People who cannot control their dogs should not have dogs. Unfortunately, some overestimate their control and let their dogs loose in public places. First offense should be a stiff fine if the animal attacks other animals and/or humans. Second offense, if the dog attacks again, is that it goes to an animal adoption agency, and the individual is never again allowed a pet owner’s license.
I have nothing against pit bulls. I was raised with Dobermans (who could take your arm off in a second) and have had several Golden Retrievers (who might lick you to death in a few hours). We sometimes let our two current Goldens run in the local park when no one else is present. We are very careful, our dogs are well trained, and the most damage they would cause would be to scare people fearful (and ignorant) of such dogs.
In 20 years, the only incidents with our Goldens happened when owners let their dogs wander about, and ours were leashed. One yappy mutt got in the face of our two (now deceased) Goldens. The male grabbed him by the neck and put him down hard. The owner called the police on us. I told him he was lucky that his unleashed mutt wasn’t killed. When he later threatened my wife, I explained that her law firm (Glock and Associates) would be happy to talk with him. Should that discussion not suffice, I was quite willing to call up my firm of Smith and Wesson. The guy moved out of the neighborhood about 2 months later.
I had Dobermans from the time I was 13 until I was 40 [and I intend to get another one, soon], I had one AmStaff rescue and I currently have Ibizans.
One of my Dobes was Schuzthund trained.
He was THE most dependable, obedient and stable dog I've ever owned.
The most "dangerous" dog I've ever owned is this little psycho:
A Portuguese Podengo, she, too, is a rescue and Lord only knows what her life was like in CA.
[someone is breeding them and dumping the "unwanteds" to fend for themselves in the high deserts of California. Most end up as coyote snacks.]
She is dog aggressive *big time* with 2 of my Ibizans.
[who are all 4 times her size]
We have been working on the "pack leader" issue but she got much worse after going into heat her first time.
Ordinarily, she would have been spayed LONG before that happened but we had to nurse her through near-fatal double pneumonia before she was healthy enough for surgery
And as luck would have it, just as she was scheduled to be spayed, *bip*, here came the heat.
For all that she goes "Cujo" occasionally, she loves people, especially little girls. She goes totally submissive, huggy/kissy/giggly with them.
We're assuming that being put in runs with larger dogs at the shelter gave her the crummy attitude about "big dogs".
My 2 smaller Ibizans are her best buddies.