The Pros and Cons

"For most of the 114 years since the American  pit bull terrier was first recognized by the United Kennel Club, the breed was rightly seen as the perfect "nanny dog" for children because of its friendly nature, loyalty and stability", as the article In Defense of the Pit Bull puts it. As you already might know there are many different points of view on how to feel about the breed of the pit bull. One of the most common one is the pros and cons. A lot of people might think that the pit bull is a safe dog. That it brings no harm or danger, but there are also those who think we should get rid of them.

As we take a look at this issue, the article In defense of the Pit Bull gives a good point on why this breed is harmless. The author of this article agrees that the dog can be aggressive and that they can be fierce full, but he has his reasons to why they are safe. As he says it in this article it all depends on the owner. If they are owned by a good person, then they will learn to protect them. If they are owned by a bad person, then they will use them for bad purposes like dog fights or in gangs to scare off other gangs. So the only reason they would use the pit bull is for its strength. Even though they do have a tendency to have significantly more criminal behavior than most of the others, is because they have bad owners who puts them in a situation to harm others. "Meanwhile advocates say that pit bulls are the most frequently abused, tortured, abandoned and euthanize breed of dog in the United States." As the author explains that because the pit bull is tortured, their aggressiveness displacement is put towards future owners.

In 2008 a California man was killed by one or more pit bulls, and the incident was reported by more then 285 media outlets. But in Jersey when a kid was killed by a Siberian Husky only 12 media outlets reported the incident. This just shows how the media tries to get people to think that the pit bull is a dangerous dog, even when they are just as dangerous as any other dog. According to DogsBite.org, "The pit bull's genetics are not in dispute. Many appellate courts agree that pit bulls pose a significant danger to society and can be regulated accordingly." With this being said is not the owners fault that have caused their aggression, it is their genes. Studies have been shown that the pit bull is naturally aggressive, and that their high pain tolerance is to never give up on a fight. From 2005 and 2013, pit bulls killed 175 Americans, about one citizen every 18 days, as the article puts it.

Even though these statistics show the horrible side of the pit bull, the owners have a major influence on how they behave. They do show sings of aggressiveness even when they are trained to behave in a good way, but mostly to show protection. The pit bull can cause serious bites that lead a lot of people into hospitals, but the truth is every dog is able to do that. They all have the potential to be aggressive weather they are being trained or weather they have it in their genes. We have to understand that if we don't help these type of breed to be a better dog, they will not help themselves.

Work Cited:
1. Holland, Joshua JH. "In Defense of the Pit Bull." Saloncom RSS. Salon Media Group, 5 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://www.salon.com/2013/02/05/in_defense_of_the_pitbull_partner>.

2. DogsBite. "Pit Bull FAQ - DogsBite.org." DogsBite.org. Lynn Media Group, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pit-bull-faq.php>.