•What is a "pit bull"?

•Pit bull myths and facts

•The pit bull (over)population problem

•Obtaining a pit bull

•Ownership issues

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•Breed-specific legislation

•Dog bites / Dog safety

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•Felanie and Dozer

The Pit Bull (Over)Population Problem

Looking to get a pit bull? I can produce thousands of available pitties in the blink of an eye. Just click here. On 8/20/05, Petfinder listed 4984 "pit bull terriers", 1840 "American Staffordshire Terriers", and 540 "Staffordshire Bull Terriers" available nationwide. Compare this total of 7364 "pit bull"-type dogs to other breeds listed. The only breed to top that number is the Labrador Retriever, with 12,589 listed dogs (and I should note - a large number of dogs listed on Petfinder as "pit bull terriers" are also listed as Labs, so it's likely a big chunk of those 12,000+ Labs are actually pit/Lab mixes). The only breed to come close is the German Shepherd Dog, with 6786 individuals.

Update 3/14/06: Total number of "pit bull"-type dogs on Petfinder is now at 8852. This is an increase of 1488 dogs. Labs are now at 12,960 - an increase of only 371 dogs. GSDs total 6541 - a decrease of 245.

The 7,000+ pit bulls you can find through the above link are available at shelters registered with Petfinder only. Hundreds of thousands of available pit bulls can be found at shelters and rescue groups that don't use Petfinder. Shelters in large cities across the nation find themselves with a pit bull population of anywhere from 40% to 60% or more of the total shelter population (national average is 33%). Many shelters needing more space will opt to euthanize pit bulls before any other type of dog. Some shelters don't bother to put pit bulls up for adoption at all. A study by Animal People reports that the pit bull euthanasia rate in shelters is at approximately 93% on average.

Pit bulls have a very hard time finding the right home. They are in high demand among dog fighters, thugs, punks, drug dealers, and people looking for a status symbol. Loving homes and responsible owners are in short supply, and most of those individuals seek out other breeds and avoid the dreaded monster known as "pit bull". The pit bull's tendency toward dog-aggression also makes it a breed-type that frequently does best as an "only dog", further limiting the number of good homes available to it. (I personally would love to get another pit bull, but my male dog won't stand for it.)

Pit bulls do not just appear out of thin air - they are created by breeders. Every litter of pit bull puppies that breeders churn out adds to the severe overpopulation problem that directly results in the deaths of millions of pit bulls every year. Breeders give various excuses like "I want to improve the breed" or "I love the breed and I don't want to see it die out." If there was any truth to those statements, they would not be breeding. A genuine love of the breed should lead to rescue and education efforts - not producing still more puppies who have to compete for the scarce good homes out there. Breeders are primarily responsible for the current overpopulation crisis.

Despite this, pit bull breeding goes on in a sort of madness. It takes two shakes of a finger to find "Pit bulls for sale" ads in the paper. Dog Fancy magazine features an exceptionally large section for American Pit Bull Terriers (only the German Shepherd ads outnumbered the APBTs last I checked). Jump on Craigslist and you will be astounded at the volumes of ads for pit bulls. Drive past the flea market on any weekend and you can be sure someone will be sitting outside selling pit bull puppies. I have seen cardboard signs on light poles, the type that usually reads "Garage Sale", advertising "pit bull puppies" for sale.

What happens to all these pit bull puppies? Where do they go? I don't think it's a stretch to say that too many of them probably end up in bad homes with irresponsible owners. Considering the extremely limited number of pit bull-appropriate homes and the enormous volume of pit bulls needing homes, it's much easier to take a first-come-first-served attitude toward pit bull breeding. Irresponsible breeders push their puppies off as soon as possible - sometimes as early as six weeks, which prevents the puppy from learning proper social behavior from its mother and littermates and can result in a dog with serious behavior issues. If they can't sell the puppies right away, it costs nothing to dump the unwanted puppies at the local animal shelter, clearing out the kennels for a new litter. Other pit bulls meet a much worse fate - a gruesome death at the hands of an abusive owner or dog fighter.

Backyard breeders also create mutant dogs to meet the demand. Unsavory individuals today are seeking huge creatures that are "pit bulls" in name only. In fact, these dogs bear only a faint resemblance to the true "pit bull". Breeders advertise enormous dogs with "huge heads", "wide chests", that are "low to the ground" and good for "protection". None of these qualities are suitable for a true pit bull. Many of these dogs are mixed with other breeds. Nevertheless, breeders insist on calling them "pit bulls", and ignorant buyers continue to purchase these creatures.

Responsible breeders, who are committed to finding all their puppies a good home, may have a waiting list for their pups. But those who don't are left fighting amongst themselves for the rare good homes. And even those breeders who are successful at finding good homes for all their pups have just filled up the precious few homes that might have taken in a pit bull that is mere heartbeats away from euthanization.

And finally, pit bulls that enter a home as a puppy may not stay there for life. Most pit bulls are surrendered at shelters after they're past the "cute puppy" stage and headed toward the "rowdy adolescent" stage. The owners who wanted a cute fuzzy pit bull puppy have decided that they can't handle the responsibilities of a grown dog - like the all-important obedience training - or discovered that they can't deal with pit bull-specific issues like public scorn or dog aggression.

We truly have a "pit bull problem" on our hands - too many pit bulls and not enough homes. The dogs themselves pay the ultimate price. Many end up in the hands of irresponsible, lazy, or downright vicious owners. That's not always the last we hear of them - some of them manage to make the news because their owners were too incompetent to handle the basics of dog ownership. Many more pit bulls wind up euthanized by the local shelter. And an untold number of pit bulls die horrible deaths in dog fighting rings or at the hands of cruel owners.

What's the best solution to the overpopulation problem? Therein lies disagreement and controversy. However, there are a few blatantly obvious actions that every responsible pit bull owner must take:

1. Spay or neuter your dog(s)!
2. Do not breed or buy while shelter animals die.
3. Rescue, foster, or volunteer at a shelter.
4. Encourage others to do the same.

Related links:

Obtaining a pit bull: Rescue groups and animal shelters
Spay/neuter resources
The Biggest Battle - The epidemic that's killing the pit bulls (BADRAP)

How serious is the pit bull overpopulation problem? The documentary "Off the Chain" asserts that 3 million pit bulls are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year.

In 2004, the total euthanization rate for all U.S. shelter animals - including dogs and cats - was estimated at 4.9 million. Therefore, over half of the euthanized animals in the U.S. are pit bulls.

So how many "pit bulls" are there in the U.S.? There can never be a definitive answer. National breed registries like the AKC and UKC can only count the number of dogs that are registered. Far more dogs are unregistered, and mixed breeds - including pit mixes - are excluded from purebred registries anyway. Animal control departments can only count the dogs registered with the city or county, and many owners do not register their dogs.

I like to look at open-door animal shelter statistics for two reasons. One, the dogs seen in open-door shelters are/were usually owned by sub-par owners - shelter dogs are typically there because someone got a dog and didn't do their homework. And two, the breed breakdown of the shelter population loosely correlates with the locally overpopulated breeds. When you have a shelter that is 60% pit bulls and pit mixes, it's quite clear that your area is not only chock-full of pit bulls, but that far too many of them are being bred by irresponsible, careless breeders and going to irresponsible, careless owners.