"You just never know when they will turn on you..."  

This is one of the most bothersome phrases I hear regarding pit bulls, as well as some other breeds.  If you are to read many headlines and articles, dogs apparently just "snap" for no reason whatsoever.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  Dog behavior is intricate, and many owners simply do not pay enough attention to what their dog is telling them (albeit not in a verbal sense).  Signs of a dog's insecurity, dominance, or other undesirable states can be very subtle, and those dogs that "just snap" have likely been displaying symptoms for quite some time, and the owners were either uneducated, inattentive, or just too lazy to try to correct the behavior.  This is why it is imperative for owners of breeds that are under public scrutiny (and any others, for that matter) to take the time to research and learn about their breed and its tendencies and, perhaps most importantly, dog behavior in general.  So, why am I talking so generally about dog behavior and not pit bulls?  Well, pit bulls are in fact dogs that need nutrition, exercise, training, and attention just like any other dog.  Neglecting any of these basic necessities is a great way to lead to problems. 

Let's consider a couple of examples.  A dog that lacks training is likely to jump up on, chase, and even mount a human, which leads the dog to believe that he is dominant over the humans.  Left uncorrected, this can lead to a major problem.  In a pack structure, dogs correct each other by biting each other, not because they don't like each other or they want to kill each other, it is just how the dominant dog lets the others know that they are not behaving as they want.  Now, let us consider this dog that has become dominant and whose owners have either not picked up on at all or have written of as "just playing".  After a year or so of this behavior, suppose someone reacts negatively to the dog's behavior or tries to get it to stop (could be as simple as trying to move the dog off of the couch).  Guess what the dog will do?  Since it sees itself as the dominant figure, it "corrects" the person by biting them.  Suddenly, the dog has "turned on someone", as it has "never bitten anyone before".  Let us now consider the case of the dog that is left tied in a back yard all day for weeks on end.  It is severly lacking both attention and exercise.  A child approaches the dog and teases and excites it as it leaps at the end of its chain (I know, where are the child's parents?  Well, there are probably as many irresponsible parents as there are irresponsible dog owners - another factor to consider when reading headlines...).  If the dog is a pit bull or bulldog type, a natural way to relase energy is to grab something and shake/pull it (this is of course, what they were originally bred to do - catch cattle and other livestock - remember the part about researching your breed?).  In this case, the incredibly frustrated dog with weeks worth of pent up energy grabs the jacket of the child and begins to drag it across the ground, possibly injuring the child in the process and shredding the jacket.  There you have it, another dog that has just snapped and "attacked" a child for no reason.  I could go on and on with such situations (including more abusive situations), but the point here is that dogs can't talk and you will never hear their side of the story on the news, partly because it doesn't make the story as exciting, and partly because as I mentioned earlier nobody has paid attention to the needs of the dog to realize that there is a problem. 

Now, I know you are thinking that there are just some "bad dogs" out there, and you would be correct. Unfortunately, due to the overpopularity of the breed and very poor breeding practices there are many more out there now than in years past (this is a good topic for another article).  Even so, the "pit bull breeds" still outperform most other breeds on the American Temperament Testing Society tests (http://www.atts.org), including Beagles, Collies, Cocker Spaniels, and a host of others normally considered good stable family pets.  I hope to add a separate article on temperament in the near future.  Until then, be sure to think critically when you hear about those "snapping" dogs.

Shaun Roberson