re: OT discussion topic for Sunday - Why are there so many pitbulls in shelters

Then that goes for any breed that can maul.

Easy. They don’t.
Dogs do not suddenly turn on their people. A dog is not a person, to play the long game and then stab you in the back when you’re least expecting it. Unless they are mentally ill, all dog aggression is provoked by something, and every dog will tell you before they attack

. You just have to be paying attention and know what you’re looking for. If I yell at you that a boulder is about to fall on your head, except I yell it at you in a language you don’t understand, or you were listening to music on your earbuds and didn’t hear me, then the warning is probably not going to be heeded in time.
But that topic has been hashed to death in other answers, and I have a feeling that the “pit bull” part of the question is the most important, anyway. So let’s talk about pit bulls for a minute.
Being the dog of choice for drug dealers and dog fighters for some years now, pit bulls have had a reputation of unpredictable aggression and savage brutality forced onto them. Online websites and blogs talk about how dangerous they are. The media releases story after story about pit bulls attacking, and even killing, defenseless children. Cities and even countries ban citizens from owning them. Goodness, these must be horrific animals, more demon than dog, summoned from the fires of Hell itself!
The reputation, however, is far from the reality of the situation. Here’s why.
1. There’s no such thing as a pit bull. “Pit bull” has become a catch-all phrase referring to a number of dog breeds. How many? Depends on whom you ask. Some say five, others twelve, still others 16. The most common “bully breeds” are the American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Boxer, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier, American Bully, Miniature Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and the Boston Terrier. Yes, that Boston Terrier. Meaning that the tiny toy dog beloved by apartment-goers the world over is technically a pit bull. As is the Target mascot. And Pete from the Little Rascals. Unless you don’t want them to be, because, again, which breeds are pit bulls and which aren’t depends on whom you ask. Some also throw the various bulldog and mastiff breeds into the “pit bull” category, as well.
2. The media loves themselves a good pit bull attack story. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the media sometimes fudges the truth. It probably should come as no surprise that sometimes they outright lie and make stuff up. Not even the major news sites can always resist the siren lure of those sweet, sweet clicks. And those sites have learned that their readers love to read about a pit bull attack. As a result, stories of pit bulls attacking people are often picked up and spread — by news outlets in neighboring communities, by national news outlets, even internationally — whereas literally any other breed of dog attacking people usually only stay local. This isn’t just something I’ve made up — the National Canine Research Council?did a study on media bias and found four separate dog attacks in four separate communities during four consecutive days. Three of those attacks involving a lab mix and two unidentified mixes, including a fatal attack of a 16 month old child, were only reported once or twice by the local newspaper. The fourth incident was a woman that was non-fatally attacked by two pit bulls, and the attack was reported over 230 times in national and international papers, and reported by CNN, NBC, and FOX. This biased reporting has introduced a biased view of pit bulls in the public.
3. Pit bulls are no more aggressive than other common dog breeds — in fact, they’re less aggressive than most. Instead of public opinion and the media, let’s look at science. The American Temperament Test Society?is a non-profit that has tested over 33,000 dogs from hundreds of breeds, "for the promotion of uniform temperament evaluation of purebred and spayed/neutered mixed-breed dogs". The dog is walked on a loose lead, and experiences a series of situations -- some positive, some neutral, some negative -- to test various aspects of their temperment as well as their aggression in what they perceive as a threat. The handler cannot correct or influence the dog in any way. At the end, the dog either passes or fails. The average pass rate, across all breeds, is 83.4%. Of those dogs breeds I listed above as the most common “bully breeds”, every single one rated higher than average. The lowest score went to the boxer, with a passing rate of 83.9%. Several breeds scored above 90%.
5. Most of the time, breed doesn’t matter, anyway. This might seem silly, almost contradictory to everything I’ve said above, but hear me out. We like to talk about dog breeds like they’re the end-all to dog behavior, like they’ll accurately tell us exactly how a dog will react in a certain situations. But the fact is, dogs are individuals. Some are just naturally more aggressive than others, even others in the same breed, even others in the same litter. Some are quicker to protect their family against a threat. Some just really, really hate cats. Some are afraid of cardboard boxes for no apparent reason. Of course, some have come from traumatic situations, and that can drastically change that dog’s personality for life. Then there’s the fact that most pet dogs are mutts. ?which reported that 53% of all dogs are mutts. The author didn’t list his sources, so I have no idea if that’s accurate or not.) A pointer is going to point, a shepherd is going to herd, a setter is going to love the water, a hound is going to roam, etc. So what do you get if you cross a pointer and a shepherd? What kind of behavior can you expect? The answer, of course, is that you have no way of knowing what kind of dog that cross is going to give you until you find out for yourself.
Sources:
Position Statement on Pit Bulls

- ASPCA
The Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics Behind Dog Bites

- HuffPost
Here's What Everyone Gets Wrong About Pit Bulls

- Mic

LINK


- SFGATE
Pit Bull Facts and Why We Love This Breed | CanineJournal.com

- The Canine Journal
What Are Bully Dog Breeds? - Dogtime

Well there are those who do. Too bad most are thrash

Exactly how low must one's I.Q. be to get a pit bull?

I have always assumed it’s because there are more pit bulls out there than other dogs?

Take a look at Craigslist. A million pit bull puppies compared to others.

Why? Idk.

We had our dobermans ears clipped. Our regular vet would not do it so we had to go to a vet in a sketchier area of town.

Whole other discussion, I know. But.

Each time I went back to get his bandages changed there would be pit after pit after pit coming in for being pregnant or just having babies. Seriously more than half of all customers were people breeding pits.

We have gone to our normal vet for 4 years. I have yet to see one pregnant or recently pregnant dog in the waiting room.

Why are so many pit bulls in shelters? Well, go try and tell one it has to sleep out in the rain...