I agree the statistics don't show whether a PBT is more likely to bite, not all dog bites (which ever breed inflicts them) will be serious so may not get reported.
The point is the statistics indicate that of all breeds PBT attacks are responsible for the largest number of dog attack fatalities in the USA.

Given that any legally owned PBT (born pre DDA) in this county would now be nearly 16 years old, whether they are are dangerous or not shouldn't pose a problem for anyone in this country.

Go to google, type Pit Bull attacks and then click news above the box, see how many pages you get and what they contain. Do the same for any other breed and see the difference.
Dawn.

Yes but what I would like to know is why do statistics indicate that of all breeds PBT attacks are responsible for the largest number of fatalities is it the breed or the way they have been treated, because they have attracted the wrong type of owner.


There should not be any pit bulls younger than sixteen years old, but not every one has abided by the law.

I take your point too SBT and I can well believe that the PBT is less likely to show aggression to humans than some other breeds, namely the guarding breeds. The problem seems to be that when a Pitbull does attack, it is more likely to be serious because of selective breeding for fighting qualities that were intended for the pit ie stoicism, high pain threshold, non recognition and display of the submission reflex and suitable build, size and musculature.

I've found some more stats, this time including maiming as well as deaths that should give a broader picture -

"According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states:"

"If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or killed--and that has now created off-the-chart actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as their victims are paying the price."

"Clifton's opinions are as interesting as his statistics. For example, he says, "Pit bulls and Rottweilers are accordingly dogs who not only must be handled with special precautions, but also must be regulated with special requirements appropriate to the risk they may pose to the public and other animals, if they are to be kept at all."

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/stat...ogbiteepidemic



"Of the breeds most often involved in incidents of sufficient severity to be listed, pit bull terriers are noteworthy for attacking adults almost as frequently as children. This is a very rare pattern: children are normally at greatest risk from dogbite because they play with dogs more often, have less experience in reading dog behavior, are more likely to engage in activity that alarms or stimulates a dog, and are less able to defend themselves when a dog becomes aggressive. Pit bulls seem to differ behaviorally from other dogs in having far less inhibition about attacking people who are larger than they are. They are also notorious for attacking seemingly without warning, a tendency exacerbated by the custom of docking pit bulls' tails so that warning signals are not easily recognized. Thus the adult victim of a pit bull attack may have had little or no opportunity to read the warning signals that would avert an attack from any other dog."

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Atta...%20Clifton.pdf

I think we have to ackowledge the high heritabilty of behavioural traits and appreciate that selection for fighting qualities will cause these traits to become established in the breed.

SBT, Pod has given one explanation in her post. As I said in my earlier post one of the biggest problems seems to be some of the people attracted to the image the breed portrays, now put the two things together, bad owner with a badly bred poorly socialised dog/ the breed traits Pod mentions and you have a lethal combination.

another thing that people should remember on these 'Statistics' is, are the really American Pit Bull Terriers, are they cross breeds of a bull or mastiff type? Now media is great for say 'Pitbull killed a child' when they have no clue weather it is a American Pit Bull Terrier, or a cross breed that resembles or even half Pit Bull itself! So try and takes these news article and statistics with a pinch of salt because most of the time they have no idea what they are on about!

As for type in google and comes up with a list of Pit Bull attacks, the reason being is because no one reports, Collie, Lab, toy dogs etc!

Its all media hype and to be a media follower and pointing your point across with media views will not stand with people who own, know or love the breed, because they know different!

Do you think thats because their "attacks" are far less severe Hayley?

I agree, and that is the case with a lot of breeds, not specific to pit bulls.

No, but I am trying to convince you that no other breed, would go out of it's way to seek out a human and attack them!!! Rather like a red rag to a bull so to speak? A leopard on the scent of a prey, that sort of thing. I myself am convinced that no other dog I know/have known/will probably ever know, would ever do such a thing, and yet I have seen with my own eyes (be it on the tv!) a dog of this particular breed actually doing that!

And another thing, usually dogs bite out of fear/sudden aggression/pain/grumpiness/old age, etc. etc. in my opinion these dogs don't, there's something amiss in their geneology/personality, that's what I think if I'm totally honest! Like I said before, they really do scare the pants off me, and I would never want to own one no matter how nice and friendly one seemed on the surface.