Stupid pit bull ban - why it makes no sense

[SiouxJ]

This article clearly explains why a pit bull ban is not the answer.

Why does everybody hate me? by Gina Spadafori

Sometimes I think having no pit bulls wouldn't be that bad a thing, but not for the reasons you might imagine.
If pit bulls weren't around, they couldn't be beaten. Starved. Left chained outside with little protection from the elements. Subjected to ear croppings with scissors and no pain relief. Made to bear puppies with next to no food. And finally, if pit bulls weren't around, they couldn't be tossed dead (or nearly so) into a vacant lot when they come up on the losing side of a dogfight.

For every headline-grabbing attack by a pit bull, there are countless cruelties inflicted on these dogs by the criminal element that's attracted to them. As a person recently noted on a dog-related Web log: "It's amazing how many other kinds of dogs in the best homes bite. It's amazing how many pit bulls in the worst homes don't."

But those who do ... Oh, what fear and anger they cause. It's no surprise, given the horror of recent attacks, that the call to eliminate pit bulls has never been louder. But that call remains the wrong one: Breed-specific legislation is not the answer to the problem of dangerous dogs.

It doesn't help much to argue that the odds of an attack by a pit bull are so low as to be insignificant compared to life's other risks, not in the face of saturation media coverage of every such attack. It doesn't help much to argue that a well-bred and properly raised pit bull can be a better companion than many other popular breeds, based on temperament-testing statistics that show these dogs to be stable and calm. It doesn't help much to argue that many of the pit bulls who are being seized and killed in places like Denver are family pets who have never shown a reason for concern -- and never will.

So let's try this: If you want to be protected against a dog attack, banning the pit bull isn't going to accomplish that goal. That's because every large breed or mix you can think of, and many small ones you can't imagine, have been involved in attacks on humans.

You cannot predict the likelihood of an attack by the type of dog, but you can see clear trends based on other criteria.

Poorly bred, unsocialized, unneutered and untrained dogs are most often involved in attacks. If you want to prevent those attacks, you need to address those root causes. All dogs, not just pit bulls, need to be the focus of legislative, societal and educational efforts geared toward removing the contributing factors behind most every dog attack...

More: http://www.uexpress.com/petconnection /

Gina's site: http://www.spadafori.com /

[ernstbass]

1. Great post

I toatlly agree with you. I would love to see tethering of animals outlawed because this certainly contributes to the lack of socialization.

[wildeyed]

2. Never met a pit bull I didn't like.

A dog trainer I used to know would occasionally rescue pits who had been fought. Scary looking animals at first. Skinny, muscular, often with no ears. I don't know if the previous owners chopped the ears off, or they lost them in a fight. But anyway, many of these dogs that had been so abused were able to be nice dogs with a little training and socialization.

One of the worst flame wars I have ever been involved in on DU was about pit bulls. Lots of people blame the animals for faults that clearly lie with the owners.

[auburngrad82]

3. The human factor is huge in dog behavior

Not just pit bulls, but all dogs. During the last two weeks I've seen people carrying a 3-week old pit bull pup and a 4-week old pit bull pup. Whoever is breeding and selling these dogs needs to be shut down. Most of a dog's socialization takes place at a very early age. If you take them away from the mother and its littermates, it misses out on learning how to be a dog. If these puppies survive (they were skin and bones and too young to be on solid foods) they will most likely have serious physical and (probably) emotional problems. Fear aggression is a big issue with poorly socialized dogs.

Another factor is how the animals are treated. A lot of people who buy these "bully" breeds buy them for the intimidation factor. They look scary and they use them to protect their property, home, etc. Not everyone is like this, mind you, but enough that aggressive animals are common. I've personally talked to one man who kept two rotties in his yard and kept them chained and hungry so they would be more aggressive towards intruders. That's just wrong.

All dogs can be sweet. By the same token, all dogs can inflict terrible harm. One author and dog trainer says to think of a dog as having the equivalent of a mouthful of box cutters. I was seriously bitten this week by one of my dogs. She's incredibly sweet with people but doesn't like one of our dogs. She jumped a fence and went after her with the intent to kill her. It was scary to see and, like an idiot, I got between them and received the worst bite of my life. Both dogs came out without a scratch. I spent all day at the emergency room and now the dog is on 10 day quarantine (basically house arrest).

I hate that a few dog attacks have tainted the whole breed, and potentially, all dogs. It's like shark attacks. There have been only about 100 shark attacks over the last century but they get huge play in the press. So now people perceive shark attacks as an everyday occurance.

[SiouxJ]

4. Good points.

I hope people will continue to read more about this issue and learn to understand that it's all media hype and has more to do with the owners than the breed.

P.S. - I'll be out of town for a while so I won't be able to respond on this thread for a week (just want you all to know I'm not ignoring you). Please keep up the fight to inform so this stupid idea doesn't take hold! There are so many things that kill more people each year than Pits and Rotties. Should we ban everyone of those things too? This whole thing is ridiculous and needs to be put in perspective.

[Branjor]

5. Auto accidents kill a lot more people than dogs

including pits ever have or will. I don't hear any hue and cry to eliminate cars.