Ban the idiots... Not the breed. - Page 2

I saw in Alabama a 2 year old girl was killed by the family's Rottweiler. I do not like Rotty's and never would trust one, but they are supposed to be friendly. I bet idiot owners are to blame more than the dog. Just think of all the "family" dogs that are stuck in peoples back yards just waiting for their chance to get out and take out some frustration. As a parent and a dog owner, I would never own a dog I did not properly socialize and train. So sad that a little girl died as a result of negligent owners. This is one reason why I like $1500 price tags for puppies. Not just anyone will pay that price for just a backyard dog. Ever notice the problem dogs owners always start out their sentences by saying "the dog we found" or "a friend gave me" or something like that. Raise the prices I guess, cuts down on "The Idiot Factor". Sell the idiots american bred shepherds that are scared to bite their food! Problem solved....

Raising prices can cut both ways. While it does limit the number of people who can afford a GSD, it also tends to attract more who want to breed them to make money. That's not a good thing for the breed either.

I saw a statistic one time that said a dog that was chained out was 56.5% more likely to bite than one that was in a fenced area. I would have to agree with that, when patroling through the trailer parks you always see the poor dog chained up on a short chain and the kids from the area teaseing it.

No different than tying off your dog and teasing with a tease pole. Teases and frustrates to go after the tug / rag or whatever you are using.

Higher price doesn't always mean that the person isn't an idiot it just means the idiot has money. But I know what you mean, at least if they can afford the dog they probably can afford to feed it and pay the vet and have had some people with money ask me if they have any problems with training can they bring it back for me to train, so chances are they will pay to have it trained right. On the other hand I have discounted a dog to someone I know who really can't afford the initial price and have let them make payments and found that they bought the best dog food, and basically spent every wakeing hour with the dog. It's all about screening to the best of your ability and if you get a funny feeling about the person, don't sell it to them. Mike

I know that I am going to P.O. a lot of people here but IMHO there is one breed that should not be kept near people. Pit Bulls have been bred for years for nothing but aggression. When you then add in the "idiot factor" ie that every overly macho cretin out there seems to want a pit, you end up with 60-70 lbs. of poorly socialized, poorly trained muscle and teeth. I know the statitistics say that pits are not at the top of the list but they ARE the ones that get the headlines. This, I think, is due to the fact that once they do attack they do not stop until their victim is down. Not too surprising, it's what they are bred for.

Ban both. The German Shepherd breed is not a problem breed, although some individuals may not have characteristic breed temperament. The breeds which are a problem are breeds bred for fighting and aggression toward other animals, coupled with independence (whereas a GSD cares what the master thinks and wants to please the master, problem breeds do their own thing and dont care who likes it or not!), and then stupid humans give those dangerous animals opportunity. For instance, no baby or toddler should EVER be left unattended with dogs. Dogs read a child's behavior as that of prey animal, the uncoordinated movements, high pitch of voice, tendency to scream etc. A good temperamented dog who respects the owner as the alpha, accepts children just as subordinate wolves accept the cubs of the alpha pair as part of the pack. Dogs in groups also will behave as a pack and "egg each other on," and fuel each others excitement. Breeders could select against the animal aggression in their breeding programs, owners could take safety measures and not leave young kids unattended with dogs, and also obedience train their dogs, but as long as there are people who want dogs to fight, or to scare their neighbors or so they can feel macho at having a tough dog, its pretty much impossible to stop the problems except by banning the breeds or mixes of breeds that are aggressive and independent. Where problems arise is when people who are in charge of banning, don't know enough about the breeds or mixes of those breeds, to recognize them and tell them apart from other dogs. To some people, almost anything brindle with short hair is a pit or pit mix, for example!

Let's not forget that there are a lot of well-intentioned pet owners who give their dogs everything--good food, good veterinary care, etc., and still know squat about training dogs. I've had a Pit Bull nearly attack my Border Collie pup before, and the owners were mad at me when I overreacted to save her because he was 'only' playing (even when he was doing classic prey motion vs. greeting mode). These same people claim to be veterinary assistants and seem to know enough to feed their dogs EVO. They made a lot of claims about how Pit Bulls aren't at the top of the bite list (for people, it was my dog it attacked), etc...fact is, they didn't know enough to control it, so it was dangerous to my eyes.

I'm not for the banning of anything. Take the guns away from people, the unlawfull one will still come up with them. Same with dogs. People who disregard the law, will keep disregarding the law. I don't see Pits as any more dangerous than any other dog. Do we have allot of stupid people owning them? Of course. Do we have allot of stupid people owning doxens? Yes. It's not the breeds fault and once you ban one, they are all going to come under fire. I have seen the sweetest Pits. I grew up with a pit/lab. Also I have seen the meanest small dogs. I don't think we should hold the dogs accountable for bad breeding and training, go after the owners.

4pack, Exactly !! ProudShepPoppa, Pits are not the problem the idiot people are, I have too many sweetheart pits come into the shelter to beleive the BS that is stated about them, Please do yourself a favor go to a shelter and see the pits there and see for yourself what a sweet temperament 98% of them have, In fact per shelterwise, we get more onry labs than we do pits and we get about the same #'s of both. GSDGenetics, your right, anything short and stocky or with a blocky head is a pit around here too. Sometimes I see people calling Akita X's pit x because of the blocky head, It's rediculous. Shinokami, Exactly my point, Stupid people should have to take classes before owning a dog. Interpretation is everything !! Not that everyone should be an expert at "reading" a dogs body language, I guess for some it's quite impossible, I am lucky in that I can, but it's hard for me to watch some idiot with a dog and they don't have a clue. Point is Breed Specific Bans don't Work !!! Banning idiots just might !!!