This article, “Targeting ‘Dangerous Dogs: Why Breed-Specific Legislation Misses the Mark” is from the American Humane Association’s National Humane Review. All statistics in here are documented in research by the AHA and are available for further review on their site.

Each year in the U.S., on average, 16 deaths are caused by dog attacks. While this number is relatively low, these rare but tragic occurrences often result in public outcry for lawmakers to take immediate action. And, unfortunately, the action many of them take is both unjust and ineffective.

Legislating a ‘Quick Fix’… That Isn’t

Certain breeds of dog have been demonized by intense media coverage of attacks by so-called “dangerous” breeds, such as the pit bull, while attacks by other breeds are covered only briefly, if at all. This feeds the public misconception about certain breeds and has prompted some state, county and municipal lawmakers to feel they must take action against those breeds to prevent dog attacks.

Supporters of this type of provision (commonly called breed-specific legislation) argue that the only way to prevent dog attacks is to eradicate “dangerous breeds” from the community. The most common type of such legislation completely bans all dogs of certain breeds — they must be removed from the area or be euthanized.

Typically, the restricted breeds include bull-terrier type dogs, often referred to in legislation as “pit bulls,” as well as Rottweilers, German shepherds, chow chows, Doberman pinschers, huskies, boxers and mixes of these breeds. Cities that have implemented such a ban include Denver, Colo., Kansas City, Mo., and Jacksonville, Ark. However, there is little to no evidence that these laws reduce dog bites and dog attacks. It is not specific breeds that are dangerous, but specific situations that create dangerous dogs.

Why It Does Not Work

There is no system in place to track statistics on dog bites and attacks accurately in the U.S., and many incidents are never reported. All dogs can attack, regardless of their size or breed. The key to preventing attacks starts with responsible ownership — not breed bans.

Legislation that targets specific breeds does not solve the problem because dog attacks tend to be the result of several factors. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, these are:

• Breeding - Dogs that are bred to be aggressive will be aggressive, regardless of breed.
• Socialization - Puppies need to be socialized to learn how to interact with people.
• Training - Dogs need training so they will obey at least basic commands.
• Health - Some dogs bite because they are uncomfortable or in pain2.
• Spaying/Neutering – 97% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks in 2006 had not been spayed/neutered.
• Tethering - One out of every four fatal dog attacks involves a chained dog.

There are also practical problems with breed-specific legislation. For example, it requires that dogs be classified as a certain breed, despite the fact that 31 million pet dogs are classified by their owners as “mutts.” It also allows bad owners of non-banned breeds to continue to be irresponsible.

And enforcement is burdensome and costly: A task force formed to study the impact of a county’s pit bull ban reported that, while the county spends more than $250,000 each year to enforce it, “public safety has not improved as a result [of the ban].”

Effective Alternatives

There are alternatives to breed bans — approaches that are effective because they address the real problem. Dangerous-dog laws must be breed neutral and identify dangerous dogs based on their actions. Other effective approaches include enforcing leash laws; enacting animal-at-large and licensing laws with adequate penalties; enacting laws that prohibit chaining or tethering for excessive periods; and creating mandatory spay/neuter laws for shelters, as well as an aggressive education program, and providing low-cost spay/neuter services.

In addition, families need to be educated that children should never be left alone with dogs, and children must be taught to behave properly with and around dogs. Children receive almost half of all dog bites in the U.S., and nearly 80 percent are from the family’s or neighbor’s dog.

‘Punish the Deed, Not the Breed’

Although the basic physical characteristics of a particular dog cannot be changed, a dog’s behavior certainly can be influenced by the people who raise it. Breed-specific legislation and the demonizing of certain breeds only furthers their appeal to irresponsible owners while scaring off potential suitable owners for those breeds. Dogs of all breeds deserve to be loved and have a home of their own.

If your community is considering breed-specific legislation, please contact American Humane’s Public Policy Office at (703) 836-7387 or publicpolicy@americanhumane.org for the facts you need to propose effective alternatives.

I found something really interesting and really disturbing over at Jan’s Funny Farm today. She said there is a new type of dog fighting happening in this country. And it’s in the trunks of cars. Yes, the trunks. It’s called, appropriately, “trunking.”

This is what Jan said:

” We were stunned and shaken to receive an email yesterday with information on a deviation from dogfighting in a pit or on the street. We just can not fathom the cruelty of those humans whose humanity has died.

We’re not going to beat around the bush or hide it. We’re going to publicize it so that those of you who are not presently cognizant of this will become aware and report it if you ever suspect the next blasting music you hear to be a cover-up for this type of horror.

It’s called trunking. And you can undoubtedly guess what that means. Two dogs, generally fighting pit bulls, are closed inside the trunk of a car. The music is turned up to cover the sounds of the fight. The car will either remain stationary or be driven around until the fight is over. After 15 to 30 minutes, the trunk is opened.

The dead or dying loser is tossed aside and the winner — well, what does he “win”? His injuries are undoubtedly never treated. But eventually, if he survives a few more trunkings, he might end up in the pit with big money bet on him. After all, he has a reputation now.

We found a news video with several law enforcement officers being interviewed on the subject. It is worth a few minutes of your time to watch it. For the dogs. They need us to be informed and alert to help them whenever and however we can.”

Click here to read the whole post and to see the video about trunking at Jan’s Funny Farm. The video shows several pit bull fights so beware.

Thanks to Jan for allowing us to cross-post this and thanks to her for bringing awareness of this issue to light.

This week’s pet blog of the week is another dog blog, the Vick Dog Blog. If you guys haven’t heard of it or been there to visit, I strongly encourage you to do so.

I know that we in the pets community have all followed the progress of most of the Michael Vick pit bulls, starting with the day they were taken into captivity. The nine dogs at Vick Dog Blog are strong, healthy, happy and living life as it should be. No more dogfighting for them, thank God, and thanks to the wonderful people who took them in.

Vick Dog Blog’s subhead says, “Tails, Stories and More from the Dogs Who Survived Vick and the System.” Indeed. The posts are written by the dogs (such smart boys and girls they are) which lends a genuine good feeling to the blog. The dogs ramble on about everything from digging in the dirt to their days at the park.

The best thing about this blog, besides the fact that all these rescue pets are featured and thriving, is that it’s filled with pictures. Really good ones!

This blog is a great read and it’s so much fun to follow these dogs as they live normal, healthy lives. They all seem so happy now.

Vick Dog Blog is a great read and I hope you all go there to check up on some of the Michael Vick pit bulls.

It’s time for the Pet Blog of the Week! This week, it’s a dog blog called BAD RAP: Bay Area Dog-lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls.

The BAD RAP blog is one of my favorites. As it says on the group’s website, BAD RAP is “a diverse and growing group of owners, rescuers, and supporters of the American Pit Bull Terrier.” They are one of the most highly respected pit bull rescue pet groups out there. Their animal shelters for pit bulls are highly functional, well-run, successful, and warm and caring.

The BAD RAP blog chronicles the lives of the rescue pets the group has, and is mostly concerned with educating people about pit bulls. There are posts about dogfighting and the following the Michael Vick dogs, about dog breed information, about training the dogs, and more.

Whether you are a pit bull lover or if you don’t really like pit bulls, I would encourage you to visit the BAD RAP blog. You will definitely learn something about the dog breed of pit bulls and it just might change your mind about the breed.

Yesterday we blogged about our lazy weekend. Today we want to show you what our cousins (the Pit Bull mix and the Bassett Hound) did. They went to this beautiful area called the Cleveland Metroparks. It surrounds the cities of Cleveland like a green necklace (it’s really neat and beautiful). There is hiking, biking, creek-walking, dog-walking (or running), swimming and all kinds of other grrr-eat activities to do there.

Here are some pictures of our cousins Henry and Tux in the water.

Creekwalking Dogs!

Tux with a Big Stick

The Bassett Hound Swims

We are a little jealous of all the fun they had creek-walking, swimming and chewing and chasing sticks in the water. Our parents promised us we can go this weekend though so we are really looking forward to it!

Do you have a favorite swimming spot? Share it with us!

Benson and Gibson

This past month, a city near me passed some breed-specific legislation (BSL). What kind of dog, you say?

Guess.

Pit bulls. Of course.

The City of Lakewood, Ohio, in late July, passed a bill that does a few things.

1. It requires all pit bulls and pit bull mixes to be registered and compliant with viscous dog laws
2. It bans new pit bulls from entering the city; i.e. a resident cannot go out and buy a pit bull
3. It requires all owners of pit bulls and pit bull mixes to have $100,000 liability insurance policies, 6-foot fences, and muzzles on dogs

Ridiculous? I think so, yes.

This is all thanks to City Councilman Brian Powers, dog-hater and power-tripper who maliciously took words out of context from Pit Bull Rescue Central to make his points clear and arguable. He cannot seem to site more than one source in any of his arguments. He alone convinced the City Council to pass the ban amid rigorous opposition from rescue groups, residents and non-residents.

So this brings me to my point. What’s the point of BSL? There is no point. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. There are no BAD dogs, only BAD OWNERS. If you ignore your dog, treat him like crap, keep him chained up outside and don’t show him love, kindness and affection, there’s a good chance he might turn mean. ANY DOG. I have met mean Golden Retrievers and Schnauzers in my lifetime.

The Humane Society of the United States has this to say regarding BSL:

“There are over 4.5 million dog bites each year. This is an estimate as there is no central reporting agency for dog bites, thus breed and other information is not captured. Out of the millions of bites, about 10-20 are fatal each year. While certainly tragic, it represents a very small number statistically and should not be considered as a basis for sweeping legislative action.”

The group’s official stance on BSL is that they are against it. Click here for their positioning statement. I agree with the following points in this statement:

1. While breed is one factor that contributes to a dog’s temperament, it alone cannot be used to predict whether a dog may pose a danger to his or her community.
2. It is imperative that the dog population in the community be understood. To simply pull numbers of attacks does not give an accurate representation of a breed necessarily.
3. Breed-specific legislation doesn’t work for several reasons: that there are inherent problems in trying to determine a dog’s breed, making enforcement of breed-specific legislation difficult at best; that fatal attacks represent a very small portion of bite-related injuries and should not be the major factor driving public policy; and that existing non-breed-specific legislation already exists and offers promise for the prevention of dog bites.

Perhaps Councilman Powers should have consulted some other resources in constructing his poorly made arguments. Because of him, owners are stuck with ridiculous compliance laws that cost A LOT of money. Who in the heck has money to build a six-foot fence and take out a $100,000 insurance policy?

For the dogs’ sakes, I hope that Lakewood residents who own pit bulls and other “viscous” dogs wise up and take their tax dollars and consumer spending money OUT of the City of Lakewood, and spend it elsewhere where there dogs are welcomed.

Dogster’s For the Love of Dog Blog has a great dog story up about pit bulls setting an example of good doggie citizenship!

Program turns notorious dogs into good citizens
Pit bull owners steered away from dogfighting
By Gerry Smith | Tribune reporter
10:22 PM CDT, March 22, 2008

On the streets of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, Sean Moore and his 8-month-old pit bull, Jigga, are setting an example.

 ”The pit bulls you normally see, they’re pulling, they’re not listening, they’re wild, they’re barking at people,” said Moore, 38. “When [other owners] see us with the same dogs, they ask, ‘How do y’all do that? And how much does it cost?’”

For the full dog story, visit Dogster’s…

Seems that PETA is coming down on the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for recuperating the Michael Vick dogs, the brutalized victims of his dogfighting ring. These people (at PETA) never cease to amaze me. If anything, they are jealous because of the money and recognition tied to these dogs that they didn’t get. 

Anyways, read this great article in the New York Times that their Sports Writer, William C. Rhoden, wrote about the differences between PETA and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary:

Vick Case Exposes Rift Among Animal Rights Advocates

Many people have become anti-PETA recently becuase of the group’s unsavory behavior and political agenda. Furthermore, read this anti-PETA article about the group’s mass killing of pets it was supposed to rehabilitate and adopt out.

I wrote a post last week about a guy, a school counselor, who was arrested for breeding and holding fighting dogs (Pit Bulls) in Ohio.

I briefly touched on a point: pit bulls get a bad rapp. I think this bad reputation stems from two distinct concepts.

First: the “danger factor” of any dog is created by the dog’s owner, history and upbringing. If a dog, any dog, is abused or neglected, he learns to fend for himself. He will become overprotective of his property, his food, his toys (if given any), etc. He will become mean because he’s afraid. It’s amazing what an abusive environment does to a dog-any dog.  Ultimately the irresponsible owner is the catalyst for any attack the dog may make.

Second: the media decides which stories about “bully dogs” to publish. They liked to talk about viscous pit bulls long before the Michael Vick dogfighting ring was unearthed. It’s easy for people who don’t know the pit bull dog breed to carry the commom misperception that the pits are mean, hence. There are so many stories on the evening news about children or women or small dogs getting attacked by pit bulls. The news shows pictures of these mean pit bulls and complements the dramatic scenes with serious tones of voice. They are setting a stage.

The news doesn’t show stories about German Shepherds or Chow Chows attacking people. These breeds have been known to be prone to violence by nature but the media doesn’t frame them as such because the public is already so entangled in the sensationalism of “viscous” pit bulls. Sensationalism sells.

The media has somewhat turned a corner recently. They are now more focused on reporting dogfighting rings and the people who partake in the violent blood sport. This is the new sensationalism.

The Best Friends Animal Society recently ran an article on its website about the facts and fiction related to the pit bull dog breed. They said,

Singling out any breed is akin to racial profiling of people, and its just as misleading and plain wrong. There are good and bad people in all creeds, colors and backgrounds. Same goes for dogs — of all kinds. But few people know enough about dogs to make the right distinctions, and can be easily persuaded that all dogs of a certain breed or type are bad.”

(To read the full article from Best Friends, click here.) Best Friends knows first-hand the worst of circumstances. They have 22 of Michael Vicik’s pit bulls. Most have turned into sweet-natured, loving dogs. A few are still hesitant to accept people. One will be shelter-bound for life because he was exposed to so much violence and abuse that it’s not possible for him to be adopted. But they are all getting a chance to have a good life now. They are all getting a chance to avoid the bad rap.

Talk to responsible pit bull owners and you will get stories of love, acceptance and unique personalities.

Our family has a pit bull. He follows you around because he can’t wait to sit on your lap, literally, when you plant yourself on the couch. He wants to be loved and he wants to give love. He follows you to the back door because he can’t wait to go outside and have you throw his ball. He greets neighbors with a friendly bark and a wagging tail. He has friends in the neighborhood. (See more sweet pit bull pictures like the one above.)

I think its so unfair that pit bulls are classified as viscous in so many states (a whole separate post coming soon on that note), when really it’s the irresponsible owner who is usually behind any viscous dog.

What do you think about pit bulls? I encourage your comments and feedback.

             11 pit bulls are safe and sound after being rescued in Preble County, Ohio last weekend. The pit bulls were taken from the backyard of a guy who is a drug and alcohol counselor for the county Health Department by day, and animal abuser by night apparently.

Amazing that a guy who tries to help humans can be such a viscous person in his spare time.
The dogs had scarring and injuries but they will not be put down. Some of them came into the County Resource Center vomiting blood and foaming at the mouth, the poor things.

The owner is being investigated and so is the scope of the dogfighting operation since the owner of the property is also a breeder. The name of his kennel says it all if you ask me — Drive or Die Kennel. His website boasts of premier breeding lines and shows pictures of the animals chained to concrete floors.

The Ohio Director of the U.S. Humane Society, Dean Vickers, said the county is a hot area for dogfighting and that he wants to present a solid case to a grand jury. No charges have been filed but it is expected that federal dogfighting charges will be filed before the end of the month.

Ohio is a state that classifies American Pit Bull Terriers as viscous dogs. Owners are required to leash and contain their dogs at all times. I am so glad the state carries a federal penalty for pit dogfighting - which in my opinion classifies the human as viscous - but don’t understand why the breed is considered dangerous.

The danger a dog poses is dictated by its upbringing I think. Anyone can raise any breed to be viscous. If you wanted to make a German Shepherd viscous, then raise him to be mean.  The media doesn’t help either. There are tons of dog attacks across the country on a daily basis but the media only report the pit attacks.

Pit bulls are widely known for their sweet demeanors. We have one in the family and he is sweet as sugar. He loves to play, he is a huge cuddler, and he loves the kitten of the family. There is no way he is a viscous dog yet he has to be on a leash in his own backyard (which he never is by the way).

When will Ohio get with it and repeal the law already? Numerous campaigns have emerged to advocate for just that, namely the Stop the Pit Bull Ban petition, online here. 

As for rallying against pit dogfighting? Well the 11 pit bulls mentioned in this article were saved because of an anonymous tip to the state attorney general’s anti-dogfighting hotline, so people are very aware of the terrible circumstances that surround dogfighting. And the Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc. has formed a task force to draft new legislation to help control it, legislation which targets owners mostly.

See more sweet pit bull pictures like the one above…and tell me what you think about state laws that classify pit bulls as viscous dogs.