Monday, November 15, 2010

Terrible Article About Bad Dogs

I am slightly perturbed by this article... I will admit that I didn't read the entire thing, but the parts that I got were ridiculous and unresearched.

* "These dogs are notoriously instinctive about not letting go once a bite is in progress. And also very likely to vigorously shake the head while maintaining the bite hold. This causes pronounced ripping and tearing durning a fight, a bite, or an attack. I speculate these traits are due to centuries of selective breeding, seeking these specific traits, and to collective memory within the breed."
The breed was never bred for specific physical traits. They were bred on the basis of temperament, will, strength, and the overall want to fight and please the owner. These traits have no indication of what the dog will look like. In many cases, a terrier was bred to a lab, or a retriever was bred to a mutt. They didn't care what the dog looked like, only how the dog's will and fight was. So, the shape, size, or appearance of the skull has no factor into the dog's temperament.

* "I do not believe these dogs are a safe breed to have around children, other animals, and sometimes even the dog's owner."
These dogs have always been great and loyal with children. Even the fighting dogs were great to have around the family children, and were often retired as house pets. There weren't many who survived to a fighting dog's retirement age, but for those that served their master with a good history, were rewarded with home life. Any dog that showed signs of aggression to people were culled from breeding and fighting, as human aggression was far from the intent of this dog.

* "I do not believe the "bad rap" this breed of dog has is due to anything other than the truth about them, and I encourage all pit bull owners to spay and neuter their animals."
There is no denying that the breed can be dangerous in the wrong hands with the wrong training and with improper socialization, but media plays a huge role in the fear around the breed.  So many articles and news reports assume a pit bull type dog did the attack, but when reports are that the dog that bit or attacked a person wasn't a pit bull dog, there's never a retraction. In some cases, there are articles where the title is 'pit bull' attack and the meat of the article uses the true breed that caused the attack.

Here's the hub that caused my issues this morning: About Bad Dogs

Here are a few articles that declare breed bans are worthless:
Chicago - Where Pit Bulls Are Banned, Dog Bites Rise
Kansas City, MO -  Animal Advocates: Dog Breed Bans Don't Work 
Denver -  Do dog breed bans work? 
Dearborn - Council seeing better law, not breed ban, as answer to pit bull problems
Toledo - Toledo replaces breed specific law with one aimed at responsible pet ownership
Miami - Two decades of BSL has produced no positive results


The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine AggressionLost Souls: Found! Inspiring Stories About Pit BullsAmerican Pit Bull Terriers: Truth Behind One of Americas's Most Popular Breeds

Sloppy Pit Bull Kisses

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