Banning Dog Breeds (AIB tsc's Dogs Gone Wild)

[ludes98]

Just saw this on the news wire here.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1068065853324_63475053///?hub=Canada

"The New Brunswick government amended legislation shortly after the attack to give municipalities the power to ban specific breeds of dogs. Several municipalities have enacted bylaws. "

Wow. Local control of dog ownership? I would love to see a lawyer try to prove certain breeds pose a significant danger to the health safety and welfare of the community so far as to actually need banned. This bylaw enaction sound reactionary to anyone? I don't like large breeds and I have been attacked by even small breeds, so I can't see this being effective. What about mutts?

 

[PlannerGirl]

OK i worked in a hospital for 3 years
the most folks come in with bites from POODLES!!! Evil little dogs for the most part. Not at all good with kids.

As a former Rottie parent I can tell you yup big dogs can be a mess, they are BIG, powerful and manytimes very very smart if their owner is a pushover or teaches them bad things you have a SEROIUS problem-but its not about breed its about owners. The same for those damn poodles.

 

[BKM]

I read somewhere that the worst breed for dog bites was the Cocker Spaniel. In-bred and vicious.

But, I agree-its the owners.

My basenji doesn't like little kids. Luckily she will just warn them, not actually bite, but I've had to yell at kids or their parents a couple of times.

Edit: Oops-that sounded bad. I menat that I have had to ask them not to bother my basenji-to let her approach them first.

She is a good dog, little kids moving quickly startle her and she will kinda jump a little bit.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

I hate those crackholes (sorry crackholes) who own pitbulls or those cross breed pitbull/boxers. They walk around and act like they're bad-ass because of their dog. I just laugh because I could just put a bullet between their dogs eyes. People that have these dogs take no responsibility for their actions and usually its little kids that get mauled by these monsters.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

I
She is a good dog, little kids moving quickly startle her and she will kinda jump a little bit.

Hey, my dog (mutt) only has one eye. It's tough to get anyone to understand they need to approach slowly on her good side. Plus, she's about 70 lbs., intimidating to some, but a sweetie.

 

[The Irish One]

Owners.

 

[donk]

The reason for this is a much publicized recent mauling /killing of a kid by 3 rottweillers.

Other Cities and places in Canada have done this. All they are doing is amending teh Municipalities Act to allow for it to be done, it is not required.

 

[tsc]

Owners.

Owners,,, exactly. The dogs are dogs,,, it isn't their fault. It is such a tradgedy that is truly do to human negligence... as was my case. I disagree with banning dogs. My dog is 1/2 doberman and my sister has a pit bull (not the mix but the actual terrier). My sisters dog is a very good dog.. which actually got attacked the other day by a neighbors shephard and needed stiches.

Neighbors near me with small children are afraid of the pack that roams around my neighborhood... as they should be.

I think my dog is as a furry angel that is on earth to keep me sane,, and I would never jeopardize his fate by putting him into a situation where his instincts would get him into trouble. I am just on the other extreme in attitude when it comes to pets,,, as I am about to fork out 4 grand in medical bills for my hound dog to eliminate a cancerous tumor on his leg. My other option would be to amputate a leg.. and I just couldn't do that to him.

 

[donk]

,,, as I am about to fork out 4 grand in medical bills for my hound dog to eliminate a cancerous tumor on his leg. My other option would be to amputate a leg.. and I just couldn't do that to him.

Is it a bloodhound?

Our last 2 bloodhounds both died of cancer/tunours. Must be a breed thing. My parents shelled out large cash to try and save them.

 

[tsc]

he's 1/2 doberman 1/2 beagle.. .looks like a big hound. This type of cancer is common in dobies... it attacks the limbs, cutting off blood supply to the rest of the leg. It doesnt tend to spread to the organs, so in a way it is supposed to be curable.

 

[Jessie-J]

Oh man, it's definately the owners, hands down. I have a friend who owns a rottweiler and he is the SWEETEST nicest most gentle dog I have met yet! Tey've always own rotts.

Then, there's the owners who teach their dogs to "attack". They're evil to the dog, abusive and mean- those are the dogs that "need counseling". As with humans, Assholes breed assholes.

 

[Plannerbabs]

Exactly, it is the owners. We used to live near a family who had a Rott, who was subjected to a sort of benign neglect. They bought him to be a guard dog, and then never really trained him or paid much attention to him. Despite that, he was a huge sweet bear of a dog, who would lean on you (and knock you down) when you scratched his shoulders. Very loving dog. His owners didn't deserve him.

 

[Jeff]

They just found a pitbull fighting area near me yesterday. Sad.

 

[martini]

I'll add to the concesus here. It's all about the owner and how they train/treat the dog. I've said it before and a I'll say it again. If we are rquired to have a license to DRIVE, we need a license to BREED, and we need one to own a creature(read DOG) that can cause harm if used in the wrong way.

 

[otterpop]

I sort of weighed in on this one in the other topic of Dog Gone Wild, but to reiterate - I think a dog who attacks a person or another animal should be treated as if it were a weapon used by the owner. If you train a dog to be aggressive, then you are programming a disaster and you should be responsible for its actions. If you allow your aggressive dog to roam wild it is not unlike putting a naval mine out to sea - it will roam around and likely injure an innocent party. You made a monster and you are the monster's master. Dogs are not that bright. They are incapable of logical thought. A dog cannot differentiate between a real and a perceived threat. Dogs, for example, are often territorial and do not know that while their yard is their territory, the sidewalk is not.

The owner should be criminally and civilly liable for the actions of their pets. Right now it is almost always a misdemeanor, which is no deterent. A dog mauling should be a felony offense.

 

[ludes98]

I agree with all of the above.

donk picked up what I was really getting at. Local codes to ban breeds. I think this is just a bad idea. I can see no way that this can be done effectively and equitably.

 

[SGB]

Definately owners.

I grew up w/ a neighbor's pit bull who freely roamed the neighborhood. That dog was great with kids, and especially loved to follow us for a swim at the local swimming hole on hot summer days.

Then one day the dog developed a taste for squirrels and woodchucks. The owner then decided it was time to give the dog to a friend who lived out in the country.

 

[The Irish One]

Go to Switzerland and see how well behaved and socialized dogs are. In the park ,no leash, walks with owner never lose attention to where they belong, very receptive of anyone petting, nonresponsive to loud noise and movement. The Swiss know training as should we.

 

[Richmond Jake]

I was working for a city that was developing an ordinance to prohibit vicious dogs that was focusing on pit bulls and dobermans. I ran from the ordinance like it had the plague. I didn't want anything like that in the zoning code. Dumped it all on the cops. I never heard what happened.

 

[Downtown]

I think banning certain breeds of dogs is absolutely retarded. I'm also weighing in on owner responsibility. That said, one of our two dogs is fear aggressive and does not mix well with other dogs when she's on a leash. it makes in insane when we're out in the park walking our dog and some a$$hole has his dog running all over without a leash, totally out of control. Or people try to pet our dogs without asking permission first. i just wish people would in general exhibit more common sense.

 

[BKM]

Like Downtown, Max, my rottie/shepherd cross, is not real good with other dogs.

She nails it pretty well: KNOW YOUR DOG. I've learned avoidance behavior to keep him from bad situations.

Luckily, he is now mellowing out pretty much (10 years old), but when he was younger, I really had to watch him.

 

[Trail Nazi]

This is a topic that is very close to my heart since I own a couple of Staffordshire Bull Terriers. My beasts are show dogs that I imported from Holland and have since gotten their US championships on them. So it drives me nuts that people think that these dogs are vicious because it is TOTALLY their environment. In fact, as mentioned earlier, cockers and poodles are two of the biggest biters in this country. (chihuahuas too) Another little fact is that everyones beloved golden retriever is also a big biter. But does anyone every try to ban the fluffy dogs. No. To me, this is paramount to racism. There has not been a reported incident that I know of Staffy Bulls ever attacking a human for the hell of it.

In England, where they originated they are called the Nanny dog because they are excellent with children. And they are also one of the top 5 most popular dogs in the UK, NZ, South Africa, and Australia (the Croc hunter even has one), but they are not very big here (only up to your knee if it is a big dog) in the US because everyone thinks that they are pitt bulls. These dogs are the biggest people lovers ever. However, like most terriers, you must be careful around other dogs because they tend to not like other dogs. Heck, both of my dogs practically pull my arms off to get to play with kids. Stupid law makers thinking they know best. All they are are haters. FYI - the AKC does not support dog specific legislation. But if your area is thinking about enacting any laws against dogs, look to California's state law, which holds the owner responsible (of any breed) rather than the specific breed.

 

[donk]

The coroner's report has been presented. It is suggesting limiting dog ownership numbers and a few other items in rural NB. As a person who deals with problems in rural NB, limiting the number of dogs a person may have is not real high on my priority list. There are much bigger public health and safety issues (water suppy protection, environmental degradation, uncontrolled subdivison to name a few - see images in my gallery for what I mean).

Here are links to more recent stories.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1067803057800_54/?hub=Canada

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2003/11/07/doginquest031107

The other item that has come out of this inquest is that the parent's of teh dead child should not have been parent's (raging alcoholics and mentally unstable). There is no talk about limiting their ability to procreate....