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"Dogfighting"
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Topography of violent intraspecific aggression in a subset of dogs from directionally selected lines of Canis familiaris
We extended well-established animal models of human violence paradigms to domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ) seized from organized dogfighting operations (n = 137). Using standard metrics of frequency, latency, duration, and severity of physical attack and social behavior, we found a pattern of severe intraspecific aggression and alterations in species typical social behavior comparable to that described in the models of violence literature. Behavior was coded from archival video footage of a model conspecific screening test by a technician blind to the categorical behavior severity rating assigned to the dogs on intake. Biting attacks were initiated with short latencies and a dramatically higher prevalence in dogs rated as severe for dog-directed aggression. Furthermore, high intensity attacks involving crushing and shearing bites and guttural growl vocalizations (a heretofore unreported vocalization) were exclusively exhibited by those subjects, and their attacks were directed to vulnerable body regions of the model, including the throat. Social investigation was absent or abbreviated; many individuals in this category failed to investigate the anogenital region of the model conspecific and spent a significantly smaller proportion of the test sniffing the model. Conversely, the comparator group from the same lines of domestic dogs showed normal social behavior toward the model conspecific despite their directional selection and life history. Our findings are the first to quantify the topography of extreme intraspecific aggression in domestic dogs, broadening our understanding of the social behavior of C. familiaris . In addition to contributing to basic science, our findings also support the use of expert ratings to categorize extreme intraspecific aggression in fight-bred lines. That finding is of applied value to shelter professionals making outcome decisions, and to legal professionals who require objective evidence grounded in accepted scientific paradigms when considering the prosecution of organized dogfighting cases.
Journal Article
The racialization of pit bulls: What dogs can teach us about racial politics
Many have argued that discrimination against pit bulls is rooted in the breed’s association with Black owners and culture. We theoretically and empirically interrogate that argument in a variety of ways and uncover striking similarities between the racialization of pit bulls and other racialized issues (e.g., poverty and crime) in public opinion and policy implementation. After detailing the reasons to expect pit bulls to be racialized as Black despite dog ownership in the U.S. generally being raced as white, the article shows: (1) Most Americans associate pit bulls with Black people. (2) Anti-Black attitudes, in general, are significant, independent, predictors of both anti-pit views and of preferring other breeds over them; (3) stereotypes of Black men as violent, in particular, are significant, independent, predictors of both anti-pit views and of preferring other breeds over them. (4) Implicit racialization through a national survey experiment further eroded support for legalizing pits, with the treatment effect significantly conditioned by respondent’s race. And (5) state-level racial prejudice is a significant negative predictor of enacting legislation to preempt breed-specific bans. We conclude with our findings’ broader insights into the nature of U.S. racial politics. Michael Tesler, mtesler@uci.edu , corresponding author, is Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine; Mary McThomas, mary.mcthomas@uci.edu , is Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting. We thank Maneesh Arora, Rachel Bernhard, Nathan Chan, Louis Pickett, David Sears, DeSipio, Adam Duberstein, Jane Junn, Claire Kim, Jessica Manforti, J. Scott Matthews, Justin.
Journal Article
A canine identity crisis: Genetic breed heritage testing of shelter dogs
Previous research in animal shelters has determined the breeds of dogs living in shelters by their visual appearance; however the genetic breed testing of such dogs is seldom conducted, and few studies have compared the breed labels assigned by shelter staff to the results of this testing. In the largest sampling of shelter dogs' breed identities to-date, 459 dogs at Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA (AAWL) in Phoenix, Arizona, and 460 dogs at San Diego Humane Society & SPCA (SDHS) in San Diego, California, were genetically tested using a commercially available product to determine their breed heritage. In our sample, genetic analyses identified 125 distinct breeds with 91 breeds present at both shelters, and 4.9% of the dogs identified as purebreds. The three most common breed signatures, in order of prevalence, American Staffordshire Terrier, Chihuahua, and Poodle, accounted for 42.5% or all breed identifications at the great grandparent level. During their stay at the shelter, dogs with pit bull-type ancestries waited longer to be adopted than other dogs. When we compared shelter breed assignment as determined by visual appearance to that of genetic testing, staff at SDHS was able to successfully match at least one breed in the genetic heritage of 67.7% of dogs tested; however their agreement fell to 10.4% when asked to identify more than one breed. Lastly, we found that as the number of pit bull-type relatives in a dog's heritage increased, so did the shelter's ability to match the results of DNA analysis. In total when we consider the complexity of shelter dog breed heritage and the failure to identify multiple breeds based on visual identification coupled with our inability to predict how these breeds then interact within an individual dog, we believe that focusing resources on communicating the physical and behavioral characteristics of shelter dogs would best support adoption efforts.
Journal Article
The Etiology, Incidence, Pathogenesis, Diagnostics, and Treatment of Canine Babesiosis Caused by Babesia gibsoni Infection
Babesia gibsoni is one of the small Babesia species and the infection this pathogen causes is usually asymptomatic, which complicates the capture of potential parasite carriers. In endemic areas, especially in Asia, B. gibsoni occurs quite often due to direct transmission by way of a tick vector. Due to the absence of vectors, its occurrence is described only sporadically in Europe; but, it is increasingly occurring in predisposed, so-called fighting breeds, especially the American pit bull terrier. This review describes the etiology, incidence, clinical signs, pathogenesis, diagnostics, and treatment of B. gibsoni infection, with an emphasis on the clinical and laboratory peculiarities of the disease. As the treated dogs do not eliminate the parasite from the body—only reducing parasitemia and improving clinical signs—the treatment of B. gibsoni infection is a challenge in many cases, and its study therefore deserves great attention.
Journal Article