Nature or nurture? Pitbulls get short end of the stick
Earlier in March, a pit bull that attacked twice in just 11 days once again put the spotlight on this controversial dog breed. The pit bull was developed for dogfighting, and with its muscular build and strong bite, their attack could be fatal. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture outlawed the ownership of pit bulls. As for those already kept as pets, their owners must make sure they’re registered and neutered. However, it’s not impossible for pit bulls to be loving pets with proper training, and even pit bulls that were aggressive can be rehabilitated. Let’s take a look.
Thor the fawn-colored pit bull can’t wait to play before his owner could take off his muzzle. He seems really affectionate.
He doesn’t only enjoy snuggles with his owner. Even at the first meeting, Thor is already turning over for belly rubs from us. It’s hard to image that he used to be quite aggressive only a little more than three years ago.
Near the end of 2021, Thor had bitten a three-year-old boy to death, causing uproar. Looking back at old footage from after the attack, Thor can be seen heavily chained. He’d lunge on any stranger he sees. No one would dare come close.
Later, Thor was impounded and was about to be put down. Doglovers petitioned to put him up for adoption instead. That’s how he found a new home with Ms. Lu and escaped premature death.
Lu Chiang-chun
Thor’s owner
I don’t think it’s the dog’s problem. Rather, it’s the owner’s neglect and lack of proper training. So when the petition was running, we also joined and tried to adopt him. So we already knew about the incident. But I still believed the dog isn’t at fault, so I really made sure I could adopt him.
After Thor narrowly escaped the fate of being put down, he started going under desensitization training at the shelter, so he won’t be so quick to attack when stimulated. Later, he came to Taipei to live in his new home. His new owners made sure to build a good relationship with him right from the beginning.
Voice of Lu Chiang-chun
Thor’s owner
Back then we spent nearly two weeks sleeping with him on the floor in the living room. We did that until he’s familiar with the new place and trusted us.
Ms. Lu pampers Thor with love and often takes him out for walks. All that helped train the pit bull to become less volatile and prone to aggression. It takes great patience and care, as well as training by a professional trainer to turn an aggressive pit bull docile and affectionate.
Also in 2021, another pit bull named Chienshih attacked a friend of its owner when the man drunkenly teased it. Chienshih bit on the artery on his right inner thigh, causing heavy bleeding that resulted in the person’s death.
Like Thor, Chienshih was also impounded. But the latter was even more distrustful. While under confinement, animal protection officers could not get close enough to put a muzzle on it, so it spent more than three years in the cage.
Lin Chih-cheng
Hsinchu County Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
To take a dangerous dog out for a walk, it must be muzzled first. Our volunteer struggled to put a muzzle on it. Our director decided for safety that without a muzzle, it could not be taken out, so it spent quite some time under confinement.
After more than two months with a trainer, Chienshih could finally be muzzled and taken out for a walk. In February, he finally found a new home.
News of pit bull attacks on humans as well as other dogs abound. At best, the victim is left injured, and at worst, they lose their life. But are pit bulls naturally more aggressive than other dog breeds?
Hsu Chao-hsun
Trainer
Pit bulls were initially breeded for dogfighting. They have a strong bite, and won’t easily let go when they bite. That’s what’s most worrying.
Huang Yu-chih
Trainer
In the early days, I’ve seen dogfighting in Taiwan, which involves gambling. Once I saw a pit bull injured after a dog fight, and I saw with my own eyes, its owner stitching the dog’s wound himself. The dog’s belly was bitten open, so the owner rearranged the organs and then stitched up the wound, without anesthetics either. The dog was even eating. From that you can see how it is. It’s not afraid of pain or being bitten.
Although dogfighting was outlawed with the introduction of the Animal Protection Act in 1998, and pit bulls become kept as only pets to be loved, pit bull attacks still grab the headlines every time.
The most recent pit bull attack was in Taipei early March. In just a span of 11 days, Lucky the pit bull twice pounced out of the car and attacked a scooter rider nearby. The owner, Mr. Hsu insisted that Lucky had opened the car window by itself, but fellow pit bull owner Ms. Lu is not buying it.
Lu Chiang-chun
Pit bull owner
Seriously, it’s too much of a coincidence for the dog to open the car window by itself twice. Also, why was the dog so aggressive that he’d directly go after someone? It must’ve been trained to do that. The owner must have instructed and trained him to attack like that.
Amid public outrage, Taipei authorities seized Lucky and fined Mr. Hsu again, for a total of NT$200,000.
In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture banned pit bulls from being imported as well as kept as pets. It also mandated that pit bulls already kept as pets in the country all be registered and neutered. The pit bull is the only dog breed whose ownership is outlawed. At the same time, they must be muzzle and attached to a leash no longer than 1.5m before they can be taken out.
But it’s not just pit bulls. Any kind of dog can lose its temper, only that a pit bull’s strong bite and propensity not to let go make for a fatal attack. Proper training is key to making sure a pit bull does not get triggered.
Today we’re visiting another pit bull owner named Sandy. She watches over her seven-month-old son playing with her two-year-old pit bull Diamond.
When Diamond was adopted at only two months old, Sandy and her dog trainer already had the goal of making sure Diamond will be trained so as not to attack anyone or any other animal he’s unfamiliar with.
Hou Hui-ju
Trainer
Our training is restraint-oriented. So he’ll repeat the same response, which it to sit and wait for a reward. Eventually he’ll learn what “Sit!” means even if there isn’t a treat for him. He’ll know what it means to wait.
But that’s not completely fail-proof. To prevent him from fighting other dogs, the trainer taught Diamond to run away when he gets into conflict.
Hou Hui-ju
Trainer
Let’s say we’re out on a walk and another dog is approaching. I wouldn’t wait until it gets too close before taking him away. I know that the other dog is approaching so we should leave. And at this moment I’ll instruct Diamond to leave with me. And when he does, I’ll give him a reward.
Sandy
Diamond’s owner
We have different levels of rewards. For simple things like sitting down, shaking hands and waiting, we’ll give him some small treats. But when he does leave in a conflict, we’ll make sure to give him what he wants most but can’t get so easily.
After the ban went into effect in 2022, many pit bull owners gave up their pets because they couldn’t train the dogs properly.
This pit bull, Peter is already more than ten years old. He’s one of the many abandoned pit bulls following the ban. After many years of careful nurturing, Peter now has a much calmer temperament. But his advanced age makes it difficult for him to find a new home.
But not anyone interested can adopt a pit bull. Their new owners must have officially recorded history of owning one. But because there aren’t so many pit bull owners, many of these pit bulls are still being kept captive at the shelter.
Lu Chiang-chun
Pit bull owner
There are just so many terrible owners like that. It’s like giving birth to a child but not raising and educating the child. So why are you having one? It’s the same with pets. You get one because you like how it looks, whether that’s cute, fierce or handsome. But then you don’t train it or raise it properly, and it becomes problematic. And then you don’t want it anymore. It’s this irresponsible attitude that really angers me the most.
The problem all boils down to the owner, whether a pit bull attacks or gets abandoned. But still, it’s too easy to stigmatize the breed, making it less likely they’ll find a loving home.
As for Chienshih, who’s bitten someone to death before, he now has a new name, Shihshih. Under the new owner’s care, Shihshih now looks much friendlier and calmer, even though it still gets uneasy in new environments and needs further desensitization training.
As for Thor, he’s now fully socialized. He even has his own social media with a much bigger following than his owners. Even though pit bulls are raised to be aggressive, whether they can be loveable and be loved still depends on us humans.
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2025-05-02
