Dog
legislation needs reform-blame owners
Lesley
Nickus
According
to a Reuters article, California approved
a law that could reduce the amount of “dangerous” dog
breeds such as pit bulls.
Supporters of this law asked Sacramento to change the language of an existing
law against breed-specific regulation in order to implement a mandatory spay
and neutering program over certain breeds.
They say this is necessary for the protection of children and other people
attacked by these “dangerous” types of breeds. This is ridiculous.
Although some would argue that breeds such as pit bulls, German shepherds and
rottweilers are inherently mean and vicious, there is no breed of dog in existence
that isn’t instinctually protective.
Likewise, no domestic dog has vicious tendencies that randomly manifest themselves.
These tendencies are aggravated by circumstance and improper care and training.
Also note that more dog bites come from small dogs than large ones, according
to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. Bites
from large dogs are just more severe.
The most important fact people overlook is that a dog’s environment,
not their instinct, is what causes them to take on certain behaviors. The stereotypes
of certain breeds come from a number of factors.
First, generally, these breeds are purchased as guard dogs. In the case of
the pit-bull, although it is illegal to train them to be fighters, many owners
make lucrative careers fighting their dogs.
Others choose these breeds for protective purposes and raise their dogs to
be aggressive. Some owners beat their dogs in order to stop unwanted behavior.
This can cause dogs to fear human contact, potentially making them fight to
protect themselves. This is not breed-specific.
Second, while there are breed-specific behaviors that make some dogs more protective,
dogs don’t attack without being provoked and some are less temperamental
than others.
Many don’t consider these factors when deciding on a breed.
When a dog bites a child, it is generally because the child is poking or hitting
it. If someone was poking and hitting you, wouldn’t you want to make
them stop?
Children think they are playing with the dog, but parents should know this
gets children hurt and to stop the interaction. Someone has to be responsible.
Should it be the dog, the child or the adult?
Finally, in order to raise a dog properly, you must learn about the needs of
the specific breed and cater to them. Pit bulls have a trait that makes them
potentially more dangerous: when they bite, their jaws lock.
When this happens, it takes a special stick to release them. This is beyond
the dog’s control, but not the owner’s.
People have blamed the behavior of domestic animals on the animals themselves.
However, they don’t remember that they too are, in fact, just animals.
While dogs are brilliant in their own ways, they rely on human care for domestication.
Any animal, when left to its own devices, has the potential to revert to its
primitive ways, but this is highly unlikely if the owner provides basic necessities
such as food, shelter and water.
Rather than mandate spaying and neutering of specific breeds, which could possibly
lead to breed extinction, legislators should focus on the owners.
It would be far better to regulate who owns “dangerous” breeds
rather than attempt to eradicate the entire breed. Not everyone can take care
of every kind of dog.
It takes disciplined and focused people with exemplary training abilities to
own pit bulls and rottweilers. Regulations on who purchases such breeds would
be much more effective.
People
shouldn’t continue to pass the blame
to others, especially dogs — they’re
dogs. If you can’t take care of a
certain type of dog, you shouldn’t
be allowed to have it.
Lesley Nickus is a senior journalism major and the Diversions editor
of the Daily Forty-Niner. |
