> Dogs have their own body
language that makes it quite clear, BEFORE biting is EVER an option that tells
another dog or a person, "Hey, man, I'm not too keen on you being so close to
me." We do dogs a huge diservice by not recognizing their subtle cues and
we do our children an even worse diservice by not teaching them how to properly
approach a strange dog.
So we all need to take classes to
learn dog body language, just in case someone's pitbull gets loose?
> I'm willing to bet that many of
the victims of these attacks were children who were never around the dogs on a
consistant basis.
Exactly. Again, the big difference here is the ability to kill. It's
very rare to hear about other breeds actually killing someone. Every damn time
it's a pitbull or similar. There's simply no way to justify breeding or
purchasing one of these animals.
Benefit = the joy of owning a good
pet. Probably nobody gets killed. Pretty high benefit, I
agree.
Cost = potential death for poor
shmuck that doesn't know dog body language. Off the charts cost. Completely
voids any benefit.
> See, the problem with trying to
legislate based on breed (ie. special licensing, expensive insurance, etc.) is
that the crappy owners, the owners who breed their dogs to fight, aren't exactly
the kind of people who are considered "law-abiding citizens," see what I
mean?
That's the same excuse people use for
keeping hand guns legal. You gotta start somewhere don't you? I agree it's
not a simple issue. I'm sure there's plenty of factors that would make
legislation unworkable anyway. I just really believe that anyone buying or
breeding a pit is contributing to the industry and adding to the
problem.
-Kyle
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 9:30
AM
Subject: RE: Find the Pit Bull--problems
w/ legislating
Obviously, these owners (whose dogs attack) who
claim their dogs are the sweetest things ever aren't telling the whole
truth... ;) My guess is that they knew very well their dogs' tendencies,
but are they going to admit that to the media? Unfortunately, no.
What these dogs need (and what every dogs needs, regardless of breed) are
responsible owners well versed in "Doggie Behavior 101." I'm 100%
confident that dogs don't just suddenly "snap." Dogs have their own body
language that makes it quite clear, BEFORE biting is EVER an option that tells
another dog or a person, "Hey, man, I'm not too keen on you being so close to
me." We do dogs a huge diservice by not recognizing their subtle cues
and we do our children an even worse diservice by not teaching them how to
properly approach a strange dog. I'm willing to bet that many of the
victims of these attacks were children who were never around the dogs on a
consistant basis.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending aggressive
behavior, only responsible ownership! Socialize your dogs!!
:) Legislation is such an "iffy" endeavor...Unfortunately, dogs are
still considered "property" in the state of Texas...but what happens one day
when pets are no longer considered "property of their owners?" We can't
tell the parents of the child who kills another child that they can no longer
have children...what do we do? See, the problem with trying to legislate
based on breed (ie. special licensing, expensive insurance, etc.) is that the
crappy owners, the owners who breed their dogs to fight, aren't exactly the
kind of people who are considered "law-abiding citizens," see what I
mean? It will be the responsible owners who will unfairly be punished
this kind of legislation and vicious dogs will STILL be bred in spite of the
law. I just don't see how it's going to work... :(
Wow, I can't believe how many of you cat folk
are pit bull fans. You guys obviously don't live in Florida. It seems
like every week there's a new story here about a pit bull mauling
someone to death. And every time it's the same exact story. "My dog is the
sweetest dog. She's great with the kids." Then one day... Problem is, these
breeds were originally bred to kill. It's in their genes and it's well
documented that they can snap at any moment. It's like having a loaded gun
sitting around the house. Sure it might protect me, but...
Now euthinizing dogs based on breed, that's a
different story. I could never defend that. These dogs can't help who they
are. But if you have children and you're mixing them with a breed that's
known to kill, that borders on child abuse IMO. I don't care how sweet the
dog is today. And sure a lab or schnoodel can snap also. But if a lab bites
me, it's not a death sentence. Bottom line is there are plenty of other
breeds out there you can choose from. If you have kids, there's absolutely
no way you can justify buying a pit bull or similar breed. The possible
cost (death of a child) far outweighs any benefit.
IMO, owning any breed of animal that's easily
capable of killing somebody should require a special, extremely
expensive license. To get the license, you would need to complete many
hours of education on how to keep said animal from killing someone. Maybe
that would slow down the breeding of such animals. That's the real
problem. Just my opinion of course. Like I said, here in Florida things
are different. The stupid people far outnumber the rest of us here. And
sometimes you have to legislate to protect the rest of the population from
the stupid people.
Oh yeah. Which was the pitbull? Was it number
20? I didn't see a link for getting the answer.
-Kyle
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 11:07
AM
Subject: OT: Find the Pit Bull
[Interesting and Scary]
This is an
interesting test that I failed miserably, it's scary to think how dogs are
wrongly classified as this breed and are wrongly
persecuted.
-----------------------------------------
Take the test
and see if you can pick out the pit bull out of this page of
pictures. It's amazing how many other breeds look
similar.
--
Belinda
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