Letters to the Editor
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I oppose breed bans, but
it is naive to believe that dogs often characterized as "pit bulls" and other bully breeds do not cause problems sometimes. It is nonsense to imply that there is no breed characteristic aggression.
Some dogs are more people aggressive and some dogs are more dog aggressive. People should not have breeds that they are not prepared to handle or at least hire trainers who can help them handle their dogs.
Some dogs that can be dog aggressive are: Malamutes, Chihuahuas, almost all bully breeds, many German Shepherds, Belgian Sheepdogs (and their similar cousins).
Some dogs that can be people aggressive are almost all dogs used in protective police work and many used for guarding, such as mastiffs, Pressas and Corsos, and Giant Schnauzers.
Other dogs can be quite erratic: Several bite lists have Golden Retrievers at the top.
Even within a breed there is a wide variety of behavior. That is one of the main reasons breed bans are stupid.
There are last I checked, only about 500 registered American Staffordshire terriers. They are not causing the problem. Their numbers are simply not that great.
The problem is the sport of dog fighting, and the fact that many gangsters (human aggressive creatures) are now choosing pits and making them aggressive by cruel and abusive means, and worst of all, people who let their dogs loose, especially in packs, to wander at night.
Prosecute the abusive people. Don't ban the breed! Even "pits" are more abused than dangerous.
When I walk my Shepherd in the evening the dog we have to be most afraid of is a black Chihuahua that is allowed out sometimes by his owners. He is utterly frenzied and vicious. He bites at my Shepherd's feet and hocks and sometimes even lunges at me, barking like a maniac the whole time. It has taken a bit of training to get my Shepherd to step over this monster and ignore him, although he had never offered before to bite small dogs. This is not fair to my dog! I am on the verge of filing a complaint.