Marklf
I have read many of your posts and know how much you truly care for your breed of dog. Hopefully your breed will never face the same level of irresponsible ownership and breeding that the pit bull has fallen to. I know that breeders like you are constantly vigilant against allowing that to happen but on the outside chance that your breed was the next "bad dog" breed would you prefer that the laws restricted ownership of the breed such as what my proposal would do or an outright ban on the breed which is what is happening too often with pit bulls?
Mark
Mark IF my breed became the next Pit Bull I would opt for outright BANNING of the breed. If Breeders Like myself and other reputable people that I know can not keep this from happening then it would be far better that they were not availible to ANYONE.!!!
You think a Pit is a nasty fighter, you have seen NOTHING thill you see what an angry Ridgeback can do. Recently there was a fight in my own Back Yard. I had 2 girls in season and we are fanatical about never leaving a girl alone in the yard. I had just put the girls back in the house and let Kota a 9 year old and Nemo a then 6 month old out to play. I had walked away from the back door in the dog room and barely gotten 20 feet or so down the hallway when The dog room erupted in raucous and fight mode barking. running back to the dog room I was beyond puzzled everyone was in the correct crate so what was up with the barking?? Picking up a spray bottle the crated dogs quieted instantly. But the Battle Roars continued outside. Moving quickly to the back door with 15 month old ( 95 pound) Zion on my heels , My daughter and 8 year old grandson close behind we ran outside. There in the back yard were Kota about 80 pounds soaking wet and Brinble Blue Pit Bull engaged in total combat. This was not a drill, close by was the puppy trying to pack with Kota. The Grandson locked arms around Nemo and sat down to prevent him from being involved, My daughter grabbed Zion who desperately wanted to back up his best buddy. I grabbed a broom and a pooper scooper and began to wail on the strange dog hoping to drive him back. He had his mouth over Kota's head , blood was everywhere. After many blows the dogs seperated, and yes Kota was whacked as well. Getting in between the dogs , I kept pushing the pit out the now opened gate as my daughter grabbed Kota. I was able to drive him out of the gate then ran to the house.
Kota was covered in blood. His scalp was severely lacerated from the fold just inside the ears. Kota was rushed to the Vet by my daughter, this was the first time in over 35 years that I have not brought a dog home as soon as a surgery was finished. He had 48 exterior stitches and for every exterior my vet told me there were 2-3 interior ! That is a ton of damage.
So Why would I say Ban My Breed should it become the next Pit Bull ??? Because my 9 year old dog who weighed 9 pounds less than the Pit he fought did far more damage than he received. The Pit was thrown out at the dump box at our Kill Shelter. The vet happened to be there for an emergency whelping and was able to euthanize the Pit before it finished bleeding out. Due to the extra skin a Ridgeback has Kota was able to manuvere in such a way that he had ripped open the Pit's throat, He also Broke it's breast bone, right clavical, and one front leg in 2 places. Shattering the bones so badly even it that had been the only wound the dog would have struggled to survive. This was a dog that had lived in my neighborhood. The owners denied it, They were so afraid of the legal repercussions they made no effort to help the dog, according to the shelter doctor the dog was beyond help but dumping him was beyond cruel. When I arrived at the family "home" the father was washing the dog's blood off the front porch. They denied ever having had the dog even though I had seen their son with him many times walking him on a tow chain lead.
Kota a sweet and gentle dog... was able to kill , for all intent and purpose a 3 year old Pit Bull that the young owner had bragged about fighting and winning with over a dozen times , this dog had been used in the Hawg Dawg Rodeos . Should I feel thrilled that Kota has now been "blooded"? Or am I right to feel sick over the phone calls that have come in since asking me to cross my dogs male or female with curs and pits by "friends " of the young owner ??? Now I will have to lock my gates from the inside and make sure under no circumstances are my dogs left outside without supervision, the 6+ foot wooden fence is Not enough...not if some idiot wants to get to my dogs. The law was unable to prove anything since the home was being rented to this family by a cousin. No lease and no paper trail to prove they had ever had the Pit. Neighbors were kinda of sort of sure that a Pit had lived there, but were not willing to cross the family. No vet records exisited to show this dog had ever been cared for let alone owned. The exam post mortem showed a very muscled dog with extensive scaring. Yes this was yet another dog fed gunpowder , another wasted soul.
IF my breed becomes the next BIG thang , I would rather they were banned and unavailable to the morons , who by the way are not just Thugs you have your Rednecks too ! Ridgebacks are already being touted as the next Superior Hawg Dawgs... other dogs require the Kevlar vest and huge leather collars to face the enourmous angry boars. Ridgebacks, unencomberd dance in and out true to their genetic memory , tagging and scoring on the Boar , leaving slashing wounds ...it's a game to them. As an Ethical and Passionate Breeder I will turn in my best friend should I find out that person was using a Ridgeback to fight hogs, dogs or cross breed. I will see your program destroyed and will do what I can to see you face criminal charges and That is IF you had been a friend !! We will not discuss what I would see done if I didn't like you ! MY breed is incredibly intelligent, loving and sincere. Abused they will make the pit look like a pussycat. PpSI The Ridgeback is second ONLY to the Hyena. Add to that scary fact , a Ridgeback does not pause in it's bite, what people used to think of as the Locking Bite, RRs slash , crunch and tear. Breaking a bone is normal. Mine regularly pulverize Venison Bone which is hard enough to crack most dog's teeth.
I would rather they remain Off limits than see them become the next Pit Bull. To assure they do not, breeders like ourselves go way above and beyond. Our breeding programs stress temperament first over ring conformation. We also socialize to the MAX. My dogs are not bred without health clearances, championships and more importantly CGCS and ATTS certs. My dogs from MY line regularly achive their International Therapy Dog certs. or the Delta Dog certificate. For me I can equate it with the old time thinking... I would rather a daughter became a Nun than a Hooker. I would rather see my breed GONE than see it go the way of the Dangerous Dog .
And one final comment the "Dreaded Dachschund " comment does NOT trivialize the pit bull issue.... ANY Dog on Human Aggression is UNACCEPTABLE . The minute YOU say well I can stomp the wienie dog so it is not a real Problem.... YOU ARE WRONG!!!
Just because you may be able to better defend yourself as an adult does not mean the dachschund that attacks a child is less destructive or potentially lethal. As a retired RN who worked the ER for longer than I would care to remember. I have seen babies , toddlers and young children torn up by the "smalldog " in the family. The first time you as an adult think you are the only target for an antisocial canine YOU have become part of the problem. Rather than protecting someone who is either innocent or uneducated YOU are perpetuating the steriotype that only a BIG dog, a Pit Bull etc is a danger.... I have assisted in more surgeries and ER visits than I wan to remember because some adult felt String and tough so the snarky yappy little dog was not properly watched or trained.
Bonita of Bwana