In Defense Of The Pit Bull: Why We Should Stop Blaming Dogs For Their Owners’ Mistakes

[baldguy]

...
Pit Bulls. Pits. Violent. Terrifying. Beasts. Monsters. Killers.

These are just a slew of words society associates with pit bulls disproportionately and driven by ignorance. I don’t blame society entirely, for respecting this deluded perception; we are merely digesting what mass media outlets feed us. We see articles about pit bull attacks more often than any other breed of dog attacks, by a landslide.

The vast majority of people who read articles about a given topic harbor little (if any) preexisting knowledge of the subject (it’s the power of the press). Our opinions of these dogs are utterly intertwined with the information media platforms deliver. According to newslibrary.com, 68 percent of reported pit bull (or pit bull mix) attacks are mentioned in the headlines. Only 8 percent of other breed attacks are mentioned in headline news. This doesn’t necessarily mean that pit bull attacks happen more or less frequently than any other breed of dog — we just never hear about the other stories.

I used to live in Miami-Dade County, a place where this breed, specifically, is discriminated against and stereotyped. Granted, I own a pit bull, but I do not train my dog to be a murderer. And there it is: How is it that these attacks and behaviors are only linked to the dog? What about the owner who is responsible for the dog?

We completely dismiss that we are the most powerful variable to the dogs’ behavior. Why isn’t the animosity aimed at the demented people who abuse these animals and who are primarily the causes of these tragic attacks? We are so fixated on the breed of the dog and their falsely judged reputations that we become blinded by the ultimate truth that there are rarely bad dogs, and more often, f*cked up people. The actions of all dogs are directly connected to the human being responsible for them.

Violence is a learned behavior. Dogs live to please their owners, so if we implement abuse rather than healthy and responsible ownership, the dog will know nothing outside of that abuse. My pit bull’s life is full of kisses, hugs and cuddles. Compare this to a dog that is chained up and most likely, isolated from any kind of affection. We often don’t consider any of these variables; we often fail to consider the environment and the overall welfare of the dog.

more:
http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/pit-bulls-really-enemies-theyre-made/

[SevenSixtyTwo]

1. I agree!

I wanted to get me a pet Bobcat for the grandkids to play with but those irrational cat haters think Bobcats are more dangerous than Tabby cats.

[In_The_Wind]

2. Ya can't please everyone.

[baldguy]

5. Proof of the idiocy of the Miami-Dade BSL mentioned in the article

Is that in Miami-Dade it's actually legal to own a bobcat - and any other big cat - while Pit Bulls are illegal, in spite of the fact that:

- BSL does not improve public safety or prevent dog bites.
- BSL ignores the plight of victims and potential victims of non-targeted breeds.
- BSL is costly.
- BSL requires each and every dog to be identified as a breed—something that has proven impossible to do accurately and objectively.
- BSL makes targeted breeds more desirable to irresponsible and criminal owners.
- BSL does nothing to make irresponsible dog owners accountable.
- BSL punishes responsible dog owners.
- Not a single canine welfare organization supports BSL.

The idiocy of you trying to make this comparison is merely a sign of your desperation when confronted with the facts.

[SevenSixtyTwo]

9. Sure! If you want to

classify pit bull dogs as Class II exotic wildlife, I'd go along with that.

[baldguy]

10. Not exotic. Not wildlife.

Another display of desperate idiocy.

[SevenSixtyTwo]

12. Not desperate at all.

I've owned a pit bull. Beautiful brindle pit. I've also had a neighbor's white pit bull trying to pull me down by my jeans maybe 12 years ago while changing the spark plugs in my truck. I yelled for the owner to no avail. By that time yes, I was desperate. I finally shot a round in the ground beside him and he took off back to his house. Later his owner came over apologizing, offered to pay for my ripped jeans and blamed his kids for letting the dog out. The ban isn't to punish pit bull owners. It's to protect other people from them.

[baldguy]

13. But BSLs don't punish the owners, they punish the dogs.

And innocent, well-behaved dogs at that.

[TBF]

3. Good article from last yr about this -

how pit bulls used to be seen as protective & good w/children:

January 30, 2013 |

For most of the 114 years since the American pitbull terrier was first recognized by the United Kennel Club, the breed was rightly seen as the perfect “nanny dog” for children because of its friendly nature, loyalty and stability. As the ASPCA notes, the pitbulls were “once considered especially non-aggressive to people.”

Today, as any owner of a “pitbull-type” dog* can attest, parents often recoil in horror when they spot one of these animals, pulling their children close as if to protect them from a marauding werewolf. Fanciful myths about the breed abound, and some public officials have compared their bites to those of sharks and tigers.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/pitbulls-used-be-considered-perfect-nanny-dogs-children-until-media-turned-them

[Heidi]

4. Kick!

[BlueStreak]

6. Do you support the right of people to have crocodiles running around their yards?

[GreenEyedLefty]

7. Red herring

Not sure what crocodiles have to do with dogs?

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Do they bite, too?

I don't know too much about fish.

[baldguy]

8. Are you making a comparison between a domesticated dog and a crocodile?

And not making any mention of or see any difference between the proven responsibility of one owner vs. the obvious shortcomings the other?

See post #5.

[flvegan]

14. Amen. Good post.

[etherealtruth]

15. I will continue to say this in every thread about this

Large and powerful dogs can all be dangerous and they can all be wonderful. Owning a large and /or powerful dog requires responsible diligent owners.

This is is not breed specific; banning this "non-breed" will change nothing


http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/truth-about-pit-bulls

There’s a great deal of confusion associated with the label “pit bull.” This isn’t surprising because the term doesn’t describe a single breed of dog. Depending on whom you ask, it can refer to just a couple of breeds or to as many as five—and all mixes of these breeds. The most narrow and perhaps most accurate definition of the term “pit bull” refers to just two breeds: the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) and the American Staffordshire Terrier (AmStaff). Some people include the Bull Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the American Bulldog in this group because these breeds share similar head shapes and body types. However, they are distinct from the APBT and the AmStaff.

Because of the vagueness of the “pit bull” label, many people may have trouble recognizing a pit bull when they see one. Multiple breeds are commonly mistaken for pit bulls, including the Boxer, the Presa Canario, the Cane Corso, the Dogo Argentino, the Tosa Inu, the Bullmastiff, the Dogue de Bordeaux, the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog and the Olde English Bulldogge. Think you can accurately identify a pit bull? Test yourself by following this link: http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html.

[kwassa]

16. Therefore, owners should be held legally liable for their dog's attacks on other people.

Including being sued for pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

Owners are liable in some places, not in others.

edit to add:

29 states do have such laws

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dog-bite-statutes.html

[baldguy]

18. Nobody is saying owners shouldn't act responsibly - or be held responsible when they don't.

BSLs don't target owners - they target dogs. And treat the great majority of dogs who are innocent, well-behaved & well-loved the same as if they were vicious & dangerous.

[me b zola]

17. K&R