More "vicious" dogs

I just got the Feb. Issue of Dog Fancy and there was a small article about some new vicious dog laws in Italy. Someof those making the list? Welsh Corgi, Border Collie, Newfoundland, St. Bernard (and of course the usual, Pit Bulls, etc)

If I understood correctly, those with criminals records or children are not aloud to own these breeds at all, and adults that own them must keep them muzzled and leashed in public.

Will there be any not not labled as vicious? Will people ever learn that people make dog vicious the breed doesn't?

Here's a link to a related story...
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment...1375331.column

Turning on Our Best Friends? Italy's breed ban is a wake-up call for dog owners worldwide

October 7, 2003

Lassie, vai a casa. And stay there.

That's the bleak news from Italy, which earlier this month enacted a new law - by urgent decree, no less - that banned 92 breeds of dogs.

Prompted by an incident in Acerra, near Naples, where a young girl was attacked by a pit bull that was only subdued after it was beaten to death, the law stipulates that these newly designated "dangerous dogs" cannot be owned by certain people (including minors and those with criminal records) and must be muzzled when brought out in public. Their owners also must buy additional insurance that covers them in case of an attack.

Predictably, the list of cani pericolosi includes the pit bull, which is the usual suspect whenever the talk turns to banning certain types of dogs. But the ban - which encompasses much of what we in the United States call Herding and Working dogs, as well as anything with the word "pinscher" in it - includes such placidly pastoral breeds as Shetland sheepdogs, collies and corgis. Which means that had little Timmy lived in Tuscany instead of on a Midwestern farm, the ever-helpful Lassie wouldn't have been able to accompany him to the school bus, much less notice him fall down a well.

As for the corgi, probably the gravest danger posed by that herding breed is a gentle heel nip, which is how these stubby-legged dogs move livestock.

"The corgi is one of the most family-oriented dogs," said a baffled Adrienne Saffell of Versailles, Ky., who is president of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America. "It is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of in my life."

(If the Italians are to be commended for anything, it's for resisting cultural myopia by restricting some of their native breeds, such as the Neopolitan mastiff and the Maremma. That's more than one can say for the Germans, whose draconian breed bans - which vary from state to state - conveniently overlook their national icon, the German shepherd dog, which is as much a protection dog as a herding breed.)

Saffell says she heard from a judge who had recently returned from a dog show in Italy. Breeders there didn't seem too terribly concerned, she reported, because the Italian government is infamous for making ambitious laws and then not even bothering to implement or enforce them.

While I can understand the cappucino-induced complacency - we are, after all, talking about a country that changes governments more frequently than some of us replenish our E-ZPasses - the Italian breed ban is a real wakeup call, no matter what side of the Atlantic you're on.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't pay as much attention to breed-ban legislation as some of my fellow dog lovers who own targeted breeds, from Rottweilers to pit bulls. And I think there are a handful of breeds that don't have a place in modern urban or suburban life. I won't name them - I don't need the hate mail - but suffice it to say that if a breed standard stipulates that accepting the touch of a stranger is a disqualifying fault, I begin to wonder if that dog isn't a ticking time bomb.

And, no, I most certainly don't put pit bulls in that category. This native breed was once a stalwart of the frontier, renowned for its love of children and devotion to its family. But today, it has been demonized, due in large part to its association with certain socioeconomic groups. I'll bet you: If drug dealers decided that the golden retriever was the new dog du jour, watch how quickly that suburban staple would be banned, regardless of its renowned temperament.

No matter the breed, dogs are just that ... dogs. They have teeth, and they bite. They are social predators, and have been interacting with our species in that capacity for millennia. Our problem isn't that dogs have newly evolved into that role; it's that as we, as a society, move further from our center, replacing nature with technology, we've forgotten how to interact with them, expecting them instead to act like toddlers in fur suits.

Unless we decide to eliminate canis familiaris entirely, we don't need more breed bans. What we do need are stronger leash laws, and better humane education.

And while it's tempting to chuckle over the idea of a muzzled corgi in campania, watch what's happening in your own backyard. Just for kicks, e-mail your insurance carrier and ask what breeds of dogs it will refuse to cover on your policy. Sure, you'll find pits there, maybe mastiffs and Rotts. But there's also a good chance you'll find some others you hadn't expected - including the very one that's snoozing placidly on your couch.