I get frustrated when people suggest that all Pit bulls are a danger to society. I work with someone, in fact, who is so prejudiced against these beautiful dogs, that she will leave a dog park with her dogs if a pit bull arrives. While Pit bulls are incredibly strong and can therefore inflict a dangerous wound if they do attack, they are by no means the only breed that bites. My dog was once bitten by a Golden Retriever at a dog park. My father was badly bitten on the leg by a Springer Spaniel once and needed several stitches and hospital visits. Not that I want to give Golden Retrievers or Springers a bad name – I’m just pointing out that any breed of dog can bite.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document that a chained dog is 2.8 times more likely to bite than an unchained dog. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Additionally, if you look at the breeds of dogs that are most often obtained to be “guard dogs”, you’ll find Pit bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds and Doberman Pinschers – usually the same dogs we hear about in dog bite or dog attack stories. Is it any wonder that a dog who is kept chained, or treated as a security system instead of as a part of the family might act out or become aggressive? When these kinds of dogs are kept indoors, are well-trained, and treated as part of the family, they are excellent companions, and rarely aggressive. I mean, do these Pit bulls look like cold-blooded killers to you?
Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
A recent article out of the Victoria Advocate sums up this issue nicely, I think:
Pit bulls are no more dangerous than any other dog. They are loving and loyal animals.
Don’t ban pit bulls. Ban abusive owners.
“There’s a chance for any dog, even a good dog, to bite someone,” said Larry Green, a chaplain for Hospice of South Texas. “The aggression comes from how people raise them.”
…
Owners should properly care for pit bulls – love, train and keep them humanely enclosed. Besides, banning a breed is ineffective.
“It’s the deed and not the breed,” said David Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the American Veterinarian Medical Association. “There’s quite a bit of science that says banning a particular breed of dog has not proven to reduce dog bites. Breed-specific legislation is stereotyping certain breeds as being vicious. We oppose this.”
A dog’s tendency to bite depends on several factors. Chain any dog to a tree for lengthy periods and the dog will become angry and aggressive, Kirkpatrick said.
“If the dog is trained, socialized, kept in an environment that doesn’t increase its aggressiveness, than you will have a happy, healthy dog. Dog bites are preventable,” he said.
How about another proposal:
How about we ban breeding dogs period? That way we wouldn’t have any more of these purebreds– problem solved…. I’ve had enough of societies Nazi like inclinations to prefer one breed over another(and of course one species like dogs over another like pigs). It really makes me sick….
Either way, very nice post!
Great post, Mindy, and I agree 100 percent. It’s the humans at fault, not the canines. Mina was bitten at an off-leash dog park by a German Shepherd, the very same dog I grew up with as a kid. I loved Heidi – she was well-trained and well-loved. Mina avoids larger dogs now of her own accord but I don’t shun Shepherds because of one jerk who didn’t properly care for his pet.
The complex where I live has breed restrictions that are pretty much that list above with a couple of giant breeds thrown in. Pitties have such a bad reputation but, as we’ve seen in reports about the recuperating VICKtory dogs, they are loving and sweet when treated well.
s.
Okay, with the whole “Ban dog breeds Period,” I do NOT agree with.
People are picky about dog breeds because they like the way one looks. Or the special traits of that dog alone. Nothing about Pit Bulls is bad, as long as they are raised with a loving envoriment behind them.
I myself have raised 2 Pit Bulls and they were both great dogs, One still is.
Chow Chow dogs are very agressive towards everyone, no matter how “Raised with love” they may have been. That’s in their trait. However, you still see everyone (Pretty much everyone famous) Going for a Chow Chow.
Laborador Retreivers are amazing dogs. My family and I have owned 2… My parents maybe more, and they were both great dogs. However, our dog now, Johanna (Who is a pure breed Lab) Is VERY protective. If someone comes to our house she doesn’t know, and I’m the only one home, she doesn’t let them in unless I let her know they are okay.
All dogs are great dogs, some I care for more than others, and some I really enjoy being around.
I think we should keep breeding going because like I said, some people love the traits dogs come with!
i think pitbulls are great dogs i have one he’s so nice people are so hipicritical about them any dog can be mean they stario type them just cause there size and also cause some people use them in dog fights but really there beautiful and nice dogs they only hurt you when you train them like that i have one and he is a sweet heart you people out there need to stop herasing them there awsome and inteligent dogs their sweet and kind except i f you train them to be mean but really there great dogs
Breed bans may not be the answer…but when it comes to pit bulls specifically, breedING bans need to be put in place. There is a pit bull crisis at animal shelters–these dogs are given up and euthanized in huge numbers. They are exploited relentlessly by some of the scummiest people you can imagine. They are abused in such numbers that Pet-Abuse.com created a category just for pit bull cases. The best thing that could happen to pit bulls is that they become more rare, and not owned and bred by every street-corner thug and redneck.
Please read this article by animal advocate Merrit Clifton. You may not like the website it’s posted on (I don’t always either), but his words are rock solid.
http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2011/10/animal-people-more-adoptions-will-not.html