In October of 2000, an uncle left his six-month old niece unattended with the family dog while retrieving the baby’s bottle from the kitchen. Upon returning, he discovered the infant being brutally mauled by the household pet. Although help was immediately called, the baby was injured severely enough that she soon succumbed to her injuries in a local hospital.
As you listen to this story, which breed of dog did you picture brutally mauling the infant? Many people would instantly imagine a pitbull committing such a malicious act- complete with snarling, snapping jaws, and a pure intention to kill. However, the infant in this story was actually killed by a pomeranian. This story acts as proof that any breed of dog can become dangerous, so why
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is the pitbull consistently perceived as a breed that needs to be banned due to its aggressive nature? Banning the pitbull breed has already begun in some provinces and communities across Canada, but often pitbulls are only villainized due to false stereotypes and unfavourable upbringings. I believe that it is in Canada’s best interest to not ban the pitbull breed altogether, but instead take action such as encouraging adoption to responsible pet owners and make behavioural training mandatory. One of the main reasons why people often look at pitbulls in fear is due to the hundreds of false stereotypes and myths that loom over the breed.
For example, the popular statement that ‘pitbulls have the most dangerous bites due to their ‘locking’ jaws’ is entirely false. Pitbulls do not have jaws that ‘lock’ onto prey when they bite, in fact, no breed of dog does. Also, according to the Behavior Program manager at the Wisconsin Humane Society, the bite strength of a pitbull has been measured in pressure per square inch and ended up ranking lower than the bites of german shepherds and rottweilers. Pitbulls are not even considered to be the breed of dog that bites the most -- chihuahuas are guilty of that title. Another common misconception is the fact that the pitbull is not actually a breed, but is just a ‘type’ of dog. Breeds that fall into the pitbull category include American Staffordshire Terriers, the American Bulldog, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Since there is quite a loose definition as to what a pitbull truly is- other than shared characteristics of muscular bodies, large heads, and short-haired coats- it is easy for the media to falsely identify the breed that may have caused harm and therefore incorrectly blame the pitbull. With incorrect myths such as these constantly circling pitbulls in the media, it is easy to see how the public can wrongly view pitbulls as a threat to members of …show more content…
society. Another reason why pitbulls are seen as dangerous is due to their history and upbringings.
As said by many dog-rescuers worldwide, ‘blame the owner, not the dog’. In the 1200s, pitbulls were bred in Great Britain for the sole purpose of bull and bear baiting, until dog fighting became popular in the 1800s. Unfortunately, although outlawed in various countries, dog fighting does still occur and pitbulls are still being trained to fight. I do admit, these dogs are dangerous- but only because they are being starved, beaten, and literally forced to fight for their lives each day. Pitbulls in modern society are similar in this sense, although not as extreme. If a pitbull is brought up by an owner who doesn’t constantly supply the dog with love, care, and healthy discipline, it is not uncommon for pitbulls (or any animal for that matter) to turn aggressive and out of control. This is why pitbulls especially need responsible owners who are willing to put in the time, effort, and training required for the dog to live a happy and unproblematic life, whether the pitbull is rescued from a shelter or simply adopted. With the guidance of a responsible and caring owner, I believe that all pitbulls are eligible to live a life of love and
safety. Over the years, many governments worldwide have turned away from the pitbull breed and have banned them from society. In Canada, pitbulls are currently banned in Winnipeg and Montreal, as well as in the entire province of Ontario. Locally, pitbulls are either banned or restricted in Richmond, West Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, and Burnaby. To make matters worse, ‘grandfathered’ pitbulls (those born before 2005) must be constantly muzzled and attached to a 1.8m leash in public, and are to be immediately euthanized if they pose an attack on a member of society for any reason. Personally, I believe that Breed-Specific Legislation is not the answer for Canadian governments to try and control the pitbull breed and lessen their apparent dangers. Instead, I think that the government should try methods of action such as encouraging screened, responsible owners to rescue and adopt, as well as offering government-certified training programs that each dog must complete. This way, a smaller amount of pitbulls will be abandoned to the streets, and will meet government standards regarding behaviour. It is proven that well-trained, cared-for dogs have a much lesser chance of acting aggressive- therefore society will not see the breed as a threat- but also, the dogs are offered a chance at a fair and happy life. Every day, over five thousand dogs are put down in North America, with over 93% of these dogs being pitbulls. This is not okay, and I feel that Canada should change their pessimistic views on this breed in order to fix this problem by means of a much more humane solution. All-in-all, I believe that pitbulls should not be banned in Canada. More often than not, the breed is villainized due to false myths and statements, and many behaviour issues that some pitbulls may have is due to an unfortunate upbringing or irresponsible ownership. There is no reason why millions of dogs of a single breed should be euthanized each year, especially if these dogs have the potential to be incredibly loyal and loving pets. I think that it is very important to step up as Canadians and allow this breed another chance in our society, owned by responsible citizens and trained to love instead of fight. These dogs do not deserve endangerment, so lets make sure that we as Canadians are not helping make that happen. Thank you.
Pit bull terriers have a long track record of attacks against people and animals. A 1987 study of a particularly savage attack against a child was documented by four doctors in the hopes...
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there is a “great deal of confusion associated with the label ‘Pit Bull,’” as it does not refer to a single breed of dog, but rather to a group of breeds with similar characteristics1. These characteristics include short hair, a wide skull and shoulders, muscle definition, stocky build and a deep jawline, the combination of which create a dog that manages to strike fear into a perfect stranger. The term ‘Pit Bull’ is derived from the bulldog, which was originally bred as a hunting dog for large game, but has since developed into a “loyal companion rather than a working dog.”1 Their history as “gripping dogs” for hunters follows them into modern society, as many of these dogs have been inhumanely pitted against one another as well as other animals for sport and for human entertainment1. It is because of these illegal fighting rings that ‘Pit Bull’ type breeds have become the subje...
Many people associate a negative connotation with the dog breed “pit bull.” These dogs are thought to be dangerous and problematic. However, much of this can be attributed to the mass amounts of negative media attention that pit bull breeds receive as opposed to other breeds of dogs that can be just as dangerous. For example, The National Canine Research Council did a four-day study on dog-bite repo...
The media says that it was a pitbull attack even if it was a different dog breed. How is that fair to the Pit Bulls that didn't do anything and are being blamed for this? It's not, so why are we letting this happen. Pit Bulls may be banned because of people that don't know what they're talking about. We hear every time that a pitbull attacks but not when any other dog attacks it is not heard on the news. News reporters think that they can change the story and just say what they want to say happened so we never know if the story is true or not. All in all the media is not doing the right thing by only reporting pitbull
After World War I, there was an increase in bite reports by German Shepherd Dogs, a breed used by the Nazis. Pit bulls are the most recent breed of dog to be misjudged. In this paper, we reviewed the following questions about BSL: who is affected, why are they targeted, does BSL work, and is the media to blame? Pit bulls are targeted in this ineffective solution to dog attacks.
Most of the dogs on this list are common household pets, like the Labrador retriever, and are normally non-aggressive and very friendly. Many times these dogs show no sign of aggression and pose no threat to society. Perspective One Breed-specific laws were put in place with the expectation to help prevent dog bites and attacks. The State and Federal government both came to the conclusion that this is a positive way to promote safety from dog attacks. “Both state and federal courts consistently uphold the constitutionality of breed-specific pit bull laws.... ...
In 18 August, 2011, the source of this event is from Herald Sun. A four-year-old lovely child named Ayen Chol was mauled and killed by a pit bull cross while she was playing in her home. The vicious pit bull escaped from a neighbour’s yard and mauled Ayen in a sudden attack. The dog rushed inside the house and set upon Ayen and some other children who were watching television. Ayen’s mom tried to beat the dog away from the children with a table, but she failed. Then the dog turned on Ayen and the vicious injuries caused Ayen’s death. Dr Cam Day, who is the RSPCA’s Queensland pit bull expert, has claimed that American pit bull terriers are ‘head, shoulder, feet and everything else above other breeds’ in terms of their capacity to injure and maim. If the government doesn’t ban pit bulls, these tragedies would continue to happen and children’s lives would be threatened all the
Currently, pit bulls have been reported by the media with very horrific and disturbing news of having attacked a child or being shot by a police due to aggression while some are reported to have been abused or neglected by its owners (Forderer and Unkelbach 534). And because the reports keep coming with heated discussions, more and more people have forged a frightening image of pit bulls even to the extreme of refusing to take care of such breed. Pit bull advocates claim that the dogs get a bad reputation considering that people should learn the dogs are not inherently aggressive. What the pit bull advocates would like to point is that the owners of the pit bulls should be considered guilty for mishandling of their own dogs. There are owners of pit bulls that even encourage the dog to be aggressive in order to fight and protect them in a wrong manner and wrong degree of training (Forderer and Unkelbach 536). Pit bull advocates claimed that a well socialized and well trained pit bull would be very intelligent and could be one of the gentle dogs imaginable.
Has society unfairly ostracized the entire breed or is the vicious reputation true? Critics claim that pit bulls attack indiscriminately and often without warning. In a study taken from U.S. and Canada press reports between 1982 and 2014, Merritt Clifton, editor of Animals 24-7, found that pit bulls were the most responsible for inflicting bodily harm (as cited by DogsBite.org). However, it should be noted that attacks involving pit bulls often are catastrophic and result in responses from police and paramedics and news media reporters. According to news reports studied by DogsBite.org for “the 10-year period from 2005 to 2014, pit bulls killed 203 Americans and accounted for 62% of the total recorded deaths” (DogsBite.org). All of the pit bull breeds possess powerful jaws, and Nicholas Dodman, author of Dogs Behaving Badly, reports “when they do chomp down, it can be a bloodbath” (as quoted by Rivenburg).
b. “Many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misidentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terriers is considerably lower than represented,” according to the real pit bull. i. Do you think a 4 pound Pomeranian dog would hurt anybody? ii. Stated in the Dog Bite Law, “The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family 's Pomeranian dog.” a. The American Temperament Test is a test that measures a dog strong avoidance, unprovoked aggression, and panic without recovery. “American Pit Bull Terriers passed the test at a rate of 85.3%,” according to Pitbulls.org. They have the highest test scores, and they out beat the golden retriever “family dog” by 7.7%. iii. I identify the justice of my rival’s claim, but I disagree with my rival’s 100 percent about pit bulls having the highest attacks. c. Now you can see how my rival made a mistake because they didn’t evaluate and understood the facts as clearly as they
...ociated Press published an article “Pit Bulls are A Danger to Society,” yet this year, the same publisher issued an article “Attitudes and Laws Against the Pit Bull Soften – The Big Story” in which the Pit bull advocates hail the changes as recognition that breed-specific laws discriminate against dogs that are not inherently aggressive or dangerous should not be discriminated against or victimized. The debate puts millions of pit bull owners up against a relatively small group of activists against the breed and challenges the notion that Pit Bulls that are well-cared for had any history of aggressive behavior in the first place, closing the argument by again stating what the Canadian Encyclopedia explained, that their actions were just a park of the cycle of favorites and least favorites that has always been and always will be in the history of ownership of dogs.
The American Pit Bull Terrier is a good breed of dogs that has earned its popularity throughout the world. The Pit bull is well known to be a loyal, brave and a very good companion to its owner. However, caution should be taken to avoid these terriers from getting into the hands of unethical owners.
Roughly about 30% of all dogs are pit bulls that are taken to shelters which depending on the area that figure can raise up to 60%. Not every pit bull rescued were a part of dog fighting but John Goodwin, of the Humane Society, says most of the dogs have scars and marks to show for their fights. The fate of these dogs remain to a judge that determines whether the fight dogs need to be euthanized. Since these dogs were trained to be aggressive and attacks other animals 9 times out of 10 they are to be put down. The dogs that haven’t been a part of dog fighting fit into a family and shows no sign of
Even though pit bulls are the majority of dog attacks anybody hears about, they are loyal and caring dogs. All they want is the love and approval of their owners. They will do anything that they are told to do. Their strength, stamina, and speed fuel the passion they have for their owners. Pit bulls are not vicious by nature; they are good guard dogs fueled by the love for their family; and, they are definitely loyal friends. They have a lower temperament than many other well-known breeds; therefore, they are not vicious by nature at all. They are very strong guard dogs. Pit bulls are known to be a scary breed, so people stay away from them. They have an amazing amount of speed and stamina that they can use to chase predators away, too. Pit bulls are the best friends anyone could ask for. They are loyal and loving creatures that just want to please their family. They are good dogs to train to be around children. If the children are a part of the dog’s family, then the dog will protect the child at all costs. Pit bulls are a good breed to have as a family
Second, “in 2005, a 2 year old Huntington girl was violently and fatally attacked by the same breed of dog.” Some people say they are good dog for children but actually they are not. I got this from. Pit