On Doggie Genocide
Posted by
tgirsch
Xrlq (pronounced “Jeff”), with whom I rarely agree on anything, has a post with which I agree wholeheartedly. The gist of the post concerns backlash against pit bulls as a breed, wherein people are calling for banning the breed (and having some success), even so far as confiscating and killing dogs:
“I’ll tell you what I would do: kill every pit bull in San Francisco,” a red-eyed Brennan said earlier between sobs. “I don’t like pit bulls, never have.”
As SayUncle often says, the problem isn’t bad dogs, it’s bad owners. And to this end, Xrlq has some sound advice:
- Don’t breed dogs. If you are a commercial breeder, you’re probably going to ignore this bit of advice. If you’re not, don’t. Yes, there are a few rare, exotic breeds of dogs for whom the demand exceeds the supply. Pit bulls are not among them. Too many friendly, well-socialized pits get put down every day simply because there are too many of them out there and too few families willing to adopt them. Don’t make the problem worse. We probably need a few commercial breeders, but not as many as we have. We don’t need any “backyard breeders,” i.e., random dog owners who think it’s cool to make a little money on the side by breeding their pets, at all.
- Get your dogs spayed or neutered. Part of the reason to do this is #1; we don’t need more homeless dogs. An equally important part, however, is that unneutered males are far more likely to become aggressive than neutered ones.
- Never trust your dog around a child, unattended. Unless your child is the one who trained the dog, your dog probably doesn’t see him or her as an “alpha” to be deferred to, but as an “omega” to be treated as a play toy whenever the real alpha (that would be you) is not around to keep him in line. Pit bulls are generally quite good with kids, and both of my dogs utterly fawn over Xrlq 2.0 when we’re around. I don’t know how they’d act around him if we weren’t, and frankly, I’m not interested in finding out.
- Don’t surrender your pit bull solely because he’s a pit bull. Unfortunately, a number of people in the Bay Area have done just that in response to Friday’s tragedy. Your dog can’t read, so he isn’t going to up and copy Friday’s event as human copycat killers are wont to do. If he’s been a friendly, loyal companion for the past five years, he’ll probably continue to be one for the next, assuming he lives that long. If you are concerned, have him temperament-tested. If you just can’t bear to keep your pooch after reading about someone else’s tragedy, contact a pit-friendly rescue group such as Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BAD RAP). Don’t hand him over to county “shelter” if his only known or suspected offense is being a pit bull.
- Don’t assume your dog can’t attack people just because he isn’t a pit bull. This is the flip side of #4. What happened with these dogs could have happened with dogs of any breed - and does. It doesn’t happen often with any breed, but it can and sometimes does with every breed. When in doubt, consult a trainer. A dog may be man’s best friend, but he’s also the wolf’s nearest relative. Never forget that.
I would add #6, socialize your dog(s) early and often: around other people, other dogs, and children. A dog cannot know what behavior is or is not acceptable if you never teach them, and you can’t teach them how to behave in certain situations if they’re never in those situations.
It should be noted that I’ve been around dogs of all breeds and mutts pretty much all my life. I’ve only been attacked once and bitten one other time, and neither of these incidents involved a “vicious” pit bull, rottweiler, doberman, german shepherd, or other such “bad” breed. The attack (which I still have the back scar to prove, nearly 25 years later) was by a golden retriever, widely considered to be one of the most gentle breeds around. The bite (which was actually my fault) was from a yellow lab.
H/T: SayUncle
This looks like good advice if you own cats, too. Too many
folks are irresponsible pet owners. In the case of feral
animals, the capture, neuter, release program is helpful. At
least they won’t be breeding in the wild–this applies to dogs
as well as cats. They also get shots against rabies in these
programs. One good outfit is Alley Cat Allies.
Comment 6/7/2005
Good advice. It’s particularly important for breeeds (like pit bulls) which have been specifically bred for dog-aggressiveness.
Comment 6/7/2005
If pit bulls are lesbian lap dogs, Gavin Newsom has a problem!
“If we can’t change people’s behavior and make them think what’s in their best interest, then that’s when government comes along and becomes a bit paternalistic.” So says San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who’s considering legislation which woul…
Trackback 6/7/2005
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for adding socialize your dog. I’m owner # of my coon hound, the original owners neglected and possibly abused him - to make matters worse he was never socialized at all (which made him a bit too unruly and aggressive with owner #2’s black lab). The majority of animals turned into shelters are turned in for poor behavior - mind you, the owners who turn them didn’t train them (young dogs rarely fail training; their owners are another story).
I actually saw the inside of a Doberman’s mouth when I was about 8 or 9. She was a beautiful dog trained as a protection animal that reacted quite naturally to a sudden move I made when I lost my balance - my face ended up in her mouth. I guess I never developed the normal fear of dogs afterward because she stood down pretty quickly and the situation was explained to me. People need to understand we make animals adjust to our world and need not only to provide them guidance, we’re also obligated to try to understand at least a little about how they perceive things.
Comment 6/7/2005