Banning of certain breeds of dogs is taking place all over the country. Some of these bans are for good reason, Some are not.
When you look at some of the insurance companies out there, they are canceling policies, if own certain dog breeds.
Pit Bulls, Rotts, Dobermans, Chows, Akitas, Shepards Etc. These bans are because the insurance co. has been forced to pay, because of these dogs biting.
If you look at bite statistics there are 1000’s of dog bites every year in every state. These bites are from all breeds of dogs.
When I last checked in Toledo Oh. the Shepard mix was the #1 biter and the Lab mix was #2 followed by the Pit bull at #3.
Cocker spanials, & Terriers are always on the list as well Chows, & Chihuhu’s.
WHY is it that when someone gets bitten by a lab mix its not news, But when its a Pitbull its national news.
Also WHY is it that Pitbull bans have many other breeds grouped together calling them all Pitbulls.
In the Toledo Oh Pitbull ban they have 14 different breeds making up the pitbull category. It of course includes American bulldogs, Bull terriers etc. but also Boxer mix, Mastiff mix, etc.
It seems silly to say that a Lab is not banned and a Boxer is not banned , But if they had puppies together all of the puppies would be banned because they are boxer mix’s.
This ban is in place saying that the breed of dog called PITBULL can be Vicious.
If this Is true then it would not take 14 different breeds to makeup the pitbull category. Even then it is still at #3. If you notice the German Shepard is split from Shepard mix. Is this fair when you consider Pitbull includes not only mixes but mixes of several other breeds.
We DON’T do that with PEOPLE why is it OK with a DOG.
1st of all people need to be held accountable for there own actions. If you cannot trust your dog you NEED to get help. You are responsible for training and socializing your dog.
There is no public school system for dogs. You cannot put them on a bus and send them to school. You have to bring them to a trainer or get help from someone.
I see it all to often that people ignore little problems with there dogs. As these problems progress and get worse, they are still ignored until some one gets hurt.
Then its all of a sudden a major problem. The dog must be trained in a hurry or he has to go.
2nd TRAIN YOUR DOG. A well trained dog is a pleasure to be around. The breed does not matter. The Target dog should not be banned, He has been trained, He would be fun to be around.
Lets not blame an entire breed of dog for lack of responsibility on the owners behalf. Lets also not blame 13 breeds of dog when you are complaining of only 1.
I have heard of people wanting to ban large breeds. They say that any large dog has the potential to cause serious injury to someone. This is really dumb , because most Pitbulls are not large breeds. With this ban in place you would have to tell a 70 yr. old lady that her Golden Retriever is banned, But the teen aged gang bangers can still have there Pitbulls.
If you are going to put a ban on dogs for aggression, it should be on all aggressive dogs. Not just #3 on the list.
I think it would be better to require testing of certain breeds before these dogs get a licence. The AKC canine good citizen program would be a great way to start. Any dog that cannot pass this test is in need of training. If you cannot or will not train this dog you should not own it. Find a different dog that you can handle.
If we were to put a program like this together, It could include any breed equally, do to statistics from past dog bites. If your dog is a good dog, and he is under control, you can prove this due to the test. He is then licenced and would not be banned. A dog without a licence is banned.
The people who always protest the breed bans say BAN THE DEED, NOT THE BREED. The deed is dog fighting,and it is already banned. So is owning an unlicensed dog. Lets focus on the laws we already have.
Animal control office could do this testing before a dog licence is issued. The fee for the testing could raise a lot of money to help the county. The animal control office could then concentrate on the true bad dogs instead of dealing with restrictions on puppies and well behaved dogs.