FACT: No dog of any breed has ever been found to possess a mechanism in their jaw which would allow them to “lock” their top and bottom jaw together. There is no such thing as a locking jaw!

Myth: Pit bulls have a unique bite style consisting of biting down, holding, and shaking.

FACT: Biting, holding, and shaking are not unique behaviors for pit bulls. All dogs will perform these behaviors. A dog may “bite and hold” when it is playing or when it has been taught to do this. You have probably seen police K-9 dogs, which are commonly German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois, doing bite work. These dogs are specially trained to bite hard and to not let go even when someone is hitting them. You have also seen many kinds of dogs playing with toys. Tug toys and rope toys are popular because many dogs enjoy grabbing, pulling, and shaking them. This is a natural behavior that all dogs engage in.

Myth: Pit bulls are genetically driven to kill people.

FACT: Dogs are not machines; they are living organisms. Like all living organisms, a dog’s behavior is influenced by both genetics and environment. How a dog owner manages his or her dog will determine whether the dog becomes a danger to humans. No dog is driven entirely by genetics to attack people, and no dog breed has been created or bred into such a state that all dogs of that breed are compelled to attack people. Dogs that are raised as beloved family pets do not kill people.

While some irresponsible breeders and owners may try to create “killer” dogs, these people are not the norm, and their activities are unethical and, in many cases, illegal. Responsible dog breeders understand that dogs are meant for companionship and love, not for fighting and killing. Responsible breeders understand the wonderful qualities that pit bulls have. They are interested in breeding quality dogs with excellent temperaments.

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Myth: Pit bulls are not good for anything except dogfighting.

FACT: Pit bulls have excelled in many working-dog sports such as agility, search-and-rescue, tracking, weight pulling, carting, Shutzhund, hunting, obedience, therapy, and more. Millions of pit bulls serve society today as faithful family members and beloved companions.

Myth: Pit bulls are very aggressive.

FACT: Pit bulls are no more or less aggressive than any other type of dog. Many of the behaviors we expect from and encourage in dogs, including hunting, tracking, guarding, and even playing, are actually modified forms of aggression.

Although pit bulls have a reputation for aggression toward other dogs, in fact, many other breeds and types of dogs are also known for such aggression. Interdog aggression is actually a very common behavior and is not limited to pit bull type dogs.

Pit bulls may be aggressive toward small animals, but again, this is common with all breeds and types of dogs. Dogs are essentially domesticated predators. Many dogs will exhibit predatory behavior toward small animals that they consider prey.

A few pit bulls may be aggressive toward people, but again, this is not unique to pit bulls. All breeds and types of dogs may be aggressive toward people.

Aggression is an individual trait that varies from dog to dog, and has a lot to do with a dog’s environment and owners. Aggressive behaviors are common and normal in dogs of all breeds and types. Pit bulls do not exhibit any aggressive behaviors that are unique or extreme when compared to other breeds or types of dogs.

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Myth: Pit bulls can not be trained or controlled.

FACT: Dogs are, generally speaking, trainable and controllable because they are intelligent domesticated animals. Pit bulls, likewise, are intelligent and domesticated, and like all dogs, they are obedient, friendly, and handle-able. Pit bulls have excelled in areas such as agility, tracking, Shutzhund, search-and-rescue, therapy, and many other canine activities. LawDogs USA, for example, opted to use pit bulls exclusively as drug detection dogs because the organization found pit bulls to be so trainable and eager to please.

Of course, individual dogs land on the spectrum of trainability and obedience at different points. While not every dog may be particularly trainable, it is extremely rare for a dog to be unmanageable. The overwhelming majority of dogs are quite trainable and manageable, and any behavior problems that a dog displays is more likely attributable to owner error than to something inherent or genetic.

Myth: Pit bulls are unpredictable; they can turn on anyone, even their owner, at any time.

FACT: Pit bulls are no more or less unpredictable than any other type of dog. Often, a person who claims that a dog is “unpredictable” simply doesn’t understand dog behavior. In the overwhelming majority of dog bite cases, the humans involved don’t understand or have missed canine warning signs preceding the bite. For more information on dog behavior and aggression, check out “The Culture Clash” by Jean Donaldson.

The way our legal system handles dog bites only strengthens the myth that dogs are unpredictable. In the case of a dog bite, a dog owner that admits prior knowledge of their dog’s dangerous behavior will be more severely punished than a dog owner who claims to be ignorant of the danger. For this reason, after a dog bite happens, you will hear the dog owner say “My dog was nice before this! I didn’t expect this to happen.” It sounds like the dog unexpectedly snapped, but in reality, the dog owner is trying to reduce their punishment by claiming ignorance.

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Myth: Pit bulls do not feel pain.

FACT: This is an urban legend started by dog fighters to justify the cruel activity of dog fighting. After all, if fighting doesn’t hurt the dogs, how can it be cruel? The myth is further perpetuated by fearful individuals who buy into the Hollywood monster myth of the unstoppable pit bull beast. There is no scientific evidence to support this idea. Pit bulls do indeed feel pain, just as any other dog does.

Myth: If a pit bull bites down and tastes blood, it will become aggressive and unstoppable.

FACT: Dogs bite because they are scared, in pain, or defensive. They bite so that the offending person/animal/object will go away—and it usually works. As a result, a dog learns that biting is a very successful tactic for getting what the dog desires. Subsequent bites have nothing to do with the “taste of blood.” In reality, the dog is repeating a behavior that has gotten a desired result in the past.

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Myth: Pit bulls have jaw muscles that can clamp down with (insert high number here) PSI of pressure.

FACT: Many numbers are floating around that claim to be the PSI (pounds per square inch) of pit bulls’ jaw strength. The numbers range wildly, from 800 PSI to 2000 PSI. These numbers are completely unfounded; there are no scientific studies to back any of these numbers up. In fact, bite force cannot even be accurately measured in PSI; the proper term is “pounds of force” or “Newtons” (metric system).

One study conducted by Dr. Brady Barr of National Geographic showed that the average domestic canine has an average bite of 320 pounds of force. In one portion of the documented study, Dr. Barr tested three dog breeds: a German Shepherd, a Rottweiler, and an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT). The Rottweiler bit with 328 pounds of force—the highest ever recorded from a domestic dog. The German Shepherd bit with 238 pounds of force, and the APBT bit with 235 pounds of force.

It is important to understand that bite strength differs depending on the size of the dog, the situation that led to the bite, the dog’s training, and the state of mind the dog is currently in. The damage that a dog does when it bites depends on the location of the bite, the victim’s behavior while being bitten, and the size ratio between dog and victim, among other factors. Breed has very little to do with bite strength or level of damage. You cannot guess the breed of dog that bit a person by looking at the dog bite.