Letters to the Editor
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@ christensen
I don't think most pits have any business in a dog park. If I was in a dog park and someone entered with a full grown male pit, I would take my dog out immediately.
I do understand the uses of dog parks, but I generally avoid them. Too many risks. Too many diseases. I use them only when on vacation with my dog.
I once saw a female pit take down a large (very large!) French mastiff. She weighed maybe a third of what he did. It was the mastiff owner's fault. The pit always stayed in her yard. The male mastiff jumped a low (to him) fence to get to her. He just wanted to be friends (or something) and the pit lit into him. A short time later, she came into obvious heat. Maybe he was ready and she wasn't. He had to have lots of stitches.
People who keep talking about large dogs and danger should keep that in mind. A Newfoundland much outweighs a pit. I would sooner let my dog greet a Newf than I would ever let him greet a pit. It is not the size of the dog but the nature and the training that count most.
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"exert more force per square inch in their jaws when they bite than any other breed"
Not true travestine. It is simply not true. Many breeds (generally the more wolfish looking ones) exert more pressure than a pit.
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COMPILATION OF BANNED/RESTRICTED DOG BREEDS
RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS OF THE WESTERN STATES
Web Site http://www.povn.com/rdows E-mail rdows@povn.com
Blog http://rdows.wordpress.com E-mail List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdows
The following list contains dog breeds, in alphabetical order, that are either banned from ownership, or restricted so as to make ownership more difficult than owning other breeds, in legislation either passed, proposed, or tabled in venues throughout the United States of America. The breeds are listed by name exactly as they appear in legislation. Redundancy, or misnaming is due to the wording of codes, and/or ordinances. Some breeds are named specifically, some breeds are included by physical description. All dogs are subject to being named.
Breed specific legislation (BSL) sets a legal precedent that empowers the enacting body to add any or all other breeds of dogs, or domestic species, with no further public notice. Some breeds are included in so-called "pit bull" bans or restrictions. There is no breed of dog that is recognized by any registry as "pit bull" It is an umbrella term that covers twenty-five to thirty actual breeds. The term originated as a means to describe any dog whose owner fought it in the pit. It has expanded into a very broad, and erroneous legal usage.
Some breeds are named under "wolf-hybrid" bans or restrictions. Common theory was that all domestic dog breeds were developed from a proto-wolf ancestor. Now with the advent of the Canine Genome Project it is a fact proven by DNA that all domestic dog breeds were developed from canis familaris lupis, a sub-species of the gray wolf. Wolf-hybrid bans do, in fact, encompass all domestic breeds of dogs based upon DNA evidence.
Not one of these bans, or restrictions has made our cities, counties or municipalities safer. All dog owners should be treated equally under the law, and the public should be equally protected from all individual dogs under the law. Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States opposes breed specific legislation. RDOWS encourages the passage of Responsible Dog Owner Legislation that addresses the real problems, the irresponsible, or negligent dog owner. For a copy of RDOWS Model Dog Owner Regulations please contact any RDOWS state Director, or RDOWS.
1.AIREDALE TERRIER
2.AKBASH
3.AKITA
4.ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG
5,ALASKAN MALAMUTE
6.ALSATIAN SHEPHERD
7.AMERICAN BULLDOG
8.AMERICAN HUSKY
9.AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER
10.AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER
11.AMERICAN WOLFDOG
12.ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD
13.ARIKARA DOG
14.AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG
15.AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
16.BELGIAN MALINOIS
17.BELGIAN SHEEPDOG
18.BELGIAN TURVUREN
19.BLUE HEELER
20.BOERBUL
21.BORZOI
22.BOSTON TERRIER
23.BOUVIER DES FLANDRES
24.BOXER
25.BULLDOG
26.BULL TERRIER
27.BULL MASTIFF
28.CANE CORSO
29.CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOG
30.CAUCASIAN SHEPHERD
31.CHINESE SHAR PEI
32.CHOW-CHOW
33.COLORADO DOG
34.DOBERMAN PINSCHER
35.DOGO DE ARGENTINO
36.DOGUE DE BORDEAUX
37.ENGLISH MASTIFFS
38.ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL
39.ESKIMO DOG
40.ESTRELA MOUNTAIN DOG
41.FILA BRASILIERO
42.FOX TERRIER
43.FRENCH BULLDOG
44.GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG
45.GOLDEN RETRIEVER
46.GREENLAND HUSKY
47.GREAT DANE
48.GREAT PYRENEES
49.ITALIAN MASTIFF
50.KANGAL DOG
51.KEESHOND
52.KOMONDOR
53.KOTEZEBUE HUSKY
54.KUVAZ
55.LABRADOR RETRIEVER
56.LEONBERGER
57.MASTIFF
58.NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF
59.NEWFOUNDLAND
60.OTTERHOUND
61.PRESA DE CANARIO
62.PRESA DE MALLORQUIN
63.PUG
64.ROTTWEILER
65.SAARLOOS WOLFHOND
66.SAINT BERNARD
67.SAMOYED
68.SCOTTISH DEERHOUND
69.SIBERIAN HUSKY
70.SPANISH MASTIFF
71.STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER
72.TIMBER SHEPHERD
73.TOSA INU
74.TUNDRA SHEPHERD
75.WOLF SPITZ
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@ CherieGraves
I have heard of Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States. I have even heard of you. While I oppose breed bans, neither you or your list impresses me much. You show up all over the place, but I am not so sure that much of your membership does not include dogfighters.
The fact is that most of the dogs you listed are not at risk of being banned or subject to BSL.
Let me tell you something. I have had enough of lame Nazi analogies for one day, so don't start with the "next they came for my dog" stuff. There are plenty of good posts from smart people in this thread, many of whom even have the same position as you do. So spare us the propaganda.
You belong on Salon -- not much kiddo. Let's hear about your OTHER politics.
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Why Bush?
I agree with most of your article regarding Pit Bulls and if they should be banned.
But I have to ask, what does George Bush have to do with it?
Here is the Bush-era logic:
I believe the actions against Pit Bulls preceded George Bush's tenure. I also believe that the world was not perfect before Bush took office.
Can this publication post anything without referencing the Evil George Bush?
You want to clear the name of Pit Bulls, perhaps you need to look more closely at your propensity to paint with a rather wide brush.
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Behavior can be bred too...
A common sentiment I see in the letters concerning pit bulls and other bully breeds is the genetics argument: pits have genes that dispose them to bite and be violent. This is a false argument. Dog breeding does not happen in a vacuum - it is often controlled by humans who breed dogs for aggressive behavior and massive body builds. Behavior can be bred into or out of a dog as much as its physical build. To argue that the dogs "naturally" take on these traits is to ignore the human element present in dog breeding, and places blame on the dog rather than the backyard breeder who seeks to fill the "tough-ass" role assigned to these dogs by the media and ill-informed individuals. Irresponsible dog breeders are a huge part of the behavior problem, not simply genetics.