Honey- if I had those answers, I would be a activist in the breed club to stop the bans. The only coalation I have seen- is that the breed club has done almost nothing to put in place a temperment test breeders could acheive, they have done nothing to educate or even assemble a guide for new owners of these breeds ( as I mentioned- a single jump harness would have prevented what happened with my friends), as well as supporting other things- making themselves a seperate club. The hearing we had here about banning the breed not one club member attended. Stupid as it is, but it does come across to the court as " needed to protect the public."..
I agree most attacks are not usually family members- usually the dog is running at large, or untrained. However- then there are cases like my friends situation with a over 25 year documented history in training dogs, with the dog having two titles in obedience- that never showed any signs of aggressive- EVER.. We even tried to get the dog into our therapy group, but the group would not accept a pit type breed.. With no attempt on proper guide lines to ownership of these breeds, this situation is only going to continue until almost no where will it be allowed to own such a breed.. Then guess what- only the criminals that use the dog fighting rings, with drugs etc will have them..
The problem IMO is that the breed club is still in denial here. It would be better if they came up to speed and said " okay- there is a problem with uncontrolled aggression in these breeds- but we are activily giving owners guidelines such as constant obedience classes and early for socialization, stating publicly the dog should be leashed when in public ( lets face it- leash laws exist almost everywhere anyway), in a fenced in yard, still wear a antijump harness, with special care taken for visitors to the home etc etc etc.. Instead- the clubs take the "guilty" approach of playing " poor little me breed" while new owners have no clue of the potential in these breeds. ...
Everytime I see a picture of a sighthound sleeping with a cat- it scares me - because someone is going to see that and say -" see the dogs do fine with cats", when in fact- the photo is so striking because the breeds ARE NOT TRUSTWORTHY with cats and small animals. Using my own as examples- Hottie was raised by a papillion- however- NEVER were both outside without one being on a leash... NEVER .. Every single sighthound breeder will tell you the same thing- although SOME sighthounds can learn to live in THE HOUSE with a cat, the FACTS IS the breeds are not reliable as their desire to chase is so strong they will even chase a white plastic bag. Also every single owner/breeder will tell the buyer- " this is not a breed that can be off lead in a unfenced area- they can travel too fast, too far to hear you call.."And as every one knows on this site, I would love to have another maine coon- I have made the decission to have Borzois, and a cat is out of the question. There are sacrifices we do to have certain breeds or types of breeds- as long as the pit type clubs continue to ignore their own facts, the dogs more and more fall into hands that have no clue the potential of the breeds.
We have several responsible owners on this site that have these breeds- They take daily precautions because they love their breed. Those are the only people that should own the breeds- and the clubs should also follow the same guide lines. I do not know of one single pit type owner on this site- that 1) lets their dog run loose, 2) walks their dog off a lead, 3) leaves the dog unattended in a yard, 4) that did not take their dog to obedience classes- NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON I CAN THINK OF ON THIS SITE- And the SOLE REASON FOR THIS OBSERVATION- THEY REALLY LOVE THEIR BREED, and have taken steps to protect their dog from being euthenized, protect their financial stability ( because the sky is the limit in dollar figures when it comes to a pit type attack on someone) etc..
If the breeds end up being banned to the point it is heading now- it will be the CLUBS FAULT the breed will die off from a responsible pet, to only the pets owned by criminals.. And the impression from " joe doe" on the street of the pit type breed- will worsen to extinction.. Sounds outrageious??? Look at the number of counties that banned the breed 10 years ago, then look at the number of bans 5 years ago- then look at it now.. It just a matter of time..
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