very powerful piece on pitbulls

[gaya]

i agree with you pica 100%. It wouldn't even be an issue if people took their responsibility seriously. Sure every once in a while the dog might escape the yard. My girlfriends dogs escaped three times in the ten years she has had them and every time she's on their tale tracking them down. A good dog owner wouldn't just let their dogs go where ever cuz it might not be safe for the dog, let alone the people in the neighborhood. As usual it comes down to the flawed human. When i was growing up my family let our dog go all over the neighborhood. She was a very docile golden retriever and nobody was afraid of her but she would crap all over other people's property and a few times we found her crap placed on our front door step by aggravated neighbors. Bad parents i had!

 

[Haiku]

pica, those are fairly reasonable things to strive for. I fully support laws to keep dogs from regularly running free for their own safety, other people's safety, and other pets' safety. My pups are always leashed in public for their own safety. Tommy is timid with loud noises and has jumped/yanked the leash out of my hand before when startled. Of course he comes right back and would die before hurting someone, but for his own safety I now use a collar that prevents him being able to pull that hard. My dogs live inside with me, and all my dogs will ALWAYS do so. As I said, they are my children, members of my family.

Of course, accidents/mistakes happen and sometimes even the most responsible pet owner will have their dog get loose. I've heard many stories of gas meter readers or other service people leaving gates open for dogs to escape. Where I live, if you have a fenced in yard, by law you cannot keep the gate locked in case meter readers, firemen etc. need to get into your yard. This is personally why I would never leave my dogs out in even a fenced yard if I was not home, but some people who are gone for many hours and have no way to let the dog out while they are gone don't have much choice. Dogs will get loose sometimes, but a responsible owner will do everything in their power to get the dog back as soon as possible.

I do feel however that a stray dog, no matter the breed, should not just be euthanized if abandoned. If the dog's personality is kind and gentle, efforts should be made to find a new home for the dog first (no matter what breed).

I would like to see new laws placing much tighter restrictions on breeders, because a great deal of the problems going on with unwanted dogs, mistreated dogs, and poorly bred dogs have to do with backyard breeders and puppymillers. I would like to see a law passed that all dogs should be spayed and neutered unless someone has a breeder's license, and that a breeder's license would involve a fee, a limit on how many litters per year, as well as the chance for revocation of the license if the breeder is found to be cruel or neglectful. These measures alone would do so much to fix some of the common problems that go on in the U.S. with dogs.

 

[Opcn]

Simb your right, dogs can't be expected to all behave normally, I think we should use that information to enforce mandatory saftey practises rather that ignoring it. it is the responsibility of the dog owner, but when people arent being responsible bans come into play (i.e. fire works)

 

[gaya]

I would like to see new laws placing much tighter restrictions on breeders, because a great deal of the problems going on with unwanted dogs, mistreated dogs, and poorly bred dogs have to do with backyard breeders and puppymillers. I would like to see a law passed that all dogs should be spayed and neutered unless someone has a breeder's license, and that a breeder's license would involve a fee, a limit on how many litters per year, as well as the chance for revocation of the license if the breeder is found to be cruel or neglectful. These measures alone would do so much to fix some of the common problems that go on in the U.S. with dogs.

bravo, i couldn't agree more.

Also, I can't tell you how many numb nuts I've known who've purchased puppies, like huskies, and do not have the capablities to care for them. I know many are against this idea but i think their should be a license for the people as well. Like a drivers license type thing. Where they would have to read a manual and take a test on how to care for their animals.
I know i've brought this up b4. My stepsister and her husband got a husky. Now its too big and they don’t feel like walking it every morning. The thing is stuck in their house 24/7. These people should not be allowed to have a dog like that. That dog needs to run every day not go for walks and be cooped up in the house. He's going crazy and he's driving them crazy.

 

[mm_simb]

I agree with that also. I wouldn't mind having to take classes and pay a fee so I would own a dog I want. It's good to teach people how big these dogs get, what they require each and everyday, that they have different temperaments, and the different temperaments and problems that have been seen on some breeds. I think making people do this would reduce the number of irresponsible and uneducated owners. I also know that this would greatly reduce the number of animal collectors.

 

[gaya]

I agree with that also. I wouldn't mind having to take classes and pay a fee so I would own a dog I want. It's good to teach people how big these dogs get, what they require each and everyday, that they have different temperaments, and the different temperaments and problems that have been seen on some breeds. I think making people do this would reduce the number of irresponsible and uneducated owners. I also know that this would greatly reduce the number of animal collectors.

Absolutely! I wonder though who in the world could make that kind of legislation an actualization?

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I do have a bone to pick though with people who come into your house and then want to complain about the dog. I was at my brothers for Christmas and both of his roommates have dogs. I was home alone and apparently a guy was supposed to come over to check the furnace. Well, instead of knocking he came in the front door, and went to let his buddy in the back. I figured it was my brothers roommate and didn't want to bother them, so I stayed in the living room (I couldn't see them from here, just hear them). Well, all of a sudden the one dog started going nuts (the other is older and was upstairs, I don't think her hearing is that good, this one was downstairs in a back room sleeping) and attacked the furnace guy and his buddy, who tried to get in the back door.

The thing was, if these guys had bothered to knock this wouldn't have happened. I would have answered the door. That was this dogs territory, and he was defending it. I didn't blaim the dog, and neither did my brother or the roommates when I told them what happened. These guys gave no warning, and persisted with trying to get in the back room even though the dogs was clearly upset. And no, I don't know the dogs breed, but it looks like a fat Norwegian Elkhound.

And yet another dog story, I'm moving, and took our one dog with me to the new place because she was getting worried about us leaving for hours and moving furniture out without her knowing where we are going (she was abandoned once before, so I think she worries more than most). So there I was in the backyard, and the next door neighbors dog (some little white spitz thing, not sure of the breed) almost jumped the fence trying to get to my dog. So much fun, and what a way to meet and greet the neighbors lol.

I just think people need to realize that dogs aren't people, no matter what teh breed, and act accordingly. I don't think killing them as a preventive measure is going to do a damn bit of good.

And the license thing would be good, we have to have one to drive, own a gun, and stuff like that, why not a dog too?

 

[paige]

mine showed up saying jamster and a women on it is this the right page and what do you press

 

[Bloo]

It takes ages to load. make sure you have any pop-up blockers turn disabled.

 

[Lexxa]

made me cry too

 

[plecoperson]

I cried to.

You realise you're talking about lethal discrimination against a stereotype?

If we slaughter every large dog with the potential to hurt someone, say goodbye to St Bernards, Newfoundlands, Rough Collies, Weimeranars, Labradors, Retrievers, Staffs, Pit Bulls, Standard Poodles, Dalmations, Rottweilers, Dobermanns, Husky, as well as countless other breeds. All breeds are just as preinclined to aggression as the next - take for example a border collie kept as a pet - the toddler runs away and the collie nips it, doing what comes naturally to all collies, HERDING. but those teeth can hurt. so there goes all the herding breeds.
Terriers: as we've seen with the larger terriers, people dont like the,m. But Yorkies and Jack Russells can do real damage with those sharp teeth, even if they can't reach as high as a Great Dane. So that would be all terriers out too.
Gundogs out too - they have teeth. Ditto Utility breeds. So we have no dogs left.
If we slaughtered every animal with the potential to do dmg to humans, we would have only humans and some species of insect left. What a lonely world that would be.

Im firmly against baning any breeds.

As to that video - I would not leave any child unattended with ANY dog, whether a pitbull or a tiny chihuahua. Children do not understand how to act around dogs for the most part. I know my dog gets annoyed if a kid bugs him as he was abused by children as a puppy. But if any one suggested killing him because he MIGHT hurt a child, Id laugh in their face. Because I am always careful about who interacts with my dog. We NEVER leave kids alone with him. But does that mean he should be killed?

FYI, he is a small crossbreed about the size of a springer spaniel and we think he is part maltese terrier, part poodle and part spaniel of some kind. So no pitbull at all.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I agree that euthanizing a dog because it is a pit bull is wrong. However, the dogs were originally bred for fighting. I believe it is possible to breed some of the aggression out. The same way it was bred into them. A little known fact is the chihuahua is a breed closely related to wolves, if not the most closely related breed. They are more likely to bite than a pit bull. They just can't inflict the kind of damage that a larger breed does.

I also agree that pit bull attacks are sensationalized. But find me a report of a chihuahua doing the kind of damage that the pit bull does when it attacks. Their jaws may not lock, but they don't let go if they don't want to. I believe that chihuahua attacks are not reported or sensationalized simply because they don't hurt people the way a larger breed does. Also, if a larger dog attacks someone in my city, we hear about it. Dog attacks are rare here, but we do hear about them if they are serious enough regardless of the breed.

Education is key. As is licencing for breeders and owners. Mandatory obedience training would be a good thing too.

 

[mm_simb]

Then mandatory obedience training should be for all dogs. Pits were bred to fight...dogs...not people. They are bred to obey their owners because the owners need them to let go of the other when they want.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I absolutely agree that obedience training should be mandatory for all dogs. I should have made that clear. I think that a dog that understands what his/her master wants from them is a happy dog. I believe that all dogs want to do is to please us. If PEOPLE (not the dogs) are taught how to properly train and control their dogs, the world would be a better place. Pits were not bred to fight, their agression was picked and the aggression was bred. They were not meant to be fought against humans, however the aggression is there and it is very real. A dog does not distinguish between different species as far as I am concerned. We as people project our emotions, beliefs and thoughts on our animals. A dog will protect a member of its "pack". It doesn't realize we are not dogs too. Therefore, when a dog attacks, it doesn't look and say, oops, shouldn't do that, it is a human. It feels threatened and reacts the way it's insticts tell it to.

Case in point. This story is not about a pit bull, but does show the thought patterns of dogs. I was 6 months old and just starting to crawl. We had a big dog, a total mutt breed, I couldn't tell you what kind. This dog let me do anything to her. I could climb on her back, pull her fur, you name it, I did it.

One day, while my mom was dog sitting her mother's small dog, I decided to crawl behind my dog while she was eating. She did not stop to look at who was behind her. All she sensed was something small(could have been my grandma's dog) walking behind her. She turned around and bit me across the head. She missed my temples by 1 1/2". She could have killed me. We had to give her away after that, but she did feel terrible about biting me. She was curled around me on the floor as I was screaming in pain. That got me 4 stitches, 2 on each side.

My point is, if a dog feels threatened in any way shape or form, it will attack, often without thinking. So for me, the argument that pits were bred to fight other pits holds little merit. If a pit feels threatened in any way it will attack. If it feels a member of it's pack is in danger it will attack. It doesn't matter what species the pit is feeling threatened by. No amount of arguing will change my mind, as I feel this way about all breeds of dogs. Some of their bites hurt worse than others, that's all. Also, you rarely, if ever, hear of pits attacking their owners. They attack other people. They don't obey all people, only the ones who trained them. They may not attack your child, but what about the neighbours child?

 

[OrkyBetta]

I have a husky. She is the gentlest pet one could ask for, with my family. She loves our cats, is very good with my family members, and is gentle. However, she is afraid of any man that is not my father, barks and growls at anyone she doesn't know that comes on our yard, and although she has never bitten or tried to bite or lunge at a person, some people want us to put her down. She hasn't ever bitten a person, she is just territorial an has to protect 'her' people. She DOES however lunge at other dogs (exept for the one or 2 dogs she grew up with that she likes) and has pinned other dogs and gets in serious fights if she gets loose. But she is a great animal, and I wouldnt consider for a minute putting her down.