Educating Folks About Pit Bulls

The statistics tell a story about the dangers of pit bulls.

According to dogsbite.org, 33 people were killed in the United States last year as a result of dog attacks.

22 of those deaths were due to pit bulls, that's about 67%.

61% of last year's dog attacks involved children 11 years old and younger.

But not everyone believes the statistics, or that pit bulls are the evil dogs they've been portrayed to be.

While a dog bite is always the headline, according to the Savannah Humane Society, things are not always as they seem. That's the title of the pamphlet they gave out at the front, and what officials wanted to stress once you got inside.

More than two dozen people came to Memorial Medical Center's auditorium Tuesday night for a dog bite education and prevention seminar. Dog behavioral experts spoke and took questions from the crowd.

She stressed that there is a lot of incomplete or incorrect information about pitbulls, and many times it's a bad owner, not a bad dog that cause problems.

"Dogs don't snap. The fact of the matter is they may have encounters with a situation they weren't prepared for," explained Lynn Genshamer, executive director of the Savannah Humane Society. "They may have given you a sign they were uncomfortable and they didn't like it and you never read it. Dogs have certain behaviors. Those behaviors need to be trained, removed or encouraged, and the owner needs to know what these behaviors are and how to avoid these things."

Lynn says when it comes to dogs, communication is a key.

You may be communicating things you don't even know.

Like a simple look with your eyes can communicate anxiety or a lack of trust - and put a dog on edge.

Exercise is also important.

A hyper dog is more likely to cause problems than one which has been tired out or taken out for a run.

For more tips and information about dog training and behavior, just log on to their website, www.humanesocietysav.org