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Originally Posted by FlDebra  Yes, I saw the picture of the "ShihTzu attack." Although it looked yucky and I am sure hurt -- It was JUST her nose. It was not a serious wound, no danger of becoming a fatality. She will probably look just fine in a month, looks very superficial so may not even scar. If a pit bull had latched on like that, she would probably have no face. There is just a huge difference. You really cannot compare them as the same. A toy dog is just not capable of inflicting the same caliber of damage. We are also usually able to over-power the small dogs but not so with a large pit or rottie. Big difference again in how we can use some self-defense against one but not so much against the other. It is not the dogs' fault -- it is man's fault all the way around -- from breeding them, to allowing them to roam unattended, untrained, etc.... Just too many jerks out there!
What legislation are you talking about that does not work? Some cities have banned the dogs and although I am sure some still live there, at least people have a law to call upon if there is a threat.
Just what trait or characteristic about a pit bull is not able to be fullfilled by another breed of dog? I cannot see where their would be any huge void if all of them were spayed & neutered and the breed just slowly disappeared within a decade or two. There ar eplenty of other large, intelligent, loving dogs.
Responsible pet owners are not a problem -- it is the irresponsible ones! They rarely take their dogs to a dog park either. They usually just chain them up in the back yard or let them run loose! As far as why we could ban one and not the other.....I think that is pretty obvious. Yorkies are not going to kill and maul.
I do like your idea of all pet owners having to pass a test. I have advocated that before -- both for pet ownership and before becoming a human parent. The test would have to be both basic knowledge and psychological in nature. It is the crazies "who know enough" but "don't care enough" that are the real danger. I don't know that I have the only answer, but I have not heard of any other that will save as many lives as an immediate enforced spay 7 neuter campaign. Still, I'm open if anyone has another workable solution. |
Of course a small dog is not going to be able to do the same amount of damage! I'm just saying that it was far more than a little "nip".
BSL doesn't work very well in a lot of places. Also because MANY different breeds are mistaken for a Pit Bull and the rules defining what IS a Pit Bull are not very clear. A lot of Labs are actually listed as Pit Bulls when they are not. Boxers, etc, also get blamed. And they are an ENTIRELY different breed.
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In 2007 it was found numbers of dog bites had risen 10% in a year and 50% since 1998-1999. According to the BBC, hospitalizations due to dog bites increased by 25% after 'pit bulls' were banned in Britain.
In 2009 Italy repealed its ban on 17 breeds. At one time Italy banned 92 breeds of dogs. In describing the 2009 law, Secretary for Health, Francesca Martini, said "The previous order included a useless black list which also cataloged breeds of dogs without seeds unknown among others have no scientific basis and without providing any measure of prevention or training of the owners."
In June, 2008, the 15 year old rule banning pit bulls in The Netherlands was lifted. A rule banning rottweilers that was instituted in 2000 was also lifted. The reason? The breed specific legislation failed to reduce incidents of dog bites.
According to the city's own data, when Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada banned 'pit bulls' in 1990, there were 214 reported dog bites that year. For the decade following Winnipeg's 'pit bull' ban, there were an average of close to 50 more dog bites per year.
A number of American cities have repealed breed discriminatory laws because they have proved ineffective, difficult to enforce and costly.
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As for why a Pit Bull and not some other breed? Well, why do we have Yorkies and not some other small terrier? Most are all very similar, but we've obviously found something very special about our Yorkies that separates them Cairns, Westies, Scottish and all their other terrier ancestors. Pittie owners obviously have some special connection with that specific breed and probably have their own reasons for why they love them so much.
"As far as why we could ban one and not the other.....I think that is pretty obvious. Yorkies are not going to kill and maul."
You say it's obvious why Yorkies wouldn't ever be banned, but wouldn't it seem obvious that Pugs would never be banned, too? Honestly, I've never met an aggressive Pug in my life... they are all little clown dogs and I've met quite a few. I've met a ton of aggressive Yorkies. Yet Pugs ARE banned somewhere in the US (I'm not sure specifically -- but somewhere in some state/city/town, they ARE). At this rate... let's just ban all dogs, why don't we?
Dog Politics: List Of 75 Banned Or Restricted Breeds - Is Your Dog On The List?