Truly, why BSL is bullshit

I was in the lunch room at my work and we were talking about my rottweiller Daisy and my coworker said she'd had a rottweiller too and it was the best dog ever, and it had been very protective of her - and I talked about Daisy's past history and how it didn't affect her too negatively now and somehow the subject got on to pit bulls - and my coworker said that she was really leery of them - she didn't think it mattered how they were brought up - they could still turn on a dime. Her cousin had 2 pit bulls that they got as puppies, and they treated them like gold - they took them for walks, gave them the best food, kept them indoors - put clothes on them - and then all of a sudden one night out of the blue one of them attacked the other really bad and when her cousin tried to break it up the dog attacked her - they had to put both dogs down.

I responded to her that we don't know how her cousin treated the dogs really - how many boundaries did she give them? Did she let the dogs play until they were totally over-aroused and completely out of control? Dogs of any size can hurt each other - not just pit bulls, and if you let them play day after day after day with each other with no supervision - wrestling and you never intervene - and they never learn any self-control - and they're always over-aroused - eventually they're going to reach a point where it goes from being play to a fight. And if they're a dog of any size - it's going to turn into a fight. And in this case the fight was lethal - and then transferred on to a human.

My co-worker said that there was no warning - but I told her there are always warnings - her cousin just didn't notice them. When I explained it all to her - she said - yes, that all makes sense.

The worst part of this whole story is that her cousin got a new puppy this past Christmas - another pit bull - but it was only one puppy, not 2. I told my co-worker that I hope her cousin doesn't get a smaller 2nd dog - because the larger dog will probably kill it if she treats these dogs the same way she treated the first crop.

But this post is about breed specific legislation - and what does all that have to do with BSL? That story could have been about any breeds over say - 60 pounds. It doesn't have to be about pit bull type dogs.

Look at this photo - how would you like a drug dealer, or a person who doesn't have control of this dog - walking down Spring Garden Road. Do you think this dog is banned anywhere in North America? I don't think so. Isn't it a magnificent, amazing dog?

It's a breed called a "Mioritic" - it a large breed of livestock guardian dog that originated in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.

They can make some pretty funky dog breeds over there in Eastern Europe, I must say.

Another breed that I was really smitten with for quite awhile and had been planning on getting one at one point was the "black russian terrier" - it looks just like a bouvier - only BIGGER - it can get up to 154 pounds! Can you imagine! That's a like a tank on paws. I could ride that thing to work in the morning.

But imagine the damage that a 154 pound dog can do. A 70 pound pit bull is nothing compared to that. I remember last year we had a story here locally where a police officer shot a dog to death - and the dog was originally mis-identified as a "pit bull" - because all scary dogs are labelled as such - and when it was properly identified as a boxer/mastiff cross - they had to keep the story scary sounding by then retagging the story line - literally - as "brown mixed dog was 80 pounds of muscle"

I think 154 pounds would trump 80 pounds of anything. Even when it's fluffy, any colour - and cute looking.

I think it really shows you that all breeds of dog need to be treated exactly the same. They should be treated based on their behaviour, and their owner's actions - not on their breed. It's so simple - maybe my brain is just too small and there's something I'm missing.

Down in Michigan - this week they're trying to decide whether to ban TEN breeds of dog. Talk about going from the ridiculous to the sublime.

To end this story - my coworker also said that when she was growing up her next door neighbour also had a pit bull - and it was one of the nicest dogs she'd ever known in her whole life - and her neighbour really treated the dog like shit, so much so that the dog used to run away - but still the dog stayed really nice and friendly and was a super dog - even though it was a pit bull. And I said to her - pit bull type dogs generally are a lovely dog - but they are like any other large breed dog - they need to be managed so that they don't get out of control and allowed to express any type of aggression - because that's when they get into trouble. No dog should be allowed to be aggressive in any way - whether they're a pit bull or a poodle.

It's too bad my coworker bought into the storyline of her cousin's "un-explainable" aggression as typical of all pit bulls rather than remembering the friendliness of her childhood pit bull memories. But that's the way our brain's work unfortunately.



Saginaw may restrict ten breeds of dogs


Saginaw’s City Council is considering an ordinance restricting “dangerous” dogs.

It would restrict the ten most statistically dangerous dogs according
to the CDC, including Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds,
Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows, Great
Danes, St. Bernard’s, and Presa Canarios.

“Every year there are about a dozen people killed across the country,
often by these breeds,” said City councilman Dan Fitzpatrick.

He says his dog Otis is part German shepherd and would be restricted
under the ordinance. He says he realizes not all dogs of these breeds
are dangerous, but says statistically certain breeds are more
dangerous. He also says the point of the ordinance is to influence
dog owners to be more responsible.

Under the proposal owners of dangerous dogs would have to pay a $50
registration fee. The city would then provide them with a sign
warning they have such a dog. That sign would have to be placed on
their property. It would be a violation of the ordinance to walk a
“dangerous” dog without a muzzle.

“Owners need to be responsible, and we’re going to help them to be,”
says Fitzpatrick.

He says he has received numerous calls from unhappy dog owners. Many
fear the city will ban their dog. He says that is not part of the
plan. Violating the ordinance would mean a $100 fine for the first
offense.

The city council is also looking at an ordinance limiting the number
of dogs a resident can have to three. Violating this ordinance would
result in a $50 fine for the first offense.

“This isn’t just about protecting people, it is about protecting
dogs,” says Fitzpatrick.

He says the city has had an issue with dog fighting and these
ordinances could prevent that from happening.

City council is expected to look at the ordinance as soon as next
month. If approved, it could go into effect as soon as this April.