WHY BREED BANS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

First of all, for the REAL, FULL truth about dog bites, read:

DOGS BITE: BUT BALLOONS AND SLIPPERS ARE MORE DANGEROUS
by, Janis Bradley


now, why breed bans are pointless. well 1st of all, breed identification is a MAJOR problem. "pit bull" is not even a breed. there are a numer of breeds that people label as "pit bulls", including: american pit bull terriers, american staffordshire terriers, and staffordshire bull terriers.

and there are even more breeds (or mixes of breeds) that people often label as "pit bulls" as well such as: boxers, any variety of mastiff, american bulldogs, alapaha blue blood bulldog, bull terriers, dogo argentinos, fila brasileiros, presa canarios, cane corsos, boston terriers, etc etc. basically any short nosed, short haired, muscular breed, cropped ears being a bonus.

and in the case of mixed breeds, well its anybodys guess. even breed experts have trouble identifying, and argue over what breed(s) a dog is. and not only that, but most mixed breed dogs have numerous breeds in their genes.

for an example of how many dog breeds look alike check out THIS SITE and see if you can identify the real "american pit bull terrier".

2nd, bite statistics are EXTREMELY unreliable. (read "Dogs Bite" for a very detailed account of how flawed they are!!) There is no national registry for dog bites by breed, and like I already said, breed identification is a major issue, especially in the case of mixed breeds, AND its estimated that more than 50% of dog bites arent even reported. On top of all that, the VAST majority of dog bites are at the band-aid level. (Again, read "Dogs Bite" for more information on how blown out of porportion this "risk" of dog bites is).

besides all that, human aggression is NOT normal in pit bulls. fighting dogs were bred for generations to have extremely low human aggression, because the owners had to be able to pull their dogs out in the heat of a fight.

and finally, the bottom line is any dog can be made aggressive, no matter the breed. bad breeding, lack of socialization, lack of proper training and kind handling, abuse and neglect, all make for very dangerous dogs. and the more negative media hype pit bull breeds get, the more bad people are drawn to them for that image. breed bans are not the answer. JUDGE THE DEED, NOT THE BREED.

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MORE INFORMATION ON BSL:

The Dog-Bite Epidemic: Where does the real danger lie?- Jean Donaldson

Humane Society of the United States

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Association of Pet Dog Trainers

AVMA: Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention

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