[gemy]

As a "breed" the pit bull is not one that I know well. But like many of you I have read seemingly lots about pit bull attacks.
I even watched the tail end of a pit bull and BRT encounter. Luckily neither dog was severely injured, but the BRT young male 18mths old suffered a bad rip of one of his ears. If the owner of the BRT had not interferred with the second pittie attack the BRT would have killed it. BTW BRT's are not usually dog aggressive; after all they were bred to protect humans and that is their focus. And like many of the articles written there was no provocation to the attack. The BRT and owner were exiting the hotel for an evening walk, and bam out of nowhere the off lead pittie rushed in.

As a philosophy BSL is something I have strove to banish here in ONtario. I don't believe in banning a breed. And yes I support dangerous dog legislation; and even given the political climate here in Toronto, going another step further to require all dogs that are licensed in the city to undergo Temperament Tests and CGN evaluations periodically - say every 2 yrs or so. Then licensing of the dog should be free.

Do I trust the pitbulls? Actually no not at all, but they are not the only breed I am leery of. I avoid English bull dogs, as my boy has developed a sincere dislike for them. He was attacked as a young dog by one, and to add insult to injury it was a female! So he shows full dominance if he sees one of those dreaded bull dogs.
I avoid Cane Corso's, and Dogo Argentina's. Also Neo's.

Would I want any of those breeds banned? Nope.

I like what some-one had to say about how they judge when to "avoid" encounters.

a) If I see a large breed dog being walked on a flexi lead, I give a wide berth. Only an idiot walks a large breed dog on a flexi lead.

b) If I see any dog no matter how large or small, acting out on the lead, barking, growling, lunging, I avoid the pair.

c) If I see any dog being walked off lead, I give a wide berth.

d) If I see the on coming owner walking their dog, but when they see us, they short haul up on the lead, or cross the street, or step onto the boulevard, I give the pair a wide berth. My assumption is this dog is not trusted by the owner, or the owner is working on behavioural issues, and for certain I respect that.

But I digress.