Pit Bulls

[Becks19]

While it's certainly smart to get to know a dog before you trust it, the belief that pit bulls have very strong and/or lockable jaws is extremely common but false. Jaw strength in any dog is largely related to size; pit bull jaw strength has been measured around 235 psi, a little less than a German Shepherd and far less than a Rottweiler. Of course it's still strong enough to cause significant damage, and as I said before, it is always smart to be wary of dogs you don't know (especially chained up dogs; a dog that is chained up and ignored is a bite waiting to happen).

I remember watching Nat Geo featuring Dr. Brady Barr doing bite force tests on all types of animals, including dogs. The dogs that were tested were the Rottweiler, German Shep, and an American Pit bull Terrier. The results may surprise you.

Show Spoiler

I would never want to be bitten by a rottie he came out on top.

Domestic dogs: 320 LBS of pressure on avg. A German Shepherd Dog, American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), and Rottweiler were tested using a bite sleeve equipped with a specialized computer instrument. The APBT had the least amount of pressure of the 3 dogs tested.

http://dogfacts.wordpress.com/2008/0...ressure-tests/

[Todash]

I remember watching Nat Geo featuring Dr. Brady Barr doing bite force tests on all types of animals, including dogs. The dogs that were tested were the Rottweiler, German Shep, and an American Pit bull Terrier. The results may surprise you.

Show Spoiler

I would never want to be bitten by a rottie he came out on top.

Domestic dogs: 320 LBS of pressure on avg. A German Shepherd Dog, American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), and Rottweiler were tested using a bite sleeve equipped with a specialized computer instrument. The APBT had the least amount of pressure of the 3 dogs tested.

http://dogfacts.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/national-geographics-dr-brady-barrs-bite-pressure-tests/

Thanks! I looked for that yesterday, but the link I found was broken. (FYI: Hippopotami have been measured at 1821 pounds. They can snap a croc--or human--in half. )

[Becks19]

Thanks! I looked for that yesterday, but the link I found was broken. (FYI: Hippopotami have been measured at 1821 pounds. They can snap a croc--or human--in half. )

Todash, you're welcome! Glad I could help! (I know, hippos are responsible for many human deaths...)

[CarrieJo]

Siggie! I'm sorry to hear of your experience! That sounds terrifying. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if I was in your shoes. And I believe that this would have a huge effect on how you look at Pits from now on. They can be extremely dangerous. But that owner shouldn't have those dogs in her care. She cannot handle having dogs that strong and powerful. I'm a huge advocate for the 'dangerous breeds'. Especially Rottweilers. I have my own Grizzly (Rott) and I have worked hard to train him and to make sure he knows what's right and what's wrong. I trust him completely to listen to me and to be kind to those who pose no threat. That being said I would NEVER approach any other Rott, Pit, Shepherd, Doberman, etc... without caution and and an observant eye. You never know what you're going to get. My boyfriend drives drives for FedEx and has tons of stories of all kinds of dogs being intimidating. A couple Labs were getting so intense that he left without even getting out of the truck and their package went with him.
So yes, be very careful around those Pits (or any dog), but I hope you can learn in time to not damn the entire breed.

[Jojo87]

I am so glad to hear you are safe Siggie. And sorry to hear about it.
You and your friend had a guardian angle with you once again.
My friends rottweiler attacked my horse years ago and I was pretty sure that
the dog had killed my pony but nope after we got the dog off my pony, the pony stand up
and only got few scratches on her leg. Again a guardian angle was with us.
Some dogs can be very aggressive. Be careful.

[kingricefan]

I am so glad to hear you are safe Siggie. And sorry to hear about it.
You and your friend had a guardian angle with you once again.
My friends rottweiler attacked my horse years ago and I was pretty sure that
the dog had killed my pony but nope after we got the dog off my pony, the pony stand up
and only got few scratches on her leg. Again a guardian angle was with us.
Some dogs can be very aggressive. Be careful.

A dog brought down your pony??? Now, that IS scary! I'll say it again- cats can't do stuff like this (although my niece has a cat that just scares the bejesus out of me!!).

[Jojo87]

A dog brought down your pony??? Now, that IS scary! I'll say it again- cats can't do stuff like this (although my niece has a cat that just scares the bejesus out of me!!).

Oh yes and we all tried to shout to the dog. But nothing helped and then my friends boyfriend (who's really is the dogs owner)
goes and drag the dog off my pony. Was really scary have to admit that.

[Neesy]

A dog brought down your pony??? Now, that IS scary! I'll say it again- cats can't do stuff like this (although my niece has a cat that just scares the bejesus out of me!!).

Is that what they call a "Dog and Pony Show"?

[Neesy]

Something interesting: only one of the dogs below is a pit bull. The others are purebred, but not pits--just breeds commonly mistaken for pit bulls. (There are many more similar breeds, but the MB allows a max of five images per post.) I do not mean to downplay the very real issue of dog attacks, nor the very real appeal that pit bulls have (because of their reputation) for a certain element of society. But misinformation protects no one. It's important in any case to know the truth, or at least to know when we don't know what the truth is.

Okay - so which one is actually a pit bull? I think the second one from the left is a boxer...

[Sundrop]

(((((Siggy))))) I'm glad noth you and your friend are okay. I probably would have peed my pants from being scared so badly.