Pets - 8 August 2006

I have a fishtank with several fish, including catfish, in it. My prob is that we can't get the algae to go away. We have cleaned the tank, and put special drops in. I heard some algae is caused by to much light, so we quit putting the light on. we have also started over with brand new fish and yet the algae keeps growing. What causes this and how can I stop it? Is it harmful to the fish?

2006-08-08 11:26:33 · 9 answers · asked by Alexis and Abbigails' mommy 4 in Fish

Tuesday, 08 August 2006
BSL: A Lazy, Unconstitutional Fix to a Larger Societal Problem


Monday, 26 July 2004



Apparently our dogs are part of al Qaeda too, or at least, they may as well be since currently many state and municipal governments have, in the name of "terror," launched an all-out assault on certain breeds of dog via a phenomenon known as breed-specific legislation. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is just that: legislation, whether bills or ordinances, that seeks to put strictures on specific breeds of dog, or ban specific breeds of dog altogether. BSL usually follows as a consequence of several vicious dog attacks within a short period of time within a state or municipality. Often after a vicious dog attack or spate of attacks, politicians will make the claim that a certain breed of dog is "terrorizing" the neighborhoods and is therefore a public menace, though such comments are usually a knee-jerk reaction to a public that demands action. Unfortunately, the politician will often address the vicious dog problem in the easiest, though least effective way possible by proposing BSL.

When proposing BSL, politicians often gloss over its inherent problems. The most fundamental problem with BSL, and the one that causes the most discord, is its unconstitutionality. BSL is a violation of 14th amendment equal protection and due process rights. BSL violates the 14th amendment Equal Protection clause — which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the laws — because it causes some dog owners to be deprived while others are not. Similarly, due process allows for citizens to have the opportunity to affect the outcome of legislation if that legislation should deprive a citizen of life, liberty, or property (property being the dog). If a state or municipality seeks to ban or place strictures on a breed or breeds of dog, but cannot prove breed inherence, which has been a large overarching problem with BSL, then those states or municipalities are violating dog owners’ due process rights.

Despite BSL’s civil rights violations, bans have been passed throughout the United States because citizens either did not know their rights or because states and municipalities have hired so-called experts to "prove" that certain breeds were inherently vicious. Apparently you can hire anyone to say anything if you pay them enough — even an expert. These "experts," and the states and municipalities that employ them, waste tax-payers’ own dollars to illegally confiscate citizens’ property all in the name of supposed safety. However, according to Janis Bradley, author of Dogs Bite: But Balloons and Slippers Are More Dangerous, drapery cords and children’s own parents prove much more fatal to children than dog bites, and accidents involving bedroom slippers cause more injury to people than dogs.

Still, many legislators and other politicians scurry to pass BSL in an attempt to quell perceived public outrage over dog attacks. Frequently legislators, and the supposed experts they hire, will make false claims which allege that certain dog breeds are more vicious than others. These false claims prima facie substantiate the need for BSL, which usually targets bully breeds, commonly referred to in slang as "pitbulls," and Rottweilers, though BSL has certainly not been limited to these breeds. Yet, temperament tests conducted by the American Temperament Test Society do not support the stigma against bullies or Rottweilers. Temperament test results for several bully breeds and the Rottweiler were as follows:

American Pit Bull Terrier: 83.4%

American Staffordshire Terrier: 83.3%

Staffordshire (Bull) Terrier: 93.2%

Rottweiler: 82.3%

For comparison purposes, let’s take a look at other breeds of dog thought to be more even-tempered:

Golden Retriever: 83.6%

Labrador Retriever: 91.1%

Pomeranian: 75%

Chihuahua: 70.6%

According to these temperament test results, a person is more likely to be bitten by a Chihuahua or a Pomeranian than an American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, or Rottweiler. Also notice that bully breeds and Rottweilers are comparable in temperament to Golden and Labrador Retrievers which are thought to be more even-tempered, though recently the first successful face transplant was performed on a woman who had been mauled by a Labrador.

Arguments against bullies and Rottweilers higher temperament test findings are that bullies and Rottweilers are larger or more tenacious and therefore inflict more damage on humans when they do bite. However, smaller dogs also bite and have even been known to kill babies. Herein enters a societal stereotype about certain dog breeds which do not necessarily hold true. For instance, countless times could you view America’s Funniest Home Videos and see a snarling, snapping Chihuahua or other small-breed dog, much to the delight of the studio audience. We don’t think of small-breed dogs as vicious. Many, when they think of Chihuahuas, think of the benign Taco Bell dog. Yet, despite their stereotype as innocuous, Chihuahuas are more unstable than bullies or Rottweilers according to their temperament tests. Consequently, baffled owners of bully breeds and Rottweilers can only scratch their heads at the media- and politician-generated stigma that consistently denigrates their dogs.

CDC statistics also do not support the stigma against bullies or Rottweilers. While "Pitbull-type dogs" and Rottweilers do top the CDC list of dogs most responsible for fatal dog attacks in their report, "Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998," the statistics are flawed, as the CDC readily admits. One of the biggest problems with the CDC bite statistics is that there is no breed called "pitbull-type dog." Housed beneath this designation are at least twenty different breeds of dog, possibly more. As such, statistics compiled by the CDC on bully breeds are greatly skewed.

Bully breeds and Rottweilers are also the breeds most often fingered in attacks, whether they’re actually the breed responsible or not. It is little known that when a victim or witnesses report dog bite attacks that the responding police or Animal Control officers will often simply record the breed of dog responsible as being the breed the victim or witnesses think it is, not necessarily as the breed may have been. Certainly erroneous breed recording due to victim or witness misidentification would follow since breed experts are not on call to respond to vicious dog attacks in order to make the final determiner as to breed. Incidentally, many breed experts are also unable to make a definitive breed determination. The CDC attributes these cases of frequent misidentification to a barrage of negative media reporting on bully breeds and Rottweilers.

The CDC also notes that without DNA testing it is difficult to determine breed with any accuracy. At times, a breed designation is hard to determine even with DNA testing. Without a clear determiner of breed, BSL is a conspicuous violation of owners’ due process rights. DNA testing is also quite expensive and time-consuming but so too is breed ban enforcement. Enforcement of a breed ban is near impossible since the same owners and breeders who are being irresponsible with their dogs will typically continue to do so regardless of a breed ban.

Because of irresponsible owners and breeders, it is difficult to know with any accuracy bully breed or Rottweilers’ propensity to bite since accurate population data acquisition for these breeds would require a Herculean effort. Owners and breeders of these breeds in particular often do not register their dogs, making it difficult to estimate their population size. Breed mixing and breeding outside the defined standards for the breed also make definitive breed determination and population data acquisition futile.

Fortunately there exist much more effective solutions to irresponsible dog owners than BSL. Vicious dog laws have been proven much more efficacious in curbing dog attacks. These laws codify much harsher punishments for irresponsible dog owners whose dogs attack people. Vicious dog laws often make attacks by vicious dogs on a human a felony with a significant monetary fine. Unlike prior laws, vicious dog laws usually allow dogs to be confiscated and euthanized on the first offense as opposed to the third. Most importantly, vicious dog laws punish people who have actually broken the law unlike BSL which punishes responsible dog owners who have committed no crime.

Additionally, irresponsible breeding is just now coming to the fore as an issue surrounding bully breeds and Rottweilers in particular. Currently, BSL is the proposed solution to unregulated breeding. For example, California’s SB861 is BSL that is aimed specifically at the excessive breeding problem. Unfortunately, SB861 has legislated mandatory breed-specific spay and neuter programs which punish responsible breeders causing irresponsible breeders to be the only breeders. Ironically, it is these irresponsible breeders who have caused the overpopulation problem, saturating the market with poorly-bred, unstable, and ill-tempered dogs.

Irresponsible breeding and vicious dog attacks can be minimized or prevented through proper education of owners and breeders. For instance, many novice and inexperienced breeders are unaware that they must conform to a breed standard, which can be difficult even for a seasoned breeder to accomplish. Proper breeding, which can at times include culling an entire litter, ensures fewer unstable breed specimens. Education about the dangers of improper breeding could go a long way in preventing poor breeding.

Education is also an effective approach in curbing dog attacks, as is enforcement of existing leash laws. A majority of vicious dog attacks are resultant of unrestrained or wandering dogs. If owners were educated about responsible dog ownership — keeping a dog leashed in public at all times, spaying and neutering, proper socialization and training — incidences of dog bites or attacks could be greatly reduced. Municipalities could also appropriate funding away from BSL and invest instead in hiring and training additional Animal Control personnel. More effectively trained Animal Control personnel would be able to discern the signs of dog fighting and breeding operations, incidences of which often involve severe animal cruelty.

Alternatives to BSL have proven to be much more effective and do not negate citizens’ constitutional rights. So why would a politician advance a piece of legislation that was certain not to solve the problem it proposed to be solving? The answer, quite simply, is that BSL is easier than attacking the problems at their root. One need only look at the city of Chicago to understand why for them BSL is easier than solving the real problems that lead to vicious dog attacks. Chicago has always been socio-economically disparate with the poorest minorities living in the projects right next-door to half-a-million dollar town houses. With poverty comes few choices. With few choices come the temptation of crime. Gangs have offered some minorities the only respect they have ever known as well as fast, easy money. "Street" dog fighting, or pit fighting, is a favorite among gangs. Dog fighting is a way to not only prove your worth via your dog, but to make money from the gambling, drug dealing, and prostitution that often goes with it. Those who fight "pitbulls," Rottweilers, or other breeds, often acquire their dogs from unscrupulous breeders, sometimes called "backyard breeders," who inbreed and selectively breed bully and other breeds to be vicious. Often this type of breeding can lead to über aggression which can include human-aggressive dogs. A properly bred bully or Rottweiler would never be human-aggressive, but fighting dogs are often bred to have the heightened aggressiveness that can lead to attacks on humans. Fighting dogs are routinely tortured after a losing fight, though occasionally they are abandoned to wander feral throughout city streets, and sometimes they do attack people.

The fundamental problem with vicious dogs in urban or suburban areas is not a breed problem since one breed has not been proven to be more vicious than another. The real origins of the problem are careless and irresponsible owners who allow their dogs to wander unrestrained, owners who are careless with un-neutered dogs (which tend to be more aggressive), backyard and novice breeders who inbreed or do not breed to the standard, and the socio-economic disparities that drive the poor and minorities to the gang lifestyle. Since problems involving gangs and irresponsible pet ownership do not have an easy fix, politicians often put a band-aid in the form of BSL over the scratch while ignoring the larger wound. Legislators, if they’ve done any research at all, know that breed bans don’t work. So when legislators propose BSL, they’re hoping their constituents don’t know they don’t work, and that they don’t find out what the real issues are. Legislators are hoping their constituents don’t know that BSL will put excessive strictures on their dog(s) or force them to give up their dog(s) in direct violation of their civil rights. We’ve already seen throughout history that once rights are taken from citizens, they’re seldom given back. Today it’s your dog; tomorrow it’s all sharp or pointy objects. BSL asks you to give up your dog(s) causing you to sacrifice your civil rights in the process, and paradoxically offers the public no safety in return. We can reasonably expect the government to provide protection from intercontinental ballistic missiles or al Qaeda on a macro level. But at what point will we stop expecting government to protect us on the micro level at the cost of our freedoms?

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On the Net:

American Temperament Test Society site:

http://www.atts.org

Centers for Disease Control report on fatal dog bite statistics:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

California’s SB861:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0851-0900/sb_861_bill_20050901_enrolled.html

2006-08-08 11:25:54 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Dogs

hi i am new to this i have two rottwieliers and my problem is digging the lawn has holes everywhere, anyone know how to stop them digging

2006-08-08 11:22:25 · 14 answers · asked by von m 1 in Dogs

I have 2 dogs. I have tried I think almost every toy. If it has stuffing, no deal. Its shredded within a day. If its a rope, no deal. The thread are all over within hours. If it has rubber, no deal. It torn into bits and peices. Has anyone found a good chewtastic tough toy? And what price range? Some of those toys can be crazy expensive, but I guess its better than the couch or personal belongings!

2006-08-08 11:21:23 · 15 answers · asked by Beans 3 in Dogs

i know that kittens are generally have very short attention spans, and do a lot of wierd stuff when they're playing. but, every once in a while- he SERIOUSLY starts tripping b*lls. again, i'm not talking about your normal kitten wierdness- he gets a very frightened look in his eyes, and acts like there's some sort of invisible entity tormenting him. i've heard that cats have a gland in their brain that releases a chemical that has a similar effect on the cat as LSD has on a human. is my cat just playing, or is he traversing the astral plane?

2006-08-08 11:20:03 · 14 answers · asked by list 3 in Cats

How much research and money do you spend before you know you can own a pet?

2006-08-08 11:19:17 · 5 answers · asked by blingding 5 in Other - Pets

2006-08-08 11:16:12 · 6 answers · asked by ELAINE F 3 in Cats

I guess we have spoiled her- we love her so much- and she is such a sweet and smart dog. She loves our cats that she has been raised with and all the regular family members & friends that come to our house- but I think she thinks she is human like one of us. When we walk her in the neighborhood, she barks and tries to attack other dogs, even when they are curious about her and they clearly want to be friends. Will she even want to have sex with a male dog, when we find the right one?

2006-08-08 11:13:47 · 17 answers · asked by catarina 4 in Dogs

I just got a new kitten shes female about a month old and i already have a male cat which is 7 months old and whenever he can he keeps on attcking it and he trys 2 kill it!!!What options do I have?

2006-08-08 11:08:57 · 11 answers · asked by groovyprincess 2 in Cats

I am searching for a furry friend, but need a little help. After checking friends, breeders, shelters, etc. I thought I might give the internet a try. Someone metioned www.nextdaypets.com. It seems legit, the only problem is, I cannot figure out how to search my zip code, or city! I would much rather find a pet in my area, so that I may visit the breeder/animal, and check for illness, worms, etc. and possibly bring my veternarian. I seem to be technologically challenged! Could anyone help me, or perhaps recommend a different site or organization?

2006-08-08 11:08:39 · 4 answers · asked by rors 3 in Dogs

Im looking to board a hunter horse and want to know which one will suit me best!

2006-08-08 11:06:44 · 4 answers · asked by bostonbabe124 2 in Other - Pets

I have never had another cat do this. Could something be wrong or is like how some people bite their nails?

2006-08-08 11:05:33 · 7 answers · asked by Satrfire 2 in Cats

for our 6 kittens? they are 7 weeks old. one is black tiger-striped, another is gray and orange tiger-striped. the other 5 are all the same; black, gray, orange multicolored. the gray and orange tiger striped, my brother named pursestrap; i call her pursy, for short. best name gets 10 points.

2006-08-08 11:04:42 · 19 answers · asked by ace striker 2 in Cats

My puppy is almost 12 weeks old. He has had his first shots and 2 dewormings. What's next?

2006-08-08 11:03:09 · 44 answers · asked by Traci 1 in Dogs

My puppy started itching than my family can dogs give humans fleas? If so why can't I see the fleas on the dogs or us? Also what do bits look like on dogs and humans?

2006-08-08 11:02:36 · 18 answers · asked by Lindsey D 2 in Dogs

this is my first time doing this so if anybody no what to do please tell me so she wont get lost somwere lol do she get sent to my home from the airport or what ?

2006-08-08 10:57:13 · 5 answers · asked by candyberrys23 1 in Dogs

Our boy cat Snowbell prefers my husband over everyone else in the family. The cat constantly grooms my husband when my husband sleeps by licking his hair on his head. He never tries this, though, when my husband is awake. Also, the cat cries whenever he can't find my husband. What's up with this behavior and is it normal?

2006-08-08 10:56:28 · 17 answers · asked by lexiann721 2 in Cats

2006-08-08 10:56:06 · 7 answers · asked by Beautifullady24 1 in Dogs

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/superb26/Image100.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/superb26/Image011.jpg

2006-08-08 10:55:36 · 27 answers · asked by super b 4 in Other - Pets

A have a friend who bought a tiny poodle-chihuahua mix 2 weeks ago. I dont feel she is a very responsible pet owner (seeing as how she still hasnt taken the pup to a vet). Now she has bought some flea medications for her pup, who must weigh around 2lbs or less. How safe is this? Im worried about her dogs health. Although I cant force her to be more responsible, maybe if I present her with some sound information she might behave better (my friend I mean)...which would help her dog in the end. Thanks for your suggestions and info!

2006-08-08 10:53:28 · 3 answers · asked by Poodlelover 1 in Dogs

2006-08-08 10:53:15 · 4 answers · asked by Kim P 1 in Birds

Has anyone ever bought a guinea pig at petco? If so, was the guinea pig a baby? Was it nice? Because I want to get one there or at petsmart? Which should I go to? Petco or Petsmart?

2006-08-08 10:52:58 · 17 answers · asked by Hockaloogie 1 in Other - Pets

2006-08-08 10:47:04 · 22 answers · asked by redneckcountry_hick 1 in Cats

i have a cat and she is pregnant and i would like to have fun names for her kittens. i have a cat named booger, a cat named woobi, and a cat named doodle for examples! thanks for the help!

2006-08-08 10:46:51 · 24 answers · asked by mrs.voils 2 in Cats

My friend's parakeet flew on to a tree after a cat attacked the cage, now the bird is on the tree, and if you get close to it it flys away.

2006-08-08 10:43:58 · 21 answers · asked by kingsako32 2 in Birds

he's an indoor cat and i have no idea what could have caused it. he's not limping and it doesnt seem to hurt him much but he wont let me touch it at all.

2006-08-08 10:42:06 · 20 answers · asked by necie 2 in Cats

What do you do to an unspayed female dog who is bleeding? Are there any products for it? It's not happening at the moment, but I'd like to be prepared.

2006-08-08 10:36:05 · 33 answers · asked by Anonymous in Dogs

I just got a kitten the other day and I named it Stormy.Today , I got another kitten. What should I name it?

2006-08-08 10:35:19 · 10 answers · asked by j_911_rhoads 3 in Cats

2006-08-08 10:35:19 · 5 answers · asked by Kate F 1 in Cats

mine is doing the dishes and scooping my dogs poo. i totally hate them. so what are yours?

2006-08-08 10:31:38 · 22 answers · asked by U.wanna.battle.me?! 4 in Other - Pets