And yet pit bulls and rottweilers lead the breed stats on human attacks and killings Some rattlesnakes make good pets too - doesn't mean that it's appropriate to have one. In fact I can help wonder at the deliberate blindness shown by some of the apologists for the breed here on FR. If the breed has a marked tendency to maul and kill why have one? I don't see sheep dogs or golden retrievers having so many people defending them. Hmmm I wonder why. You recon it's because they don't have a well deserved reputation for being vicious and don't need defending?
Dogs respond to training and treatment
Apparently not all breeds respond with the same degree of success or you would see no particular breed standing out in the dog bite stats.
The stats tend to show the most popular dogs with the wrong crowd at that time. Years ago, this same argument was being used for several other breeds, including bloodhounds. All of the breeds involved at the top of the list have been dogs featured in movies as tough dogs. If it was to come out that labradors were the best tough dog, they would have a demand with that audience and probably would end up becoming the number one. Most of the dogs involved in these issues over the years have had quite a bit of mythology created by exaggerations and ignorance. Did people really believe that Dobies would go crazy from their brains outgrowing their skulls? Absolutely. Did people really think bloodhounds were vicious mankillers? In the 1800’s, yes, after some bad publicity created a “need” for such a dog.
If it really were a breed problem, would 19 people have died last year from other kinds of dogs? Would 13 thousand people get attacked by dogs every single day, as they do now? If it is really about pit bulls, can you please tell me what you think the reason is for places with breed bans to not see declines in serious attacks? Can you tell me why the only places to see declines have been those that pass responsible ownership laws? Seems pretty clear to me, no matter what the issue is here, if bsl isn’t working but rdo laws are, then irresponsible ownership is the common factor needing attention, not breed.