Letters to the Editor
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@ wedeman
I do the same in terms of taking a wide birth of pits when I walk my dog. Also, people with unneutered males should do others the favor of taking their dogs well away from other dogs if their dogs are not well-trained. If he's not well-trained, get him trained! Your walks will be so much happier!
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It's both nature and nurture
My points echo several earlier posts, but I'd like to add my own experiences to the mix:
1) In my long-ago teenhood, we had two German Shepherds. One was raised lovingly by the family direct from the litter and the other (when my folks had some land) was a rescued dog who'd had an abusive history.
All went well for about 2 years, despite the fact that our family had acquired chickens and a duck. One day, the dogs decided to attack and killed all but one of our flock. I can still remember my 10-year-old brother trying to run our dogs off with tears streaming down his face. I believe that this episode was triggerd by a "pack" mentality between the 2 dogs.
2)As an adult, I live in the country now. Our current "herd" is comprised of strays or offspring of strays (city people still "drop off" dogs in the rural areas and many of our neighbors also have unofficially rescued animals). We have raised them with love and gentle discipline and they have protected our propery and selves with bark but no bite. However, a stray but very docile Rottweiler came onto the property and "embraced" me by putting his front feet on my shoulder. The smallest dog in the bunch launched himself onto the Rottweiler to protect me.
3) Our neighbors down the road (quarter mile away) had pit bulls. No problems in the neighborhood at all, but one day their next door neighbor had his dad visiting over Christmas. Dad went out to get the mail - the pit bulls attacked and killed him.
All this is to say, as with humans, both nature (including pack mentality) and nurture count.
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That's why they're called "Breeds"
It does actually mean something. The word - "breed".
The dogs were "bred" to do things.
Hounds BARK (or bay).
Terriers CHASE vermin.
Labradors RETRIEVE.
Pit Bulls FIGHT.
I know, I know - this doesn't mean that humans can't control the bred behaviors.
But dogs bred for a behavior will tend towards that behavior.
I wouldn't buy a Border Collie, for example, unless I had lots of space for it to run and lots of time to excersize it etc. Because they need it. And if they don't get it, they may get antsy.
I wouldn't buy a hound if I wanted a quiet dog.
And I wouldn't buy a pit bull unless I KNEW I had the time and inclination to ALWAYS exert PHYSICAL and BEHAVIORAL control over the dog.
Problem is most people don't understand this.
It's disingenuous to imply that it's just the owners. It's not.
Pit bulls have a higher POTENTIAL for violence. And that's enough to warrant a breed ban in my book.
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A little history lesson
When I was a kid, it wasn't pit bulls everyone was scared of--it was German Shepards ("police dogs"). Then it was Dobermans. Back in the thirties, bloodhounds were supposed to be vicious. After pit bulls, everyone started talking about Rottweillers and how dangerous they were. These days, Presa de Canarios are the new up-and-coming menace to society. If we just get rid of that one dangerous breed, we'll never have to worry about dog attacks again.
Any ill-trained, badly-handled dog is going to be dangerous. Out in public, any dog might start a fight with a strange dog.
Some of the letter writers here seem like they would have no problem with Michael Vick drowning or electrocuting pit bulls--what they would want him indicted for is breeding them in the first place.
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TESTIFY BROTHER DEKE!!!
Your letter says it better than anyone.
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Remember what voice of reason
said back on p. 3? I urge everyone to go back and read that post because it pointed out that all that hysteria that leads to breed bans stems from mostly quite incomplete information. Finding how often any particular breed bites depends upon finding out how many of that breed there are. You would have to look at percentages and not total number of bites per breed. Otherwise we only have anecdotal evidence.
I know that and I am a total math dummy.
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Shades of grey
In January, a pit mix (probably Lab) stray ran down the street to lick my husband. She showed him her belly, we determined she was a stray and needed help, and took her in. Good thing we did, because AZ experienced record cold temps for the next 3 weeks. She probably would have died.
I tried to find her owners, called the ASPCA, Humane Society, rescue groups, shelters, posted flyers, etc.
In the process, I did a lot of reading about Pits. One of the best sources I found was http://www.pbrc.net/breedinfo.html.
Pits here in AZ are notoriously abused and fighting is grotesquely common. Elizabeth Taylor (that's what I named her because she was drop-dead gorgeious) was only 11 months old and had already had a litter of pups (they weren't with her but Vet confirmed she had been nursed). She was wonderful with our five year old son (would babysit him.. keep him out of cabinet drawers, etc by placing her body between him and the forbidden object). She was uncannily smart, and a little sneaky... partly, I assume, because she had been on the streets a long time foraging for food. A Lab breeder told me it was the Lab...
We were tempted to keep her, but knew it wouldn't be fair to her or our other dog (Collie/German Shepherd/Golden mix) or cat. Both dogs were protective (especially of our son) but in different ways. Both extremely intelligent, in different ways. ET was submissive... but I took the PBRC literature/website to heart and decided if we couldn't trust them together, it wasn't a good mix. Plus... our cat was, to ET, prey.
Ultimately, I found ET a good home, with the help of a rescue organization. It was NOT easy. She was in heat, guarded on food initially (and with no surprise... since she was starving) so she would be put down at a shelter. She was obviously a Pit mix... so most people were horrified I thought she deserved to breathe. I found people who wanted a dog to protect their homes and yards. A pit is not bred for this. They're generally so friendly with people they are frequently stolen. The list can go on.... Finally, I found a man who had owned a pit female before, and I thought could be a responsible Daddy for ET. Again, it was NOT EASY.
I was a little leery of ET when I first saw her. She was smaller (about 50 lbs) than our dog (85 lbs), but built like a brick wall. My husband had always assured me Pits were generally sweet dogs... and ET was a shining example. She exhibited classic Pit/Lab behavior. She took note of prey (including the cat) and was downright stealthy. I am sure, in time, I would have trusted ET as much as our dog, while taking into consideration her natural tendencies. As one poster remarked... biters/ill tempered dogs can be found in any breed. What sets Pits apart is their amazing jaw strength and determination. I am of the thought BSL legislation should extend only to the point of requiring INDIVIDUALS to be licensed to own animals (individuals must pass licensing to own breed TYPES). Not animals to be licensed to individuals. BSL, in my opinion, is ridiculous... eventually every popular breed of pet will be outlawed... because the more popular a breed becomes, the greater the chance of human agression being recorded. And on top of that, animals will be animals, and breed with whatever is convenient... so how do you determine who qualifies under BSL? I am for public education of proper pet ownership and accurate descriptions of breed specifics, and enforcement of animal abuse laws.
I believe popularization of any breed of animal generally leads to some sort of backlash.... Dalmations were popular and then there were complaints of health problems and skittish behaviour. Results of too many backyard breeders, without proper knowledge of dogs and Dalmations, trying to make a quick buck. Same with Goldens. Same thing happened with Arabian horses... people complained they were "crazy". As an owner of several I can guarantee, as a breed, they are not crazy. They are smart... and a poorly bred and handled horse can be a menace... regardless of breed (I've met plenty of dangerous Quarter Horses and Appaloosas).
I think Pits, like any other breed (which by the way, they aren't), can be great family pets. A Pit isn't for everyone. Their breeding, tendencies and personalities MUST be taken into account (just like those friggin chihuahuas that have bitten me more than once). And not all people should be pet or dog owners - regardless of breed.
A poorly bred, or trained, or owned Pit can be a menace. But so can a Chihuahua or a Daschund (the only breeds, by the way, that have ever bitten me).