The breed's not the problem
Issue date: 9/3/04 Section: Opinion
There's actually no such thing as a pit bull. The dogs commonly identified as pit bulls include Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers.
All of them are big, muscular dogs with flat heads. They tend to be smart, crave human attention and are frequently aggressive towards other dogs. If they are penned in for too long, they tend to go a little bit bonkers. As with any dog, if they are trained poorly, abused, trained to fight, or simply not trained at all, they will be problematic.
In short, they're not great dogs for novice dog owners, nor are they animals that do too well in an urban environment. Neither are Dalmations, but that didn't stop thousands of stupid urban parents from buying them after their precious tykes watched a certain Disney flick.
For all their potential complications, walking a pit bull down the sidewalk is nothing like throwing a Great White Shark in a swimming pool, a comparison made by a grandstanding Toronto city councillor following a recent pit bull attack. For one thing, the dogs can be trained; sharks can't. For another, a Great White Shark won't fit in your average swimming pool.
The whole debate around pit bulls reminds me of a lyric by Canadian rock legends Sloan; "It's not the band I hate, it's their fans."
While I have a theory that the quote is about the Tragically Hip, flip the word "band" for "dog" and you could well be talking about pit bulls. While there are a lot of great pit bull owners out there, the dog has a reputation for being dangerous. This leads assholes with small units to go out, buy pit bulls from unlicensed, unscrupulous breeders and train them to fight. These asshole-owned dogs then go and kill someone's Shnoodle or bite the shit out of a neighbour, which adds to the dangerous rep, prompting a whole new crop of morons to go out and buy a pit. It's a vicious cycle, but it's not the dogs' fault.
Banning the breed, something the mainstream Toronto press is currently howling for, will not solve the problem. If pit bulls are made illegal, two things will happen. First of all, people will breed and own them illegally. This will squeeze legitimate owners out of the pit bull market, making the dog the sole province of drug dealers and dog fighters, who will train the dogs to be vicious, creating a real problem when they get loose. The second thing that will happen is that the try-hards who own pit bulls to deal with their inferiority complexes will simply switch to owning Rottweillers, Dobermans or Presas, a breed which displays all the same traits as a pit bull, but is an average of 50 pounds heavier.
Myself, I'm not a terribly big fan of the breed, but then again I'm more of a lizard person. I have met some pits in my life, and while a couple of them lived down to the stereotype of the breed, most of them were pretty laid back, and I have to say that I find their big, gooney, drool-covered grins sort of charming in a strange, wet way. It would be a shame to see them killed because thug wannabes have self-esteem issues.
All of them are big, muscular dogs with flat heads. They tend to be smart, crave human attention and are frequently aggressive towards other dogs. If they are penned in for too long, they tend to go a little bit bonkers. As with any dog, if they are trained poorly, abused, trained to fight, or simply not trained at all, they will be problematic.
In short, they're not great dogs for novice dog owners, nor are they animals that do too well in an urban environment. Neither are Dalmations, but that didn't stop thousands of stupid urban parents from buying them after their precious tykes watched a certain Disney flick.
For all their potential complications, walking a pit bull down the sidewalk is nothing like throwing a Great White Shark in a swimming pool, a comparison made by a grandstanding Toronto city councillor following a recent pit bull attack. For one thing, the dogs can be trained; sharks can't. For another, a Great White Shark won't fit in your average swimming pool.
The whole debate around pit bulls reminds me of a lyric by Canadian rock legends Sloan; "It's not the band I hate, it's their fans."
While I have a theory that the quote is about the Tragically Hip, flip the word "band" for "dog" and you could well be talking about pit bulls. While there are a lot of great pit bull owners out there, the dog has a reputation for being dangerous. This leads assholes with small units to go out, buy pit bulls from unlicensed, unscrupulous breeders and train them to fight. These asshole-owned dogs then go and kill someone's Shnoodle or bite the shit out of a neighbour, which adds to the dangerous rep, prompting a whole new crop of morons to go out and buy a pit. It's a vicious cycle, but it's not the dogs' fault.
Banning the breed, something the mainstream Toronto press is currently howling for, will not solve the problem. If pit bulls are made illegal, two things will happen. First of all, people will breed and own them illegally. This will squeeze legitimate owners out of the pit bull market, making the dog the sole province of drug dealers and dog fighters, who will train the dogs to be vicious, creating a real problem when they get loose. The second thing that will happen is that the try-hards who own pit bulls to deal with their inferiority complexes will simply switch to owning Rottweillers, Dobermans or Presas, a breed which displays all the same traits as a pit bull, but is an average of 50 pounds heavier.
Myself, I'm not a terribly big fan of the breed, but then again I'm more of a lizard person. I have met some pits in my life, and while a couple of them lived down to the stereotype of the breed, most of them were pretty laid back, and I have to say that I find their big, gooney, drool-covered grins sort of charming in a strange, wet way. It would be a shame to see them killed because thug wannabes have self-esteem issues.
