| Driving down the driveway of a friends house, I | | | | ears, black or red nose and weight ranging anywhere |
| notice two Pit Bull dogs running over to the fence | | | | from under 20 pounds all the way up to 100 pounds. |
| barking like crazy. My immediate reaction is | | | | They have blocky heads with very powerful jaws. |
| nervousness. If instead, it was two Golden | | | | They have a short shiny coat, similar to a |
| Retrievers...would I still be nervous...the answer is of | | | | Rottweilers, covering a very muscular compact body. |
| course not. I am basically profiling these dogs. And | | | | Pit Bull type dogs and Rottweilers have received lots |
| yes, they may be mean and aggressive or they may | | | | of negative attention in the United States. Dogs that |
| not. I am simply judging them from things that I read | | | | have been bred for fighting and killing other animals |
| and hear from the media. A Golden Retriever may | | | | have been described with the term Pit Bull type dogs. |
| bite someone, but it is just not as sensational and | | | | These dogs have many common characteristics such |
| does not make a good news story. | | | | as powerful, exaggerated jaw muscles, large |
| "What exactly is a Pit Bull?" They are not a specific | | | | physique and thick necks and shoulders. |
| breed. It is basically a generic mix like Retriever or | | | | Restrictions have been placed on certain breeds in |
| Hound. The breeds referred to as Pit Bulls are the | | | | different states. Some homeowners that own certain |
| American Staffordshire Terrier, which is the term | | | | profiled dogs are being denied insurance. Statistically, |
| used by the American Kennel Club, and the American | | | | Pit Bull Terriers, followed by Rottweilers and German |
| Pit Bull Terrier, the term used by the United Kennel | | | | Shepherds are being cited in dog attacks that are |
| Club. | | | | fatal. In the last twenty years, 1/3 of the attacks |
| People who fight Pit Bulls refer to their animals as | | | | were placed on the Pit Bull Terriers. |
| Bulldogs. They should not be confused with the | | | | When the unfortunate incident of a dog attack |
| pug-faced and bowlegged English bulldog, a distant | | | | occurs, it is not just a dog bite by a mean, |
| relative, or the Bull Terrier, another relative whose | | | | aggressive dog. It is usually being at the wrong place |
| bloodline was cross bred long ago with the English | | | | at the wrong time...the wrong dog in the wrong |
| Terrier. These dogs come in almost any color. Their | | | | surroundings in the hands of the wrong person. The |
| characteristics can range from cropped or uncropped | | | | whole situation is just plain wrong. |