Pit Bulls: Fact and Fiction Trivia Quiz

Answer: The American Staffordshire Terrier

Other breeds referred to as pit bulls include, of course, the American Pit Bull Terrier or APBT and the British version, Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Although some would argue that Staffordshire Bulls are not technically pit bulls but their British cousins, they are referred to by this moniker, particularly in the press, and they are nearly indistinguishable from the smaller specimens of the other two breeds. See http://www.workingpitbull.com/amstaffpit.htm for a more thorough discussion.

Answer: False

Although the United Kennel Club (UKC) was in fact founded for the purpose of registration and fighting guidelines for the APBT, the American Staffordshire Terrier was not registered with the AKC until 1936, and that organization still does not acknowledge the APBT.

Answer: The Ford Motor Company dog

Although Ford did have a dog as a mascot in the 1950's, he was not a pit bull. The Little Rascals' Petey (with that memorable circle around his eye) also starred in a series of "Buster Brown" comedies before joining "Our Gang." Pit Bulls were also used in print ads for the Buster Brown company. And although "Nipper," the original RCA dog, was a Fox Terrier mix and NOT a pit bull, at the height of pit bull popularity around WWI, RCA did use pit bulls in their ads.

More currently, pit bulls have appeared in a Jennifer Lopez music video (running alongside her bike in the video for "I'm Glad") and as the pet of the titular character on the UPN show "Veronica Mars."

Answer: Herbert Hoover

Other famous owners include Fred Astaire, Michael J. Fox, James Caan, Jack Dempsey, Vin Diesel, Alicia Silverstone, and Sir Walter Scott.

Answer: True

Okay, so this was a given. The dog, an American Staffordshire Terrier mix, was named Stubby and also earned the rank of Sergeant.

Answer: Pit bulls were bred to be dog aggressive

In 1835, when the sport of bull baiting was outlawed, gamesters needed a new blood sport to turn to. Depending on the source you consult, pit bulls were created either for the sport of "ratting" (fighting and killing a rat in a pit) or for the purpose of dog fighting. Whatever their original purpose, dog fights soon became popular with this breed--which necessitated breeding a dog that was aggressive toward other dogs and willing to fight them. Because of this, responsible owners should enroll their pit bull in obedience classes, socialize early and often, and avoid off leash dog parks. They should certainly never let their dog meet other dogs unsupervised.

As for the rest of those myths--just because a breed is animal aggressive, it is not automatically human aggressive. Historically, pit bull trainers worked in the pit alongside their dogs while the dogs were in full fight mode. Therefore, the dogs were bred specifically NOT to be human aggressive and any sign of human aggression in a pit bull is a very serious flaw. And although pit bulls do have very strong jaws (a characteristic that comes from their bull dog ancestry) their jaws are not that different from the jaws of other breeds--they can no more "lock their jaws" than could a pekingnese. And as much as the media would like us to believe that only pit bulls attack human beings, bite statistics tell us a different story. Dogs of more popular (and seemingly "harmless") breeds head up the majority of these lists. Moreover, many media sources attribute bites to pit bulls regardless of the dog's actual breed--and often pit bulls are blamed by the police or victims without being certain of this fact. After all, how many people are familiar with the various dog breeds? How many could tell a pit bull apart from a boxer? And pit bull biting stories are sensationalized because no one wants to hear a story about "Fluffy" the family poodle biting the neighbor's children.

Answer: Pit bull owners are sometimes required to report ownership of this breed to neighbors.

It is possible that somewhere pit bull owners are forced to report to their neighbors--however, I am unaware of any examples of this policy. Pit bulls ARE often the target of breed specific legislation (BSL), though, either making it illegal to own (train, breed, etc.) the dogs in a city/county, or making it extremely difficult to own the dogs there (requiring liability insurance for owners, making licensing costs higher for certain breeds, etc.).

Answer: False

Pit bulls are excellent climbers and consummate escape artists. There are even some pit bulls that can climb trees, like a cat. Don't believe it? There is a photo on: http://www.pitbullregistry.com/american%20pitbull%20terrier%20breed%20profile.htm

Answer: Guard dog

Pit bulls excel at search and rescue, agility, obedience--and many other activities (such as flyball, service dog, ring sport, weight pull and more!). However, making allowances for the fact that dogs differ within a breed and have their own individual preferences, pit bulls make poor guard dogs because (as stated earlier) they are bred to be people friendly, and many pit bulls will enthusiastically welcome strangers into the house or onto their property even when their owners aren't home.

Answer: It keeps the dogs in touch with their feminine side

There is no reason that dogs should be allowed to fight, let alone encouraged to do so. It is cruel and inhumane, and encourages cruelty and violence in the human beings who participate in or watch this brutal "sport." The fighting itself is animal abuse of the most heinous variety, but the practice also encourages owners to think of these sentient creatures as "things" and perpetrate other gross cruelties upon them--such as starvation (to make the dogs more "eager" to fight), ear cropping done without a trained professional, horrendous living conditions, etc.