Lately the new thing for the media and communities to do is start an attack on bulldogs and their owners. Something like this is very disheartening as its in most cases not the dogs fault but the owners that have created a situation that leaned towards being dangerous. All breeds of dogs are violent in nature, true there may be a bit more of heightened case of being aggressive in bulldogs.
With cities making a ban of the breed is setting up a very bad precedence. What's to say that next they'll go after German Sheppard or even poodles. These groups and leaders are being lead by misinformation and bad data while the owners who are the real reason behind this escape the wrath of the public.
This is kind of hot topic, and can get people very opinionated, so I normally tend to try to avoid these kinds of topics. I understand this entirely, as people who own reptiles are constantly under attack legally from one place/group or another. And somebody is on some network with a ball python claiming it is going to eat someone's child or pet cat. Your more likely to get some type of parasite from a pet goldfish. Same with most dogs too.
But I will say, that I am not completely against restrictions on the giant constrictors, burms, retics, rocks, and anacondas. Those are beyond a commitment, and can be dangerous if not cared for properly. And, unfortunately, the same can be said of pit bulls in particular. It is most certainly not the dogs fault. But the peoples fault who own/bred it. But how much does that matter to the number of people attacked &/or killed every year? I have no idea what the actual answer to the problem is, it would be a shame to make them illegal, and all but impossible to fund or administrate any kind of licensing or registration program.
But the downside to all of this, to any and all law abiding pet owners in the USA at least, is that it gives more teeth to all of the things that the HSUS is trying to do. But of course, it seems they are behind allot of the funding of any legislation to ban any animals as pets. So, who knows...
In the disaster rescue I volunteer with we joke "Don't worry about the pitbulls, watch out for the chihuahuas!" (They have sharper teeth and more attitude.) But bully breeds are scarier looking, so they get all the bad press.
(05-21-2012, 04:40 PM)Karenskatz Wrote: In the disaster rescue I volunteer with we joke "Don't worry about the pitbulls, watch out for the chihuahuas!" (They have sharper teeth and more attitude.) But bully breeds are scarier looking, so they get all the bad press.
Yes, but there are very few fatal attacks by chihuahuas that I know of. After reading this the other day I snooped around for a while looking for some statistics. I found quite a few people preaching on their soapboxes, but the most reliable information I could find, with multiple confirmations on each from fairly reliable sources Was here. Apparently 22 deaths from attacks by pit bulls or pit bull mixes in 2011. Plus others that couldn't be completely attributed to the dog attacks, from heart attacks, etc...
I really am not on the "ban pit bulls" wagon, but something really should be done to control the people who have them and are allowed to have them. I do believe it is not the dogs, but the owners. But when these kinds of owners have a dog like this, and allow it to become like this, from either fighting it, abusing it, or simply a lack of training, it is a deadly weapon.
05-22-2012, 05:41 PM, (This post was last modified: 05-22-2012, 05:54 PM by Thor.)
My city has breed specific regulations, targeting bully breeds and Rotweilers, that require the dog to be walked on a chain leash, and walked by someone 16 years old or older and of sufficient strength to control the dog. It specifies what sort of fencing you have to have, and how high it has to be. If the dog gets loose or attacks someone, the fines for these infractions are double for the targeted breeds. The owners also had to attend a class at the humane Society or Animal Control to make sure they understand the regulations. This is mostly to crack down on those who keep large nasty dogs (almost always bully breeds) for intimidation or to look tough, and dog fighters. If they tried to crack down on the owners instead of the dogs, they would scream discrimination and threaten law suits, so they have to target the breeds instead.
I definitely agree that it is the owners' responsibility to watch their pets, keep their pets in line. They need to teach their dogs that the sidewalk doesn't belong to them.
It reminds me that not too long ago on the Facebook page of PETCO and PetSmart, people were complaining about the same issue. They all have the same opinion on the certain dog breeds shouldn't be banned.
So I am not surprised to see more of the same opinions here.
