Pitt Bulls

Yesterday morning I came up the driveway to find a black Pitt Bull trotting around my front yard. He looked quite young and still had the gangly look of an older puppy but he was clearly an intact male. The slightly glazed over look to his eye and his purposeful way of sniffing the ground as he trotted along told me that he was a virile young dog on the hunt for a girlfriend. I was concerned that one of my cats (who thinks that all dogs are friendly) might be outside and so quickly tried to assess his temperament before getting out of my truck to catch him. I rolled down the window and cooed to him, "What are yooou doing, sweeet little puppy booo!" His ear laid flat against his head and his tail scooted under as he lobbed his way over to my truck door. I tentatively reached out a fisted hand towards his nose and he immediately scooted his bum closer, licking madly away at my fingers. I had only planned on opening the door a few inches but he wedged his head inside smiled up at me, panting madly away. I patted my lap and he nimbly jumped up and over to the passenger seat. His manner was that of a sweet, goofy pup, thirsty and a little scared at where he had found himself.

I drove up the drive and managed to get him into the kennel without event. I breathed a sigh of relief that my cat was safe and that this sweet pup was off the street. I went in the house to phone animal control and came back out to find him relaxing in the shade. He no longer looked distressed and was eager for attention when I went in to give him some love. Animal control arrived to pick him up and I had the opportunity to talk to the friendly and no-nonsense lady that has run the local shelter here for the past 10 years. I had spoken with her many times in the past, when picking up my licences and had even rescued a dog from her facility. We had a very interesting conversation about the Pitt Bull breed and of her experiences with them and the other various breeds of dogs she has picked up over the years.

My town's Animal Control has only ever had 3 Pitties come in that were vicious towards people but had many other unsuspecting breeds that were dangerous. Almost all the Pitties were extremely friendly and loving dogs that went on to make excellent pets. She did say that this breed was developed over hundreds of years to fight other dogs and that a lot Pitties are dog aggressive. This is inherent in the breed. Other breeds were developed to be aggressive towards people and were selectively bred to be protective of person and property. In her opinion, no one breed is a problem, and most certainly not Pitt Bulls. The problem lies in the lack of responsibility of dog owners, the "cool" factor of owning fighting breeds among the young adult population and the fact that any large and strong breed dog is effectively a loaded weapon with no safety. Most dogs, big and small do bite in their lifetime. Personally I have only been been bitten by a large dog once before but have been bitten countless times by so called "ankle bitters". The problem is that larger dogs can not afford to bite even one time in their entire lifetime. What do you think would happen if ever Chihuahua that ever bit was put down? The breed would be extinct!

This morning I was headed out to the barn and caught a radio program that discussed current events and new issues. They were discussing a Pitt Bull attack that had happened last week and the governments discussion of putting a Pitt Bull breed ban in place as other provinces on the East Coast have already. The call back responses were varied, some heavily for and others against, each able to provide statistics to back their positions. The hosts were also able to give some stats that I found interesting. In our province the number one breed for bites reported in a year was by Golden Retrievers! Pitt Bulls didn't even make the Top 5 list. In Ontario a Pitt Bull ban was put in place in 2005 and there has been a 40% increase in the number of reported dog bites. The argument was that while Pitt Bills might not be as likely to bite as other breeds, the damage that they inflict when they do so is far more severe. I am sure that we have all heard any number of arguments for or against, some rooted in fiction, others in fact. The bottom line remains that Pitt Bull "attacks" continue to make the news.

Here is my two bits. Banning Pitt Bulls will do nothing to solve the problem. Ever heard of a Dogo Argentino? A Tosa? Presa Canaro? These dogs make Pitt Bulls look like poodles. How about a Shar Pei (wrinkle dog)? Or a Boxer? Both were developed as a "fighting breed". Did you know that Rottweilers were developed as herding dogs? Any dog with a bite big enough can kill. There are too many breeds to list, let alone ban. Criminals do not live by the rules of the law, as demonstrated in Canada's failed Gun Registry program. Responsible dog ownership is the answer. If you have a dog at large, make the owners hurt where it counts with heavy fines. If a dog bites a person, make their owners pay, big time! If they don't have the $$, have their property seized or jail time served. Make owning viscous dogs a liability! Lay criminal charges against people that fail to contain or guard the public against their animals. Impose REPERCUSSIONS that make people think, act, socialize and train their dogs!

My DB and I owned two Rhodesian Ridgbacks (a hunting breed) that would absolutely bite anyone that posed a threat to their family. They lived to be eleven years old and never once had the opportunity to unwarrantably bite a person and were contained, well socialized and friendly in public places. They were a massive responsibility and required an extremely diligent owner, as does every dog with "stopping ability" (the physical ability to bite or stop a human.) There are clubs all over the country for people with protection trained dogs that rarely, if ever pose a threat to the community because their owners are responsible and their dogs are trained. Personally, I would not buy a Pitt Bull or any other breed that was bred for fighting. I appreciate dogs that were selectively bred for trainability, athleticism and temperament. There you have it, my two bits!