I own an American Pit Bull Terrier, and I did a TON of research on the breed before I bought one (I collected so much info, I was able to give an 18 minute speech for a communications class on them from memory).
My sources were both online and books on the breed.
I can clear up some things here.
1.
Bull Dogs of all types WERE bred for animal aggression (to fight bulls, bears, and other dogs depending on the time period and animal abuse laws in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, where the breeds originally developed).
2.
Animal aggression is not the same trait as human aggression. Guarding breeds like German Shepherds and Rottweilers were historically bred to be wary of strangers, and are better choices for Schutzhund (guard/attack dog) training.
3.
The reason Pit Bulls were known as "Nanny Dogs" in America was because of the frontier nature of early American life, if you lived on the frontier, you wanted a companion for your children that could handle bears, wolves, snakes, other dogs etc.
4.
Modern Pit Bulls vary in their aggressive tendencies, because they are bred for many different purposes (some illegal and some legal).
As a general rule of thumb, it is UNNATURAL (i.e reflecting unstable breeding or abuse) for a Pit Bull to be human aggressive, but some will be aggressive towards other animals regardless of how bred or raised.
5.
When I see a Pit Bull or "Bully Breed" on the street, I immediately look at the owners, not the dog, to determine how the dog has been raised.
Generally if the human is tying to convey menace through his clothing or demeanor, I am wary of the dog as well. The race of the owner is not really an issue, white rednecks like mean dogs as much as black or latino thugs.
6.
When dog fighting was legal, one of the rules was the dogs were put down if they bit either owner or the referee of the fight, some Bull dog enthusiasts cite this as evidence that the breed actually had human aggression selected out of them more so than other breeds.
7.
I asked my vet about this stuff, she said in general, larger stronger dogs were less likely to bite or be aggressive than smaller breeds, the problem is no one calls the cops wen an ill tempered chihuahua bites someone, but strong breeds do so much damage that hospital/police reports are inevitable.
8.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the reproductive status of the dog(fixed or unfixed), sex of the dog (males are more aggressive), presence of other dogs, and age of the victim were all greater factors in dog attack fatalities than the breed involved.
9.
Pit Bull attacks tend to go over reported for a variety of reasons.
There are over twenty breeds of dog that can be easily mistaken for "Pit Bull" type dogs.
Can you find the American Pit Bull Terrier?
Mixed breed dogs are frequently entered into reports as "Pit Bull Type" or "Pit Bull Mix" when the owners/victims/officer writing the report has no idea the actual parentage of the mutt in question.
The behavior of my unfixed female pretty much reflects what I read before purchasing her. She is dominant towards other dogs, but has never attacked or injured one. Small animals are on the menu.
She chases cats if they run, but if its a mean cat it stands its ground and claws her face up- cat uninjured. She loves people of all types, but she has knocked down children when jumping up to lick their face.
I have to be careful with her around kids just because of her size and strength, not because she is aggressive.
