Ban the deed not the breed!!

[Tildy]

I think the general public needs to be trained better. I love all breeds of dogs and I think that all dog owners should be taught to train thier dogs in several areas. I always train my dogs to accept children and other animals, allow people to take food and bones off them and touch them while thier eating (I certainly dont encourage it but I know if a child tries it the dog wont react), and just to be generally gentle with people. Then I dont let people near my dogs without ensuring they are going to treat it nice. I don't leave any children unattended with them either. Parents should be taught to train thier children in approaching a dog and reading body language and to never leave thier children alone with a dog they don't know.

Breeds should not be banned. People should be better regulated. I reckon dog licenses would be a good idea. Only allowed to breed dogs if you have a breeder license and without one you must only own desexed dogs. The license application process should include a course on dog training, ownership and body language. As part of your license you should have to train your dog in a variety of social situations including kids and other dogs and very good basic obedience. If you fail you get a warning for minor offences and the dog gets removed if its dangerous. A licensing system like this would help cut down the instances of unwanted puppies too. Well, it's an idea anyway. I think humans at large create our own problems and we should cop the resposibility rather than blaming every other creature.

 

[EmmaMary]

All dogs are individuals, I realise the point of saying other breeds are vicious too but aren't you just buying into the breed blame-game? A pitty's strength and lock-on jaws worry me, but that just means I probably won't own one.

I have a Chihuahua and she's the exception to the rule but when she feels threatend she will growl and snap like any other animal however due to her size of 3kg and her abused background she can get scared easily. I think common sense is the key here, keep dogs in your yard and with proper restraint when out. And watch Ceasar Milan's the dog whisperer, it's really really good and I think anyone with a dog should check it out.

 

[Bushkaboo]

I think it depends on the environment the dog is exposed to, along with the nature of the dog. I took my dog to the dog park and there was a Pitbull there. It had been sitting with its family (including a baby in a pram). It got distracted when I arrived, ran over and tried to attack my dog. I had to grab my dog and hold her above my head and keep turning. The Pitbull kept leaping and snapping. The Pitbull was great with it's own family, but it's "owner" couldn't control it and it should never have been in the dog park without a muzzle on. I think the biggest problem with them is that their jaws lock. I have met quite a few nice ones, but one dodgy one undoes all the hard work that responsible people do with theirs. I think sometimes it's just the temperament of the beast too. You might come across a nice Polar Bear once every now and again. Doesn't mean you can trust them all.

Having said that, one of my other dogs is a cattle dog. She has nipped three people - in my opinion each person deserved it because they teased her and continued to do so even after being warned again and again that she was getting annoyed. She is a wonderful dog, but it would be irresponsible of me to trust her around anyone younger than 10 purely because of the breed she is. I know she's protective, intelligent, loyal and strong. She sleeps on my bed.

Phantomreptiles, you are very lucky. You have a great dog. You are a responsible owner. There should be more like you. The unfortunate thing is that Pitbulls are still being used as fighting dogs because they don't back down and they rip things apart. As sad as it is, bottom line is that it's people who are responsible.

 

[myusername]

If you research the source:

Source: Dog attack deaths and maimings, US and Canada, September 1982 to November 13, 2006. Merritt Clifton.

You will find that the author himself is anti-pittbull even though his statitics don't back-up any of his claims.

I don't think that is where I read it, but either way, the majority of statistics tend to put pit bull type breeds in front, and they can't possibly all be biased. I don't think the breed should be banned, and I think that controlling/restricting them is impractical, but I do believe they are more likely to kill than other breeds. I love dogs, and my uncle used to have a lovely pit bull, but I've also been attacked/chased by a few dogs (mainly very small ones!) but of the three larger dogs I've had issues with, two were pit bulls. The third was the world's biggest doberman.

 

[alrightknight]

All dogs are individuals, I realise the point of saying other breeds are vicious too but aren't you just buying into the breed blame-game? A pitty's strength and lock-on jaws worry me, but that just means I probably won't own one.

I have a Chihuahua and she's the exception to the rule but when she feels threatend she will growl and snap like any other animal however due to her size of 3kg and her abused background she can get scared easily. I think common sense is the key here, keep dogs in your yard and with proper restraint when out. And watch Ceasar Milan's the dog whisperer, it's really really good and I think anyone with a dog should check it out.

I used to have a chihuahua, devils spawn haha.

 

[KaotikJezta]

What dogs have lock jaw

 

[Bushkaboo]

Top Ten (10) Most Dangerous Dog Breeds | Pets Do

 

[snakehandler]

And where would you stand if the government decided to ban keeping venomous snakes because they can cause fatalities!


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- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[grimbeny]

I have tracked down the real study that was miss referenced by a pro-pitbull website. As you can see pure bred pitbull terriers made 104 fatal attacks in the period representing 39% of the fatal attacks.

http://roominate.com/blogg/dog_attacks_1982_to_2006_clifton.pdf

 

[KaotikJezta]

General information about the American Temperament Test Society, Inc. (ATTS) | American Temperament Test Society, Inc.

 

[grimbeny]

I dont think they deserve a flat out ban, they just need to be heavily monitored or managed, but I would support a ban if their management is not an economic or realistic viable option.

 

[myusername]

And where would you stand if the government decided to ban keeping venomous snakes because they can cause fatalities!

If push came to shove and venomous snakes started causing enough fatalities to warrant a ban, I would accept it. Also, I don't think a total ban on pit bull type breeds is even possible.

 

[Klaery]

meh I don't think they need a ban at all. People should be fully accountable for the actions of animals in their care/control. But to say that all dogs are the same is foolish. Of course temperament differs between individual animals and breeds. That some people here are suggesting it has no connection at all to the animals genetics is just silly.

 

[Mace699]

it's really hard to judge a dog by statistics or take them on face value anyway. first thing. as stated by Hypochondrac there are more of some dogs in a population than others. Secondly majority of statistics only give a brief insight into how many dogs actually bite, even fewer go into detail of the type of situation the animal is in when it bites, playful nip, defensive bite when being cornered and so on. also a lot off the information is very biased for example if someones pet dog nips them on the hand would they report it? opposed to an animal getting out and biting an unknown passerby is much more often going to be reported. at the moment german shepherds, kelpies and cattle dogs followed by huskies and malamutes are responsible for most human maulings in australia. does anyone try and ban the breed? no. why its a ridiculous idea to outlaw a breed of dog. as most have already stated the majority of people who buy these dogs, mastiffs, rotties and the similar get them for the sole purpose of looking tough and don't know the first thing about animal discipline. look at cesar milan favourite breed of dogs are pittys and rotties. not one of his dogs would be considered a danger. why? his three key rules exercise, discipline, affection. these are ex fighting dogs that have been rehabilitated. now for those that have said the child must have done something it's irrelevant. now a realistic solution would be to have harsh penalties if you get caught with an unregistered pitbull and make it only legal to breed if you are a registered breeder and breed only for temperment. as with most laws yes it will be broken but it will make it easier to keep track what type of people are buying the puppies. who owns them and where they live. it's very dictatorship like but it will keep majority of uneducated people who blame the breed happy. and those who generally want that dog as a genuine pet wouldn't have any problems with this i don't think. now for those that say ban the breed stop being so ignorant. should we ban cattle dogs and kelpies of course not and it's rediculous to suggest it the same goes for pittys but sadly qld has bowed to pressure from small minded people who are up in arms about it. secondly those who say pitbulls where originally bred for fighting thats a load of rubbish they where bred for bull and bear baiting. and over the years people have bred them for fighting mainly in america as there is a lot of money to be made in illegal dog fights. we in OZ are just copycats and get them to be like our "big brother" if there were more rules around dog ownership and stricter guidelines maybe there would be less bad eggs ruining it for a lot of people. as with most cases its always the majority do the right thing and mean well. while the minority are irresponsible and should not own any animal let alone a pitbull. my personal opinion and pitbulls are generally a really great and loyal dog having said that i have met some tossers who raise them to be monsters the people like that should be put down not the dogs.

I have tracked down the real study that was miss referenced by a pro-pitbull website. As you can see pure bred pitbull terriers made 104 fatal attacks in the period representing 39% of the fatal attacks.

http://roominate.com/blogg/dog_attacks_1982_to_2006_clifton.pdf

that report is irrelevant firstly its based on US figures secondly the data is old and inaccurate its self

 

[alrightknight]

Deaths by dogs and dog attacks in general are self reported. Most poeple will go "it was a pitbull " when it could have been anything, as the article posted earlier by snakehandler? I think, most people couldnt I.D a pitbull, it took me 7 goes thats for sure. The data is completely up to the judgement of witnesses who probably couldnt ID a dog if someone shoved the name in their face.

 

[Ships]

Ittybitty what is your advice/information based on, I have seen first hand well looked after family pets tear apart a dozen sheep, it wasn't for food. I have seen the ramifications of this time and time again, not by wild dogs but family bed layers out at night. Staffies love to fight other dogs. If they never get the opportunity to fight they are fine and perhaps never will, but once they do get in a fight they love it and seek it out. Again I have witnessed this many times first hand. Like all animals they are unpredictable.

 

[Black.Rabbit]

As for those statistical articles... who is to say that the reason the pitbull number is so high is because people are more likely to report an attack from a pitty, rather than say, a Lab, or hell... a Chihuahua?

Did you know that 80% of internet statistics are false?? (lol)

 

[Mace699]

As for those statistical articles... who is to say that the reason the pitbull number is so high is because people are more likely to report an attack from a pitty, rather than say, a Lab, or hell... a Chihuahua?

Did you know that 80% of internet statistics are false?? (lol)

you should have said 80.3% to be precise

 

[alrightknight]

Dogs are generally aggressive to other animals unless conditioned otherwise. Their most primitive function is hunting, hence a group of sheep is going to trigger this this unless they have been raised around them and have had a firm upbringing. ships your information is just a valid as ittybitty's, what you have seen firsthand counts for nothing in a debate like this. My dog follows our sheep around at night and has killed 2 foxes trying to take lambs, we never trained him to do this he just does on his own accord, this directly counters what you have said.

 

[kyle199]

everyone should read up on the history of the breed and understand it.
a pitbull was never bred to bite a person whatsoever. the were bred to be dog aggressive yes they were bred for fighting and as such biting a human was condemed because the were many people in the "pit" at the time of a fight, only a few centimeters away from the fighting dogs.
if a pitbull ever bit a person they were almost immediately "culled" as noone wanted a "manbiter"..
and also as such were never used as a guard dog, which i believe is where we are gonig wrong now with pitbulls.
people are getting these dogs and teaching them to be guard dogs and human agressive and line breeding them that way, and with a pitbull being able to inflict massive damage is asking for trouble.
it is sad because its ruining the true pitbull breed.
And also 99% of pitbull's around these days as said before arent true pure pitbulls of the past. over time they have been interbred with other breeds changing the genetics of a true pitbull. amking them bigger and "meaner" looking for the same above reasons.
Gone are the days of the pitbull being very similar in size to the english staffy.. maybe just a little taller.
Many pitbulls i have been around and seen around that are true to breed standard and temperament u could break into their house and the damn dogs would walk out with you being ur new best friend.
it all comes down to continuous breeding away from breed standard imo.
same with any other breed when being interbred and bred away from breed standard or taught to do something that they werent bred for, trouble is going to happen.
sorry if this doesnt make sense writing very quickly.
i also rekon they should stay "illegal" so they dont become "mainstream dogs" as it will only cause more problems.
its very sad as Pitbulls are my favourite breed of dog

and who ever said they have "lock jaw" wat a load of rubbish haha. no dogs has lock jaw.