Pit Bulls: The Matter of Genetic Causation

Kellie Snider

Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst

Co-developer of the Constructional Aggression Treatment for Dogs

http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/JesusRosalesRuiz-KellieSnider.htm

Among the reasons given for legislating breed restrictions and bans in communities is the belief that genes dictate behavior. This is a mistake. Genes inform many things. They inform the construction of the body. (A parrot develops 2 wings and 2 legs and a dog develops 4 legs because of genetics. An English bulldog develops a head shaped like a volleyball and the Greyhound develops a long, narrow wedge-shaped head because of genetics.)  They also inform what reinforcers the organism will work for. (Many horses will work for carrots but few will be interested in liver treats. A duckling will work to stay close to its mother.) To the extent that an animal is physically capable of performing a behavior and finds the outcomes for the performance reinforcing, he will perform the behavior.  

Eagles don’t fly because they are genetically programmed to fly.  They fly because they have the right stuff and flying helps them access reinforcers. The same is true for pit bulls. They don’t kill because they are genetically programmed to kill. They kill because they have the right stuff and killing can produce desirable reinforcers in some situations.  The reinforcer may be food. The reinforcer may be distance from frightening dogs. The reinforcer may be the stilling of the fighting opponent. Without those outcomes the dog would not fight. Pit bulls don’t fight just because it’s fun. They fight because the environment has made it more beneficial for them than any other behavior they have tried. 

Genes don’t require an organism to do anything. They only give him a physical package capable of behaving a certain way in a given a certain set of circumstances. Given a certain set of circumstances! This is also true for Chihuahuas, Cocker spaniels, Greyhounds, mixed breed poodles. It’s true for every living organism. Fighting pit bulls often learn that there is no choice but to fight, and if they live to fight more than once they do the kinds of fighting that work best, meaning they get better and better at fatal aggressive behavior. This does not mean they are genetically programmed to fight.  This means they’ve learned what they had to learn to survive. 

Pit bulls living in well-meaning, loving families may learn aggressive behaviors pay off, too. But once again, this isn’t because they’re pit bulls. It’s because aggressive behaviors tend to produce distinct outcomes. If a dog of any breed snarls at you, more likely than not you’ll move away. Ah, that’s what he wants, so the next time he wants someone to back off, he’s going to snarl. If they’re slow about it, he’s going to throw in a growl, or a bark, or a lunge or a bite. Pit bulls that learn that aggression works are learning just what other breeds of dogs learn under the same sets of circumstances. If pit bulls are going to be banned because of genetic tendencies, we have to ban all dogs. We need to also ban parrots. And cats. We need to ban humans, too, come to think of it. Maybe humans most of all.

Pit bulls are only doing what every other organism does. They do what works.

©2007, Kellie Snider