Most negative attitudes about APBT's are a direct result if ignorance, media hysteria and simply uneducated assumptions about the breed as a whole. APBT's and the "bully breeds" have been the victims of bad press, rumors, innuendo, myths and fear, moreso than any other breed of dog in history! To separate myths from facts about the APBT, go to www.thetrueapbt.com and read about the many myths circulating about our breed!
Usually, when any medium sized, short haired "mongrel" is misidentified as a "pit bull" or as a "partial pit bull"; that information may be the only thing the listener or reader will remember from the news. Some journalists see the name "pit bull" as a way to ensure a wider audience for their news stories. Rather than research the actual breed of dog involved in a bite case, or the circumstances under which a bite has occurred, some news people are content to take the first version of an incident they hear about! This results in a class of so-called "killer pits" that has developed in the public mind from poor reporting. The rpoblem with the media in general, is that they rarely report the facts, or the entire picture. The media puts profit and sensationalism of their ideas, before they put the truth and fairness.
Bad press has caused communities also to lump "pit bulls" in with criminals and gang members, causing an all out fear of the APBT! This fear is then thoroughly programmed into the public mindset, through newspapers and TV News. Furthermore, city leaders are continuing to remain in a state of ingnorance in response to the public outcry, so as a result, APBT's and the other "bully breeds" have been banned because people relate these breeds to punks and criminals! The real punks and criminals out there seem to be those people who have produced dogs that should not have even been born. Also, dogs of the "pit type" are being bred for aggressiveness toward other dogs and people, as an effective "tool" for a macho image, which continues this decline of the APBT's reputation. To learn more information about the APBT's bad rap, go to www.badrap.org to see how the media plays a role in ruining the APBT's image.
The media's myths about the APBT have been discredited. Unfortunately, the indigent people out there read headlines, not factual reports on the APBT. Thus, with no knowledge of genetics or dog breeding, the ignorant B-Y-B's indiscriminately keep on breeding their dogs to larger and even nastier dogs of any breed. The press and sometimes the courts insist in lumping together those "mongrels & mutts", with carefully bred, registered APBT's!`
Breed Faq's from: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dogs-faq/breeds/apbt/part1/