Yep, this is the answer. Tons of people are trying to cash in on dog breeding like beaniebabies. Frenchies, pitties (including XXL toadline monstrosities), random mixes (shitpoos, bernadoodles, cockadoodles, etc), etc. Breeding rights, stud fees, etc. are big business and essentially none of these "breeders" have any clue what they're doing.

In the vast majority of places in the US, there are no requirements or certifications needed to breed dogs. And now people will pay insane amounts of money for frenchies with rare coat colors, or pitbulls that are bred solely to be huge and squat with no concern about temperament or health; so irresponsible, backyard breeders who either ignore or are completely ignorant of proper breeding practice and refuse to get or can't afford proper genetic testing and medical care for their animals, are breeding for phenotypes like coat color or being insanely huge and squat and breeding in serious congenital defects and abnormalities.

Then either buyers are stuck with these shitty, genetically fucked up dogs they paid like $5k-10k for that now need thousands more in veterinary care to treat all the issues bred into the dog (not to mention parvo, parasites, heartworms, etc.). Or the breeder's little business collapses when they realize that they can't afford to continue operating their shitty puppymill due to the fact that dog breeding is expensive and their fucked up breeds can't give natural birth and so all need c-sections. But, it's usually the first one because there are no shortage of buyers willing to pay stupid amounts of money and trust the "breeders" because they assume they're experts.

So people often end up dumping the dogs when they realize they can't care for them medically or are aggressive or whatever else, while backyard breeders continue to pump out fucked up dogs for profit.

Yup. It needs to be a crime punishable by fines and prison time. The average lifetime cost of owning a dog can be as high as $50,000. Use that as a baseline for fining people who breed dogs while shelters are turning them away.

Pitbulls, pit mixes, and the occasional incredibly neurotic Chihuahua (rated the most aggressive breed when individual dog owners have been surveyed on their own dogs' behaviors).

Be mindful when reading the sources. This is a very polarizing debate, and it isn't really as clear as "pitbulls are little angelbaby velvethippos" or "pitbulls are vicious killing machines".

Pitbull is a range of phenotypes, not a breed. What we call pitbulls commonly are a mix of boxers, Am Staffs, bulldogs, american pit bull terriers, bull terriers, etc. So, we're relying on police to ID these dogs after a bite has been reported, and so a large number of aggressive individuals of a variety of breeds/mutts might get lumped into "pitbull" by cops.

Also, dog attacks are more likely to occur in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods where dog ownership practices are often less responsible, and cops are more likely to be in the first place. Pitbull-type dogs are more likely to be owned by lower SES individuals (in part because they're so prevalent, but also due to cultural factors). So, it is likely that pitbull-type dogs are overrepresented by these statistics.

That said, it is wild that people claim that breeding does not impact behavior. Pitbulls and various bully breeds have often been bred to be aggressive and to guard territory, just like Cattle Dogs have been bred to nip at heels and keep creatures in a herd. Any cattle dog owner will tell you that their dog exhibits herding behavior even if it's never seen a cow or sheep. It's the same with some pitbulls and they happen to have one of the strongest bites of any type of dog coupled with a behavior where they latch on to the thing they've bitten and won't let go, but will continue to thrash around causing major tissue damage. Contrast that to German Shepherds, another dog that makes up a large number of dog bite cases. Their bite force is less on average than that of a pitbull and most German Shepherd bites are fear-aggression related because GSDs are extremely neurotic and anxious (also due to breeding), so GSDs tend to bite and release unless they're specifically bite trained, like for police work.

So anyway, just be aware that both sides of this debate try to put spin on it, but breed characteristics do matter, and our recordkeeping of dog breeds and bite statistics is flawed essentially due to the problems extant in law enforcement broadly.

The stats are easily manipulated by either side. The fact of the matter is that, given the number of attacks on humans and animals by pit bulls, and the average age of pits, roughly 1 in 10,000 pits will attack something in their life. This is an order of magnitude more frequent than rottweilers (the next most dangerous breed), and when a pit bull attacks, it's more likely to kill its victim than any other dog breed.

1 in 10,000 is large enough for some people to say the whole breed needs to be euthanized, it's small enough for some people to say that it's negligible, and it's at just the right spot for me to say that it should be illegal to breed them, but existing ones shouldn't be euthanized.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/dog-attack-statistics-breed/

Dog Attack Statistics by Breed

Many dog advocates argue that there is no such thing as a bad breed, only a bad owner. Still, it can be helpful to understand which breeds of dogs are most commonly involved in bite incidents or acts of aggression. Dog attacks by breed statistics are invaluable both for individuals looking for a dog to adopt as well as for those who interact with animals who want to minimize risk.

The breed that commits the most attacks overall is pit bulls.

Pit bulls are involved in more dog attacks than any other breed. In fact, the American Animal Hospital Association reports this breed was responsible for 22.5% of bites across all studies. Mixed breeds were a close second at 21.2% and German Shepherds were the third most dangerous breed, involved in 17.8% of bite incidents.⁶

The breed that is most likely to be involved in a fatal attack is pit bulls.

Pit bulls are both more likely to be involved in bite incidents and more likely to cause serious injury or death when a bite does occur. In fact, from 1979 to 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined pit bulls were involved in the most fatal dog attacks, accounting for 28% deaths due to dog bites during that same time period.⁷

I'll add, I like pitties. I'll also advise taking this with a grain of salt as so many mixed breed dogs fall into the pitbull umbrella.

All you've gotta do is Google 'human fatalities by dog breed chart" the numbers are all that matters, and frankly I'm annoyed that the data isn't enough to deter people from owning these dogs. A friend from grade school had 1 attack his daughter to the point where the kid was hospitalized. They had that dog euthanized, and went right out and got another pit bull. You can't fix stupid.

The shelters that do kill dogs don't just kill aggressive dogs though, they kill dogs they think nobody will want too. My boss has the most beautiful dog I've ever seen but he's deaf so you have to communicate with him through hand movements. Before she got him the shelter was going to kill him in a few weeks. This wasn't a Pit or any other dog some people think are inherently aggressive The thought that they would have killed this dog if my boss's boyfriend hadn't noticed how special he was, haunts me every time I think about it.

Correct me if there is data suggesting otherwise, but I dusagree that the "not kill" laws are stupid - I think the problem is that shelters don't have enough funding to care for all dogs. A law which protects animals from getting killed cannot, in my opinion, be a bad law - because every life, even that of a dog, is worth fighting for.

They breed them to sell to other people, who then give them up to shelters when they can't handle them.

Puppies are the worst idk who prefers them over trained adult dogs

I completely agree with this! I love Pit Bulls and have experienced a lot of them being the most loving dogs ever. Watch out for that whip/tail when they are happy! They are the Nanny Dog for a reason.

You really need to understand a breed and see if it fits your lifestyle. I could not have my neighbors Australian Shepherd or my other neighbors Belgian Malinois those dog are way to smart for me and need to be very active and always doing things to work their brains or they get bored and get into shit

Mastiffs are extremely protective of their owners and it gives people the impression they are aggressive. Same with the Cane Corso. Both dogs are more defensive then aggressive, but the potential is still there especially when owned by people who easily dump dogs. You know they didn't bother training them which is the main issue

A rare example of a legit amazing human being. Thank you for restoring some faith in humanity for me!

I assume you mean you'll cover the euthanasia, right?

I used these for a bit but one of my cats is picky and won't use them to poop. She would pee on them though. She will only use fine clay litter 😞

Yeah mine is so cheap, and will go so far out of the way to help my dogs. Way out in the sticks. By sticks I mean these guys do half livestock/half pets.

This has been said so many times it's boring: chihuahua with a bad owner never killed anyone.
Also: would you support mandatory background checks, permits and training for pit bull owners? To make sure that they only go to good owners...

That's not what the data shows though. The vast majority of dog attacks are by pitbulls.

Kids killed by pit bulls make me sadder.

What is ignorant about it? I see a ton of facts. I’ve long said pit bulls are the assault rifles of the dog world. Much like it is easy to claim every gun and every dog can be dangerous with the wrong owner, somehow when a tragedy happens is is disproportionately one particular type at the center.

Arguably not more aggressive, but definitely more damaging and lethal.

Do they do anything that other dogs can't do? Besides killing people. What's the benefit of having pit bulls?

Do you perhaps know what the word "pit" in the name pitbull stands for?

But they are for more capable of killing/maiming and kill more often than other breeds.

Don't be a a bigot, one baby snack once in a while and pities are the most peaceful animals on earth, did I already told you that they are nanny dogs? Anyways just put a crown flower on them, the smell of flowers helps with the bloodlust.

I would love some sources on their temperament compared to other dogs.

There are other dogs that are as aggressive or even more aggressive than Pitbulls, but the problem is that Pitbulls just don't want to let go when they attack. A pitbull attack typically doesn't stop until something is dead or severely maimed. The two main ways to stop a Pitbull attack are to kill the dog, or choke it unconscious. That's why when they do attack it is so much more likely to be fatal.

We definitely should require all Pitbulls to be spayed and neutered, and make them illegal to breed.

I think a large bit of this is who statistically breeds them and why. They're a popular intimidation breed for lowlives and dog-fighter scum.

Pits can be the sweetest of animals, but I think a large part of this correlation is the simple fact that dealer houses happen to have no interest in killer poodles or pugs to keep rivals and cops at bay.

Maybe part of the reason is they're the most common dog?

The paper in the video linked showed German Shephards attacked the most people (all reported attacks, not just fatal).

Another problem is pitbulls aren't a well-defined breed with clear, "pure" bloodlines. There are a lot of different kinds of "pitbulls." Some pitbulls definitely are very aggressive, some are not at all.

I have a smaller pitbull (adopted from a shelter), and I've never seen her act aggressively toward a person. She is well behaved at dog parks and kennels with free-play with other dogs.

One issue is that the data cited often is collected from news stories with the breed of the dog being guessed at more often than not. This leads to two significant problems. One is that any dog attack that's reported on will probably be severe. Other dog bites that are serious but non-sensational will not be counted. Two is that the dogs breed is haphazardly guessed at by either reporters or involve parties. Simply looking at a dog, especially a mix, it can be difficult to ascertain the breed and so one might just call them a Pitbull as a guess. Although I can't find data I would assume that pit bulls are used more often than other breeds for dog fighting, but I am ready to look at statistics and sources rather than simply confirm my own biases.

The point is the data comes from newspapers and media, which inaccurately reports dog breeds consistently, over reports certain breeds and under reports others. Through the 80s and 90s the media fearmongered about pitbull attacks, and this was mostly linked to the drug war and racism. So, there is no good data to go on. All the “studies” just cite these media reports.

It’s why the CDC and Humane Society oppose breed-specific legislation.

Edit: Downvotes don’t make this comment wrong. It just means you’re trying to suppress a truth you don’t like. The fact that the Humane Society and CDC are on my side says something about the quality of the evidence in this case. Are you all also anti-vaxxers and Q-Anon followers?

Police

there's your problem

Police use pitbulls? Haven't heard of this. Any additional details?

Nobody is going to adopt an aggressive dog, unless the refuge lies about it, as so often they do.

Her name is Sasha and she is grey. She's an adorable little chunk and weighs about 40lbs. There's a lot of varying information about how old that might mean she is and I think she might also be a kind of mix so that complicates it further. She gets scared fairly early. She's growled at me a couple times. She's so super polite when she wants something! I almost got her to bark once. At lvl 24 she'll evolve into a houndoom! We're practically all about positive reinforcement, but she's super receptive to a gentle "no". I think someone at her old place might have cut her whiskers. She has an extra toe! You can see it in the picture!

Any dog is capable of maiming people. A full face muzzle and a pinch collar keeps that from happening. So, like I said. If people took the proper precautions. Then a dog attack can’t happen. But they think that their dog loves everyone like the dog loves its family.

So if a dog attack is fully preventable. Then it is the owners fault.

I have a fucking standard poodle that works on the same rules. It's not a pit thing, it's a dog thing

Explain... what exactly, 10-15 years ago? Overcrowded animal shelters?

Sure, you find the numbers on animal shelter capacity nationwide going back 20 years, divided up by breed, how many stayed how long, how many were refused etc...

Was there an overcrowding of animal shelters 10 to 15 years ago, I dont even know.

If there was, then well 10 to 15 years ago was the Housing Bubble / Financial Panic / Great Recession, so that would also make sense.