To Ban or Not to Ban Pit Bulls?

[Adina P]

How do you feel about Pit Bulls...while the topic has come up before, I wanted everyone to read this article by well known author, Malcolm Gladwell:

http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_06_a_pitbull.html

After reading his arguments...what do you think?

[jdlv25q841on]

I can see absolutely no good argument(s) for continuing the Pit Bull breed. They are, at best, unpredictable, and at worst, a volatile and aggressive animal. Yes, many other dogs have bitten people, but when you look at the numerator in this fraction, I would guess that the Pit Bull has an abnormally high percentage of attacks when compared to other breeds, including Rotties, Dobies and German Shepherds. I understand that most Pit Bulls are not involved in unprovoked attacks, but enough are that, I believe, warrant ending further breeding of these dogs. There are certainly enough other breeds to fulfill anyone's desire to own a dog.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Very interesting article. Personally, I have to say to ban. The reason being, in my opinion, is the "stereo-typical" Pitt Bull owner. Now I am certain that there are wonderful, responsible Pitt Bull owners, as well as, very sweet and gentile Pit Bulls. However, it has been the irresponsible owners and breeders that have been attracted to this unpredictable, aggressive breed of dog. They have been used as status symbols for gang members, people that want to have the illusion of being tough, and people that partake in dog fighting. If a dog has these "bred" tendancies it is going to be nearly impossible if not completely impossible to ever elimate the problem as long as there are people capitalizing on their aggression.

There was a paragraph in the article that to me very much summed up the "stero-typical" people that are drawn to the breed. "A fatal dog attack is not just a dog bite by a big or aggressive dog," Lockwood went on. "It is usually a perfect storm of bad human-canine interactions—the wrong dog, the wrong background, the wrong history in the hands of the wrong person in the wrong environmental situation. I've been involved in many legal cases involving fatal dog attacks, and, certainly, it's my impression that these are generally cases where everyone is to blame. You've got the unsupervised three-year-old child wandering in the neighborhood killed by a starved, abused dog owned by the dogfighting boyfriend of some woman who doesn't know where her child is. It's not old Shep sleeping by the fire who suddenly goes bonkers. Usually there are all kinds of other warning signs."

I am normally a person that err's to the side of caution but in this case I feel its more of a common sense type issue. In certain respects I feel the ban is somewhat harsh but in the big picture the irresponsible owners of this breed that use them as a status symbol and want the aggression are not going to go away. Unless they are banned the issue isn't going to go away and it has gone to far already.

[Holly Paterniti]

I guess I really do not know what to say because I have known several Pit bulls that were GREAT and gentle. Yes, the wrong people attract them. I have always said the way the dog is the way the owner treats and trains (or no training). I really feel it is most of the time the owner of the dog.

I have known poodles who attacked people and yes they were small to minis, but they do just as much damage. I was attacked by a yorkie and believe me I have the scars to prove it. I understand the insurance and controlling of dangerous dogs, but in the end are the dogs born this way or is it their environment that has something to do with it. I feel the same way with children...........it really is nature vs nuture :)

But I do respect everyone's take on this subject......there is the good and bad for both sides.

[Gail & Max]

I live in Windsor, Ontario where I have a friend that is involved with "Punish the Deed Not the Breed" a group which tried to stop the ban. She is also involved with a group that rescues pit bulls. From my own experience, when Max and I did his first level of obedience training there were between 20 and 30 dogs in his class and 2 were pit bulls...never was there an issue with the pit bulls...It was actually quite amazing to see all of the dogs in a "Sit-Stay" with all of the owners walking about. The worst 2 dogs there were a poodle and a pomeranian type of dog.

I personally believe that you have to blame the owner....we have a pit bull that lives down the street from us and belongs to a young couple...he is a maniac and has tried to bite Max a couple of times and both times were unprovoked, but I don't blame the dog, he hasn't been properly trained. If you are going to have a dog that has the reputation of being aggressive, obedience training should be mandatory.

[Lynne B]

That's all BS. There is nothing inherently 'aggressive' about Pit Bulls, there is something seriously wrong with some of their gangster owner/breeders, but a properly raised and loved pit bull is a fine companion dog. In a number of tests for aggressiveness pit bulls have been shown to be more stable and less reactive than a number of other breeds. Dachshunds are (as a breed) far more aggressive and inclined to bite people than are pit bulls.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have a real problem with breed specific laws. It starts with American Staffordshire terriers and it ends with...what? I know my beloved GSDs would be high on the list of breeds that would be restricted/banned. Lots of people are afraid of them, lots of people think they're inherently vicious. Gee, imagine that, the original guidedog for the blind is inherently vicious! Ask a few of the thousands of American servicemen whose lives were saved by a vicious German Shepherd who went ahead of the troops into the mine field just how vicious they are.
I live in a trown that made national headlines some years back by enacting breed-specific laws against Rottweilers, pit bulls, and a few other breeds. Is a Rottweiler more vicious than a Doberman? Should we outlaw them all, just to be sure? Labs bite more children every year than pitbulls do. What about Labs? Should we ban them? There's a crazy Lab down the street that has escaped his yard as we walked past the house and gone after Jack twice in the last 6 weeks. If Jack didn't weigh 90 lbs, he'd have been badly hurt, and I might have been, too. I personally want him banned. Where does it end?
Each of my sisters was bitten by a dog when we were kids. One sister was badly bitten by a Dalmatian, the breed that ranked #1 for biting children in dog-bite statistics back in the 70s, BTW. Very difficult dogs, Disney portrayals not withstanding. The other sister was bitten in the face by a tiny Maltese and required plastic surgery. Let's ban them, too.
If they're going to ban all three breeds that comprise the group of dogs known as "pit bulls" (all purebreds, the results of hundreds of years of breeding), what about Cane Corsos, Dogo Argentinos, Fila Brasileiros, and that lovely breed that killed the woman in San Francisco a few years back, the Presa Canario? They're already banned in many European countries. And who's going to keep tabs on this? There aren't enough people to inspect commercial breeding facilities or stop pitbull fighting rings, but there are enough people available to keep tabs on what kinds of dogs people own. Who's paying to enforce these laws? What are you going to do with the ones that are already living in people's homes as pets? I can just see it now: "Say goodbye to Bobo, children, the nice policemen is taking him to the pound to be put to sleep."
There are sweet pitbulls, rotten Yorkshire terriers, and everything in between. It's the idiots holding the leashes (or chains) who are to blame, not the dogs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a list of breeds that one misguided IL legislator would like to see restricted in my glorious state:

"Less than one week after concerned dog owners successfully convinced Illinois legislators to oppose an ineffective breed-specific bill, an even more onerous measure was introduced in the Senate. SB1790, sponsored by Sen. Martin Sandoval, would automatically deem the following breeds dangerous dogs, regardless of any prior aggressive behavior:"
“Pit bull”
Rottweiler
German Shepherd
Siberian Husky
Alaskan Malamute
Doberman Pinscher
Chow Chow
Great Dane
St. Bernard
Akita

Anybody out there ever own a Husky? Leslie, I know you did. How about a Great Dane? Very vicious dogs...they have been known to kill people by leaning against them, I guess. And St. Bernards! One of the greatest dogs with children you could ever find!

Breed specific laws are biased, arbitrary and dangerous, because they lead down a very slippery slope.

[Leslie and Halas]

Yes, I had a husky, and he was the sweetest, most submissive dog. Even though he wasn't around children very often, he was always great with them. He was very aware of his size around them, and he was careful to never jump on them or anything. In grad school, we lived in an apartment with a 2-ft fence around a tiny yard that he easily could have jumped, but he never did. One of the people in the complex walked by with their little boy (about 2 yrs old at the time) all of the time, and they would stop and say hi to Shadow. The guy would stand the boy on the fence, and Shadow would stand on the fence right next to the boy and let the boy pet him. I don't believe he was the exception for the breed. I've known some huskies to be mean, but most of the ones I've met have been friendly. Like most of these other breeds listed, it has a lot to do with the owners, and a lot to do with poor breeding practices. These all happen to be strong breeds, so if they are mistreated, or trained to be aggressive, the consequences are usually worse than they would be with a smaller breed. And I agree with the question of "Where does it end?" if we start down this road.

[Amanda <3's Titus]

I think that if the breed is banned, the abusers of the breed will just move on to another dog breed. Instead of fighting pits, they'll fight shepherds or rotties. Will banning the breed really do any good?

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I feel a rant or two coming on......lol

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

There should not be breed specific legislation. I agree....and yes bully breeds get a bad wrap....but I must yet again state the following:...

Pit Bulls can be fantastic companions and pets....and absolutely great with people and other dogs when socialized from when they are puppies....

But they are inherently dog aggressive.....as they were bred specifically to fight other dogs.....They were also bred to be people friendly because during a fight there was/is always a human in the pit along with the dogs to monitor the fight....So you can't have a pit bull turning on the human ref.

Huskies were bred to work and be part of a team.....The team's very survival depends on each dogs position and the pecking order.....As a result many will try to "pack up" as soon as they are with other dogs and establish position....If a dog is unwilling to do so or relinquish position or if that dog is determined by the other dogs to be in any way a weak part of the team the others will force it to submit. If a husky is not properly socialized it can exhibit the same behaviors with humans.....

In fact in studies conducted as to which modern dog breeds remain closest to their wolf ancestors...Huskies and Shepherds are at the top of that list....

Unfortunately it's not the dog’s fault it's the idiots and morons who insist on owning them and their refusal to do what is necessary to ensure that these dogs are properly trained and socialized in accordance with their breed specific behaviors and traits.

To see this in action all you have to do is take a trip down to your local dog park, sit your butt down on a park bench and observe....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know the study, but I would disagree that Shepherds have much in common with Huskies behaviorally. Shepherds bond with humans faster and stronger than any other breed and are much more easily socialized (to human society) than Huskies, also much more easily trained. Their focus is unmatched among dog breeds. The Huskies I have known have been much more like "wild" dogs than any of the Shepherds. I have a friend with three of them, and they must be crated, side by side, when left home alone. They also do seem to really need canine companionship, whereas a Shepherd is fine as an only dog...most of them would much rather be with their person than with another dog.