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