Letters to the Editor
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once again
It's not that there is a relative difference between pit bulls and other dogs. There is an ABSOLUTE difference. Most dogs - indeed most higher creatures, one of the exceptions being humankind - are programmed to not kill each other. We've all seen dogfights end with one dog standing over the other, the losing dog exposing its jugular and the winning dog growling but unable to bite any more, let alone finish the other off. A pit bull does finish the other off. It lacks an inborn inhibition, one might say a "Thou Shalt Not Kill" gene. It was bred that way, it's not its own fault, but the fact remains: if it ever bites, it doesn't know how to stop the way normal dogs do.
I don't doubt that they are fantastic pets. But there is a safety catch missing in them and that is why I cross the street when I see one.
And frankly I resent having to cross the street. I also resent having to tell my little children to not kiss strange dogs on the nose (my little boy did that once, to a pit bull, to my enormous fright) just because there are two or three breeds capable of killing.
Pit bulls don't scare their owners, but they scare other people (for good reason), and that in itself is already an aggression.
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@karen35
I'm not aware of any research that shows that pits are more likely to attack than other breeds- please link to it or at least say where you read this. As far as I'm aware, there are many breeds considered more likely to attack than pits are, and I believe that the #1 biter (if memory serves me right) is the Cocker Spaniel. As Ken Foster mentions in the article we are discussing, if pits were as likely to bite as many people believe, we would have many, MANY more dog attacks than we do, given that a majority, or even almost the entirety, of the pound population in many areas is now pit bulls.
As far as pits around small children, in spite of the bad publicity since the 1980's on, pits have been KNOWN for being excellent family dogs since the turn of the last century, and it was only with the rise of their popularity (largely amongst the drug dealing culture) in the 1980's that they have gotten the reputation as mean or dangerous dogs. That's plenty of time for irresponsible breeders to do some damage, by creating dangerous bloodlines that promote violence and instability, but RESPONSIBLE breeders (like the ones we got our dog from), who are aware of the potential pitfalls of this breed and carefully select their breeding stock, are still breeding animals that are as safe as any other breed of dog. I've known a number of dogs they have bred in addition to mine, and without exception all of them have been enthusiastically friendly, sweet natured dogs.
I have a 9 month old baby girl at home, and although we don't leave the baby and dog unattended, it has nothing to do with concern over what the dog might do to her- we KNOW what the dog will do, and frankly the baby doesn't need to be licked that much.
I'm not trying to say that every pit is as sweet and harmless as mine, I know that they are not. But punishing ME for what some negligent a-hole lets his dog do (or trains it to do) solves nothing.
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@Hans B
You shouldn't let your children kiss strange dogs on the nose anyway. No matter what breed they are. To any dog, a stranger's face approaching their own would look threatening.
Just saying.
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Thanks so much for your article...
I've got two amazing dogs (sisters, actually) that are pit bull/shar pei mixes. I got them from a shelter less than a day before they were scheduled to be put to sleep, and I cannot imagine life without them. Greta and Aggie are the two sweetest, most loving dogs I have ever had, and everyone who takes the time to get to know them falls in love with them.
I too am tired of having to apologize for them. Just last night I was walking them past a woman who was walking her two schnauzers unleashed. My dogs instincitively laid down when they saw the smaller dogs and started tentatively wagging their tails, no doubt hoping for two new playmates. The schnauzers immediately started growling and barking. The woman's response was to rebuke me to get my two monsters away from her two unleashed, angry dogs. As she walked away from me, she muttered under her breath that the breed should be banned.
Ridiculous.
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@Hans B
You are falling into the fallacy that so many pit-detractors do- to say that pits don't have a "safety catch" that other breeds do is as mistaken as is the belief that their jaws "lock". What you are talking about is a lack of training, which any dog can suffer from, and an insensitivity to violence, which in almost every case I'm sure can be traced back to the dog's treatment and training by the owner. The "lacking inborn inhibition" that you talk about is something that it beaten into fighting dogs by their abusive owners, it is NOT in any way, shape, or form a ""Thou Shalt Not Kill" gene", and to assume that this is how non-fighting dogs behive is just flat out wrong. Follow some of the links to temperament ratings of various breeds posted earlier in this thread, you'll see that what you just said has no factual basis whatsoever.
And you should tell your little kids "not kiss strange dogs on the nose" ANYWAY!!! No matter what breed they are!! Common sense 101.
I'm sorry if people are afraid when they see my walking my dog and feel the need to cross the street, but that doesn't give them the right to tell me I have to give up my dog to be killed or move. I'm all for punishing negligent owners whose dogs ARE dangerous, seriously, I am, there is no excuse for allowing a dog you know to be dangerous to have access to unsuspecting people, but punishing ALL pit owners would be like punishing all parents of teenagers, since teenagers are capable of vicious attacks and dangerous behavior too.