How many people have to be injured or killed by pit bulls before there are real laws against them?

Question

I am a dog lover, but after having 2 of my dogs attacked by pit bulls, having to keep another pit bull from killing a dog last year, and all of the people attacked and children killed by pitbulls in the media, don't you feel they need to be outlawed?

I know if you raise a dog right, it can be a sweet animal, but their kinda like owning a machine gun, some people just can't be trusted to do the right thing. Your thoughts..

Answer 1

The laws are there. People just have to speak up and have them enforced. Breed specific bans are not gonna cut it either. Part of the problem, as you seem to know, is that the people are not being responsible owners of these dogs. They are breaking the laws that say they have to keep thier dogs leashed and under control. What makes it likely they will say, "OH! There's a new law that says I can't keep this breed no more. It's banned. I gotta follow the law!" I'm guessing that breaking one more law isn't going to cause them to lose any sleep.

Meanwhile, just up the street is a lady with a banned dog. It has obedience titles. It is a certified therapy dog. It's neutered, and never out of it's owner's complete control. Heck, it saved a baby from a burning building maybe even! But now it is banned. This woman doesn't want to hide her dog away, knowing it won't be happy without all the great activities that made him so great. She isn't a law breaker. So what is she to do? She can't afford to move out of town. She spent a lot of her time and money training the dog for search and rescue. Rescues are full, and what's the point if no one is allowed to own one anyway. Her only choice is to kill her beloved pet. Is that RIGHT?!?!

I don't advocate breed bans, but I DO expect intellegent dangerous dog laws to be put in place. ANY dog can be a dangerous dog. Breed should not be any consideration when it comes to charging offender who let dogs run loose with no care to what damage they might be causing. Occasionally a dog gets out by mistake, but if you intentionally allow a dog that has the potential to injure people or animals to run at large, you should pay.

Guess what the only dog I've ever been bitten by in 20-25 years of animal control, veterinary work, and professional grooming has been. A bloodhound that was not happy about her manicure! All the at large pits, and rotties, and shepherds, and other 'vicious' breeds I've handled, and all the scary situations I've been in, and I got bitten by a droopy ol' bloodhound.

Answer 2

Have we forgotten that the Pitbull is an American breed. American Pit Bull Terriers are being blamed for attacks they didn't even do. And why are we blaming an animal? An animal cannot be held accountable by law for its actions....but its owners SHOULD be. Don't let this blue-blooded American breed die due to ignorance, it would be the most un-American thing for us to do.

Quite often dogs that attack are identified as pit bulls when they are not. It seems that that any dog of medium build with short hair is thought to be a Pit Bull. There are 20+ breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as pit bulls.

Just a couple months ago, my dogs and I were coming home from the park when a white dog came after my two dogs and attacked one of them, gashed her cheek wide open. Was the white dog a Pit Bull, no.

No, I don't feel Pit Bulls need to be outlawed - And if you try to take away our babies, you will be sorry. You are VERY uneducated about Pit Bulls and their true nature when in the hands of loving, responsible owners.

Sorry to hear about your loss, but those were only a few bad apples.

Pit Bulls aren't the only dogs who attack, you know. FOUR humans die each year from Pit Bulls. Why? BAD OWNERS. Ban the deed, not the breed. Every dog is capable of lashing out or attacking, not just Pit Bulls. Hopefully you'll get educated and take other's families into consideration.

If your dog attacked a Chihuaha, how would you feel if the owner wanted your best friend banned? If you're a dog lover, you'd understand that bad owners make bad dogs, not the other way around.

IGNORNANCE KILLS INNOCENT LIVES.

What's the point of a breed ban? You think it will only stop there? No way - It will target the next dog, and the next.. Until you may find yourself given 15 minutes to say goodbye to your pet.

Answer 3

I have a really hard time believing the dog though a CHILD was a chew toy. Dogs are incredible at reading humans. Better than any species studied- dolphins, chimps, whatever. A dog knows the difference between a human being and any other object- living or not. I agree that most pits don't kill that way, but we know nothing about this pit. Most dogs won't attack babies, either. Who knows what this dog was thinking, but in a legal sense, the dog was the proximate cause of the death. Lots of things can be said about the mother (and are being said), but the dog is the reason the child died. This is why the propaganda that "all dogs can be rehabilitated" and "there are no dangerous dogs, only negligent humans" are dangerous. Yes, the mother was negligent, but a dog fit for human society isn't going to kill an infant regardless of how negligent the owner. People can hardly be blamed for going to the shelter and adopting a pit mix of indeterminate origin and bringing it home to their household to live side by side with an infant. You see every show on animal planet praising the virtues of adopting, how pits just have a bad rap, how they can be a savior by rehabilitating the poor, sweet creatures. It's ridiculous. I don't have children, so I have feel comfortable taking a gamble with shelter dogs. When I have children, my dogs will be old and trained, and any new dogs will come from a breeder who I trust and respect.

Answer 4

No I do not think that ANY breed of dog should be outlawed or banned. The blame and punishment should put where it belongs... ON THE OWNER. There is a responsibility that comes along with dog ownership so even though some breeds are more prone to biting then others the responsibility and fault of any dog bite should be blamed on the owner. This is the reason, it is the owners responsibility to contain and control their dog and failure to do so should should result in the owner being punished, not just the dog.
I believe that stiffer penalties (jail time and hefty fines) should be imposed on people who use dogs for illegal purposes, also, for people who chose to keep dangerous dogs and for owners who fail to properly train, socialize and contain their dog. I bet if people had to go to jail and/or it hurt their pocket because of dog bites people would be more inclined to research the different dog breeds before they got one. People need to be educated about dogs in general, they need to understand pack mentality and behavior. What people need to do is start being responsible when chosing and raising a dog. They need to quit buying dogs based on looks alone and be honest in their ability to handle certain breeds because not all breeds are suited for everyone.
The bottom line is until the law starts making people responsible for their actions and the actions of their dog rather then just ban/outlaw certain breeds,then nothing will change except make certain dogs breeds extinct. If a ban on a certain breed is enacted, people who have dangerous dogs will either not care and continue to keep the banned breed or they will just move on to another breed and eventually the next breed they choose will be banned and this will continue till all dogs or at least all large breed dogs are gone.
Punish the deed not the breed.

Answer 5

I am for a ban.

At least until we can start getting good dogs from competent breeders & out of the hand of Mr. John Q Public.

The way a Pitt Bull is trained to fight in the Pit still exists & this needs to stop. Once it is out of the hands of these ignorant people & proper breeding can take place. Then when someone buys a Pitt pup one will know that it won't change its temperament.

Of course this is true with all breeds. There are the Puppy Mills, Back Yard Breeders, people breeding their own pets, strays that get pregnant & look at what they produce.

I think all pets should be spayed/neutered so the dogs can't be bred.

I'm all for a ban but I think that there are some good Pitts out there so there should be temperament testing on them before an individual dog can be banned. Let's be fair. Give them a chance to prove themselves.

Answer 6

Although the owner has alot to do with it, Pit bulls can be potentially dangerous. Alot of people don't want to believe this, but it is true. They can be sweet dogs and most are. But all have a potential to cause harm to a person or dog- they were bred for their aggression, and it has not been bred out of them completely.

But as far as being outlawed, no. There are alot of people who love the breed and love to own them, and they have a right to. I just think people need to think and be smart when thinking about getting one. They are not a breed for everyone and not even for most people. If people are responsible when owning and training this breed and breeders start to breed aggression out of the breed (which some are doing) I think the Pit Bull situation will be much better.
But the biggest problems are people who abuse these dogs, fight them, and people who 'think' they can handle the breed.

Answer 7

You have a list of other interesting questions. Kinda like to get things going do you? To each there own. As for this one, No pit bulls should not be outlawed but any person with any dangerous dog should face stiff penalties, even jail time. Not the dog but the owner should pay.

Answer 8

Unfortunately they have a bad rap. Just 50 years ago they were the pride of America posted on WWI and WWII posters and reviered by everyone. As the population grew and poverty hit an all time high easy cash came in the way of dog fighting. Now people are unknowledgable about the breed and how many pit bull breeds there are. (3 to be exact) and that so many OTHER breeds are mistaken for pitt bulls. A lot of attacks happen by breeds that are mistaken for pitts.

If you look at the statistics across the country you'll find that most of the attacks happen by other breeds and Pitts are actually at the bottom of that list. The woman who received the first face transplant because she passed out and her dog ate her face ...that was a Black Lab. The woman that was mauled in her apt by to large dogs... those were Presa Canarios.

I think all dogs should be regulated and sold/given away to responsible owners. And ONLY certified breeders are allowed to breed and sell puppies.

Thats a pipe dream and will never happen but that is how we truely control the aggression problem. Pitts are strong dogs - one of the strongest in existence and that breeds fear to those who don't know better and it breeds ignorance in ownership by those who don't care.

I have an English Setter who has been socialized with cats, dogs, kids, etc.. and she's extremely dog aggressive and snaps unexpectedly. My brother who has a pitt bull and she's the most gentle docile dog I've ever met. I'm not sure she knows she's a pitt. LOL.

I've said it once and I'll say it again and again and again..

THERE ARE NO BAD DOGS.... ONLY BAD OWNERS.

Answer 9

Can you really recognize a Pitbull? So many dog attacks are said to be by Pitbulls and yet most people cannot tell what is really a Pit. Take this little test and see if you really can find the APBT.

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

Answer 10

I am truly sorry for your loss. I think the people who had the dogs that killed yours should be in jail. They created the problem. I don't think pits need to be outlawed since there are lots of great pits, but I think the laws should have stronger penalties for people who knowingly have vicious dogs and allow them to attack and hurt people and other animals.

"Bad" dog breeds go in fads - first it was German shepherds and dobermans, now they're out of favor. Then rottweilers, then pits. Now we are seeing obscure breeds like presa canarios and dogo argentinos popping up. And then there are wolf hybrids that are very unpredictable. And sometimes you can't tell what's in a mixed breed by looking at them.

Going after the breed doesn't work. Going after the people is more effective.