Are "Pit Bulls" Different? An Analysis of the Pit Bull Terrier Controversy, by Randall Lockwood and Kate Rindy

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Are "Pit Bulls" Different? An Analysis of the Pit Bull Terrier Controversy, by Randall Lockwood and Kate Rindy, Anthrozoos, Vol. 1 Number... (More) Are "Pit Bulls" Different? An Analysis of the Pit Bull Terrier Controversy, by Randall Lockwood and Kate Rindy, Anthrozoos, Vol. 1 Number 1, 2-8, 1987

This study examines "fighting dog" attack characteristics versus the characteristics of other dog breeds. The study found that "injuries inflicted by pit bulls in the cases we studied are noticeably different from the injuries inflicted in fatal attacks by other breeds." Some of the findings include:

1.) Pit bulls attack their owners far more frequently than other breeds: "Out of the 143 pit bull attacks, 19 (13.3%) involved attacks on the owner; out of the 135 attacks by other breeds, only 3 (2.2%) involved the owner."

2.) The media was "not more likely to report nonserious pit bull bites just because the involve pit bulls," if they did, the authors would have expected to have found a higher proportion of reports in their study of nonserious pit bull bites.

3.) In older individuals, the study showed that pit bulls were more likely than other breeds to inflict multiple injuries: 35% of older pit bull victims received multiple injuries compared with 18.5% of older victims of other breeds.

4.) The study also shows the high number of pit bulls that were restrained at the time of the attack. "In the case of pit bulls bites, 61 of 143 (42%) involved dogs that were fenced, chained or inside prior to the incident. Twenty cases (14%) involved pit bulls that escaped by jumping fences or breaking chains immediately before the attack. Of the 135 cases involving other breeds, 36 (26.7%) involved restrained animals, but only 1 (0.7%) broke restraint to initiate the attack."

5.) An additional distinction between pit bull attacks and attacks by other breeds is that 24.8% of the former involved the victim coming to the aid of an animal or person already injured by the attacking animal. This only occurred in 11.3% of the attacks by other breeds.

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