Proposed breed ban after pit bulls attacked park-goers...need non-hysterical feedback

[diffuse01]

@halo;6381345

The problem with bringing up aggressive chihuahuas is that chihuahuas have never killed anyone. Pit bulls have and will again.

I have no problem at all banning pit bull ownership. I feel the same when I encounter a loose pit bull as I would feel if I encountered a wolf. Im sorry, but they absolutely horrify me. There have been people killed around here from pit bulls.

I disagree that the bad guys will just get a different breed. A different breed wont do what they want them to do, instinctively attack and kill. Its a real difficult issue, and I just dont see any answer for it.

Yes yes… my certified therapy dogs will instinctively attack and kill someone :rolleyes: They can also breathe fire, you know!
People that have the mentality you have are the ones I love to have meet my dogs. I don’t know how you could be terrified of a dog who is standing in front of you wiggling every which way to try to get you to pet it.

Toy breeds have never killed anyone, you say? Hmm… http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/09/local/me-34015

ANY dog can bite.

And the “bad owners” will move on to another breed. Why do you think Dobermans & Rotties got such a bad rap years ago? They already have started moving on a bit, by crossing Pit Bulls with other breeds like Mastiff’s.

FWIW, I don’t have a problem with dogs that have a bite history being euthanized. But killing a dog that’s never done anything solely based on its breed is just stupid.

[EquineImagined]

We need to pull together and design a billboard, and have one in every county of every state, along with Punish the Deed, not the Breed:

Cars, houses, jewelry, clothing, TVs are status symbols.
Dogs are not.
Pet ownership is a responsibility and a privilege, not a right.

Seriously, human interference is the issue, not the breeds. Breeding dogs to be aggressive is NOT the dogs’ fault, that’s the jack hat breeders who wanted to encourage that trait. There’s many more teddy bear pit types than there are nasty ones. Aside from breeding, where they go wrong is when they’re in the hands of people who have no business being responsible for a plush pound puppy much less a breed that requires specific training/handling to NOT screw it up.

I’ve had animals all my life, worked in animal hospitals…Give me a grumpy pitty, rotty, dobie, mastiff, corso…etc over a spoiled chihuahua clutched in an anxious owners arms ANY DAY.

As a kid, I got bit three times. Three different breeds.
Toy Poodle
Chihuahua
Pekineses(sp?)

would I ever imagine making a blanket judgement that ALL toy poodles, chihuahuas and pekinese are evil and must be put down? Of course not. They’re animals. They’re individuals, and admittedly two of the three bites I deserved. It makes me so sad what happens to the dogs who unfortunately became a ‘status symbol’ or the ‘thing’ to have and in the end suffer because of the negative results when people who do not understand them become their caretakers.

[EquineImagined]

@diffuse01;6381967

Yes yes… my certified therapy dogs will instinctively attack and kill someone :rolleyes: They can also breathe fire, you know!

Running loose and packed up, ANY dog has the potential to fall back on those instincts. I love my beasts, but I won’t kid myself. As much as here at the house they’ll bark and make a fuss, then lick you and fall at your feet while leading you to the silver…if they were to be roaming I don’t doubt there’s a chance they’d switch gears. Especially if someone runs/is running and triggers the ‘prey’ insitincts. I’ve seen it happen. Dogs out loose, happy and wagging tails and playing, someone sees them and gets scared and runs…instant change. We shouted for the person to stop running, which they bravely did, instant switch back.

Needless to say, we never put our dogs in the position for that to happen again.

But you’re right, while as a general rule no small breeds don’t inflict as severe an injury, on an adult all it takes is one well placed bite, or enough bites. Unfortunately, the majority don’t see/won’t accept this, and focus on the mass potential for damage carried in the jaws of larger breeds It’s not fair.

[Flagstaff_Foxhunter]

I’m not in favor of BSL. My dog is half pit, half lab–he’s a sweetheart I got at the pound off the e-list. I think pitbulls are great looking dogs, and most of their problems are caused by their owners.

However, my 80 year old mother has adopted a stray one and he scares the crap out of me. He’s unsocialized, and has “fear biter” written all over him. He doesn’t deal well with people unless they’re seated. When I first met him, he growled at me, and took my mother’s wrist in his teeth to pull her away. :eek:

My sister had one for a while, and he was madly hyper, disrespectful and extremely difficult. I tried working with him and got nowhere; he was lucky to be rehomed with a guy who does bully breeds and could handle him.

Friends adopted one about 25 years ago, before they were such a big deal. He greeted me at their door, growling, and they had to stash him in the laundry room.

I have been around dogs my entire life, I’m not afraid of them, and have had no problem training and handling several different breeds. The modern pit bull has been really messed up and I do think they are a liability and a worry for anyone but the most knowledgeble, responsible owners. We already have lots and lots of laws on the books, it seems much easier for communities to make up shiny new laws than to actually enforce existing ones.

[BansheeBreeze]

I encountered a loose pitbull once, while riding our horses. I yelled at her, she tucked her tail between her legs and ran as fast as she could, scared, away from us.

Then a few minutes later she got hit by a car and I ended up rescuing her. She is absolutely the sweetest dog and the biggest chicken ever. I was leary of pitbulls too, as they are very common here (and are loose ones, and no, they aren’t all nice). When another dog barks at her she runs and hides behind her human, but if they approach her she licks their face. She tackles the cat so she can hold him down and kiss him. When somebody is at the door or walks in the house that she doesn’t know, she barks once and then runs to hide in the bedroom. She is the anti stereotype.

We went to pick her up after a vet visit once, and the girl who went to get her returned solo and asked if I could please come back and get her, because she was trying to bite her. I was shocked, as she’d been to the vet many times from her accident injuries and the vets absolutely loved her. The girl told me how she was lunging at her from the cage and tried snapping her hand whenever she reached in, was going nuts! When I walked in there was our dog, and a teacup Yorkie in another cage. As I opened the door to take our pitbull out, the vet tech said “Oh THAT’S your dog? I thought it was the Yorkie! Oh no your dog is wonderful, she’s been a doll”. Yeah, the Yorkie was the one trying to attack the lady, not the pitbull.

I’m leary of pitbulls because of their reputations as well but it would make me sick to think of somebody trying to tell me I couldn’t have my dog because of her breed, when she is an absolute model canine citizen and we are very responsible pet owners(which is far and few between around here). Take the dogs away from the pitbull owners who let them roam free, intact and having litter after litter of puppies, the ones who don’t bother to train their dogs and manners. Make people put their dogs through training courses, license them, require them to be spayed/neutered and UTD on their shots. They won’t do any of that though, just think by “banning” them it will get rid of the problem. Guess what, it won’t. Not all pit bull owners are the same, not all pitbulls are the same.

[diffuse01]

@EquineImagined;6382322

Running loose and packed up, ANY dog has the potential to fall back on those instincts. I love my beasts, but I won’t kid myself. As much as here at the house they’ll bark and make a fuss, then lick you and fall at your feet while leading you to the silver…if they were to be roaming I don’t doubt there’s a chance they’d switch gears. Especially if someone runs/is running and triggers the ‘prey’ insitincts. I’ve seen it happen. Dogs out loose, happy and wagging tails and playing, someone sees them and gets scared and runs…instant change. We shouted for the person to stop running, which they bravely did, instant switch back.

Uh, no. If I had any thought that my dogs would go after a human in that manner (as in, act like they were prey, not a “OMG I love you!”), they’d be euthanized. We routinely come across joggers at the park I take them to to exercise (off leash) and they completely ignore them.

I suppose anything COULD happen, but if it did, and I felt that my dogs were genuinely going after a person, in the ground they go. I have zero tolerance for any type of human aggression… if more shelters/rescues/bleeding hearts would live by that policy, we’d have a lot less screwed up (and they’ve been screwed up by the BYB’s who pump out litter after litter without taking temperament into consideration) Pit Bulls in the world (but that’s a whole 'nother topic).

[Lynnwood]

I Worked at a LVT (vet tech) in small animals for over 10 years. Also volunteering at the local no kill shelter helping with spays and neuters and other medical issues.

I have been bitten by god almost every breed known to man. “Most” of the time its not their fault they are in pain , scared , cornered etc. The breed I have literally NEVER had any issues with were Pit Bulls. Even the dragged out of the chained in a back yard dredges always came in with a sloppy grin wagging their tail.

The orthopedist I worked for LOVED pit bulls because they were such great patients. They’d come hopping in with all manner of broken some even carried in still trying to give kisses and wagging their tails. Vs the little pookie pie Chihuahua in for ACL repair trying like heck to bit our faces off and having to be handled with the leather cat bite gloves at all times.

Dogs are what we make them. Any dogs can be dangerous even life threatening if they pack up and are allowed to run at large. The breeds listed are just big powerful dogs period so of course they can be dangerous if not owned by the right people or kept in check. Its a people problem not a dog problem.

[blairasb]

I was a groomer for a time.

I dealt with some VERY stupidly handled dogs. Owners who had no business owning animals because they themselves just didn’t have two brain cells to rub together.

There were breeds I dreaded seeing on my schedule. And there were breeds that just delighted me.

Top of the “dread” list? Labrador retrievers. People seem to think that because they are inherently sort of easy going, training and discipline isnt necessary. I had more problems with Labs trying to take a chunk out of me than all the other breeds combined.
I also had to refuse two rotweilers, a german shepard, and metric buttload of spoiled rotten, brainless pint sized yappy dogs. Nasty little buggers for the most part. Couldn’t pay me to own one.

Being from the Flint, MI area, I had a LOT of pitbulls come through the door for me. I only ever had to refuse ONE in that whole time and he obviously had the “wrong type of owner”. Came in with a big spiked collar, big heavy chain leash, and he just cowered and cowered- He may have been ok, but I couldn’t risk working on a dog like that. But other than that one, EVERY pit I worked on was just FANTASTIC.

My niece is a pitbull or mix (she’s kind of light bodied so may have something in there that lightened her up but looks very “pit”)
She was adopted from the humane society, where she was kept in a padlocked cage, and you had to sign your life away to even get her out. She’s INCREDIBLY smart and VERY high energy for a pit (girl is an agility and obedience WHIZ). Has always been great with new people, is kind to her three kitties, and adapted to life with my sister’s obnoxious new infant. (Obviously I love my 4 legged niece MUCH better than the two legged one. She listens WAY better. And smells better. and is WAY cuter.)