Expert Opinion on Breed Specific Legislation

http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/topic.php?id=4&topic=17



Many more links to studies and facts on site. As the sub-heading of the article says: "Why debate what the experts have concluded..."

The experts are all AGAINST breed-specific legislation. As the National Animal Control Association states: "Dangerous and/or vicious animals should be labeled as such as a result of their actions or behavior and not because of their breed."

CDC reports, until the CDC made this statement:

The fact that anyone takes it otherwise is shameful.

can bite. Now, it's true that larger dogs can cause more damage, but banning one breed would be put us on a slippery slope. We could ban the "bully" breeds, then procede to banning all large breeds (even a gentle St. Bernard or Lab can bite when threatened). Next up would be the terriers, and so on.

We could also run into the problem of identifying the breed of every dog. For instance, let's say pit bulls are banned. However, there actually is no AKC recognized breed called "pit bull". There is an association of breeders that breed and sell what they call pit bulls, but most other breed groups consider those dogs to simply be a refined type of mixed breed. So how do we determine what is a pit bull? Would only the owners who affirm and identify their dogs as pit bulls fall under any bans? Would an owner be able to claim that their animal is a mix of other breeds, and thus circumvent the law? And what about the Staffordshire Terriers and the American Staffordshire Terriers, the premnient "bully" breeds that have been bred to have dispositions very different from their fighting ancestors? And don't forget the proud ranks of the mixed breeds. Would any dog with even a trace of bully blood be illegal?

While I agree that there may be a public safety interest here, banning breeds is not the answer. Perhaps requiring obedience training would help or requiring fences in all yards attached to homes with dogs?

You cannot necessarily predict the behavior of any animal (or human for that matter). When I was going up my brother's friend recounted a story about the dachsund he grew up with as a pet. When he (the friend) was about 10 or so, a German Shepherd dog attacked him. Bad idea -- the dachsund ripped the shepherd's throat out. Surprise!

Point of the story is: at that time, it would have been German Shepherds that people were concerned about. No one ever thinks about dachsunds as potentially dangerous -- it is to laugh. Yet that dachsund dispatched the shepherd in short order and quite viciously.

Unfortunately, every time the media reports a dog bite some DUer's start screaming about banning Pit Bulls, Akitas, etc. etc. Facts seem to mean nothing to them.

BSL is a pathetic, dimwitted attempt by do-nothing politicians to appear to be doing something when in fact they are accomplishing absolutely nothing. Granted, there are many people who own bully breeds who have absolutely no business owning one, or any animal for that matter. Personally I'd like to see mandatory spay/neuter for animals not demonstrably active in conformation or other legitimately-sanctioned (by a legitimate AKC, UKC, CKC, or FCI-recognized club or organization) activities. Now if Denver would repeal their dreadful law...people passing through had dogs seized from them an euthanized even...that would be wonderful. The attorney in Denver who pushed for that garbage tried stirring up pro-BSL sentiment on our local Madison bulletin board...he was chased off in short order.

My wife has done a humane-ed presentation in elementary schools for a few years now, and I usually assist when time allows. It is saddening to see in urban schools the number of youngsters who have actually seen a dogfight. She'll ask the children if anyone has seen a dogfight, and hands will go up. You'd die a little inside if you saw it. The only saving grace is it gives us an opening to discuss the evils of animal cruelty and teach them proper behavior around dogs, while Deuce (American Pit Bull Terrier) and Weezee (APBT x Rottie cross) wander around the classroom mooching attention and dispensing slime. Hopefully we can inspire more troubled youth to embrace values of kindness and humanity toward animals, and by extension toward humans. Hope springs eternal, it does...

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

and those insisting that certain breeds and dogs that somehow might resemble them are innately evil and should be banned and destroyed.

these nutso owners who abuse their animals, train them to fight or otherwise reward them for being overly aggressive and ban these sick people from owning dogs.

All I ever hear is that A owner had 15 malnourished dogs chained up in the back yard and they got fined $x/animal and perhaps 6 months in jail. I never hear that their ability to own the animals in the first place is questioned.

Maybe they do and I just don't hear about it?

that anybody got ALL the experts on anything to agree.

Who has heard any gory stories about Cocker Spaniels going nuts and ripping a ten year old kid to shreds?? Anybody?? Now, how many of you have heard the same kind of story about a couple of pit bulls? Is it simply the MSM trying to mislead us into believing that pit bull attacks tend to have more catastrophic results than the average dog?? That damn MSM. They have it out for pit bulls and liberals.

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/OtherBreedBites/AllDogsBite.htm
A list of dog attacks, some as recent as this month, that you've probably never heard of.

You should already understand now that news is no longer about information, it's about provoking a response of shock and dismay in order to catch and hold your attention so that you'll see all their sponsors' commercials. Terrorists, earthquake weather, and pit bulls are pretty much all you'll ever see on the news these days.

Given that my entire experience with cocker spaniels has been that they are stupid and rather foul-tempered, I really wouldn't be surprised if there were quite a few maulings.

they would have found examples of even poodles - yes! poodles - performing vicious attacks.

And what about the example given here of a German Shepherd attacking a child and the child's dachshund killing the Shepherd by ripping it's throat out?

Are dachshund's more vicious than German Shepherds?

NO, personally, I love German Shepherds. Although, I personally prefer Shepard mixes. The best dog I ever had was a Shepherd/Basenji mix. Although the pound I got him from didn't know the father was a basenji, only that his mother was a German Shepherd. My vet was the first one to recognize him, and luckily I worked with a friend who showed basenji's professionally and had several ribbons. I learned a lot from her. He was the best dog. He had all of the best qualities of both breeds. He was my best friend. We frequently went camping together, and I know he saved my life on at least one occasion - if not more. I still miss him. And, yes, he did turn and try to bite me once. That was when he found the place he wanted to die, and I tried to pick him up and carried him home because I didn't want him to die - even though he was well past the average age for both basenji's and Shepherd's. He did let me carry him home - only to disappear the next day (even though he could barely walk) so he could die in peace. Rest In Peace, Asimov, my friend.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get all teary eyed.

ANYWAY, I currently have a "box" puppy (guy sitting in front of the local grocery with a bunch of puppies in a box yelling "free to a good owner!") that he claims is a Pit Bull/Bull Dog mix. I'm not sure about the Bull Dog, but he definitely looks like a Pit Mix. With a beautiful brindle coat. He "mauls" me every day. As soon as I get home, he gets just so excited to see me.... I keep tying to remind myself to trim back his claws. I have scars! But, it's my fault because I keep forgetting to trim back those claws of his. He's just happy to see me!

As far as the "jaw pressure" and all that I keep reading about - people forget that one of the reasons the breed was so popular with hunters was their ability to pick up and hold the downed prey in their jaws without mangling it. As for my puppy, I have played with many many dogs and my hand has been inside of many dog's mouths. All ages, puppy to adult. Despite all the brouhaha over the jaw pressure of a pit bull, I have to say that I have never encountered a "gentler" more careful mouth than my Pit Bull mix. So, my personal experience only emphasizes what hunters have stated for generations.

BOTTOM LINE: You cannot judge a dog by it's breed, anymore than you can judge a human being by the color of his skin. Yes, some breeds may have some general tendencies as to height, weight, etc. As for personality - just like in human beings, it's an individual thing and has NOTHING TO DO WITH GENETICS!

Blaming or praising a dog for it's personality based on it's breed is the same as Eugenics. We've already been down this road with humans. Why would we think it is different with dogs?

They both have a higher tendency to attack children and a higher likelihood of attacking the head and neck area, so they tend to cause very significant and traumatic damage.

The commonality of media reports of pit bull attacks stems from three sources:

1. Commonality- they are a very common dog.

2. Misidentification- people who are afraid of dogs or simply don't know them very well tend to mistake any dog bigger than a breadbox and smaller than a Toyota with a squarish head for a pittie. I got this all the time with by boxer.

3. Bias toward presenting those stories- playing up fear sells.

FWIW, Cockers have a reputation for snapping and biting a lot.

We had pitbull-attack after pitbull-attack, and now there are next to none of them. One poor postal worker got her ears torn off, we had children being mauled, and one lady was bitten to the tune of a hundred stitches defending her smaller dog. I haven't heard of one such case since the pitbull ban was passed.

We heard a lot of rhetoric before the law was passed, but I can't say I've heard too much in the way of negatives in the two years since.