Ontario Banning Pit Bulls - Page 6

croemer · ‎03-10-2010

@J Town Girl wrote:
I was going to stay out of this Pit Bull thread because I know it's a hot button for so many. However, after reading all of the above comments I just had to add my two cents.

I have spent over 35 years working in the veterinary profession. At least 11 of those years were in a veterinary emergency hospital. It just broke my heart to hear the voices of terrified people on the phone crying that their beloved small dog or cat had just been attacked by a Pit Bull. Sadly by the time the majority of them were able to get their pet away the unfortunate animal was usually dead or just on the verge of death. The few who did make it to our hospital usually did not survive.

The amount of damage that a Pit Bull attack does is just shocking. They generally do not release until the poor animal is dead.

It is obvious by my chosen career that I love all animals. However I will say that I do not care for Pit bulls. I know you hear all the stories about how someone has a Pit that is the sweetest dog ever. But I can tell you from experience that a Pit Bull is a breed that can be extremely unpredictable around any animal that is smaller.

There are so many lovely breeds out there that make such wonderful family dogs. I just cannot see the reason to own any form of a fighting dog.

I agree that any dog can bite at any given moment, but the bite from a Yorkie is in no way comparable to the damage that a Pit Bull does to either a human or an animal. When a Pit Bull attacks it means to kill and sadly that is what most of them do.

I would love to see more places outlaw ownership. If you own a Pit Bull and are a conscientious owner who keeps your dog under complete control then I applaud you.
However I still stick to my belief that a fighting breed is not an appropriate dog to keep as a pet. I've seen my share of dogs come into the hospital after being involved in a dog fight with one of the non-fighting breeds and those dogs usually just require wound clean-up. They walk out of the hospital on a leash... not in a box.

Well said...very thoughtful post. My husband and I were talking about this situation at dinner...especially the difference between the bite of a small dog versus a Pit-Bull and the damage they inflict on their victims. You sound like a compassionate person....who is speaking from experience and are basing your opionion on the tragedies you have witnessed in your clinic.

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**Careful... I have caps lock and I am not afraid to use it.**

silentgirl · ‎08-19-2016

I've no dog in this fight, so to speak but, @Carmie is correct...it is accepted science and a biological fact that a dogs temperament is genetically bred and additionally, environmental factors which dictate a dogs temperament.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@Carmie wrote:
@hckynut wrote:

(thread title)

Why? Do they not have pet Laws similar to our country? There may be some places in our country that do not have laws, but most of the ones I have seen and heard say:

"Your pet must be under your control at all times".

One again blaming animals for the irresponsibility of their owners. Sure I know the history of Pitbulls and also Rottweilers, some like a few other "domestic animals", can be dangerous.

If they find an owner guilty of neglect or irresponsibility for the Pitbull? Ban them from the country, there are a lot of borderless countries out there now?

hckynut(john)
Yes, Canada has laws stating your dog must be under control at all times, but not everyone obeys the laws. There are many cities in the US that it is illegal to own pit bulls. Some of the states that have these cities include Flordia, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Colorado and New York. There could be others.

Often the owner of the dog or a family is attacked with no warning. These laws were passed to protect people.

@Carmie

I understand "some" of your points. "People don't obey laws", so the animal is many times given a death sentence, and the law breaker, what? Gets fined a few $$$.

I don't understand "banning any breed", in any city in our country. Our neighbor has always had 2 Rottweilers, which have a huge piece of high fenced property. Every time I have seen them outside that fence, they have been in the control of the owner.

To me it is a "step too far" to ban a certain breed of domestic animals for reasons that mostly reflect back to their owners. I have been bitten by 2 dogs in my life, neither of which was a pit bull.

Seems to me these cities you say ban this breed, would be more interested in some of the rising crime rates committed by some humans that do have

documents, as do all dogs, at least in most cities.

hckynut(john)

CrazyDaisy · ‎03-20-2010

@J Town Girl wrote:
I was going to stay out of this Pit Bull thread because I know it's a hot button for so many. However, after reading all of the above comments I just had to add my two cents.

I have spent over 35 years working in the veterinary profession. At least 11 of those years were in a veterinary emergency hospital. It just broke my heart to hear the voices of terrified people on the phone crying that their beloved small dog or cat had just been attacked by a Pit Bull. Sadly by the time the majority of them were able to get their pet away the unfortunate animal was usually dead or just on the verge of death. The few who did make it to our hospital usually did not survive.

The amount of damage that a Pit Bull attack does is just shocking. They generally do not release until the poor animal is dead.

It is obvious by my chosen career that I love all animals. However I will say that I do not care for Pit bulls. I know you hear all the stories about how someone has a Pit that is the sweetest dog ever. But I can tell you from experience that a Pit Bull is a breed that can be extremely unpredictable around any animal that is smaller.

There are so many lovely breeds out there that make such wonderful family dogs. I just cannot see the reason to own any form of a fighting dog.

I agree that any dog can bite at any given moment, but the bite from a Yorkie is in no way comparable to the damage that a Pit Bull does to either a human or an animal. When a Pit Bull attacks it means to kill and sadly that is what most of them do.

I would love to see more places outlaw ownership. If you own a Pit Bull and are a conscientious owner who keeps your dog under complete control then I applaud you.
However I still stick to my belief that a fighting breed is not an appropriate dog to keep as a pet. I've seen my share of dogs come into the hospital after being involved in a dog fight with one of the non-fighting breeds and those dogs usually just require wound clean-up. They walk out of the hospital on a leash... not in a box.

I find it very surprising that someone who claims to work in the field of veterinary medicine would have such a skewed view of one particular breed. Understanding dog behavior is such an important part of that job. Even the American Veterinary Medical Association is opposed to breed specific bans, as stated in the article. My sister works in a very busy emergency vets office. She sees all breed when they are sick or injured, at their worse. She has never had a problem with pitt bulls. Her experiences seem to be having unpredictability issues with other breeds. But she is not opposed to people owning them, is just more careful working with them.

All dogs and cats have a prey drive to varying degrees. The larger the dog or cat the larger the prey. Some will chase a squirrel half hearted, while other will go all out to catch and kill. Even small dogs are designed to kill small rodents. They are all animals, designed to chase and kill. That is why it is important to keep all dogs under the owners control.

There has been some discussions among behaviorists as to why some dog do not recognize small dogs as dogs. There are some interesting opinions on the matter.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.

PinkSunset · ‎09-01-2016

well, it's not a leap to say that a pitbull, or GS, or Akita, or any large breed dog has a powerful bite and can kill a small animal. That's just nature. BUT, that does not mean that those dogs, who BTW, humans bred for their size and strength, should be banned.

I do think however that anyone getting a large breed dog, especially if from a shelter and you don't know their history, must take obedience classes as part of the adoption. MUST. Because these dogs do need to be well trained and they can and will become excellent family pets.

I follow many dogs FB pages and one in particular is Handsome Dan's Rescue. Handsome Dan is a pitbull that was rescued along with 22 others from Micheal Vick's fighting facility and went to Best Friends Sanctuary. He was then taken care of and socialized and trained by the staff. He now lives with a wonderful family including his little sister (human) who was a very young child when they got him. He is a wonderful sweet dog and their rescue operation trains and socializes other pitbulls mostly taken from fighting operations and prepares them for their forever homes. Again, these dogs have received socialization and training and become wonderful pets. The problem is that the wrong people go to many shelters and take them home, not always for fighting dogs, but they have no experience with large dogs and cannot handle them, so they abandon them, bring them back, and worse. If you are on FB, take a look at his page. I find their stories inspiring. If I lived near Rhode Island, there are a couple dogs I would have scooped up myself but they do not adopt out of their area, which is a good thing.

I don't believe in giving any animal a bad rap. It's never the animal's fault, it always comes back to the human.

I think Ontario now requires pitbull owners to muzzle their dogs in public. I wonder if they have the same requirement for GS, Bulldogs, Boxers?

CrazyDaisy · ‎03-20-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
Pits are no longer a viscious dog breed here and you no longer have to have a $1m insurance policy to have them.

Recently there was a photo of someone on FB who had very obvioulsy been attached by someone or something. Turns out it was a St. Bernard that had attacked her.

According to that law in Montreal, my dog, a boxer, would be a problem.

One of mine would be also, he is half Staffy. But I guess because he has more delicate features he would be able to "pass" as something else.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.

CrazyDaisy · ‎03-20-2010

@sophiamarie wrote:

@Jtdmum

You've run a DNA lab for nearly 7 years and still don't seem to understand the difference between "temperament" and "behavior?"

Temperament refers to innate qualities, those that are present at birth, while behavior is the resultant outward manifestation of temperament. Usually, with animals, we refer to these breed specific behaviors as "genetic memory," thus recognizing that specific behavioral traits are genetically based.

This is present in all dogs, but are not necessarily shown except when called upon. Enviornmental influences can change these behaviors, thus presenting a dog that is counter intuitive to the breed. While animal lovers will argue that pit bull type dogs are really little lovers in fur coats, their genetic code can change them in a heartbeat.

The pit bull type is widely recognized as one of the, if not the, most dangerous temperamental dog alive. While not a breed, the mix of dogs required to achieve a pit bull type of dog brings with it the possibility of owning a fur-covered IED that can go off at any time. As some wit previously stated, knowledge IS power.

Guess your name calling is directed at me again. I would be interested in your background working with or interacting with dogs. You claim to KNOW a lot however I would be interested in your experiences in this area. I am just not seeing much knowledge, just a lot of rumor and bias.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.

CrazyDaisy · ‎03-20-2010

@Imadickens wrote:
Exactly! I love all dogs and would never hurt one, but this poor breed has been so abused and bred to be mean for so long that I just would not feel comfortable around one, no matter how sweet it was! Maybe with all this awareness, the breed can now begin to have the fight bred out of it and in 100 years or so can once again be a family dog!

Now, before I hear from pit lovers, yes, I am well aware that any dog can turn at any time, especially abused, neglected, and dogs taught to be mean! It's just odds are much more favorable that if a dog turns on its family, it won't be my lab!

The news stories cover the actions of a very few dogs, not the whole breed. There many, many, many more wonderful breeders and owners out there. However these breed specific bans and all the "facts" people are throwing around effect them all. If 1 out a 1,000 turns out bad do you punish the whole 1,000.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.