Do's and Don'ts Concerning Vicious Dogs, by Donald H Clifford

In 1993, the AVMA Professional Liability Insurance Trust published a safety manual regarding vicious dogs. The manual specifically designates "pit bulls and rotweillers" as dogs that "personify vicious behavior in dogs." It also notes that: "The three breeds that have been associated with the term 'pit bull' are the Staffordshires or Staffordshire Terriers (AKC), American Pit Bull Terriers (UKC, ADBA) and American Staffordshire Bull Terriers (AKC). American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers have been cross-registered or dual-registered and are considered to be the same dog."

The manual is jam packed with information regarding the "unique" dangers presented by pit bulls, as well as the genetic traits that drive these dangers. The number of examples that embody these unique dangers demonstrated by pit bulls is far too many to list, some of which are explosive. Page 5, figure 9 even shows the famous "fence jumping" pit bull; the illustration was stems from the Sports Illustrated cover article by EM Swift (See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6472271/Th....

Today's AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), however, strongly opposes pit bull regulations and instead supports the "environmental" notion that "It's all in how you raise them." So while the safety manual produced by the group in 1993 primarily talks about the dog's dangerous genetic traits (which have nothing to do with environmental factors), the AVMA tells the public that genetics has nothing to do with a pit bull's deadly attack traits, "It's all in how you raise them."

Bibliography:
Clifford, Donald H, et al. "Dos and Don'ts Concerning Vicious Dogs." Chicago; AVMA Professional Liability Insurance Trust, 1993.