discarded outside of these villages and the ancestors of dogs as we know them were able to take advantage of this ready food supply and began scavenging on these scraps ( 1 ). According to natural selection , those individuals that were the fittest for that environment – in this case , those that were able to tolerate human proximity better ( shorter flight distance and a higher threshold for fight / flight response to the smell or sound of humans ) – were most successful and survived to pass on their genes to the next generation . Over many generations , this process of variation , selection and further variation led to tamer and tamer individuals that finally entered into human settlements to take advantage of the food found there . These early “ dogs ” were tolerated because they cleaned up waste , kept certain pests and predators away and , as awful as it might sound to us , could be turned into an easily accessible meat supply in lean times . “ Dogs ” that were safe for humans to be around were successful in human communities , while those that displayed dangerous levels of aggression were swiftly removed from the gene pool . This resulted in the emergence of an animal that was slow to display defensive aggression towards people and whose predatory inclinations were in no way a threat to us .
Then , enter human behavioural modification ( through selective breeding and culling ) and the dog ’ s original predatory motor pattern of ORIENT → EYE → STALK → CHASE → GRAB BITE → SHAKE BITE / KILL BITE → DISSECT → EAT was changed into patterns that made dogs more useful to us . Selective elements of the original predatory sequence were retained in some instances and exaggerated in others so that dogs could be used for specific tasks . The Border Collie is probably one of the best examples of this : To be good herders Border Collies have been selected to have exaggerated EYE → STALK → CHASE behaviours , but the rest of the predatory sequence has been selected out of the breed .
In serving our own interests , we also selectively bred animals through the same process of selection and culling , to help us hunt ( kill other animals ) and fight each other for our entertainment . We did this by retaining or enhancing the SHAKE BITE / KILL BITE and sometimes DISSECT parts of the predatory sequence . This was the origin of fighting dogs , dogs we know as Pitbulls today . The term “ Pitbull ” refers to mixed breed dogs with certain physical traits , such as a muscular body and broad head and applies in much the same way as “ hound ” applies to Greyhound or Afghan Hound , so contrary to popular belief , Pitbull is a dog type and not a specific breed .
While many years of domestication have passed , ongoing reports of pitbull attacks on other animals , children and adults , have resulted in our Pitbulls earning themselves a rather bad reputation . As we ’ ve already established , every breed of dog was developed to perform a specific job , whether that job was hunting rabbits , retrieving birds , herding cattle or being a good companion . We bred Pitbulls for a purpose too and if there is any vilification to assign , it should be assigned to the hand holding the leash .
With statistics in Cape Town reflecting an increase in attacks by dogs identified in the data as Pitbulls and with countries worldwide instituting breed-specific legislation , we have every reason to worry for our pitbull companions . Victims and witnesses of dog attacks often say things like “ He was the family dog , he had never shown any aggression before ” and “ I did nothing to provoke an attack ” and with the media favouring the reporting of attacks by Pitbulls over any other breed , our Pitbulls currently have a really big PR problem . It ’ s time that pitbull owners realise the amount of responsibility that comes with pitbull ownership and it ’ s time that they recognise that tragic events result from their failings and not the failings of their animals .
When considering the nature versus nurture argument it is very apparent that neither argument can be applied exclusively . Pitbull ownership requires an understanding and acceptance of their genetic makeup and an investment in their environment to maintain equilibrium and avert disasters .
Each dog is born with certain genetic predispositions to behavioural traits , something a pet owner has little control over . What we do have control over , but fail to take responsibility for , is the modification of a pet ’ s environment ( via training or management ) to prevent , reduce , increase , or eliminate behaviours .
With that being said , international correlation studies ( 2 ) have identified a very worrying connection between criminal offenders and the choice to own high-risk dog breeds who are considered “ vicious ”. The study also reveals that these same people have a higher likelihood of being irresponsible or cruel pet owners and herein lies the problem . Pitbulls require a great deal of nurturing to compensate for the hand that nature ( we ) dealt them and yet they have become the dog of choice for a criminal element who have an increased likelihood of irresponsible pet ownership . It ’ s no wonder we are essentially sitting on a ticking time bomb .
All dogs bite , but an attack by a pitbull is likely to have devastating consequences because of their robust jaw strength , high tolerance to pain and tenacity – the very qualities we found desirable in our quest for a dog that would serve our intended purpose .
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