The Pit Bull Federation, as well as responsible behavior professionals, trainers and rescues, have been trying to educate the public for years on the realities of owning a pit bull. However, too many fans of the breed, amateur trainers and unethical rescue organizations have continued to perpetuate myths that contradict the very nature of these dogs and set them up to fail. This article is a collaboration between The Pit Bull Federation of South Africa and Taryn Blyth, animal behaviorist and dog trainer (Kommetjie Canine College). We ask that all like-minded professionals and interest groups share and support this attempt to break the silence and educate the public around the realities of the breed, to prevent further tragedy. There have been far too many human fatalities over the last decade due to the refusal to accept what a pit bull is and what they were bred to do and even more dog fatalities. Refusal to face the truth does not help this breed and will continue to fuel the crisis, which has already resulted in calls for a breed ban. Bred to fight and kill other dogsMost of the dog breeds that we have today were originally selected for a particular type of “work”. For example, we all know that herding dogs were selected to herd livestock, retrievers were bred to retrieve game, pointers were selected to locate and keep game still until it could be shot, and terriers were bred to catch and kill rodents. Somehow, while we are happy to talk about the origins of all other breeds and to accept that this has a unique influence on the fundamental nature of the dog, there is much denialabout the history of the Pit Bull and the actual repercussions of genetically enhancing their motivation and ability to fight and kill their own kind. Pit Bulls were genetically selected to be able to fight and kill other dogs and to be extremely good at doing so. While it is not the fault of the dogs themselves, but rather that of the people who deliberately set about this endeavor, we cannot deny that genetically selecting a dog for such purposes has had a profound effect on their physical conformation as well as their behavioral and emotional disposition. Gameness (the desire to keep fighting no matter what) was a highly sought after trait, strongly selected for in the breed’s development. They are NOT nanny dogs. They were NEVER originally bred to be family companions. They are, simply put, carefully formed and created to maim and kill their own species. Furthermore, this occupation for the dog is not something from the distant past, sadly it still happens all over the world to this day. The Pit Bull is a fairly recent breed and has VERY LITTLE history of being bred for companionship rather than fighting. They have not evolved away from their original form and function. Genetically selected for dog-dog aggressionBeing genetically selected for their propensity to fight and kill other dogs means that Pit Bulls are at FAR GREATER risk for developing dog-dog aggression than other breeds. No one denies that a border collie is more likely to herd children or joggers than a labrador and no one disputes that Labradors enjoy putting everything in their mouths. Again, with every other type of dog, we accept that the function they were selected for has animpact on their NORMAL, EXPECTED behavior. Of course there may be exceptions, but they are the exception and not the norm. While every dog may be an individual, a vital factor in assessing any behavior case and in fulfilling a dog’s needs, is knowing what breed the dog is .Trying to enrich a Husky’s life by teaching them to retrieve would be laughable, but giving a bored Labrador the opportunity to fetch and carry things, could massively improve their quality of life. The form and function of a dog MATTERS and IS agood predictor of behavioral preferences. Time and again we understand and accept this with every other breed on the planet and work according to this framework. People accept that border collies are at risk of herding and getting nippy with joggers or children, we accept that recall can be a challenge for hounds, who like to follow their noses, we accept that Labradors tend to be more destructive than the average dog and we accept that allowing pet rats to run around with a Jack Russel probably isn’t the greatest idea. Yet, the stubborn notion that a Pit Bull is the same as any other dog when it comes to their risk for dog-dog aggression persists. This is a fundamental denial of reality, and it must stop. Hard-wired to grab, bite and shakeThe behavior pattern that has been modified in order to create dogs for various types of work, is the Predatory Motor Pattern (PMP). The PMP is what enables wild canids to feed themselves successfully and it is a hard-wired behavior sequence. It is not a learned behavior – it is part of the “hardware”. While dogs have evolved over thousands of years to be primarily scavengers and not hunters, remnants of the PMP of their wild ancestors remains. Through selective breeding, we have enhanced certain parts of this behavior sequence and weakened other parts, in different ways, depending on thepurpose the dog was designed for. We selected for FUNCTION and along the way a related physical form developed that aligned with that function. The original and complete PMP is as follows:ORIENT → EYE → STALK → CHASE → GRAB BITE → SHAKE BITE/KILL BITE → DISSECT → EAT The Border Collie is probably one of the best examples of how humans tinkered with the predatory motor pattern in order to create a dog that would herd but not harm livestock. The border collie has a modified version of the PMP that goes like this: EYE → STALK → CHASE (in exaggerated form and on repeat) Border collies will rehearse this sequence of behavior