Since the very first day of this blog, I’ve had a link over on the right (scroll down…down…there ya go) called “Can You Find the Pit Bull?” The reason I put up this link is because (1) having worked with pit bulls for many years, I'm a fan of the breed and (2) pit bulls and related breeds have gotten, and continue to get, a tremendously bad rap from the media.
Have pit bulls attacked people? Yes. Have Rottweilers? Yes. Have St. Bernards, English Springer Spaniels, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Beagles, and Chihuahuas attacked people?
Yes, to all the above.
However, when a dog attack makes the news, the dog(s) involved are often reported as “pit bulls.” It’s almost as if the media has developed a knee-jerk reflex: “dog attack” = “pit bull.”
Now hold on, you might be saying. Maybe pit bulls end up in the newspaper because, unlike other types of dogs, they put people in the hospital, or even kill them.
But that just ain’t so. When the stories are looked into, often it’s found that the dog involved is not a pit bull or any related breed or even a mix of any of these breeds.
This is yet another reason why I don’t believe in breed bans. Banning pit bulls will not prevent someone from being attacked by a vicious dog of another breed. Instead, you’ll just end up forcing a lot of folks to give up their docile, affectionate pets. But what about any pit bulls who are aggressive? You’ve at least gotten rid of them, right?
Remember, aggressive dogs aren’t created in a vacuum. Take them away, and the people who made them will simply go out and get another dog they think they can mold into a “bad ass.”
Better to focus on the people responsible for dog attacks, and leave the breeds out of it. Before we have to start dressing all our dogs in costumes.
Have pit bulls attacked people? Yes. Have Rottweilers? Yes. Have St. Bernards, English Springer Spaniels, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Beagles, and Chihuahuas attacked people?
Yes, to all the above.
However, when a dog attack makes the news, the dog(s) involved are often reported as “pit bulls.” It’s almost as if the media has developed a knee-jerk reflex: “dog attack” = “pit bull.”
Now hold on, you might be saying. Maybe pit bulls end up in the newspaper because, unlike other types of dogs, they put people in the hospital, or even kill them.
But that just ain’t so. When the stories are looked into, often it’s found that the dog involved is not a pit bull or any related breed or even a mix of any of these breeds.
This is yet another reason why I don’t believe in breed bans. Banning pit bulls will not prevent someone from being attacked by a vicious dog of another breed. Instead, you’ll just end up forcing a lot of folks to give up their docile, affectionate pets. But what about any pit bulls who are aggressive? You’ve at least gotten rid of them, right?
Remember, aggressive dogs aren’t created in a vacuum. Take them away, and the people who made them will simply go out and get another dog they think they can mold into a “bad ass.”
Better to focus on the people responsible for dog attacks, and leave the breeds out of it. Before we have to start dressing all our dogs in costumes.
Many thanks to Walter Rowntree, DVM, for sending me the photo of his Doberman, Hana, dressed as a Poodle for Halloween 2006.
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