Breed bans do not work. People will either buy/breed them illegally, or simply replace them with another large breed. (In the US, bloodhounds were once considered a problem breed. Then it was German Shepherds, then Dobermans, now pit bulls. Recommended reading:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1334486.The_Pit_Bull_Placebo )
It is an issue of training and vigilance. In other words, it's a people problem, which is a lot harder to fix.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-ban-american-xl-bully-dogs-by-end-year-2023-09-15/
@TomeReader YES. Very much a people problem - both the owners and people who interact with the animals.
@annamuneca
I will never forget the lady carrying her infant facing front in a harness. She saw us walking by, so she came over to Dargo and BENT OVER HIM SO HER BABY'S FACE WAS UP CLOSE TO HIS. Thank freaking god I had him positioned so I could quickly step between them and walk him away. I don't even remember if I said anything, I was so shocked.
Doesn't matter that he's good with kids, I wasn't allowing time for anything to go wrong.
@TomeReader
It's never the dog's fault. Never.
@TomeReader I’ve known more than a handful of Pibbles and they were all happy, silly, loving, dogs.
I’ve been bit by Labs, a Chi and the worst…actually she bit me and took chunks out twice…was a mini Doxie. Every time it was a territorial issue. I got too close.
Get too close to a Pit and you’re more likely to get licked instead of bit.
Here’s a PSA…treat all strange dogs as a biting danger until you know they aren’t.
@NorCalCherylLyn
I've been bitten twice, both chihuahuas.
Your PSA is 💯 . When my young nieces and nephews were around Dargo, I'd keep reminding them not to get near his face or be around him when he was eating. Their parents would say, "It's okay, it's just Dargo." I'd have to explain that this was simply best practices that the kids should take to heart.
My 29lb dog Abby was bitten in the face—twice by chihuahuas in our building. She never showed any aggression to them.
Last week my neighbor wanted me to look at the remaining Chug puppy from his litter of two. As soon as I came through the door, the mother ran over and bit me.
Nope.
@LnzyHou Wow! Yeah, No!
@LnzyHou @TomeReader no way would I Fave take a puppy from there either. It might be fine…but what if not?
Have worked in animal shelter. That breed is the most frequently euthanized. It’s really sad.
@LnzyHou @TomeReader it’s heartbreaking! 😭😭😭
@TomeReader you have to teach kids to respect all dogs space. You just never know…
When walking Abby downtown, lots of tourist kids would come up to her face and start petting. She hated that. And hated kids. Despite her obvious efforts to communicate — back off, the parents just glared at me.
I finally started saying a loud No when asked if she could be petted. Also declared she didn’t like kids. You can’t imagine the nasty responses from stupid parents.
@LnzyHou @TomeReader oh I can imagine! Can also imagine their outrage and lawsuit if your dog had bit their child!! #StupidPeople
Back in the hell days of Facebook, I was always surprised when children would be bitten in the face, after bringing their face down to dogs.
Of course, they always blamed the dog for being vicious. Not the parents for not teaching their kids to approach dogs cautiously.
No dog 🐕 wants to be shocked.
@LnzyHou @TomeReader lots of dogs don’t like people in their face. Or don’t like strangers close. It’s on the parents who let their child approach a dog unsupervised!
@LnzyHou I get the same with Ziggy down in Panama. Labradoodles are very uncommon down here. Kids come running asking if he bites. I used to say no. But then he’d bark cause he doesn’t need to be petted. Due to the language barrier I couldn’t get them to back off or come at him slowly. So now when the ask if he “morder” (bite) I always say sí.
@TwitterExpat @LnzyHou @TomeReader it’s best to say yes to that question. Keeps the dogs safer.
@TomeReader @NorCalCherylLyn Agree about breed band and respecting all dogs. Also, all should control their dogs on leash in public. I don't care if YOUR dog is well behaved in YOUR opinion.
Yeah, little dogs bite more frequently. But you can't deny bully breeds do more damage when they do attack. So more caution is required and more responsibility rests with owners to train and control.
I was bitten 3 times by a lab mix, MY DOG, who went from loving to a snap unexpectedly.
@S_r_stone @TomeReader agreed they can do more damage. That is on humans too but a risk for sure.
@TomeReader @NorCalCherylLyn Never figured out his trigger.
We grew not to trust him with other dogs or people. He wasn't aggressive, always seemed friendly.
Two bites came breaking up fights with our other dogs. One came when I was petting him and watching TV. (He approached me and put his head in my lap.)
Something in his past or in his brain made his reactions unreliable. Going to the vet was high anxiety when it got harder to muzzle him.
@S_r_stone @TomeReader I don’t really trust my dog around strangers. She’s skittish and LARGE so we keep total control when she doesn’t know somebody. The little one is my daughter’s.
@NorCalCherylLyn @TomeReader Given a choice, I would rather suffer a bite from a chihuahua than a pit bull, which is a breed known for maulings that maim and/or kill. That’s what they were bred to do, they are a fighting breed.
@mamitres @NorCalCherylLyn @TomeReader
That’s good. You’re more likely to be bitten by a chihuahua than a pit bull.
#1 breed euthanized in animal shelters is chihuahuas not pit bulls.
@mamitres @TomeReader of course given a choice I’d rather that too! But the biters that got me did not ask if it was ok.
@TomeReader And well he should then. I appreciate your carefulness but I have had to deal w PBs who went after people they'd known all their lives. One a minor. I'm not for randomly putting them all down. But they should be manditorily S/N and not allowed to breed. WE made them the danger they are. WE must be responsible to take those genes out of the pool.
@TrueBloodNet @TomeReader
I agree, I don’t believe every PB is dangerous. But it seems that 9 out of 10 incidents of violent behavior is by a PB. And many of them are against people that live with them, and have for years. It’s very sad.
@Smccune55 @TomeReader Yes, the problem is, we've bred a dog that's instinct and physical abilities allow it to hold on tightly no matter what once an attack has begun. That's on us. But it's also on us to remove those genes from the pool.
@TrueBloodNet
Policing a gene pool is iffy on the best of days. But when you ban a breed, the breeders just go underground. That's why many breed bans are eventually overturned, they don't solve any problems.
Now mandatory spaying and neutering, that is a proven solution for reducing dog aggression across the board. The resources used to enforce a useless breed ban would be better spent to subsidizing spay and neuter programs.
@TomeReader Sorry, they just need to expend more energy to control banned breeds. Generally, neutering (not spaying - that prevents cancers so is a push) reduces dogs lifespans. No need to cut all the not as dangerous dogs lifespans just cuz folks don't want to give up their asshole breeds.
My niece, in vet school, rescued this pitty Bella. She is the sweetest dog imaginable. Although she looks fierce.
All dogs are capable of violence.
@LnzyHou
I don’t think she looks fierce. She looks adorable. ❤️
@LnzyHou @TomeReader she is so pretty! 😍
@TomeReader I agree. It’s a people problem that will be much harder to fix. One of my pit mixes is dog aggressive. I hated the idea of muzzling him when we go out in public but I worked with a fear-free trainer and he learned to put his face in it on his own and now doesn’t seem to notice it at all. Education for me as the person responsible for his well-being and behavior was key. Training for the person and dog takes time and a lot of people won’t be willing to put in the work.
@WendyForbes
Thank you for doing what's best for your dog! ❤️
My Dargo is an American Bulldog, adopted from a shelter. If we were in the UK, he would probably fall under this ban.
He's been through obedience training. I never leave him alone in a car. I never let him off the leash outside of our fence. I don't leave him alone with kids or strangers. He's a super friendly dog, but dog owners cannot afford the luxury of the Oh My Dog Would Never mindset.