Our beloved Pit Bull had been in the "hot spot" for years due to lack of information and false accusations of people who do not understand and knows nothing about them.
Unfortunately, the "media" who's supposed to "inform" people and educate them had been the major contributor to this falsely orchestrated perception on the dog just to get mileage on their reports.
Here are a few of the many misconceptions around.
- Pit bulls are wild and dangerous :
This is by far the most unfair and damaging misconception on the poor dog's reputation. Pit bulls were victims of media hype and bad ownership. In Fact, according to the American Canine Temperament Testing Association, the American Pit Bull Terriers had a passing score of 82.5% compared to a 77% average passing score for all breeds. Pit bulls actually achieved the fourth highest passing rate of all 122 breeds tested.
- Pit bulls have locking jaws :
There was a study done in the University of Georgia that disproves this myth upon careful study of the scientists who performed the research. They have found no special or unique feature on a Pit Bull's jaw that will enable it to lock when they bite on to something.
- Pit Bulls have high tolerance to pain :
A lot of people say that Pit Bulls have high pain tolerance, or simply does not feel pain at all. The misconception that a pit bull does not feel pain comes from the breed’s tendency to under react in physically stressful situations. Pit bulls were originally bred for a high level of “gameness,” meaning they will continue to try and complete a task despite physical discomfort. While many people feel a pit bull not stopping to whine or cry out during stressful training or hunting sessions is a sign of a lack of pain, it is actually a sign of the breed’s desire to complete a task and please their owners.
- Pit Bulls are bred for fighting :
Originally, Pit Bulls were used mostly for hunting because of their gameness and occasional fighting but that was a long time ago. Yes there are still reports of dog fightings just like in the case of the Laguna Pitbulls where hundreds of dogs were rescued from a south korean dog fighting syndicate and is now in the care of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and other animal groups in the Philippines. However, the majority of modern breeders choose to breed pit bulls to be family companions and not for fighting.
