Thursday, July 16, 2015

Opinion: Pit bulls were bred for fighting

By Nancy Demory Harrison

Nancy Demory Harrison is a retired clinical psychologist and an active AKC approved judge of St. Bernards, bull terriers and miniature bull terriers. She has owned and shown dogs for 40 plus years and counting. She lives in the New River Valley, and is a native of Floyd County. 
 
Child Recovers After Damaging Pit Bull Attack in Isanti County
Owners of pit bull that viciously mauled boy refuse
to give it up because they feel 'bullied'
Boy Whose Ears Were Torn Off In
Dog Attack Undergoes Surgery
Toddler faces next surgery after pit bull tried 'to chew his face off'
Toddler in critical condition after family pit bull attacks him
Couple's life forever altered after two pit bulls kill toddler
Richmond SPCA CEO Robin Starr severely criticized a person for raising the possibility that rescued pitbulls are not a good choice for adoption (“Attack on rescue dogs is canine racism,” June 10 commentary).

Starr’s article was incredibly naïve and sadly typical of proponents of rescue dogs as the ideal family pet.

Travis Williams’ article describing efforts to rehabilitate pit bulls is more balanced, but still misses a crucial piece of the puzzle (“Nature of pit bulls a continuing controversy,” June 22 news story).

Dog attack toddler left with 240 stitches after
terrifying Staffordshire bull terrier struck
Pit bull mauls Vancouver child
Cochrane boy, 7, ‘doing good’ after pit bull attack; dog quarantined

None of these articles emphasizes the real cause of pit bull behavior. It does not start with the dog’s abuse.

Small dog attacked by pit bull on Saturday has died
9-year-old attacked by pit bull in Cape Coral
"My pit bull is attacking my kids!" - 911 call released in family dog attack
Woman stabs her own pit bull to stop attack on daughter
Woman mauled by pit bull critical; nose,
mouth parts removed from dog's stomach
Kansas Infant Loses Part Of Leg In Pit Bull Attack

Police: Family lied about daughter's dog attack to protect family pit bull

Humans have been selectively breeding canines for centuries for specific behaviors. Beagles put nose to ground, barking at the scent of rabbits. Labrador retrievers dive into water and retrieve anything, Pointers freeze and point nose and tail at a covey of quail, herding dogs run circles around sheep, nipping and holding them in group.

Try getting a collie to point, a beagle to herd, or a guard dog to retrieve, and it does not happen even with training. Conversely, dogs doing the jobs above perform with enthusiasm with minimal or even no training.

Man mauled by dogs he got from Craigslist ad
Westwego woman lost eye, ear and both arms after pit bull attack
Boy, 10, faces years of facial reconstructive surgery after he is
viciously mauled by two pit-bulls while riding on a scooter he got for Christmas
Man found guilty of murder after his four pit bulls bit grandmother
200 TIMES in savage attack that killed her on her morning walk
Onslow Co. boy out of hospital following pit bull attack
From the jaws of a pit bull to recovery
I could list more: Greyhounds chase artificial objects on a track because they were bred in the Middle East to pursue small game while men followed on horseback. Try putting a Great Dane on a racetrack to follow a mechanical rabbit. It is futile.

These examples only scratch the surface of breed specific behaviors of dogs, behaviors permanently embedded in their DNA.

NC woman fatally mauled when she goes to feed boyfriend's 2 pit bulls
Toddler's ear ripped off in Jurupa Valley dog attack
Beloved family pet for six years, pit bull turns on owner and tries to kill her.
Dog attack survivor, 50, who lost his arm, leg and EAR after he was
viciously mauled by a dozen pit bulls reveals he is haunted by nightmares
Girl who lost an arm aged 8 after being mauled by two
pit bulls in sustained attack awarded $72 MILLION by jury
Pit bull attacks woman on motorized scooter, kills her Dachshund
Dogfighting, and bear- and bull-baiting by dogs have been practiced for centuries. These well documented “sports” are fueled by the human desire for competition and gambling. These dogs were selectively bred to fight. Sadly, to this very day in a town near you, dogfighting continues. It is practiced by those who make money from the gambling proceeds produced by the fight bets, and by breeding and selling dogs who have the will and ability to fight.

Yes, dogfighting is technically illegal, but rarely prosecuted, and when it is, prosecution is more likely for the gambling, not the abuse of the animals. That is, unless you happen to be a famous sports personality.

Pit bull raised with family mauls baby... and mother feels need to
 address "negative and incorrect stigmas surrounding pit bulls"
Woman who "loved that dog unconditionally"
killed by her pit bull
Amputee dog attack victim will
have prosthetic limb within weeks
Girl attacked by dogs continues long recovery
Dog rips head off family pet in attack
'like something from a horror film'
Boynton Beach toddler recovering after pit bull bite to face
What makes a pit bull a pit bull? This dog and generations of its relatives were selected for breeding to enhance the tendency to fight. The goal was to have a dog that would bite and hold, and have a need to dominate so strong that it would fight to the death rather than give in.

There are unintended consequences of this selective breeding. When selected for breeding because it is stubborn, dominant and has a strong prey drive, the tendency to bite and hold (think of the beagles and greyhounds, which also are bred for specific behaviors, if you doubt such selection is possible) then this dog cannot be expected to discriminate among dogs, small animals and children.

“’All I could see was foam and teeth, foam and teeth, foam
just flying out of his mouth," says 89-year-old attacked by pit bull
Mother lies to protect pit bull who bit her 2-year-old daughter
10-year-old mauled by family Pit Bull
"I cried," Jeremy said. "He was my best friend."
Two-Month-Old Boy Dead in Pit Bull Attack
Girl needs more than 100 stitches after pit bull attack
Mother: "The dog shook my 2-year-old like a chew toy"
Poor Dexter! Beagle puppy could lose his ear after
attack by pit bull which locked its jaw round dog's head

Pit bulls are the only domestic dogs that still are being selected for breeding based on their ability to attack and kill.

Yes, there are pit bull mixes that are gentle, and training seems to help. But it is impossible to know which dog has a high dose of fighting genes and which does not.

How do you know that your shelter rescue pit bull mix puppy was not the smallest in a litter sired by a very aggressive and dominant fighting dog? Smallest in the litter, so not a competitor, but ended up in a shelter. Yet this puppy may carry the fighting personality. And the cues that draw the attack behavior are not quantifiable or predictable, as evidenced by reports of dogs’ unprovoked attacks on children or other dogs after months of peaceful coexistence.

Woman loses part of leg after pit bulls 'raised in a loving home' attack
Owner of Pit Bull Which Attacked 4 Yr Old: "Dog is Not Aggressive At All"
3-Year-Old Braelynn Rayne Coulter Killed By Pit Bull
"It depends on how they're raised... I think I raised them properly"
says owner of pit bulls which mauled his grandmother
Sheriff: 20-month-old baby attacked by pit bull
“She thought they were playing back and forth like this,
 then all of a sudden, she saw her on the ground and kept
saying, 'Polo, Polo,' because that was the dog’s name,
 and she was rolling over, so she (the neighbor)
 called 911 and then she didn’t see her no more.”
Pit bull snatches child from mother's grasp, attacks in Chandler
Daschunds killed by neighbor's pit bulls in Fort Worth
Pit bull attack on Kalamazoo letter carrier
To promote the position that canines are some separate creature deserving of a privileged place somewhere between man and animal demonstrates ignorance of history, biology and ethics, and costs human lives. It does the canine no favors either. There is a real solution seemingly ignored by those who spend many hours rehabilitating and protecting dogs bred to fight.

‘He wanted to kill me:' Woman doesn’t know why her dog turned on her

Child Hospitalized After Being Attacked By Pit Bull In Sharpsburg
Pit bull terriers kill Chihuahua, injure woman
Boy requires 100+ stitches after pit bull attack in Highgrove
Surgeons Reattach Girl's Arm After Pit Bull Attack
"[Beating him with a golf club] only made him madder....
He was going crazy. That dog was very aggressive."
Life-altering dog bite for little girl
Relatives' pit bulls fatally maul Riverview boy, 4
Laws need to be changed.

How about seizing the property of any person found to have a dogfight on his or her property? How about charging any person who attends a dogfight with aiding and abetting a felony? How about prosecuting people who are not rich and famous?

The only way pit bull dogs can be made not dangerous is if no one breeds them for fighting to the death.

(Roanoke Times - July 15, 2015)

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