A statewide ban on pit bulls has been bandied about, so both sides of the debate gathered at the State House to present their positions. And supporters of pit bulls outnumbered the opponents.
Testimonials from experts also bolstered the pit-bull supporters' view. The director of the animal behavior clinic at Tufts said he was against the ban and that owners should take tests and that the state should go after illegal breeding operations. And why should a responsible pit-bull owner be punished for the actions of others?
In a statement prepared for the debate, Joyce Linehan of Dorchester described her decision to adopt a pit bull. She was reluctant at first but became "smitten" with a pit bull. She also notes that she wouldn't adopt another because, like a realistic dog owner, "I know the limits of my time and resources, and one dog is the right thing for me."
Linehan is one of many responsible owners of good pit bulls. Trainer Kenny Lamberti, who has trained dogs in Boston for six years, says that training a pit bull is a lot like training any other dog. You have to be willing to take the time to do it.
Lamberti encourages people to rescue pit bulls. Many pit bulls who have been abused can be retrained, he says, but not all of them are lucky. He says, "You can't always fix them," but he tells the story of his own 4-year-old pit bull, Diamond, whom he rescued at 1 year old. His experience says, "You absolutely can reacclimate them."
Giving support to those who say the owner is responsible for the dog's behavior, Lamberti says that training a pit bull requires work and advance planning. Owners must know what kind of dogs they want. For example, a "couch potato should get a middle-aged pit bull" because the younger ones get frisky.
He also advises that owners should spay and neuter the pit bulls and start training the pit bull early and "use positive training principles." You don't hit the dog – and Lamberti's overall suggestion seems to be that you will get what you give when it comes to a pit bull.
The more we hear from both sides of the debate, the more complex the issue becomes. The pit bull debate is a version of the classic "nature vs. nurture" argument – and not everyone will agree that a pit bull can be nurtured into a loving dog. But we feel safe in saying that a ban isn't going to change all the stupid or irresponsible pit-bull owners overnight. If they don't have a pit, they'll just get another burly dog, and the attacks will keep happening.
Image of a pit bull courtesy of Joyce Linehan.
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"The pit bull debate is a version of the classic "nature vs. nurture" argument – and not everyone will agree that a pit bull can be nurtured into a loving dog."
You are assuming that Pit Bulls are "naturally" un-loving dogs. In fact, the opposite is quite true. The majority of Pit Bulls absolutely love all people - strangers & children included - but they might not be as tolerant of dogs.
From ourpack.org: AMERICAN is obvious – from America. However, these dogs originally came to America from our British forefathers.
PIT refers to where the dogs fought (fight). The fighting pits were small and usually only contained the two owners/handlers (and maybe a "referee").
When necessary, owners would have to pull the dogs apart. If a dog redirected its aggression on a human and bit its handler - it was killed. By
using this method, breeders and owners successfully bred out human-aggressiveness.
BULL refers to the early Bulldog from England. These dogs' early job was baiting bulls for the butcher. This later became sport, and when that was deemed "inhumane" owners took their dogs to the pits and turned the dogs on each other.
TERRIER refers to the Black-and-Tan Terrier and/or the English White Terrier with which the early Bulldog was crossed. As you may know, terriers are known for their high activity level, tenacity, etc. Owners who wanted their dogs to fight (and win) wanted to breed in this “feisty-ness.”
More about Tolerance Levels:
Dog-aggression and human-aggression are entirely unrelated. As mentioned before, owners and breeders bred out all traces of human-aggression from Pit Bulls. What does remain is the varying dog intolerance levels among Pit Bulls.
A temperamentally correct Pit Bull is never human aggressive, but the possibility of intolerance towards other dogs is always there. Some dogs (especially well-socialized ones) may always be tolerant of other dogs while others will have minor to severe levels of intolerance. Those that do show intolerance can be trained to avoid
it.
Pit Bull owners can train their Pit Bull to maintain eye contact on command (whether
or not the dog's tolerance level has ever been challenged) as a preventive measure. When a sticky situation arises, the owner can use this eye contact as a distraction technique. He or she may also request "sit-stays" or "down-stays" from the dog.
Owners should know that the propensity for low tolerance around other dogs is ALWAYS there, even if they have never seen it. If you have a multi-dog household please separate your dogs when you leave.
Hope that helps!
I agree that it is the owner and not the dog. I have a 7 year old pit bull, who has been nutered and I trained him properly. I would hate for my dog and myself to be punished because of irresponsible owners. People have lost very good dogs due to the new laws that have been implimented. I love my pit bull and I feel very safe with him. He has never shown any sign of agression, therefore I have never been worried that he would attack me or anyone else. He plays with my brothers children and my friends children. He is a responsible dog, because I am a responsible owner. Please people, PLEASE DON'T BLAME THE BREED...BLAME THE OWNERS!!! Brandi N. Wheeler
I am a full blooded pit bull owner, I am also the mother of 4 children, ranging from age 5 to 13. If I thought for one minute that my dog was a threat to my children I would personally put him down myself. Our kids ride on our pit's back, pull his ears, tail and pry his mouth apart to get toys away from him. Pits are not naturally aggressive to humans, unless they feel threatened or have been taught to be aggressive. They are however aggressive toward other dogs, which usually is the problem. However my pit does not act any different in guarding his territory as my neighbors labrador does. The difference is in the sheer strength in the dogs. They are one big muscle on four legs and incredibily strong. This means they do more damage when they do bite someone. All dogs will bite, I have never been bitten by a pitbull and I have been around many in my lifetime, I have however been bit many times by chihauhaus, cocker spaniels, and a collie. When you own any animal you have to be responsible no matter what the breed is but if you own a large, strong dog you have to take extra precations to not let your dog get into a bad situation. We never underestimate what our dog is capable of. Our entire yard is fenced in and when he is outside he is on a chain/run. We put up signs just as a warning to anyone entering our yard. It's just being responsible. They are good dogs, very loving, submissive, and playfull (with their own families anyway).