Why doesn't the government ban pit bulls and order them all destroyed?

Question

I love animals but it seems that pit bull dogs are a problem. They are known to attack randomly and have been involved in a couple of incidents in the last couple days. A baby's toes were gnawled off by one and a pony was attacked this morning by one. They seem to be naturally aggresive dogs and seem to be a favorite of thugish people in my neighborhood. I see alot of thugs in my neighborhood who have them and I would guess it is because they are violent in nature and this would be attractive to the gang members in my area that have them. There are probably some good ones (pit bulls, not gang members) but the bad seem to outnumber the good so why can't we just euthanize them out of existence?

Answer 1

I would say that it has nothing to do with the puppy, but the way these "thugs" are raising them. I have many friends with pit bulls that are the sweetest dogs I have ever met. I know a couple of them that will jump in your lap and want to be held like a baby while you rub their tummy, and they are full grown. If you raise a dog right, you can usually train aggression out of them. As for destroying all pit bulls, thats just silly.

Answer 2

Temperment ENTIRELY depends on the owner. I was raised in a home with rottweilers (another "bad" breed) and was NEVER ONCE growled at or bitten, nor was anyone else. Pitbulls have been given a "tough rap" by the media because a few have attacked people - which is probably why you see them with people with these "thugs". Tough dog, tough owner? Not quite.

Do you ever hear about Dalmatians being aggressive and hard to train animals? No - because they are fireman's dogs, and there's a Disney movie about them. How about the countless bites from chihuahuas I've suffered through? Ever hear a news story about those? Nope - because a chihuahua isn't big enough to maul me. The pitbulls that attack people are the ones that are trained to attack, who are not treated as family members.

The reason MANY uneducated dog owners get Rotties and Pits is so they can have a guard dog. These dogs are usually kept outside, away from the family. What many dog owners don't understand is the best way to get your dog to be a guard dog is to LOVE it. The more your dog feels as though it is part of your "pack", the safer you are when someone breaks in your house.

You don't ever hear about nice pitbulls, or nice rottweilers because their is no news story to it.

You mention eradicating the entire race of dogs because some have bitten people. Why? Why not eradicate irresponsible pet owners who DO NOT KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR ANIMALS PROPERLY. Babies should NEVER be left unattended with ANY dog, regardless of breed. Yes, some dogs will attack other animals, it's called instinct. You blame the dog, I blame the pet owner.

Someone else in history shared a similar idea as you about erasing an entire "breed". His name was Hitler. Maybe you should do your research about dogs and "aggressive breeds" before you post stupid things on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 3

I want to give you a website so you can get some more education before judging. My fiance and I own pitbulls and I am extremely involved in BSL (what you are talking about) and banning any breed of dog. Scientific research has shown that there are no breeds of dog that are any more aggressive than any other dog. When you say thugs have them, you are right. There is a vicious cycle here. Thugs think they are tough, so they get a tough looking dog (usually a pit bull). They abuse and beat the dog, making it mean and scared. The dog gets loose, scared, and bites someone. Pitbulls are actually third from the bottom on the dog bite list, with Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers being at the top. Also, in temperament testing Pit Bulls & American Staffordshire Terrier top 5% of the most stable dogs and go neck and neck with Golden Retrievers. Please go to www.pbrc.net and read more about this, maybe it can change your mind. There is a lot more behind this than what you see.

Answer 4

I answered a question similar to this one a few days ago. Again, it's not the dogs, it's the people who breed indiscriminately for the sake of money. Please understand that we all, animals and humans are nothing but products of our genetics and environment. Genetics are more important in this case because you cannot take a genetically weak dog and turn him into a nice animal. This problem is prevalent among all breeds today, not just pittbulls. Breeders in this country have taken the working temperament and ability right out of the dogs in favor of looks. We have beautiful dogs today that run away from a drop of the keys on the floor. How do you expect a dog like that to react to a more serious situation that he considers a danger to his life? In Europe you cannot register, never mind breed a dog until the dog has reached a certain age and has passed a complete evaluation by a breed master and has achieved a working dog title. And when they do breed and they get a litter most of the puppies end up being culled if they do not fit very specific standards. This way the assure the best make it and that is what we should do here.

Answer 5

Sorry but this question really makes me sick! I have a pit bull that we rescued from my neighbors. Before my neighbors received her she was trained to fight with other pit bulls in Philadelphia. She has many scars but thank god she is the most lovable and sweet dog she would never hurt anyone or any other dog. Also she loves children. Her last owners had two little girls under 5 and I have 3 little boys under 5. She loves our other dogs too. Also why is the blame always on pit bulls? There are many other breeds of dogs and other animals who attack children, people and other animals every year. I do believe it is all in the way there CURRENT owners treat them. I know that our Envy was abused you can tell by how skittish she is some times. She knows now that she is in a loving home and well taken care of. People always look at all of the bad things that an animal or breed does. Why not trying look at the many positive sides of a pit bull. How loyal and loving they can be, and the many stories on heroic pit bulls. People are so negative. Please think about your question before you ask another stupid one. And by the way have you ever got to know a pit bull or are you just making assumptions that all are aggressive because of the negatively driven news?

Answer 6

I have a pit bull and he's wonderful.
It's all in how they are raised.
Alot a incidents happen because the owners were not so careful.
My puppy is great with my kids and other animals, but I never leave them unsupervised.
They are naturally animal aggressive so it's easy to train them to be mean. I'm sure a lot of the "thugs" in your neighborhood may not take the best care of their dogs.
They are a wonderful breed that have been treated unfairly.
Education is the key.
Learn some more about these dogs.
I don't hate all men because I was raped by one.

Answer 7

Pits are great dogs, loving caring, protective and very well mannered. They are one of the strongest fighting dogs and care tear a animal, or person to pieces if needed, but if you train your dog that they do not need to fight or be mean, then they will be fine. I think that any person with a bad legal record should not be allowed to own any dog over 25 lbs, this would take away fighting dog options for those people. Just because gang members like to use their dogs to fight and then through them to the street does not mean the dogs are bad people, just the owners. Pit Bulls are not bad dogs, just a lot of bad owners have given the dogs a bad wrap. I have some American Bull Dogs down the street that would kill anything that came around them I'm sure, but it is because of bad owners. Those a great dogs too.

Another thing i'd like to add, My dog was attacked by a pit bull in my backyard, i was thier to breakup the fight. The owner of the pit bull cried and said her dog was not a social dog and does not know how to act around other dogs. This is a great example of bad ownership, not bad dog. I do not blame the dog at all.

Answer 8

Pit Bulls by their breed standard are NOT vicious dogs they are bred and trained that way. They are not aggressive in nature but there are breeds that are. No one is complaining about them, simply because they are not exploited by idiots. Most homeowner isurance companies will not insure a house if there is an Akita, or Rottweiler, so why not kill them to? By percentage more pits are bred and trained to be aggressive so if you look at that way and equal the numbers out you actually have a higher attack number. But if you look at and made that an equla number of dogs were bred as pets the attack numbers by other breeds would be higher. ANd if you get rid of the Pit Bulls they will find another breed to exploit and be just like a figthing Pit Bull. So are not solving the problem just being ignorant.

Answer 9

Many places they have. Pit bulls and pit bull mixes are banned in many areas and animal control has the right to take the animal to the shelter and euthanize. However; even though they are banned in Cincinnati they don't do anything about it. In many cases the dogs would be better off euthanized and out of some of the hands of the trash (you call them thugs) that have them.

This is a lot of the controversy surrounding breed selection legislature.

http://www.sorryagain.com/sorry1.htm

http://www.chicagovma.org/pdfs/legislative/PitBullBanFAQ_Nov2005.pdf

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/08/25/pit_bull_suit_2005_08_25.html

http://www.mprgroup.net/aboutus.html

I have found that even pits that were abused absolutely love people. They love to be touched and to touch you.

Answer 10

Why can't people like you understand the people who own the dog is the problem. It's like a child. You let the kid get its way and it will be a terror. If you teach it right from day one it won't. People who own these dogs need to be educated on the do's and don'ts Yes they are more agressive, but that agression only comes out in a poorly upbrought dog. It's like that with all breeds. Look at the woman who had a face transplant in france. Her dog, a golden retriever mauled her face! Were talking animals with teeth and instincts to hunt and eat meat. All dogs have the same potential!

I think these breeds shouldn't be labled the problem (all agressive breeds including pits, rotts, dobermens) but the owners. A restriction of WHO owns the dogs could GREATLY reduce these incidents.