Charles Danten, former veterinarian
Going to the root of things is always a good idea
if you really intend to change things.
Let’s
start with pit bull advocate Anne-Marie Goldwater’s delirious
statement: “We use derogatory words to identify a certain subgroup of
dogs which does not form a ‘race.’ Like blacks, Latinos, Arabs... these
aren't races. Just like there is only one race, the race of human
beings, there is only one ‘race’ of dogs, it's called dog: canis lupus familiars.”(1)
Not
so, Ms. Goldwater. The dog is in fact a domesticated subspecies of the
wolf, itself divided into more than 450 breeds or variants, easily
identified by their morphology (phenotype) and able to predictably
produce offspring true to type. No one has ever seen a couple of
registered pit bulls such as the american staffordshire terrier produce a litter of poodles.
Breeds
in dogs, just like races in humans (2)(3), are an inescapable reality,
and this reality is not limited to appearances, but also concerns
behavior.
Genes Versus Training
People
often say: “there are no bad dogs, but only bad masters.” Bill Bruce,
for example, the deceased author of the current canine municipal
regulations of the city of Calgary, was a staunch believer of the above
saying as the following quote demonstrates: “We believe that canine
aggression is essentially a human problem, and if we solve the problem
at its source, the canine problem will resolve by itself.” (4)
This
is in fact, the solution that was recently adopted by our present
liberal government: more surveillance and the obligation by dog owners
to keep their pets on a leash, but without a muzzle, in the case of pit
bulls. In other words, since breeds and behavior are a social construct,
it would be unjust to discriminate against one or another canine.
But
would it really be unjust? Of course not! As most honest breeders,
agronomists, and veterinarians can tell you, genes play an important
role in aggressiveness, even if the acquired or training aspect of
behaviour also matters. (5) All dogs are not born equal. The favorite
saying of the pro pit bull advocates, copy-pasted
from Jean Jacques Rousseau's preposterous theory of the noble savage,
“there are no bad dogs, but only bad masters,” is completely untrue.
Depending on the breed and purpose, breeders will select at birth or
shortly after, the most docile specimens of a litter for company, and
the more aggressive ones, for protection. The others are sold for
reproduction to a puppy mil or simply culled.
Does
this mean that all pit bull dogs are dangerous? No. An undetermined
number is not (see below). But since there is presently no test for
effectively separating the wheat from the chaff, it would be safer to
banish them all together. These born killers have a very heavy genetic
past. They were made by mating extremely aggressive breeds that were
selected for thousands of generations for their gameness, strength,
overdeveloped predator instinct, high pain threshold, and impulsiveness.
These factors combined with the incredible power of their jaws cause
extremely serious injuries. Furthermore, pit bull attacks are by
definition unpredictable and incredibly violent.
The
most dangerous pit bulls are those that are trained to be aggressive by
mostly ill-reputed individuals, such as drug dealers or gang members or
even ordinary persons who like to scare or intimidate others. Although
law prohibits them, dogfights still occur and dogs are still bred for
this purpose. Only the most aggressive dogs are used while the other
less performing subjects are sold on the market where there is a high
demand for pit bulls. Others are sold to breeders, both black market and
legal, where they are reproduced cheap by the dozens without any
consideration for their behaviour traits as long as they are true to
type. Unsuspecting clients end up buying these Jekyll and Hyde's without
knowing where they come from. Many of these dogs are quite innocent
looking until the day they change without warning into the monsters they
really are.
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You summed up pretty well why most pitbulls are potentially very dangerous. Their genetic heritage is a cocktail of traits which have served them well in the pit where they had to fight against other dogs. But these traits are not desireable for today´s companion dogs! And it is simply not true that the potentially very dangerous traits have been selectively removed from their gene pool in the last few decades. This did not happen because many people who have the inclination to own a pitbull, want to get a dog whose "gameness" is still intact! They do not want a softie. Therefore we often have the very dangerous combination of bad owners and a potentially very dangerous dog!
ReplyDeleteI know what I am talking about. My relatively small German Spitzdog has been almost killed by a loose pitbull whose owner had no control whatsoever over his dog. Unfortunately the bully displayed all the trait which would have served him well in the pit. He would not let go, no matter what. He was in his own bubble where only the attack against my dog mattered. And the bully would have killed my dog if a bystander hadn´t intervened. He had the bright idea to empty a bottle of beer into the eyes of the bully. The surprise and the discomfort finally popped the bubble and the bully let go! But it was awful to watch the raw power and singleminded determination of the creature. My spitzdog was severely mangled. He was saved from fatal injuries by his thick fur, though. The vet told me that she sees pitbull victims like my dog all the time and not all of them survived.
I do know nice and docile pitbulls. But the one who attacked my dog has also been described as nice and kind - until he wasn´t! I firmly advocate that all current pitbull owners should need a licence. This would help to reduce the number of dangerous dog/bad owner combos. And this would also be good for the pitbulls themselves. After all, they are still dogs, who crave and deserve a loving owner. In order to protect humans and other pets the pitbulls should But I think that bully breeds should be phased out eventually. I know that bad owners would try to dodge regulations, or they would concentrate on other breeds. But it has been demonstrated that in districts which have restricted the ownership of bully type dogs, the numbers of severe dog attacks have dropped considerably. Regulations can be effective.