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.
Showing posts with label bsl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bsl. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Breed Specific Law in Yarmouth looking less likely
A Public meeting was held last night to discuss how to change the town of Yarmouths Dog Bylaw in light of a recent Pit bull attack in the area. It looks likely that the "BSL" part of the bylaw that would punish dogs based on breed alone will not go through. There seems to be a very strong, united message from people in and outside the town that this isn't a good solution. I also wrote to the mayor and Council as noted in my below post - and happily all this feedback (including my email) were posted on the Town's website for all to see.
The vanguard newspaper in the area published an article and used some of my comments:
http://www.thevanguard.ca/News/2011-05-09/article-2492483/No-breed-specific-legislation,-council-told/1
The vanguard newspaper in the area published an article and used some of my comments:
http://www.thevanguard.ca/News/2011-05-09/article-2492483/No-breed-specific-legislation,-council-told/1
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Pitbull in the News
Here's a story from the Chronicle Herald here in Halifax:
'Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart'
911 phone call described brutal attack on woman by large dog
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth Bureau
Tue, Mar 29 - 4:54 AM
YARMOUTH — Friends and family members of a Yarmouth woman viciously mauled by a dog on the weekend waited Monday for any word from Halifax doctors about her condition.
Noella Ann McIntosh, 45, was savagely attacked by what people said was a large pit bull terrier-type of dog in a gravel parking lot behind a tobacco shop on south Main Street.
Police would not reveal the identity of the victim, but close friends said McIntosh was attacked late Saturday afternoon.
The dog appeared to be out of control and put up a fierce fight as two RCMP officers tried to pull the animal from the bleeding woman, said a witness.
Police shot the dog.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said she saw the dog jump up on McIntosh and thought the animal may have been doing what dogs sometimes do — jump up to be patted.
It was soon apparent this was no ordinary confrontation.
McIntosh was not patting the dog. She was being savagely attacked and the witness called 911.
"Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart," the witness told the 911 operator.
"There (are) a lot of people who saw it. People driving by saw it.
"When it was first happening, she was conscious because I heard her holler ‘Help me.’ "
The witness called 911 and begged the operator to send help to Hueston Street, which intersects Main.
The witness drove her car over to the parking lot and blew the horn, trying to distract the dog. It didn’t work. The dog appeared to be in a frenzied state.
Two Yarmouth RCMP officers were in the area and arrived within seconds.
The dog did not even look up when the officers rushed up, said the woman.
The dog put up a ferocious fight as officers tried to pull it away from the bleeding victim.
"They had no choice. They had to shoot the dog," said the witness.
She heard a loud pop and the 35-kilogram animal crashed to the ground.
RCMP Cpl. Paul Pittman said police would like more witnesses to contact them as they continue their investigation.
Investigators have not yet been able to talk with the victim, Pittman said.
The woman sustained head and upper torso wounds and was rushed to Yarmouth Regional Hospital, where she was stabilized and prepared for transfer to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.
On Monday, a Capital district health authority spokesman said McIntosh remains in serious condition.
Arnold Evans, McIntosh’s boyfriend, does not have a telephone and relies on other family members and McIntosh’s children to keep him informed.
"They came and got me," Evans said Monday, referring to the minutes after Saturday’s attack.
He was allowed to see McIntosh for a few minutes at Yarmouth Regional Hospital before she was transferred to Halifax.
Evans said she was heavily sedated and he could not talk to her.
The dog attacked her throat and face, he said.
"They got one of them," Evans said about the dog that officers shot.
But the owner has other vicious dogs, he said.
One of those dogs bit someone else within the last two years, said Pittman.
___________________________________________________________________________
From the Herald article there is no mention of the circumstances of where and why this attack happened, but CBC.ca provides more details:
"The owner of the dog, Gary Woods, said he wasn't home at the time, but nine-year-old Zeke and a second pit bull were inside.
Woods said he didn't know why the woman, a former tenant, walked into the apartment. He said she knew about the dogs.
There are two doors to get into the apartment. A sign on the lower one warns visitors to knock.
RCMP said police were called on an earlier occasion about a dog attacking someone in the building, but no charges were laid, and it's not known if it was the same dog."
__________________________________________________________________________
First I'd like to say shame on the herald for not including these details in their report. While I don't condone a woman being attacked, there is a marked difference between "A dog attacked someone" and "a dog attacked someone who was entering his home uninvited and behind several doors and warning signs"
Another question is the previous attack and why nothing was done to remove these dogs if they did attack a person. Haven't we seen dogs in Halifax impounded for months just for attacking another dog?
Pitbulls are some of the friendliest, nicest dogs you'll ever meet, but like all dogs and creatures, if they are abused or mistreated these types of things can sadly happen. The only problem with pitbulls is they are attractive to these nefarious types of individuals who put spiked collars on them and do harsh training with them, (if any training).
Its nice to see the majority of comments and "agree/disagree" on the cbc site seem against any calls for breed banning or other such laws, and it seems the general public understand that its about care and treatment, not genetics. While genetics can play a part and you can in fact breed aggression, this is rarely done outside of illegal fighting rings. In my opinion the majority of pitbulls have the same risk of human aggression as any other dog. The problem of course with pitbulls is they are very powerful and an aggressive pitbull is going to cause a lot more damage than an aggressive pomeranian.
So please don't get turned off the breed - sadly theres a lot of these dogs in shelters that need good homes and many will make excellent pets.
Update: I had a chance through an online chat at our local newspaper to ask scientists Jane Goodall what she thought about BSL and pitbulls, here's her response:
Dr. Goodall: Unfortunately, many dogs like this are actually trained to be aggressive.
'Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart'
911 phone call described brutal attack on woman by large dog
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth Bureau
Tue, Mar 29 - 4:54 AM
YARMOUTH — Friends and family members of a Yarmouth woman viciously mauled by a dog on the weekend waited Monday for any word from Halifax doctors about her condition.
Noella Ann McIntosh, 45, was savagely attacked by what people said was a large pit bull terrier-type of dog in a gravel parking lot behind a tobacco shop on south Main Street.
Police would not reveal the identity of the victim, but close friends said McIntosh was attacked late Saturday afternoon.
The dog appeared to be out of control and put up a fierce fight as two RCMP officers tried to pull the animal from the bleeding woman, said a witness.
Police shot the dog.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said she saw the dog jump up on McIntosh and thought the animal may have been doing what dogs sometimes do — jump up to be patted.
It was soon apparent this was no ordinary confrontation.
McIntosh was not patting the dog. She was being savagely attacked and the witness called 911.
"Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart," the witness told the 911 operator.
"There (are) a lot of people who saw it. People driving by saw it.
"When it was first happening, she was conscious because I heard her holler ‘Help me.’ "
The witness called 911 and begged the operator to send help to Hueston Street, which intersects Main.
The witness drove her car over to the parking lot and blew the horn, trying to distract the dog. It didn’t work. The dog appeared to be in a frenzied state.
Two Yarmouth RCMP officers were in the area and arrived within seconds.
The dog did not even look up when the officers rushed up, said the woman.
The dog put up a ferocious fight as officers tried to pull it away from the bleeding victim.
"They had no choice. They had to shoot the dog," said the witness.
She heard a loud pop and the 35-kilogram animal crashed to the ground.
RCMP Cpl. Paul Pittman said police would like more witnesses to contact them as they continue their investigation.
Investigators have not yet been able to talk with the victim, Pittman said.
The woman sustained head and upper torso wounds and was rushed to Yarmouth Regional Hospital, where she was stabilized and prepared for transfer to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.
On Monday, a Capital district health authority spokesman said McIntosh remains in serious condition.
Arnold Evans, McIntosh’s boyfriend, does not have a telephone and relies on other family members and McIntosh’s children to keep him informed.
"They came and got me," Evans said Monday, referring to the minutes after Saturday’s attack.
He was allowed to see McIntosh for a few minutes at Yarmouth Regional Hospital before she was transferred to Halifax.
Evans said she was heavily sedated and he could not talk to her.
The dog attacked her throat and face, he said.
"They got one of them," Evans said about the dog that officers shot.
But the owner has other vicious dogs, he said.
One of those dogs bit someone else within the last two years, said Pittman.
___________________________________________________________________________
From the Herald article there is no mention of the circumstances of where and why this attack happened, but CBC.ca provides more details:
"The owner of the dog, Gary Woods, said he wasn't home at the time, but nine-year-old Zeke and a second pit bull were inside.
Woods said he didn't know why the woman, a former tenant, walked into the apartment. He said she knew about the dogs.
There are two doors to get into the apartment. A sign on the lower one warns visitors to knock.
RCMP said police were called on an earlier occasion about a dog attacking someone in the building, but no charges were laid, and it's not known if it was the same dog."
__________________________________________________________________________
First I'd like to say shame on the herald for not including these details in their report. While I don't condone a woman being attacked, there is a marked difference between "A dog attacked someone" and "a dog attacked someone who was entering his home uninvited and behind several doors and warning signs"
Another question is the previous attack and why nothing was done to remove these dogs if they did attack a person. Haven't we seen dogs in Halifax impounded for months just for attacking another dog?
Pitbulls are some of the friendliest, nicest dogs you'll ever meet, but like all dogs and creatures, if they are abused or mistreated these types of things can sadly happen. The only problem with pitbulls is they are attractive to these nefarious types of individuals who put spiked collars on them and do harsh training with them, (if any training).
Its nice to see the majority of comments and "agree/disagree" on the cbc site seem against any calls for breed banning or other such laws, and it seems the general public understand that its about care and treatment, not genetics. While genetics can play a part and you can in fact breed aggression, this is rarely done outside of illegal fighting rings. In my opinion the majority of pitbulls have the same risk of human aggression as any other dog. The problem of course with pitbulls is they are very powerful and an aggressive pitbull is going to cause a lot more damage than an aggressive pomeranian.
So please don't get turned off the breed - sadly theres a lot of these dogs in shelters that need good homes and many will make excellent pets.
Update: I had a chance through an online chat at our local newspaper to ask scientists Jane Goodall what she thought about BSL and pitbulls, here's her response:
Dr. Goodall: Unfortunately, many dogs like this are actually trained to be aggressive.
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