Jacquielynn Floyd: It's time to ban sale, breeding of pit bulls

[The Straight Story]

Jacquielynn Floyd: It's time to ban sale, breeding of pit bulls

12:00 AM CST on Friday, February 27, 2009

Mohommed Jones was giving his dog a bath in the front yard when I stopped to talk. The piebald white-and-tan pit bull mix wore the woeful expression of canine resignation universal to dogs being bathed, but I asked before approaching whether he bites. Just in case.

"Naw, he's nice," said Jones, a cigar clamped between his teeth. "He likes everybody. He won't bother you." As if in confirmation, the dog, a corona of suds around his cinderblock head, jumped adoringly to his hind legs and engaged Jones in a comical waltz.

This cheery scene took place not two blocks from the West Dallas intersection where two pit bulls attacked and mauled a couple who were walking to the neighborhood store last weekend. The man might lose his left eye.

The anecdotal weight of this and similar stories is reaching a turning point: We can't have this.

We can't have people in an ostensibly civilized, regulated city as frightened as Third World villagers too scared of tiger attacks to go to the river for a bucket of water.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/DN-floyd_27met.ART.State.Edition1.4a72442.html

[LiberalFighter]

1. They should neuter/spay most but not all of them AND

neuter the owners.

[X_Digger]

2. Scary quote..

"I also know it's possible that boneheads who think it's cool to have a scary dog will move on to Rottweilers, shepherds, Dobermans or some other breed. We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there."

It's the assault weapons ban on dogs! (half in jest)

[Lost in CT]

13. Heck no jest needed that is exactly what it is.... nt

[madrchsod]

3. pit bulls were the most popular dog in the late 1800`s and early 1900`s

now they are the most hated dog in america

[nebenaube]

4. While I agree that aggressive dogs that bite when unprovoked should be put down

We don't need anymore damn control freaks and stupid prohibitions. Parents should teach their children how to react to dogs. If they can't or won't then the schools should.

Too many times I've seen chicken-shits 'adults' provoke a nasty scene with dogs that ordinarily don't threaten anyone because the chicken-shits don't know how to react and get all freaked out.

Let me explain, I live in the boonies. I walk my dog two to three times a day. Last year, one of the local mail men was riding his bicycle up the trail and he came up behind us while I was walking my 125 lb German Shepard/Malamute. Now, I know mail men don't like dogs and probably for good reason. Normally everyone we encounter approaches respectfully and can come up to give her some attention. But not this asshole. He was out trail riding. My dog was off the lease as she has been every time I've walked her for the last fourteen years; she's got cataracts, her hips are nearly gone, she trips over her hind legs, falls down all the time, can barely get up and can hardly move. But that asshole had to charge up to us on his bike at full speed yelling, screaming and bitching about her being off the leash and as expected, she alerted on him. She stood her ground and started barking; nothing more. This naturally caused him to panic completely and he fell off his damn bike while stopping and trying to lift the front wheel around to back up. Still yelling and screaming. I thought "oh shit not another one". At that point the asshole had more to fear from me than he did from the damn dog. He just didn't understand that what he did was to threaten us.

How about making it so the dog owners who really have out of control dogs that run loose and threaten or attack people get charged with the assault, then owners will be more inclined to be responsible enough to do something to control their dogs or pay the consequence themselves. On the other hand, if some dip-shit who felt threatened, provoked the dog's response and it occurs in the presence of the owner and the dog remained in control (leash or no leash) then tough shit... the dog did her job and she didn't do anything wrong. If you want to bitch about the leash, no problem, I'll pay the fine because not in 14 years has she ever bolted and run off or actually attacked anyone.

But a blanket ban is just stupid, people have intimidating dogs because they are intimidating. That's better then having the former 'intimidating dog' owners carrying handguns for protection.

[goforit]

6. Disagree! All owners should be given a 20 year sentence if their Dog draws blood!

[nebenaube]

7. If that's the case then the owner might as well finish the job.

It's not hard for a cool headed person to kill a dog that is charging. Not hard at all, it's a person's own fear that gets them hurt.

[goforit]

8. Then your dog IS your weapon.

[nebenaube]

10. No shite sherlock...

I have been robbed, beaten and had guns in my face. The last 14yrs have shown me that no one with mal-intent will bother to approach a person with a shepard dog, they go the other way and pick a better target.

but I've seen plenty of people freak out and lose it over ankle-biters and yap dogs as well. hint, hint!

The main reason someone gets a big dog is for a sense of security and protection.

Note: edited for sentence structure and clarity.

[seabeyond]

19. then why didnt you clip on a leash that was surely in your hand, when you saw a

person coming by you, you assuring that person you had dog under control.

where was your responsibility

[nebenaube]

27. as I said before...

He came up behind us at full speed. He charged us, he violated our space. He could have stopped at twenty paces and then said hey and that would have been exactly what I would have done.

[tanngrisnir3]

15. 20 years? Why not execute them?

[Maine-ah]

23. you must have forgotten this

:sarcasm:



my cousin jumped (WWWF style) on his dog (a Lab) while the dog was sleeping. Dog reacted, and bit my cousin. Drew blood. You think his parents deserved 20 years for this?

:crazy:

[Berry Cool]

9. Sometimes dogs attack unprovoked.

And I mean it. As a person who was bitten on the hand once by a pit bull while standing utterly still (having deliberately frozen in my steps and dropped any sort of posture that might have been read as defensive), I know this.

I am not sure what the solution is there. There are some dogs who literally will not let a human being other than their owners even walk past their owner's house without charging and attacking that person. We're not talking about people who are climbing a fence, teasing the dog, or even freaking out and waving their arms around and screaming. We're talking about people who make the mistake of walking past or into territory the dog feels it needs to "defend."

[McCamy Taylor]

11. If you believe you are the boss of the dog, you are the boss of the dog. But you have to really mean

it. The dog has to know that you mean it. A small dog can scare the crap out of a big dog if it is determined enough. My cats know how to scare the local dogs, especially the Siamese female.

You can also reassure almost any dog (except for one that has been starved or tortured or mistreated) if you just treat it right.

Children do not know how to treat dogs right unless they have been raised with dogs. They shriek at them, hit them, show fear, make sudden movements, try to take their food and toys and water---no wonder dogs attack them.

[nebenaube]

14. Thank you... I tried to say something like that but it didn't come across properly

So I deleted it.

[seabeyond]

20. no wonder dogs attack. those bad bad kids. a dog is coming at them, stand like a tree

tell a little 4 yr old, stand like a tree. dont show fear, jsut stand in face of attack

and when the child screams, run.... you dare to blame the child.

that is ridiculous and totally irresponsible of the people owning dogs and expectation of a little one.

shit... i dont know if i could just stand there, for attack

[Berry Cool]

25. I got bitten on the hand as an ADULT. STANDING LIKE A TREE.

I didn't say a thing, didn't do a thing. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my arms to my sides the second I saw the dog was running at me.

The dog jumped up (which was the only way to reach my hand) and bit, regardless.

Luckily, it didn't break skin, it had all its shots and there was no need to take further action. But it was frightening as all hell. Especially considering the owner was a woman renting the lower half of the same apartment house I was living in. All I did was make the mistake of coming down the back stairs of the building while her dogs were out running in the yard and doing their business. One of them immmediately took me for a threat to her territory (even though she KNEW me) and raced at me and bit me.

[nebenaube]

29. Gee, at that point I

would have assumed a fight stance, if the dog was small I would have launched it past me as it came close, if was a big 'intimidating' dog I would have rammed it's nose into it's brain. 99% the time, we make eye contact and then they stay put and bark.

[nebenaube]

12. I understand.

I've been there, done that, I was bitten numerous times, once in the hip, through my jeans by a Collie, several other times by my poodle as a child so perhaps thats where I finally learned to handle them. And I agree. Every case is different. The only pit-bull I've ever been around was the neighbor's back when I lived in Tuscon in the eighties and it was a sweet as can be. One could say that if you had crossed the street or kept walking it would have been less threatening to a territorial animal but it didn't go down that way and I hope the owner paid the price for the dogs behavior. I'm just tired of idiots who go out of their way to cause problems.

[flvegan]

5. She's mixing her terms, but I agree with her.

What she's advocating isn't a breed ban. A breed ban, such as the one in Miami-Dade County in Florida, means you can't have one. At all. For any reason. If you have one, they come to your door, take your dog, and kill him/her (basically).

I'm all for banning the sale and breeding of what folks would otherwise (many times erroneously) call a pit bull. But then, I'm all for banning the sale and breeding of any breed of dog.

Simple.

[tanngrisnir3]

16. Is there data that indicates Pit Bulls are more dangerous than other dogs?

Anecdotal evidence is the worst possible way to enter into consideration of new laws.

[mwooldri]

17. Well, Pit Bulls are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Pit Bull Terrier,
Japanese Tosa
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro

... all these dogs are banned - and they're banned by "type" not "breed", so if they have the characteristics of a Pit Bull Terrier - they're banned.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/domestic/dogs.htm

Yes the UK does have some daft laws at times, but there was that much public opinion against these types of dogs, especially when there was a load of media coverage about pit bull attacks.

Mark.

[benEzra]

18. And if your media whips up irrational fear about Dobermans and German Shepherds,

they'll be banned, too.

The fact that a law was passed doesn't mean that mistreated bull terriers are more dangerous than mistreated Shepherds, mistreated Dobermans, or mistreated Rottweilers. And at some point, your media will discover that the latter three are just as dangerous when mistreated as bull terriers are, and the fearmongering will begin.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

31. Exactly

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

30. It's a ridiculous law, based on fear

[dcindian]

28. yes there is a lot of evidence.

* 23 U.S. fatal dog attacks occurred in 2008. Pit bull type dogs were responsible for 65% (15). Pit bulls make up approximately 2-9% of the U.S. dog population.2
* In 2008, only one U.S. citizen over the age of 3 was killed by a breed other than a pit bull. 74-year old Lorraine May was fatally mauled by her two dogs: an Australian shepherd-mix and a golden retriever-mix.
* 70% of the attacks occurred to children (11 years and under) and 30% occurred to adults (21 years and older). Of the children, half (8) occurred to ages 1 and younger.
* 39% of fatal attacks in 2008 involved multiple dogs; 9% involved chained dogs.
* 78% of the attacks occurred on owner property and 22% off owner property. All off property attacks (5) that resulted in death were attributed to pit bulls.
* 61% of the victims were male; 39% of the victims were female. Of the male victims, over half (8) were 3 years and younger.
* In at least three fatal attacks, a grandmother was watching a child aged 2 and younger. Two of these attacks occurred in Las Vegas; both involved pet pit bulls.

Yes there is plenty of evidence and most deaths from dogs are children.

http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-fatalities-2008.htm

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

32. Provide some "evidence" that isn't severely flawed, then get back to us

[vadawg]

21. without a doubt my fav dog of all time is the staffordshire pit bull

followed by a big shaggy lurcher. staffies are definetley mans best friend, i totally lov them dogs.

[MadHound]

22. Another dumbass solution to a complicated problem

As the author of the article admits, time and again, it isn't the dog, it isn't the breed, it's the owner. As the author also admits, in all likelihood if you ban pit bulls, then those who want a vicious dog will simply move on to another breed like Rotties, Shepards or Dobies. So what, you ban those breeds also? Gee, what if they go on to make Labs mean(after all, mistreat any dog and you can make it a mean vicious killing machine)? Are you going to ban labs?

The answer simply doesn't lie in banning breeds. It doesn't address the root problem, namely that there are assholes out there who want to be barny badasses with a vicious dog. Address the problem of the owners and you won't have a problem with any breed of dog being vicious.

A humble suggestion. Any person who is knowledgeable about dogs can approach any reasonably tempered dog on the streets, with the owner present, without the dog attacking. I suggest that if a dog can't pass this test, no matter the breed, then the owner gets a hefty fine on the first offense, a hefty fine, jail time and confiscation of the dog on the second offense, and the person never gets to own another dog ever again.

Punish the asshole owners, not the dogs or the breed.

[retread]

24. It's probably wayyy to late. But, DUCK!!! Incoming!! n/t

[Berry Cool]

26. All I can say is, I knew the woman who owned the dog that attacked me

and that she did not train her dogs to be that aggressive. She was mortified when she witnessed me getting bitten by one of her dogs for doing NOTHING. She was apologizing all over herself. I don't know what would have happened had she not had those dogs' shots up to date or had the dog actually bitten through flesh. I'm really glad I never had to find out. We were two people who liked each other and got along, and we might have ended up on opposite sides of a courtroom over that.

[benEzra]

33. If you are not assertive *enough* with a dog, it can be almost as bad as being too assertive.

Dogs are wolves, and are hardwired like wolves, although millenia of selective breeding has made them less assertive than wolves are. But they are still programmed for pack behavior, and if YOU do not decide to be the alpha, then the dog will try to be, and will sometimes act out in ways that don't make sense to a (non-pack-programmed) human.

I'm not talking about hitting the dog or anything like that, merely being appropriately confident and assertive with it in ways that a dog will understand.