Ohio legislation to ban pit bulls.

[dra&pigs]

I think there should definitely be more laws about pitbulls, but not banning them. A dog is not aggressive because of its breed, its how its trained. I have a Border Terrier puppy, a small, very fiesty English terrier. It's definitely been work to teach her who's in charge, and her "manners". She's extremely dominant and will grab any chance she can to be the alpha. But I've taught her well and she's a sweetie. I've seen calm, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly pitbulls, and absolutely horrible pocket dogs. It depends on their owners and how they've been trained. Instead of banning the dogs, they should simply enforce more laws about ownership and who owns them, and offer more centers that help people with training. But simply sending them off the face of the Earth? Unnecessary, overreactive and simply cruel to the majority of perfectly normal, calm loving pitbulls out there.

[Ziggy&Herald]

[Cagney]

first i love those pics! Where did you find them?

I think any dog owner of any type of dog should be made to undergo a traning class. One that trains for a Canine Good Citizen. Also any owners of any mixed breed dog to be spayed or neutered. You can't imagine how many issues those two requirements would solve.

[PaPiggieLuverz]

The banning of Pit Bulls is wrong and inhumane, it's the owner not the breed. Our vet is more afraid of our mother's 4 pound Yorkie, then of our Pit Bull. Simple reason because the Yorkie is aggressive, to dogs, children, people in general, because their breed is very yippy and known to be aggressive, but our they on the BAN LIST, no because they are Pocket Pets that all the celebrities love to use as accessories.

We had the same ideas about Pit Bulls before we went up to the Pound we work with and saw the Pit Bulls. They are loving and so excited that someone's paying attention to them. You know the ones that barked and tried to attack and bite us, The Labrador Retriever. So it's not the breed, it's how they are raised. All dogs could be made into attack dogs if their owner wanted them to. Dogs are loyal and they listen to their owners.

Why ban just one breed? Why, because the people in charge are bored, they pick Pit Bulls because they are strong and scary looking. When you get down to it, it's just a point and ban game. They have the power to do it, so they just go ahead and do it.

There should be laws to educate owners, because many dogs are being put to death because of their looks. It doesn't even have to deal with a breed, if someone points and says that's a Pit Bull they'll be put to death, and they end up being a Black Lab with ears that go back like Pit Bulls. It's Pathetic.

This is our Pit Bull, Delilah doing what she loves best, lounging on her couch cuddling with her best friend Daphne.



Does she deserve to die because of her breed? They think so. We don't.

[crazywiggy]

Simonmaal - maybe this will help you decide....

I have certainly heard a lot of people use the pit bull's size and strength as a erason to ban it (the newspapers make a big deal about this!) As you say - the theory is that although all breeds can bite, a pit bull can do more damage than a yorkie!

Two things to consider...

1) Yes, a larger dog can more more damage than a small dog. However, this does NOT mean that the small dog can not do damage. Both can cause injuries serious enough to require stitches, remove fingers, cause permanent scarring etc. This is even more true where children are concerned - as fatalities have also been cause by dachsunds and pomeranians. Being small does not automatically make them safe!
(To make this even more clear I know someone who required a trip to a+e and stitches for a guinea pig bite!)

2) Even if we were to agere on large dogs causing more damage, does this mean we should ban all the large dogs?

Let's use the pit bull as the starting point as they are the most demonised, often banned breed. Obviously they are larger than yorkies, but they are not really that big in the scheme of things.
What about some of the giant breeds, such as the newfoundland or the Irish wolfhound? These dogs are truly massive, both in terms of weight and height. The newfoundland is powerful enough to save drowning people by dragging them out of the water. The wolfie was developed to be large and powerful enough to take large, dangerous game (ie wolves). Yet these are two of the most gentle, affectionate, good natured breeds in existence. They generally have no aggresive instincts (towads either people or other dogs), are not nippy like many terriers or herding breeds, and are renowned for their love of children. Would you ban these because of their "potential" to cause a lot of damage?

What about the ever popular labrador retirever - should we ban them? I mean they are both taller and heavier than the APBT, so could potentially do more damage.

Enough about the larger dogs - what about the smaller ones?

What about the beagle, described as a "hardy" and "sturdy". They are not much smaller than a pit bull - a large beagle could be similar in size to the smaller pits. If a pit bull can do enough damage to cause them to be banned, why not the beagle?

And when you get to the point that even the smallest breeds have been responsible for serious injuries and even deaths, you realise that size isn't everything.

[Simonmaal]

Out of interest, I found this on the internet today:

YouTube - Pit Bull Guinea Pig non Attack

[Cagney]

that video is great. here's another one i saw while watching that one. shows a big pit type of dog laying with it's little guinea pig friend outside.

YouTube - Pitbull and Guinea Pig playing

[PixieStix]

If you search YouTube there are a tonne of anti BSL videos with pictures and clips of friendly, sociable pitties.

[bizziesdad]

Not the breed huh?

Last week a 71 year old woman was viciously attacked and mauled after escorting her grandchildren to the bus stop by two pit bulls. Pause while you all imagine what would have happened if the attack had happened 5 minutes earlier. Can you say "DEAD CHILDREN"? But I digress. The owner, as all owners of these nasty dogs like to say after the fact, indicated to the press they were just nice sweet dogs he has never had a problem with. It took several men with shovels and pitch forks to separate the dogs from the woman. Luckily the police arrived in time to shoot them both dead.

The subsequent story listed a very interesting fact.........22% of all dog attacks are commited by a breed that only accounts for 4% of dogs. Can you imagine which breed that is? Suprise, its the pit bull. The largest amount of attacks commited by one of the least owned animals.

Okay, start the flaming. Defend the nasty beasts. Maybe what we should do is put 4 or 5 in a pit and have you toss in your kids. They are such safe animals after all.

[paula.m.moore]

No it isn't the breed. You can't blame an entire breed of dogs for the actions of a few. Why don't you go look at statistics that clearly say pit bulls generally score higher on temperament tests than golden retrievers. Why don't you look into some of the very positive things about pit bulls, or are you only interested in feeding the idiocy you so wholly want to accept as fact?

Start the flaming? That's repulsive. Nasty beasts? Your attitude is absolutely offensive and outright disgusting. It seems to me that the "nasty beasts" are the ones too stupid or stubborn to learn the truth about a situation, in this case an entire breed of dogs, and instead go on perpetuating their own lunacy and version of facts.

The truth is, the owner of any dog that attacks is absolutely to blame, but that is more likely than not something you aren't capable of understanding, given your sickening remarks.

[salana]

The real question is, were they actually pit bulls?

[Cagney]

bizziesdad. Where's the link to this story? If it was a pit attack it would be in the news somewhere. Where do your facts of 22% of all dog attacks are happening by 4% of a certain breed owned, come from? Where you aware that 78.8453% of all statistics are made up anyway?


Let me counter you and I hope you reply. Today me personally, this is not second hand. I was doing a nail trim on a Labrador Retriever. The dog immediatly became aggressive, knocked me over and repeatedly lunged it's muzzle into my throat area. Why am I still alive? The dog was muzzled. What if it hadn't been? What if a child had touched this dog's feet instead?

So why not put 4-5 ill mannored dogs like this in a pit and then let you toss your children in? Would you? They aren't pit bulls. So why not? Why aren't you out bashing labs, german shepherds, boxers, mastiffs, etc... all of these dogs can and do the exact same damage to humans that a pit type of dog is capable of.

Until people like yourself come out of the sheep herd of society and see this as a HUMAN problem as opposed to a CANINE problem, nothing will be accomplished.

[smudgie]

Hi everybody! I'm going to put my two cents in, I personally believe that it is NOT the owner, I believe it is the specific animal..you know like some people are pre-disposedto be mean. Do you blame their parents??? No. I had a dog once that I cherished (not a pit bull), but when she was 4 we had to put her down because she just decided to "hate" I had to watch her like a hawk because her main dislike was my own cats and children...I had her from the time she was 6wks old until the end so I know it wasn't the "owners" fault. I don't believe in a ban, I have met some pit bulls that are the sweetest animals around and then the very few who are just mean...

[salana]

That poor dog was never taught that her jealousy and aggression were unacceptable.

[Cagney]

Now I do believe some animals have more issues with dominance and fear than others. But I also believe that it's the person that owns that animal that makes the difference. My personal dog was a rescue, and I honestly feel like in your average joe's hands she would have been a fear biting aggresssive dog that probably would have been tossed outside to live long ago. With me she's not. She did have those tendancies for the first year I owned her. She was nippy around small children. I took measures to never let her get very far with that behavior before it was corrected in a kind but consistent mannor. Now, honestly I could leave her alone in a room with my 2 year old and not worry. I won't, because I believe a dog and a child left alone no matter is a disaster waiting to happen, but I'm still that confident in her behavior.

That said there are instances, but very rare where a medical condition such as a brain tumor or something known as springer rage does come about. Where the dog becomes so unpredictable and aggressive that no means of correction or training does help. Because it's a medical issue as opposed to a behavioral one. I do want to point out that because I don't know the specifics of your situation or dog that maybe that could have been the cause?

Often the signs for the tendancy for the dominant and fearful behavior are there long before something does occur. They are difficult for some people to realize, so they get too far out of hand for that person to be able to correct on their own.

As far as pit bulls go, they are terriers, they will challenge their owners. They are not a dog for just anyone. But as with any dog, in knowledgeable hands and with the right owner that is consistent in their training, aside from medical problems, just about any dog can behave in a good and nice mannor.

[smudgie]

It always interest me as to how people assume that it is the owners fault...My dog was loved very much so...she never spent a day outside unless it was to do her "business" I walked her and socialized her when she was a puppy, when she hit about 1 year old is when her agression started, I tried for 3 years to curb it, to no avail and then on Easter day 4 years ago she attacked my little dog, for no reason, and almost killed him. The hardest decision I've ever made was to put an animal that was not sick to sleep. But I still believe to this day it was in her best interest. Fortunately that day, I only lost one dog, not two...
It really upsets me that everybody jumps to the conclusion that I just on a whim put my dog to sleep, it was two weeks of agnozing and trying to find a home for her, everybody I talked to said the same thing...once she had attacked she would more than likely do it again...
I sincerely hope it is a decision no-one ever has to consider making...I still cry for my Sadie...