rescue Alliance has similar thoughts.
“One obvious flaw with breed-based selection is that it is tremendously difficult, if not impossible, to determine a dog’s breed,” Human Rescue Alliance said.
As for Alpine Dog Co., it reaffirms this statement.
“There’s no single dog breed called ‘Pit Bull.’ Pit Bull is a broad term used to describe dogs originally bred for bull baiting. The descendants of these dogs have morphed into several different breeds,” Alpine Dog Co. said.
Additionally, Alpine Dog Co. points out that this bull baiting breeding led to the generic muscular look that people associate with the Pit Bull category.
“The Animal Health Foundation refers to the Pit Bull as an umbrella,” Alpine Dog Co. said, “that means we’re talking about Bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers and American Bullies – and anyone who identifies the breed they encounter as a Pit Bull.”
The main issue is that “the general public doesn’t know what a ‘true’ American Pit Bull Terrier looks like.”
“The media and public use the term to overrepresent this category of dog,” Alpine Dog Co. said.
According to Family Friends Veterinary Hospital, today Pit Bulls “serve as therapy and service dogs.”
“[Pit Bulls’] intelligence, trainability, and deep connection to humans make them excellent candidates for these roles,” Family Friends Veterinary Hospital said.
Agreeing with these statements, Best Friends Animal Society believes that educating people about Pit Bulls can help end the stigma surrounding them.
“People who still aren’t sure about [Pit Bulls] buy the many Pit Bull myths and hysteria that surrounds them,” Best Friends Animal Society said.
For Colin Dayan of Route Fifty, his research finds that “as recently as 50 years ago, the Pit Bull was America’s favorite dog.”
“They were popular in advertising and used to promote the joys of pet-and-human friendship,” Dayan said.
Dayan believes that Pit Bulls are not “inherently dangerous” creatures.
“Like other dogs, they can become dangerous in certain situations, and at the hands of certain owners,” Dayan said. “There is no defensible rationale for condemning not only all Pit Bulls, but any dog with a single Pit Bull gene, as some laws do.”
The point is that although they are not perfect, Pit Bulls and all the variants that fall under the category are not bad dogs. Like people, they are shaped by their upbringing and life experiences.
Just as people make mistakes and hurt others, so do Pit Bulls. If people are given second chances, it is only fair that dogs get second chances, too.
The companionship between dogs and humans goes both ways.