Letters to the Editor
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No instinct that says "stop"
BSB asks: "From what I hear of pit bulls, they fight to kill, and if the other dog submits, it kills it anyway. Is this true?"
It is indeed and that is the problem. Not which dog bites more, but which dog has lost its natural inhibitions through fight-dog breeding. Any dog can bite. But there are only a few breeds that will actually cut through a proferred jugular.
I saw a dog of a Brazilian breed - sorry I'm no good with breed names - which had originally been bred to kill escaping slaves, kill a smaller dog that way. The small dog was lying on its back, showing its jugular. Any "natural" dog would have stopped biting. The Brazilian dog didn't hesitate, the little dog was dead in a matter of seconds.
Of course the owner of the Brazilian dog was absolutely sure that it would never harm a fly, and so on, and so on. But the workers on his plantation locked themselves in their homes at night, when the dog was let free.
These killer breeds, however well-trained, are more dangerous than any dog, however aggressive, that has not lost its natural inhibition against killing. In Europe these breeds are identified and they must be muzzled in public places. That has led to a sharp decline in their popularity and there are far fewer of them around than, say, fifteen years ago.
As for mixed-race dogs: they probably get their natural inhibition against killing back.
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Two Kinds of Dogs
Ken,
There are two kinds of dogs-- dogs that bite, and dogs that haven't bitten yet.
Sure, many, even most, in the second group will never bite. But the fact is, no matter how much you love your dog and no matter how totally awesome you think your dog handling skills are, you can never be entirely sure.
Period.
And on those occasions where it happens, doesn't it stand to reason that you'd rather be trying to get a Yorkshire Terrier, or a Beagle, or even a Collie or Lab off of someone rather than a Pit Bull?
And remember-- you might not even be there. You may have forgotten a backyard gate, or some child may have opened it for you, or there may be an unknown hole in the fence. Your dog may slip or yank free from its leash. Of course you're oh-so-very-sure that YOUR little angel won't hurt someone in this circumstance-- and this lumps you in with the majority of dog owners whose pets are involved in mauling incidents.
Everyone knows about how Pits have been bred to have an absurd bite strength, and to hold on until the victim (or the Pit itself) is dead.
And all of the above still assume owners that mean well. I don't know about you, but I am surrounded by sloppy dog owners. And for whatever reason, it seems like the most careless owners are the ones with the most dangerous dogs.
Everyone keeps making the gun analogy, but only because the analogy is so clear-- there's a reason why assault rifles are banned and shotguns aren't.
Oh, and bringing race into this is just pathetic.
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it's the owners, but...
How on Earth will we police the owners? Dog inspectors? I know banning a breed is silly and creates as many problems as it solves, but how do you protect the populace from dogs whose owners have taught them to be aggressive?
Check out Malcolm Gladwell's article on Pit Bulls and racial profiling at www.gladwell.com
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Even if the dogs themselves are innocent, macho, "gangstah" creepazoid humans are not
And if a particular breed has an inborn tendency to aggression--one that is all-too-often exploited by macho, "gangstah" creepazoid humans--then perhaps it's best to ban those breeds and eliminate the creepazoids' means to exploit dogs.
At this point in time, pit bulls have a certain cachet about them amongst the creepazoids that other potentially-aggressive dogs--such as Rottweilers* and German Shepherds*--do not.
If--when deprived of their fighting dog of choice--the creepazoids were to turn to other breeds, then those breeds will have to be examined closely, and measures will have to be taken to ensure that those dogs don't also become a common target for exploitation. (I can't imagine that those two particular breeds* would be banned, given their long history of being the preferred breeds* for police K-9 units. But consider this: There must be a very good reason why Rottweilers and German Shepherds are used in police work and pit bulls are not. And that reason must have something to do with their potential for viciousness being combined with a lack of predictability in their behavior, and inability to be reliably-disciplined.)
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Another thing...
All dogs are capable of BITING. My little rat terrier is petrified of children. He nipped a little girl in the park whose mother didn't listen to me say repeatedly "no, no, no, he doesn't like children." But he's small and cute so I was ignored. I completely freaked out - because if comes down to dog vs. bit child, the dog will always lose. Fortunately, the nip didn't break the skin and the mother didn't blame the dog.
Pit Bulls don't just BITE. I've never heard a story of a PB biting and walking away. PB's, when they go nuts, are in it for the kill.
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Why not wolves?
They're just ancient wild dogs. I'm sure that they're safe.
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Re: CynStern and pits used for law enforcement
http://www.lawdogsusa.org/home.html
As for the hysteria in so many of these letters, it's a good reminder for responsible pit owners to keep their dogs leashed and under control at all times for the safety of their dogs. Sheesh, talk about swelling brains and locking jaws.
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Yeah, Right
Of course, EVERY Pit Bull isn't going to attack you. But the argument that they aren't born bad so we shouldn't be concened about them smacks of "guns don't kill people, people kill people." The fact is that many, many Pit Bulls are vicious, and I don't give a damn why that is when I'm walking through my Manhattan neighborhood with my 4 year-old son, and I have to pick him up and cross the street because another bozo has his pet bundle of muscle and teeth attached to a boat chain. This happens at least three times a week. I also question the position that we're fearing a non-existent biting epidemic. The problem is that an enraged Pit Bull can kill just about anyone it cares to, and there are far too many Pit Bull owners who get a buzz off of the possbility of it. If you want a pet, get one that couldn't be used to guard a concentration camp. There are tons to choose from.