The cobras' wives were so fearful of their partner that they would suppress their anger. This suppression resulted in making them sad and far less likely to leave. Two years into the study, half of the pit bull wives had left, but all of the cobra wives were still living with their abusers. Cobras are actually very independent of their partners and the authors claim that if cobra wives can get away, their partners seldom pursue them for long. This is in marked contrast to the pit bulls who are likely to stalk their wives for long periods of time.
Pit bulls represent the more common batterers.
Like cobras, they con police, judges, and therapists, but only pit bulls con themselves. Pit bulls are overly dependent on their women, and then are unable to tolerate the intimacy that makes them feel vulnerable and afraid of being abandoned. Pit bulls become more desperate if left, turning their surveillance into stalking, harassment and increased battering. Jacobson and Gottman have succeeded in capturing a lot of media attention for their bit bull and cobra type batterers in large part because the analogies are easy to understand and apparently comprehensive. But according to other batterer treatment providers, it is less clear if their theory is correct, and there is concern that other types of abusers are being overlooked.