Prejudice Against Pit Bulls

I’m sure that almost everyone has heard the claims that pit bulls are an inherently dangerous breed. Despite evidence showing that pit bulls are in no way naturally a dangerous dog, many people automatically assume that any pit bull will be a violent dog. In actuality, pit bulls are some of the sweetest and loving dogs I’ve ever met — and I’ve met a lot of dogs. What people don’t seem to consider is that any dog that is owned by a cruel and/or irresponsible owner is likely to hurt someone.

Pit bulls are often picked by dog fighters because of their stereotype of being violent and due to this are abused and mistreated until they can barely remember how to be a normal dog. Since all they’ve known is violence and mistreatment, its hard for them to adjust if they get rescued from the dog fighting rings. And because of this people judge them more harshly when they are skittish, not trusting of humans, and violent. Due to the prejudice against pit bulls that this stereotyping has caused many states to have bans or allow bans to be placed against certain types of dogs. Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, Louisiana, and Kentucky are the 10 worst states to live in if you have a dog that is/or resembles any bully breed, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Chow Chows, etc. For an example on how restricting it can be in these states in the town of Harper Woods, Michigan section 4-28 of the municipal code states: “While not breed specific, the following breeds of dogs shall be considered suspect as vicious and potentially dangerous: Akita, Alaskan Malamute, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Doberman Pinscher, English Bull Terrier, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Presa Canario, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Siberian Husky, Wolf Hybrid and/or any mixed breed of the above.” And I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty breed specific to me.

As someone who is an avid dog lover and has a dog that resembles a pit bull — she’s a mutt who was dropped off in the middle of nowhere when her previous owners didn’t want her, so we don’t know what breeds she’s made of — this is a topic that is really personal to me. Mable, my dog, is quite literally the sweetest dog I’ve ever met and when I take her on walks my neighbors are often distrustful and won’t allow her to get close to them or their dogs. All she wants is to make new friends with both humans and pets, but instead she gets judged and automatically distrusted because people presume she will be violent. Obviously, if I hadn’t made this clear, I’m against banning breeds and prejudice against certain breeds over misconceptions on the breed. Every dog is an individual and should be treated like one instead of being automatically lumped in the dangerous category.

Fun Fact: 58 cities in Missouri have outright dog breed bans in place. And Missouri is ranked #4 on the worse states to live in if you have a pit bull or any of the other breeds listed above.

Kaelynn Wyatt