Here in Halifax there is a lot of talk about pit-bulls in all our local news media.
A number of high profile attacks in the Halifax area on dogs and people were reportedly done by dogs that were a 'pit-bull-type' dog, leading the media to muse over the idea of banning the breed. A similar event happened in Yarmouth earlier in the year.
I wanted to write down my thoughts on breed banning, pit-bulls and dog attacks:
Are Pit-bulls more aggressive than other dogs? My answer would be towards people - no, towards other dogs - likely. A pit-bull is a terrier - and terriers are a feisty bunch when it comes to other dogs. This isn't a pit-bull thing, but more a terrier thing in general. I get slightly annoyed at the 'every dog is the same' crowd because clearly breeding gives dogs predisposed traits to certain things, and you most certainly can breed for aggression either knowingly or unknowingly.
Chocolate labs will chase a ball with much more vigor than a Pug and a Bernese will have a lot more fun pulling a cart than a Sheltie will. (In general)
Breed matters and does create genetic behavioral predispositions.
Breeding line is also very important. We have no control on our breeders - there's no stopping anyone from breeding a line of aggressive dogs either intentionally or unintentionally. This could obviously be done for any breed of dog, but the point I'm trying to make is that breeding and genetics play a role in the formation of aggression - this is a fact.
If you are going to own a pit-bull dog - or any terrier - be aware that you should be socializing and training the dog much more so than other dog owners. This goes for 'guard dogs' as well since they are also predisposed to be not so welcoming. Your Rottie is going to take much more of an issue with a stranger at the door than your St Bernard is. (In general)
If your dog is large enough to inflict serious damage on a person, my option is we should be requiring people to take training - even if its only a day course that gives information on positive training methods and socialization and proper acceptable and non-acceptable punishment. I'm sure myself and many trainers I know could put together a solid full day of material that would be very helpful for all dog owners.
In terms of breed ban -I've always been against this however one event this summer did rattle my thinking quite a bit. I attended the Halifax 'Bully-Expo' which featured a large number of pit-bull owners and breeders. I got to see some Pit-Bull type dogs that I've never really seen out in public before. These dogs were pure muscle and had huge heads. I chatted with breeders who prided themselves on breeding for 'muscle' in their dogs.
I'm really not sure that making dogs of this size and power is really a good idea. With all the unregulated and unsupervised things that happen in the dog world (remember there's no formal certification to be a dog owner, trainer or breeder!) I don't feel that breeding dogs for 'muscle and power' is really appropriate. Being near some of the dogs at the expo made me very nervous just looking at how powerful they were - and I don't scare that easy, especially around dogs.
However many normal sized, regular run of the mill amstaff mixes are no bigger or stronger than my own bernese mountain dog - so I certainly don't see a need to ban these dogs, but these pure power-machine dogs aren't really something I think is needed or safe.
I don't want to see hand-guns banned, but I'm glad people can't own a machine gun.
Many pit-bull advocates have said that higher fines are the answer, but I disagree. While higher fines are good, I would argue that controls are also needed.
We have stiff fines for firearm offenses, yet you still need to be trained to possess a gun. We don't just give them to anyone and allow the high fines and penalties to prevent the crimes.
My proposed solution would be to see an educational component come with dog licensing. I'm not sure if this would be forced obedience classes, or simply educational seminars for dog owners - perhaps that you only need to take once in your life, not with each dog you own. There is a lot of possibilities. One thing I'm sure of though, there is a lot of misinformation, bad advice, and arm-chair dog trainers out there and the real information on proper dog husbandry needs to be addressed for the safety of dogs and the public alike.
