Pit bulls

Pit Bulls are perhaps the most misunderstood group of dogs of the 21st Century. Negative media attention plays a large role in the public's perception of these dogs. I have read many, many media stories about the numerous "pit bull attacks," and I would like to point out to those who automatically believe everything they read that some things are not always as they seem, and that many media stories are very biased towards a particular viewpoint.

Most of the media stories surrounding pit bull attacks start out all too similarly: a loose pit bull escapes owners yard and attacks a child or an adult. Here is the first problem. The dog is loose. The breed doesn't matter here - I have heard stories of labs, dachshunds, and other breeds escaping and attacking people too. And while I understand that a pit bull can do more damage than most other breeds, NO dog should be left outside unattended or left in an area of the property where it can escape.

However, other breeds escaping and attacking a person or a pet does not make a good story. The blame in these instances should lie with the owner of the dog, who did not secure his dog. Sadly, this is not the case. The dog is always euthanized immediately, which would have never happened had the owner been more responsible.

Secondly, if the dog had been properly managed and trained in the first place, it would have NEVER attacked a human. One of the first things you teach a bully breed is that the humans are the boss! I own a pit bull myself, and she has met people of all ages and submits to everyone - she knows she is ranked lower than all people. That is very important for ALL dogs, not just bully breeds, but it is especially important for the bullys, who have the potential to do serious damage if not properly trained and exercised.

Pit bulls do have a tendency towards animal aggression. This is aggression towards other animals. It has been bred into them as fighting dogs, and if a dog exhibits this type of aggression from a young age, it can be managed, but it will never be completely eliminated. Pit bulls escaping and killing other animals is the more common of the attacks; however, the blame still lies with the owner of the attacking dog.

A third problem with these media stories that is never explored (either because that isn't the part of the story the media thinks people want to hear, or those things are simply never reported by the "victims") is what events occurred prior to the attack. Was the dog being antagonized or cornered? Many people do not understand animal behavior, and they do not teach these things to their children, and I have seen firsthand how horribly animals are treated by adults and children alike. An animal can only take so much abuse before it feels the need to defend itself.

A fourth issue with these media stories is the use of the term "pit bull" to describe all vicious dog attacks. The term "pit bull," contrary to popular belief, is not one breed, but a general term to describe a number of the so-called "bully" breeds, including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and American Bull Terriers to name a few. In all reality, the majority of the people in the world could not pick a pit bull terrier out of a lineup of breed that have similar characteristics. When the media does their interviews, the person being interviewed often thinks that, just because the dog attacked, was medium to large-sized, and had four legs and hair, that it was a pit bull. *An interesting thing to note here is that, in those instances when the dog is confirmed to be something other than a pit bull, the story is just about a "vicious DOG attack" - breed isn't mentioned at all.

Vicious dog attacks, whether from a pit bull or not, are a serious matter and nothing to take lightly. However, breed banning and breed-specific legislation is NOT the way to handle the problem! By supporting these laws, you are ONLY punishing the good pit bull owners, who obey laws and have "good citizen" canines.

The ones who are already breaking the laws (i.e. have fighting dogs, aggressive dogs, etc.) are the ones who will keep their dogs and not obey the laws, so the laws AREN'T HELPING.

Tougher punishment for dogfighting, along with free education on how to properly train and manage bully breeds will do more to help curb the problem of dog attacks than will any law.

Tough dogs belonging to thugs for fighting, unfortunately, will continue to exist as long as dog fighting exists, and stopping those dogs from hurting someone will be difficult. Those types of people are already engaging in illegal activities - how big of a deal would it be to them to break one more law and keep their pit bull in a city with a ban on them?

But those who have the family pet and want to do the right thing with their dog but don't know what to do could be another statistic if not educated about proper management of their dog. These are the people that want good dogs and will respond to positive education.

Pit bulls are very intelligent dogs. There are many, many therapy and service dogs that are pit bulls. One of the most decorated war dogs in history, Stubby, a brown and white American pit bull terrier, saved hundreds of lives in World War I. Petey, from The Little Rascals, was a pit bull. This was back before all the media hype, when the pit bull was considered the #1 family dog in America. What happened??

I know I'm not the only one who believes that if a breed ban were to occur in my city, they would have to take my dog over my dead body. She is one of my beloved fur-kids and is sweet, intelligent, funny, and probably the best dog I have owned to date. I would move before I would give her up to anyone. It would be like sacrificing a child.

No breeds should be singled out. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Wake up and start realizing that, and we'll be getting somewhere in all of this mess, which quite frankly, sets us back as a species. In our intelligence, we are at the height of egocentricism and ignorance.