Pit bull

Pit bull is a word used to describe several breeds of dog. This includes the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully and Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and dogs with a mix of these breeds. In some locations, the modern American Bulldog and Bull Terrier are described as a "pit bull-type dog". Pit bull can also mean dogs that were known as "bull terriers" before the development of the modern Bull Terrier in the early 20th century.

These dogs were bred by crossing bulldog breeds and terriers. Pit bulls are very strong and can pull many times their weight. They were also bred for dog fighting. The place where such dogs fought was called a pit. As such dogs can be dangerous, very often a special permit is needed to breed or to own them. Some places or countries may have forbidden their use.

Best Friends Animal Society says pit bulls are good family pets if raised in a loving home and trained well. They say that then they are loyal, intelligent, loving, playful and very obedient pets.

Pediatric trauma experts differ. They say pit bulls should not be around children.^[1] Pit bulls cause the most serious dog attack injuries and the most deaths from dog attacks^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Over 30 countries have varying degrees of laws regulating pit bull ownership. Insurance companies often charge higher premiums for owners of pit bulls.

Patterson et al., 2022 study, "Pediatric dog bite injuries in the USA: a systematic review" Refer to this with: ^[1]

• Patterson, Kelli Nicole; Horvath, Kyle Z.; Minneci, Peter C.; Thakkar, Rajan; Wurster, LeeAnn; Noffsinger, Dana L.; Bourgeois, Tran; Deans, Katherine J. (2022). "Pediatric dog bite injuries in the USA: a systematic review". World Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 5 (2): e000281. doi:10.1136/wjps-2021-000281. ISSN 2516-5410. PMC 9716788. PMID 36474513.

Essig 2019 study, "Dog bite injuries to the face: Is there risk with breed ownership? A systematic review with meta-analysis"

• Essig, Garth F.; Sheehan, Cameron; Rikhi, Shefali; Elmaraghy, Charles A.; Christophel, J. Jared (2019). "Dog bite injuries to the face: Is there risk with breed ownership? A systematic review with meta-analysis". International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 117: 182–188. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2018.11.028. ISSN 1872-8464. PMID 30579079. S2CID 57740754.

Golinko's 2016 study, "Characteristics of 1616 Consecutive Dog Bite Injuries at a Single Institution"

• Golinko, Michael; Arslanian, Brian; Williams, Joseph (2016-07-10). "Characteristics of 1616 Consecutive Dog Bite Injuries at a Single Institution". Clinical Pediatrics. 56 (4): 316–325. doi:10.1177/0009922816657153. PMID 27400935. S2CID 46033196.

O'Brien et al., 2015 study, "Dog bites of the head and neck: an evaluation of a common pediatric trauma and associated treatment"

• O'Brien, Daniel C.; Andre, Tyler B.; Robinson, Aaron D.; Squires, Lane D.; Tollefson, Travis T. (2015). "Dog bites of the head and neck: an evaluation of a common pediatric trauma and associated treatment". American Journal of Otolaryngology. 36 (1): 32–38. doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2014.09.001. ISSN 1532-818X. PMC 4261032. PMID 25311183.

Bini's 2011 study, "Mortality, mauling, and maiming by vicious dogs", Annals of Surgery

• Bini, John K.; Cohn, Stephen M.; Acosta, Shirley M.; McFarland, Marilyn J.; Muir, Mark T.; Michalek, Joel E.; TRISAT Clinical Trials Group (2011). "Mortality, mauling, and maiming by vicious dogs". Annals of Surgery. 253 (4): 791–797. doi:10.1097/SLA.0b013e318211cd68. ISSN 1528-1140. PMID 21475022. S2CID 2482520.

Kaye et al.'s 2009 study, "Pediatric Dog Bite Injuries: A 5-Year Review of the Experience at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia"

• Kaye, Alison E.; Belz, Jessica M.; Kirschner, Richard E. (2009). "Pediatric Dog Bite Injuries: A 5-Year Review of the Experience at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 124 (2): 551–558. doi:10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181addad9. ISSN 0032-1052. PMID 19644273. S2CID 42764503. Retrieved 2023-08-11.

D. Caroline Coile 2020 book, Pit Bulls For Dummies

• Coile, D. Caroline (2020-10-23). Pit Bulls For Dummies (2nd ed.). For Dummies. ISBN 978-1-119-72090-4.

• Opinion article from Dr. David Billmire, who has 30 years of practice in pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Billmire, M.D., David (2014-06-29). "Opinion: There is no need for pit bulls" (News Site). Cincinatti Enquirer. Retrieved 2023-07-27. Starting about 25 years ago, my colleagues and I started to see disturbingly different types of injuries. Instead of a warning bite, we saw wounds where the flesh was torn from the victim. There were multiple bite wounds covering many different anatomical sites. The attacks were generally unprovoked, persistent and often involved more than one dog. In every instance the dog involved was a pit bull or a pit bull mix.

1. ↑ Patterson, et al. 2022.