{"id":197,"date":"2012-05-10T14:09:24","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T18:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/?p=197"},"modified":"2012-05-10T15:38:58","modified_gmt":"2012-05-10T19:38:58","slug":"popularity-and-population-density-of-the-%e2%80%9cpit-bull%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/popularity-and-population-density-of-the-%e2%80%9cpit-bull%e2%80%9d\/","title":{"rendered":"Popularity and Population Density of the \u201cpit bull\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Puppy\"<\/a>

Photo courtesy of Bartlett Image.<\/p><\/div>\n

With this recent Maryland ruling that \u201cpit bull\u201d dogs are inherently dangerous, it\u2019s time to take a look at the popularity and population density of the breed. It\u2019s absurd, even for owners of a docile dog of any breed, to think that there aren\u2019t variations in the breed as well as responsibility in ownership. Because your dog does not bite, does not mean that other dogs haven\u2019t. For the victims of dog bites, we are doing an injustice by thinking this way. Let\u2019s take a look at some real information, instead.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to address a few breeds in particular for the simple reason that they have had marked increases in popularity over certain time frames, NOT because I believe that any other breed is better than the dogs addressed. <\/em>It\u2019s true that, as the population density of a particular breed goes up, the bite statistics go up. Let\u2019s ignore the numerous reasons bite statistics are inaccurate, for now.<\/p>\n

Right now on average, our local shelters have a 66% \u201cpit bull\u201d population versus all other breeds. (Based on five local area shelters. See breakdown at the end of article) The population density is higher the closer to the city, as one may expect. It is historically true for all dogs, that the higher the popularity of a breed, the higher the number of that breed in the shelter. 66% is probably a low estimate to the actual \u201cpit bull\u201d density in our area because two of the five shelters surveyed are limited admittance, and one specifically has a limited number of \u201cpit bulls\u201d allowed into the program. The population of \u201cpit bull\u201d type dogs has been significantly increasing over the last ten years or so. In fact, during the years of 1997-2007, the AKC Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a smaller relative of the UKC\u2019s American Pit Bull Terrier, has seen a 69% AKC registration \u00a0increase. (http:\/\/www.akc.org\/press_center\/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Just 20 years ago, in the 1990\u2019s, \u201cthe years following the release of the second movie [101 Dalmatians], the Dalmatian breed suffered greatly at the hands of irresponsible breeders and inexperienced owners. . . Dalmatians were abandoned in large numbers by their original owners and left with animal shelters.\u201d (http:\/\/aquariumcouncil.org\/docs\/library\/2\/Release_Nemo_FINAL.PDF<\/a>) \u00a0This goes to show that the popularity of a breed will show in the shelters. Ten years following this, the\u201cAKC registrations of Dalmatians decreased 90%.\u201d . . .as did their numbers in the shelter. (http:\/\/www.akc.org\/press_center\/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches<\/a>) If we go back 30 years, \u201cThe cocker spaniel was the most popular dog of the 1980s. It earned the No. 1 most registered dog breed spot from 1983 to 1990.\u201d http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/list_7738692_top-breeds-dogs-1980s.html#ixzz1uUGkPeNe<\/a> During this same time frame, it was noted in a Palm Beach County Comparison of most severe bites by dog breed, that the Cocker Spaniel ranked #2 in 1988, during its reign of popularity. (http:\/\/www.nokillnow.com\/DogBiteStudies.pdf<\/a>) Is the Cocker Spaniel an \u201cinherently dangerous\u201d dog? I think not!<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the solution to the problem? (The problem being an over population of a specific breed, not a court ruling) Pet owners: Spay and Neuter your pets. Reputable breeders: Heavily screen potential new owners. Require spay\/neuter contracts for pet dogs. Let\u2019s address the over population and responsibility in ownership. It\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s going to save our dogs.<\/p>\n

Statistics of \u201cpit bull\u201d density in 5 local shelters in Maryland:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

TOTALS FOR ALL LOCAL SHELTERS COMBINED<\/strong><\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 196<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 102<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelters- 66%<\/p>\n

MD SPCA: 3300 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Limited admittance shelter. Only selected dogs enter the program. Limited pit bulls allowed.<\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 7<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 23<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelter- 30% (As of 5\/1\/12)<\/p>\n

Baltimore Humane: 1601 Nicodemus Rd., Reisterstown, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Limited admittance shelter.<\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 31<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 6<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelter- 84% (As of 5\/1\/12)<\/p>\n

BARCS: 301 Stockholm St., Baltimore, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Open admittance shelter. City\u2019s animal control drop.<\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 135<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 41<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelter- 77% (As of 5\/2\/12)<\/p>\n

Harford County Humane Society: 2208 Connolly Rd., Fallston, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Open admittance shelter. Harford County\u2019s animal control drop.<\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 17<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 16<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelter- 52% (As of 5\/2\/12)<\/p>\n

Baltimore County Shelter: 13800 Manor Rd., Baldwin, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Open admittance shelter. Baltimore County\u2019s animal control drop.<\/p>\n

Number of pit bulls\/mixes- 6<\/p>\n

Number of all other dogs- 16<\/p>\n

Percentage of pit bulls\/mixes in shelter- 27% (As of 5\/2\/12)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With this recent Maryland ruling that \u201cpit bull\u201d dogs are inherently dangerous, it\u2019s time to take a look at the popularity and population density of the breed. It\u2019s absurd, even for owners of a docile dog of any breed, to think that there aren\u2019t variations…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,9,109,60,59,110],"class_list":["post-197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog_posts","tag-aja-harris","tag-baltimore","tag-dog-breed-popularity","tag-humane-society-of-harford-county","tag-maryland-spca","tag-responsible-pet-ownership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions\/201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muttmagic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}