Another Town Passes Vicious Dog Ordinance

Jaye, check out the "Advocacy" section.  You will find a mauling article there.  The offending breed?  A CORGI. The boy who was bittne at his friend's house has Pits in his home who have never, ever harmed anything.

i agree that there are good dogs in every breed but they are still dangerous dogs because they make up the MAJORITY of maulings and i think its important to do everything we can to keep people safe.  i also realize that other dogs have mauled too, but in general, those breeds are pretty safe.  you dont think its odd that MOST maulings occur by certain breeds?  all of those dogs owners of these certain breeds just happen to be mishandling their dogs?  i dont think so.  but actually, i dont think people should be allowed to own any large breeds that are capable of such actions.  i realize that smaller breeds bite as well but at least you can pull one off a child before it kill him.
 
edit:  lorib, im not sneering at your dog, dont take this personal, its just my opinion, we all have them.  to answer your question i dont own a dog right now but i plan on adopting a small one from the local shelter in the near future. 

Jaye, you are terribly misguided.  I've been bitten twice in my life, and both bites were from tiny, lapdog breeds, and I have been around bully breeds my whole life.  I have picked up numerous stray pits in my neighborhood that were obviously used for fighting and then dumped off by their horrible excuse for an owner.  I picked them up, and they rode in my lap all the way to the vet licking my hand.  I think what you're not understanding is that the reason there are so many cases of maulings by those kind of dogs is because there are such a LARGE number of people who own them SPECIFICALLY to make them mean, specifically to fight them, and specifically to use them as intimidation to guard their drug houses.  It's not the fault of the breed.  It's the fault of the people who are using them for these purposes, not caring for them, making them mean, and then not properly keeping them confined in their homes or yards. 
It's these types of owners that need to pay for their dogs crimes.  Not the breed. 

ORIGINAL: lexibelle

Jaye, you are terribly misguided.  I've been bitten twice in my life, and both bites were from tiny, lapdog breeds, and I have been around bully breeds my whole life.  I have picked up numerous stray pits in my neighborhood that were obviously used for fighting and then dumped off by their horrible excuse for an owner.  I picked them up, and they rode in my lap all the way to the vet licking my hand.  I think what you're not understanding is that the reason there are so many cases of maulings by those kind of dogs is because there are such a LARGE number of people who own them SPECIFICALLY to make them mean, specifically to fight them, and specifically to use them as intimidation to guard their drug houses.  It's not the fault of the breed.  It's the fault of the people who are using them for these purposes, not caring for them, making them mean, and then not properly keeping them confined in their homes or yards. 
It's these types of owners that need to pay for their dogs crimes.  Not the breed. 

 
[sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif]EXTREMELY well said!!!!
 
Now that my husband and I are owned by the Doberman breed, I fear BSL comming to our town/county. Its a shame what irresponsible owners do for a breed. I almost think the same mentality of people who are irresponsible are the ones who come up with the BSL!

there is a huge difference between getting nipped at by a small dog and getting mauled to death or grossly misfigured by a huge one.  you may be right about the kinds of people who generally own those breeds of dogs that are known for maulings.  but the thing in question here is safety.  there is no way to know who is going to mistreat their dog and who is not so the precautionary steps have to (perhaps unfairly) include ALL owners in order to keep people safe.  the ones who suffer for this is not the breed its the few responsible owners.  no thats not fair but is it fair to continue letting people be seriously injured, misfigured, and killed?

so the precautionary steps have to (perhaps unfairly) include ALL owners in order to keep people safe.

You're so right!
Thats why these laws SHOULD be for all breeds of dogs.

Irresponsible dog owners come in all shapes and sizes as do their dogs

I'm so happy the legislators in my state have at least half a brain and are against singling out breeds but have made a "Dangerous Dog Law" covering all breeds for the behavior that they exhibit...after all why should everyone pay for the ignorance of one?
 
ETA...proud owner of 11 Am Staffs including the rescues

because the only way for that is to punish a dog and owner AFTER the dog has mauled someone.  the point is to prevent as many maulings as possible.

So how many pit bulls have you personally interacted with to come to this conclusion?

This dog is far more vicious then ANY of my Am Staffs(Pit bulls)...

I must have been mulling this subject over in my sleep because I woke up with this in my head:

That there are three main factors in a dog bite situation:

1. The owner and their treatment of the dog. Good owners don't create vicious dogs. Bad owners can and do.

2. The behavior of the person who was bitten. Most times what I've seen is that the person was bitten because he/she did a stupid thing that provoked the dog. Not necessarily maliciously, but it goes from kids who get right into a dog's face, to "mad dogging." Not to mention actual provocation such as poking with sticks, throwing rocks, etc.

3. The dog itself. I won't deny that every dog has its own personality.

I think that dog bites and dog maulings come down to numbers 1 & 2 almost 100%. A good owner knows when his dog is sketchy, not good with kids, men, whatever, and keeps that dog away from things that scare him or set him off. It's called being a responsible owner!

People who mistreat their animals and then just let them run loose set up the uneducated public, who don't know how to treat a NICE dog right, let alone an abused and/or untrained one of uncertain temperment, to be bitten.

Dog fighting people are at one end of the spectrum, they abuse animals by killing them, they abuse their "fighting" dogs by perverting them.

The ignorant dog owner is at the other end, the ones who just feed their dogs, don't train them, have no idea about being a leader, let them run loose....this is just an accident waiting to happen. More often than not the dog dies from neglect, but it's also a bite set-up.

And of course there are all those situations that fall in between the two extremes. But number 3 doesn't come into play unless the dog owner isn't responsible.

I don't think we need any breed bans. In a perfect world (dream on) we could have a Stupid and /or Mean People Ban! [sm=crazy.gif]

If we put as much money and energy into putting dog fighting out of commission as we do to.....[whatever dumb thing the government is up to].............then we'd have done the world a HUGE favor!

I have been involved with bull breeds since 1982.  I have been bitten three times in my life--NEVER by a bull breed. The last time I was bitten, it was by a breed that rarely bites--a Border Collie. When one works with animals of any kind, one is more likely to be bitten.

The other times I was bitten, I was bitten by a Doberman and a German Shepherd. How bad were these two bites?  I have permanent indentations in my left wrist form both bites. Do I believe that these breeds should be banned? Of course not.  These dogs were bad examples of their respective breeds.

In my neighborhood, we have numerous Pits.  NONE of them ar a probelm.  The worst "bad dogs" in the neighborhood are thee Min Pins.  They are little SNOTS.

When you DO purchase your little dog, be double darned sure to properly socialize him/her. The little dogs are often the worst offenders when it comes to bad behavior.

Keep in mind that the media seriously hypes up all maulings done by "dangerous dogs" more so than "non-dangerous" ones?  A miniature Poodle that bites someone isn't going to go in the paper, but if a pit bull does, then of course it will.  A pit bull mauling is much more likely to go in the paper than a Lab mauling because it makes news...it's what people want to hear (well, not everyone, certainly not dog lovers).

I think something should be done to prevent dog bites, but I don't think banning/regulating certain breeds is the answer.  Certain people maybe, but not certain breeds.  It's the people that are the problem.
 
The most aggressive dog I know is a Parson Russell Terrier...and he can, and does use his teeth to the best of his ability as often as he wants.

I personally think the lawmakers need to meet the breeds one on one way before passing judgment, instead of going by what the newspapers say. 
 
 
 

Lori - I took Lenny out for a walk the other day and we passed a house with two min pins in the front yard.  They were terribly behaved, and I had never seen Lenny so, well, shocked.  He stood there dumbfounded and wouldn't move another muscle forward.  [sm=smack.gif]
 
On the other hand, a HUGE chocolate Lab got loose from it's yard, and Lenny thought he was the best thing since chicken, and jumped around wanting to play.  Go figure.

when small dogs bite they dont kill people or tear half their face off.  thats why they dont make a such big deal out of it.