4 ms·

Cities with Successful Pit Bull Laws

3 points by jim-jim-jim 4y ago

h2odragon 4y ago
Of course any bad dog is likely to be called a "pit bull mix" regardless of appearance, like any rifle mentioned in a news story is an "AR15 assault weapon," today, or was an "Uzi" years ago. Pit Bulls (and a couple other terrier breeds) have a unique relationship with pain. Many individuals of these breeds do not react to pain the way we expect, for them just its another sensation and not worth avoiding. This leads to training problems and communications problems. People expect that a nose flick communicates "stop that", but instead it tells the dog "violent responses are part of civil discussion."
- jqpabc123 4y ago
  First you blame the media ... then you explain why the problem may not be the media. Maybe it's just me but your post kinda says *FOX NEWS FAN*.
  - h2odragon 4y ago
    There is a real issue at the root of massive media exaggeration. Things are rarely so simple as "news" wants to sell.
dtagames 4y ago
As a repeat pit bull rescuer, I think these laws make the problem worse -- not better. Pit bull attacks are the result of poor human treatment and poor human understanding of dog behavior. Outright banning terrier species that look like pits just encourages their reputation as dangerous and difficult -- leading people to buy and breed them in order to be scary or to fight. The pit bull problem, like all dog problems, stems from dog breeding, dog sales, and inhumane treatment and rearing of dogs. Like another commenter mentioned, treating these dogs with violence and physical dominance just teaches them to get better at those techniques. There will always be dogs that are not good with other dogs -- and dogs that are not good with people or kids. (We have people like this in society, too.) It is possible to love and care for such dogs and to keep them away from danger to themselves or others. It's the right thing to do.
- linuxftw 4y ago
  Owning pitbulls is irresponsible. They're very close to wild animals. The characteristics of the breed make them excellent attack dogs. Pitbulls are natural born killers. Once something triggers their instincts, they kill. Training and abuse has nothing to do with it. With pitbulls, you don't train violence in, you have to train it out. The average person is more or less incompetent, especially at owning killer animals.
  - jqpabc123 4y ago
    The average person is more or less incompetent at owning *anything* meant to kill. As a result, statistics show they are a danger to themselves and anyone around them.
  - dtagames 4y ago
    There is nothing scientific in your answer. All of the pit bull's violent "nature" was trained and bred-in by people, on purpose. The breed's name comes from a violent game involving pits and bulls which you can investigate. As long as we continue to breed-in, train for, and encourage this behavior, it's what we will get. Modern dog behavior science now understands that dogs communicate with sophisticated body language and react to each others' communications by releasing hormones that affect the entire body. When the dose reaches a high enough level, the dog is left with few choices as to its reactions. THAT part is built-in. But humans can and must manage the situations where we place these dogs and the behaviors that we model for them. We've done a terrible job of that and it shows in the breed behavior.
    - linuxftw 4y ago
      > All of the pit bull's violent "nature" was trained and bred-in by people, on purpose. That's entirely my point. The breed is violent. Wolves are violent. It seems to me the violence was bred out of other breeds rather than into pitbulls. > But humans can and must manage the situations where we place these dogs and the behaviors that we model for them. We've done a terrible job of that and it shows in the breed behavior. The breed should be eliminated from domestic breeds, considered exotic, and require a license and mandatory liability insurance.

3 points by jim-jim-jim 4y ago

Of course any bad dog is likely to be called a "pit bull mix" regardless of appearance, like any rifle mentioned in a news story is an "AR15 assault weapon," today, or was an "Uzi" years ago. Pit Bulls (and a couple other terrier breeds) have a unique relationship with pain. Many individuals of these breeds do not react to pain the way we expect, for them just its another sensation and not worth avoiding. This leads to training problems and communications problems. People expect that a nose flick communicates "stop that", but instead it tells the dog "violent responses are part of civil discussion."

jqpabc123 4y ago
First you blame the media ... then you explain why the problem may not be the media. Maybe it's just me but your post kinda says *FOX NEWS FAN*.
- h2odragon 4y ago
  There is a real issue at the root of massive media exaggeration. Things are rarely so simple as "news" wants to sell.

dtagames 4y ago

As a repeat pit bull rescuer, I think these laws make the problem worse -- not better. Pit bull attacks are the result of poor human treatment and poor human understanding of dog behavior. Outright banning terrier species that look like pits just encourages their reputation as dangerous and difficult -- leading people to buy and breed them in order to be scary or to fight. The pit bull problem, like all dog problems, stems from dog breeding, dog sales, and inhumane treatment and rearing of dogs. Like another commenter mentioned, treating these dogs with violence and physical dominance just teaches them to get better at those techniques. There will always be dogs that are not good with other dogs -- and dogs that are not good with people or kids. (We have people like this in society, too.) It is possible to love and care for such dogs and to keep them away from danger to themselves or others. It's the right thing to do.

linuxftw 4y ago
Owning pitbulls is irresponsible. They're very close to wild animals. The characteristics of the breed make them excellent attack dogs. Pitbulls are natural born killers. Once something triggers their instincts, they kill. Training and abuse has nothing to do with it. With pitbulls, you don't train violence in, you have to train it out. The average person is more or less incompetent, especially at owning killer animals.
- jqpabc123 4y ago
  The average person is more or less incompetent at owning *anything* meant to kill. As a result, statistics show they are a danger to themselves and anyone around them.
- dtagames 4y ago
  There is nothing scientific in your answer. All of the pit bull's violent "nature" was trained and bred-in by people, on purpose. The breed's name comes from a violent game involving pits and bulls which you can investigate. As long as we continue to breed-in, train for, and encourage this behavior, it's what we will get. Modern dog behavior science now understands that dogs communicate with sophisticated body language and react to each others' communications by releasing hormones that affect the entire body. When the dose reaches a high enough level, the dog is left with few choices as to its reactions. THAT part is built-in. But humans can and must manage the situations where we place these dogs and the behaviors that we model for them. We've done a terrible job of that and it shows in the breed behavior.
  - linuxftw 4y ago
    > All of the pit bull's violent "nature" was trained and bred-in by people, on purpose. That's entirely my point. The breed is violent. Wolves are violent. It seems to me the violence was bred out of other breeds rather than into pitbulls. > But humans can and must manage the situations where we place these dogs and the behaviors that we model for them. We've done a terrible job of that and it shows in the breed behavior. The breed should be eliminated from domestic breeds, considered exotic, and require a license and mandatory liability insurance.