Replies

“That sounds awful, except that there are probably tens of thousands of pit bulls in the United States”

Try millions, instead.

As of 2008;

“There is 4.5 million registered pit bulls and at least that many that are not”

“Especially in dangerous neighborhoods, having a well-trained dog can serve the same purpose as owning a gun, and when the resident isn’t home, a dog is a good alternative to a security system because it deters crime, not just alerts the police once the break-in happens. There’s a place for an aggressive dog, as long as the owner knows how to control it.

If owners won’t or can’t keep their dog under control, that’s a whole different ball game.”

And therein lies the simple crux of the whole issue.

Ignorant, irresponsible owners.

*Never* have I let *any* of my Dobermanns wander at large.

Not so much that I feared for the safety of others because my dogs are and were always well trained but for the simple reason that I wanted *them* to come to no harm.

I would no more let a dog wander the world unattended than I would a child.

No one has EVER been harmed by an “aggressive dog” who was under command to sit or walk politely by its owners side.

For some sane, rational statistics, please visit these pages:

http://www.dontbullymybreed.org/

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/

We agree, Salamander... owners are usually the problem. With some exceptions, bad dog behavior is caused by owners who don't know or care how to control their dogs, or who deliberately teach bad behavior.

None of that is the dog's fault.

A former city councilman in this community said the most aggressive dog he ever encountered was a chihuahua that kept attacking his leg while doing door-to-door campaigning. The owner didn't get penalized for having a vicious dog running around the home attacking those passing by, but that's only because the dog's tiny size didn't make it a serious threat (or at least didn't cause people to take the threat as seriously as they should have done).

If the same owner had owned a pit bull, there would have been complaints all over the place.

So what's the problem? The breed or the owner?

Breed bans make no sense. Penalizing owners whose dogs do bad things makes a great deal of sense.