A Lot of People are Just Not Responsible

[evelyna]

A friend of mine was walking a small dog in a residental area and he was attacked and killed by a rottie. This was a very well to do neighborhood.
I work for a woman who owns another large breed protective dog. This dog has killed many of the neighbors pets and she just paid them off. I dogsit for her.
I visit a lot of animal shelters. It appears that the majority of dogs are pitbulls. I think there are too many and they are being bred for the wrong reasons.
I do not care what kind of dog people own. But you have to take into consideration the majority of people are just not responsible enough to train their dog and to be persistant in the kind of training that a pitbull requires.
I think people should carry liability insurance that will be accessed according to the risk.

[Rio&Nickysmommy]

Evelyn sorry to hear about your friends dog. In my opinion the pet problem is a pitbull problem. Thats why so many people are against BSL- Breed Specific Legislation. If you took away all the pitbulls and rotweillers people would still be raising aggressive dogs if that is their intent. Breeding of all animals has to be regulated in some form to stop the over pet population. These agressive dogs like you said are being raised by irresponsible people. I own two Cocker Spaniels. They are high on the list of bitters in the records. My dogs have not bitten anyone but I control my dogs. I do not live in what one would consider the best area on Long Island. I do find more pitbulls in my area and Rottweillers. I think many people get them for their bad reputations that have been given to them. Yet I have seen none of them being aggressive and have even seen some get loose in the neighborhood. Yes of course Im lucky and thankful that they never have been aggressive. yet I saw a little dog looked like a Malaese running around in the streets and tried to get it to take it home and I thought it would kill me very aggressive. Tried to track it and it ran through yards. (Hope the baby made it home safe). I think all pet owners need to be held responsible for what their pets do and the training of them. I think a good idea and part of physical exams vets do should also include pets terperment and they need to discuss more with pet owners about trainging and such too. If the pits and Rottweillers come off the streets another breed will be trained for aggression. Its not the dogs its the people.
Rio&Nickysmommy

[DoggyMom]

Pitbulls and Rotties get really bad reputations due to the people that breed and raise them. Pitbulls especially. It's so sad that these beautiful dogs have such a bad rap. I love pits, and many of my neighbors here have them, but none of them are aggressive, at least not that I have seen. My dog Lily has a best buddy she plays with who is a pure-bred pitbull. They get along wonderfully together, and the pit (Molly) gets along really well with other dogs. I say it's the owner: the way you treat your dog, and the way your dog lives are HUGE factors when it comes to aggressive behavior.

[ClarkFarm]

Any dog has the potential to be dangerous. Any dog has the potential to be an awesome pet.
Education is the key; The right training for each dog based on its needs.

We joke and say BSL stands for Bull-Sh** Legislation.

[Veruca's Mommy]

I was nervous going to this thread about BSL. I have 3 APBT's. I can defend and and try to educate people about my dogs till I'm blue in the face...and believe me, I do. They are not my dogs, they are my kids. I am terrified by BSL. I cant imagine going to my door one day and animal control is there to take my kids away! It is on how they are raised. You could have 2 fighting dogs that make a litter and every single one of those puppies could be great additions to anyones family. All of my APBT's are different. From different lines and all different ages. But they are all good dogs. I have a 8 week old that we just decided to keep from a rescue of 14 pups 2 weeks ago. I am amazed how good he listens and he already knows his name!

Bottom line is: people are going to think what they want about whatever they want..they cant help but eat up the crap media throws them. I will fight for the right for my dogs to live in this society but at the same time I cant and wont be mad at the people who feel differently than me. Yes, it hurts that some feel my dogs dont deserve live, but I cant change ignorance. I can only educate. :)

[DoggyMom]

It is definitely bottom line (IMO) that the way your dog lives affects his temperment. If you raise/train/treat your dog to be a aggressive fighting type dog, that is the way your dog is going to be. APBT's have a very bad rap due to all the media hype about drug bust and dog fight breakups. I watch the animal cop shows on animal planet a lot, and it seems more and more often that there are just episode after episode of dog fighting ring busts. It makes me so sad to see that now those beautiful dogs are destinied for nothing other then a straight way to doggy afterlife :(
I agree too that any dog has the potential to be a dangerous dog, not only APBT's. It is all in the handling from the owner and the environment which the dog is raised.

[Veruca's Mommy]

Ok...heres the BOTTOM, bottom line...if you treat a dog like a piece of ****, its going to act like a piece of ****...

Question...Who, what, when, where and why, can I find out more about BSL. I want to start a petition in my area. Any info would be great, sorry if it already on here somewhere, I'm new :) You can p/m me

[DoggyMom]

For the BSL stuff, I found a few sites that discuss it at length:
http://www.pbrc.net/breedspecific.html
http://dogs.about.com/cs/breedprofiles/a/apbt_bsl.htm
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/legislation.html

Hope that helps :)

[Rottweilerlvr]

Ok...heres the BOTTOM, bottom line...if you treat a dog like a piece of ****, its going to act like a piece of ****...

Question...Who, what, when, where and why, can I find out more about BSL. I want to start a petition in my area. Any info would be great, sorry if it already on here somewhere, I'm new :) You can p/m me

I also keep current BSL info on my website, mainly rottweiler stuff but also pitbulls since pitbulls normally go first, then rottweilers are quick to follow so I keep both because both breeds, from what I'm seeing, have come together to help each other on BSL... I haven't seen anything popping up in Detriot. yet..

[LABATORE003]

BSL is a complete cop out in my opinion. Instead of making sure people are responsible enough to breed a certain dog... you take them away completely? Maybe some more rigid guidelines are in need, not a complete ban on a breed. I have run into many inquiries about my wolf dogs. One of their father's is a pure Timber Wolf. He's a great dog that I adopted a few years ago. The problem is people do not know how to handle these dogs. Pete, my wolf dog, was a sled dog who was both abused and not socialized early enough. It's taken a lot of work to bring him around, but he's doing great. Like some other breeds, he has a very high prey instinct. When we walk in my neighborhood I find that the pits, boxers, and other so called aggressive breeds are well-contained. Other breeds that are let off a lead are the problem. A neighbor of mine has a terrier mix that will run across the street to get at us. I have already had to pry Pete's jaws open to get this dog's neck out of his mouth. The owners tried to press charges but Animal Control told them that they could be cited and that I could have let pete rip that dog apart. Pete's a great dog, but he is very defensive. It's something I've come to terms with and I work around that to keep everyone safe. The rest is up to the other people around us. Ignorance kills.

[SmoothCollieluver]

O i totally agree. I live on a park. Just a walking trail park that is about a block long and there is some playgrounds and stuff. Any way. All these people come and let their dogs lose it drives me nuts. And the curb your dog sign is right next to my house. We have had all kinds of problems espically from a few certain people with the following breeds; golden ret, cockapoo, schnauzer, and yorkie. My inlaws that visit alot have a pit bull who is always in our yard or on a leash but people think she is somehow going to harm them. Yet they still let their unleashed dogs over by her but refuse to come get them when they start to fence fight because they think she will bite them. I couldn't tell you how many times i have called the police, but they do nothing of course.