I would argue that when you are the owner of an animal, in my opinion, failure to properly socialize and train ANY dog is a willful act and as such is a decision to have a dog who may or may not "attack without being directed to do so" therefore the blame is again laid at the feet of the owner. In the end there is no "bad dog" because animals aren't capable of making moral decisions. They act and react based on instinct and the instincts of animals are basically the same. Some dogs, by their nature, have a higher prey drive and often more other animal aggression as part of their makeup but again that can be handled through proper breeding, socialization and training. While a Pit Bull may have a high prey drive, the fact is that retrievers and labradors have an even higher one. Bully breed dogs are also generally less tolerant of other dogs, but the same can be said for the Chow Chow and doesn't translate to people. SOme of the biggest problems a breed faces is being taken from their mothers too early so that they don't learn proper basic socialization and not being properly trained and socialized into their human pack. Without those things all dogs are dangerous and aggressive. Statistically LAbs and Poodles bite more people than all the "menace breeds" (I hate that title :mad :) ever have. The problem is that a bully breed or designated menace breed look meaner, have been used in dogfighting and by drug dealers as deterrents and as such have gotten a lot of press and are more newsworthy. Because of this reporters are far more likely to hype these attacks up. I'll get off my soapbox now but will close with, it can't be said that breed has NOTHING to do with a dogs tendencies but it has very little to do and with any sort of training can be dealt with..... oh and P.S. Proud owner past and present of American STaffordshire Terriers and Doberman Pinscher. Here's the big mean Staffy letting my sister's dog have his favorite posession:The Deacon wrote:All that is true, but until the day that iRobot starts selling a Boomba that can zip around by itself shooting people, the difference is that dogs can, and almost always have, attacked without being directed to do so. Banning breeds may not be a valid response, requiring proof of training and insurance to own them, might be.
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