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024. Vicious Dogs |
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024. Vicious Dogs |
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This article is from the rec.pets.dogs: Assorted Topics, posted to rec.pets.dogs newsgroup. Maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.
Interestingly, up until World War II, Pit Bulls were looked upon with favor and patriotism. They were sturdy and loyal companions. WWI propoganda depicts the Pit Bull as manifesting American virtues. For example one poster showed a Pit Bull with other dogs representing their country of origin and the caption saying "Independent, but not afraid of any of them." At the same time, the Collie was considered an unreliable dog that would attack people without provocation.
In many cases the reasons given for the "viciousness" of some breed are racist or classist and ludicrous to those who know dogs and follow the reports. The German Shepherd was vicious because of it's overly inbred purity (read German Uber-mench theory). In Germany the Doberman was vicious because it was impure (read tainted with non-Aryan dog genes, whatever they are...).
What dog-knowers will tell you that human-aggressiveness and dog-aggressiveness are totally different, and that, for example, dogs bred to fight in fact had to be owner-safe in the most intense situations where an owner needed to break two fighters apart.
Regarding attempts to ban certain breeds as "vicious," it should be noted that the fault is not with the dog or the breed of the dog. Unfortunately, certain breeds are perceived to be aggressive and vicious. People pick up these types of dogs and encourage them to be aggressive and vicious. The result is a badly-trained dog that has been taught to fear people. In addition, other people start breeding these dogs with poor temperament and the cycle continues. But it is important to remember that the viciousness comes with poor training and teasing of the dog and poor breeding practices. Thus, penalties should focus on individuals who display irresponsibility in the handling of their dog and on those breeders who breed with poor temperament, rather than on an entire breed.
References:
Hearn, Vicki. Bandit: The Dossier Of A Dangerous Dog.
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