Breed vs. Type

Most people reading here know that the "term" pit bull and the "breed" Pit Bull (short for American Pit Bull Terrier) have two different meanings. People use them interchangeably, often times within a single conversation. Even people in the rescue/advocacy world; people who know better. This is one of my biggest pet peeves.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of pit bull is " a dog (as an American Staffordshire terrier) of any of several breeds or a real or apparent hybrid with one or more of these breeds that was developed and is now often trained for fighting and is noted for strength and stamina.".

This definition is incorrect. These days the majority of PBTD's are NOT trained to fight. Do they have strength and stamina?  Yes. That's what makes them good at many other things. For example, they are amazing athletes (agility, weight pull, dock diving, etc.), service dogs, police and military members, and search and rescue dogs. The dictionary is, hopefully unintentionally, supporting the misconception that the majority of people who own pit bulls train their dogs to fight.  If even the dictionary is wrong about the definition of "pit bulls" it's no wonder PBTD's are so maligned.  If I had not looked this up for the purpose of pasting it here, I never would have known it was wrong. Maybe I should write a letter to the dictionary people to let them know.

Anyway, you can find tons of information online that states things like bite statistics, temperament statistics, and other similar statistics are skewed because the formulas used to calculate them doesn't account for how many of each "breed" are in the nationwide population. They will argue that it's unfair to compare numbers between a "type" of dog made up of three pure breeds and any number of mutts with blocky heads, against any other single breed. I happen to agree.

What I don't agree with is referring to these same dogs, a "type" of dog that has some of the fiercest advocates, as a breed. When pit bull lovers use slogans like "Judge the deed, not the breed!" and "Don't bully my breed!" it completely contradicts our own argument in defense of our dogs. How much sense does that make?

I have been guilty of this myself.  I'm by no means perfect, but I have made a conscious effort to STOP doing it. When I talk to strangers about Admiral we often talk about PBTD's in general and I am always really careful NOT to refer to them as a breed. If the person I'm talking to does it I address it and explain why it's important not to.

If I were to try to remedy this I would have to reach A. LOT. of people. Far more than I have access to or the attention of.  Still, it's my hope that some day we will stop using those terms interchangeably. Because they're not. It does our dogs more harm than good and we need to recognize and correct it.