Breed Bans...
...Parents Against Canine Killers

 

OVERVIEW

[Return to Top]

Since most of the maulings are caused by 2 breeds, why not just ban those breeds?

• Been done, hasn’t worked. Breed bans have been tried in other countries and have failed to achieve positive results. One example in Holland Read More - Failed Breed Ban. Germany, France and Britain have banned import and breeding of Pit bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and the Japanese Tosa with unsatisfactory results.
• Bans can unfairly include well socialized and trained dogs of responsible owners
• The breeds of dog targeted as the most dangerous and responsible for most maulings has changed over time in the history of our own country

Since any dog of sufficient size and strength can be made into a potentially lethal weapon, banned breeds would be immediately replaced.

 

 

THE LIST OF BREEDS BANNED CAN NOT INCLUDE ALL POSSIBLE BREEDS AND MIXED BREEDS WHICH CAN BE MADE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS 

[Return to Top]

• Some of the breeds already been banned in other countries, could be imported.
  
  

Any large breed of dog crossed with a breed of sufficient musculature and bite strength can become a super killer if that is the intent of the breeding, socialization and training. Some breeds have been genetically selected for a propensity and body type that lends itself to lethal attack once their behavioral trigger has been pulled.

• You cannot tell by the breed of the dog alone whether it will attack. You can, however, estimate the damage he is capable of by his size and jaw size. Video.
• Several of these breeds and especially mixes of these and many others could replace the pit bull and rottweiler as the “next breeds to be banned.”

Click on a specific breed to view fully detailed information about the dog

 

There are numerous potentially lethal mixes that could be created if that is the intent.

 

 

RESTRICT BREEDING OF PITBULLS? 

[Return to Top]

• Even Pit bull rescue associations strongly encourage the spaying and neutering of all adoptive Pit bulls as there “are too many Pit bulls”
• Germany, France and Great Britain have banned the breeding of pit bulls.
• Restriction of the breeding of Pit bulls would allow dog owners to keep their dogs.
• To encourage responsible Pit bull breeding and socialization, mandatory micro chipping of the puppies at the level of the breeders’ would link the breeder to the dog’s identity. Read more on MANDATORY MICROCHIPPING.

For or against breed bans?

Depends: Are we talking about breed bans or are we talking about placing sanctions on the breeding, as in constant over-replenishment, flooding shelters and necessitating the euthanasia of countless thousands of good dogs of debatable breeds annually? Currently, some shelters euthanize a dog immediately if he is a pit bull.

“But I’m innocent, I tell ya! It was my 4^th cousin who done the deed!” “Sorry, buddy; we have no way of knowing that for sure. Now if you had a microchip and clean record…”

An individual of a known dangerous breed. But what IF...

• The individual is of a submissive temperament (see temperament testing); from a mother who transmitted a favorable attitude towards people (known and proven gentle parental temperament).
• Socialized lovingly from an early age onward.
• Trained toward respect and kindness, and whose life experiences were carefully controlled to avoid noxious and painful stimuli, kept in good health and relatively free of physical discomfort see “why dogs bite,” and is neutered - he can be a wonderful pet of a responsible pet owner.

Indeed, there are individuals who spend what some may deem an inordinate amount of time in ambassadorship of breeds such as the American Pit bull. One must adjust their focus to the person behind the dog. I would still caution the owner of such a dog to never allow children to be alone with their dog or to have access to their dog and have their pet neutered or spayed. There are some types of dogs that are the equivalent of Russian roulette if children are anywhere in the picture as it is generally impossible to control all of the stimuli that can contribute to predisposing and precipitating factors. Read more: “why dogs bite.”

It takes a special person and circumstance to responsibly keep a dog of a fighting breed type.

 

 

DEED NOT BREED

[Return to Top]

Deed not breed refers to judging a dog by his deed or action, not his breed alone. The concept discourages discrimination against a dog based solely on his breed.

However, due to the human interference involved in the propagation of the breeds, the breed of the dog does give clues as to preprogrammed genetic behavioral tendencies inherent in the breed. Read More: “Unnatural Selection.” We made them that way.

We’ve deliberately genetically reproduced the equivalent of a high power rifle, and then want to believe that they’re okay around the kids because we’ve put behavioral safeties on them and because they exhibit submissive behavior to the adult judging his behavior. He seems so nice and safe. But then kids, due to their inexperience and lack of knowledge about dogs, are fumbling with this safety and that safety...don’t walk away. Don’t leave them alone together. While exceptions exist, and early imprint training can enhance his safety, err on the side of caution. You may have a smiling, slobbering,
                                                                             sweet loaded gun.

Dog owner behaviors: such as

• Selecting
• Socializing
• Training the dog for guard dog use are more reliable indicators of deeds one would expect from such a dog than breed alone

On the other hand, selecting, socializing and training a dog of the same breed towards respect and love of humans can drive the equation in favor of a friendly dog. But you must not delude yourself into thinking that heritable behavioral tendencies toward aggression do not exist! He still has several generations behind him of parents that were chosen to be aggressive, and strong, sometimes with the breeder boasting that he had created a super-killer.

Sometimes breeds of dogs are deliberately crossed or bred to each other to introduce a favorable physical trait or behavior.

The introduced genes may be expressed in the:

• Phenotype, which are the parts of the genetic code that you can see, touch, or otherwise perceive in the dog: like his fur type, eye color, personality.

Or they may be buried in the: Genotype, meaning the trait may be hidden in this generation, but may be visibly seen or expressed in future generations.

The introduced traits may be visible and advertised, or they may be hidden with the intent of adding a behavior to the breed while still maintaining the purebred label. In the case of the Labradoodle, the cross is visible and advertised as: personality of the Labrador with the absence of shedding of the poodle. In other breed crosses, the breeder may want to introduce a behavior while maintaining the purebred label. The breeder may do away with individuals who bear telling resemblance of the introduced breed. With modern testing, that can be done at your small animal veterinarian’s office, a simple test can determine the breeds present in an individual.

If certain breeds are banned, and a person wants an aggressive dog, it will be produced for them.

If they aren’t looking for an attack dog, it won’t be bred, socialized and trained to be such. If the dog owner knows that he is responsible for the actions of the dog regardless of the bred label it carries, he won’t be looking for a way around it. The responsibility is at the level of the person that chooses to have a predator created for him, not at the level of the dog.

I wish it was as simple as “deed not breed.” In other words, I wish one could say that you can’t judge a dog one bit based on his breed. Because breed bans aren’t fair to the loving conscientious Pit bull owner that is aware of the seemingly bizarre and remote, yet potential danger in their pet and takes precaution even though all their senses tell them it is unnecessary. They shield their dog from the environmental stimuli that could activate the latent attack genes hidden beneath layers of submissive subservience. They protect their dog from the type of socialization and training that would steer him towards aggression. And they protect their dog from having his trigger pulled. Yet they are aware that others, not themselves, have carefully created the breed by selecting individuals with large musculature, immense bite strength, a tendency to latch on and not let go, and aggression. They are persecuted for what others have done.

Certain breeds have gotten a bad name. Dogs aren’t machines to be used for our own purposes and then thrown away, such as the disposable guard dogs in states with the One Bite rule. Dog are beings with thoughts and feelings of their own. Dogs of fighting type breeds were born with their genetic makeup and tendency toward aggression through no fault of their own. People selectively and repeatedly produced them for the aggressive traits, then often elicited the aggressive behaviors through deliberate socialization and training, and did not keep the dog safe from his own triggers and separate from his prey.

Read more: Triggers, Pack hunting instincts, Hierarchy

 

WHICH BREEDS ARE MORE DANGEROUS: 

[Return to Top]

Statistics claiming to state the incidence rate of bites due to any given breed are flawed.

Since the total number of dogs in each breed (the denominator) is unknown, the number of dogs biting (numerator) has no meaning in developing a fraction or rate. It’s referred to as a floating numerator, since there is no denominator. It is meaningless.

The incidence of bites reported in a breed that is very popular is artificially raised simply because the sheer numbers of these dogs are higher. For instance, if there are 10 million dogs of one breed in the country and 100 are involved in a serious dog attack that gives you a rate of 1 in 10,000 dogs of this breed. If there are only 5000 dogs of another breed and the same number of bites is reported for the breed, then you have a rate of 1 in 50 of this breed of dogs was involved in a severe dog attack.

Obviously the second breed has a much higher incidence, but they are reported as the same incidence.

You cannot determine whether a dog will bite by his breed or type of breed alone (CDC- Center for Disease Control). What you can determine is that, if he does choose to attack, and he has a large jaw size, coupled with body strength, his injury capability is great. Video. Size and strength of the victim factor into the extent of the damage, and whether the attack will be fatal.

The bite strength is directly related to the jaw size. Jaw size is directly related to body size and body weight. The most reliable and repeatable estimate of jaw size is size of dog as reflected in his body weight. (Relatively few exceptions would exist, such as an obese Corgi.)

The difference between the mauling rate and bite rate.

Some breeds have high bite rates but low mauling and fatality rates.

Small dogs: These dogs may bite due to fear. Small dogs are more prone to fear biting since, due to their small size, they are more prone to feel threatened especially by children.

Herding dogs: nip to redirect the animals they are herding. It is frowned upon in competition dogs. And, though they may bite to send a message, the intent has not been historically genetically selected to accompany an intent to kill.

Any dog can bite if started from sleep; though some will proceed to maul the victim as though they are not yet fully aware.