People have forever fallen into the big brown eyes of puppies. Puppies have become irreplaceable in many peoples hearts, but many other people feel certain breeds of dogs should not be permitted in cities due to the breeds history of violence. A case of this extreme has occurred in a little town of Regent, ND. An elderly lady has submitted a petition to the City Council in effort to ban the Grandson from housing 3 pit bull puppies in city limits. The petition also proposes Rottweilers as a breed that should be banned as well. Due to her past experience with this breed she is afraid that people are at risk of these pups. Her adult grandson purchased these registered puppies for $600 a piece, so he feels if this ban passes that he will move from within city limits to a farm.
Does this Grandma have a real issue on her hands? Well according to The Humane Society of the United States, pit bulls and Rottweilers are not the only breeds that show extreme aggression. There are more than 4.5 million people who are bitten by dogs each year, which only 10-20 have ended with a fatality. Some people feel that it is not the instinct in the dog breed that affects how they are perceived, but rather the group of individuals who own the dogs. Breeds such as the Doberman Pincher and the Presa Canario have in the past been deemed as breeds that only are useful for guarding and are constantly aggressive. Due to this felling these breeds were banned and owners moved to owning pit bulls and Rottweilers. This is a clear indication of how an owner has a major influence in how a dog is raise and in what conditions.
Since this stereotyping has occurred the positive aspects of the breed has dwindled forcing many to be sent to animal shelters. The current rate for pit bulls to survive a animal shelter is 93%. Some of this may be due to the media coverage that has claimed perspective dog owners attentions. Even thought there are several breeds that bite humans each year there is still a view that pit bulls and Rottweilers are the worst. If you think about it you hardly hear of a Labrador Retriever or a Golden Retriever biting a family member. Yet pit bull fighting has become a main focus of the media and has not helped these breeds.
A new show, Pit Boss, has been added to Animal Planet's t.v. line up. The new show concentrates on a animal shelter that only rescues pit bulls. This animal shelter tries to display the gentle, good heartiness of the breed through having the dogs participate in photo shoots.
To me it looks like there is a split feeling between the feeling about the breeds. Seeing 37.2 % of households own a dog there can be many variances on thoughts about this issue. On this issue I would have to side with the elderly who wants to ban pit bulls and Rottweilers, because these have appeared to be two of the most aggressive. Also, I have experienced being around a dog that was part pit bull when I was younger and even thought the owner was responsible the dog still seemed to have some fire in his eyes. He would nip and growl at whoever tried to change something in his surroundings. I would not want to chance it with a breed like that in city limits. I fell that the responsible thing to do, with more than two dogs, is to give them space out in the country.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This article caught my eye because I grew up with rottweilers. Although they are big dogs, i feel that the way the owner brings the dog up is how the dog will act (majority of the time). While i was growing up, my mom was pregnant with my little brother and a repair man needed to come in the house, my mom was not able to control the dog because the dog was trying to protect her from a man the dog did not know. Because my dad is the person that disciplined the dog, my mom told the man that he had to come back when my dad came home. I feel that in this circumstance, it was good and bad, good because the dog is a protection dog and bad because my mom was not able to control him. Now a days i do feel that it is the right thing to ban these types of dogs in certain places because people can really get hurt if not taking percaution.
ReplyDelete