It isn’t a problem with pit bulls it’s a problem with owners that do not properly care for their pets. A pit bull that is mistreated is a dangerous animal. One who is raised in a caring family is not. Same with a cat, same with a beagle or chihuahua, same with a human being. Pit bulls were bred for violence but their existence does not center around it. I have been the owner or co-owner of three bully breed dogs in my life and not once have I or my partner been attacked by them, even when we first met and the dog was nervous. I have on the other hand been bitten by multiple small breeds, once very badly.
All this to say, I hate when people call for the extermination of pit bull breeds on the grounds of “they’re dangerous”. Every dog is dangerous. I do support certain restrictions, to ensure they have the space and can’t cause trouble in cramped quarters (because despite everything else I do agree that having bullies in an apartment complex is a bad move), but saying they should all be rounded up and killed on the basis of their ancestry is a line too far. Dogs who are mistreated are dangerous no matter their breed. Dogs who are well taken care of are very frequently not, no matter their breed. The good solution is not to remove the breed, but perhaps to have a better vetting and licensing process for the owners and not make these dogs available to people who only want one to make it fight - which is, by and large, where the pit bull reputation stems from.
I hear you, but pit bulls should not be in a city at all. The fact that loose pit bulls tend to be the poorly treated ones is a sufficient to justify an outright urban ban on them, because the “one bite” rule is not sufficient protection when that one bite could be life-ending, and how the fuck do you proposed to distinguish brutal pit owners from responsible owners from owners that have psychologically damaged rescue pits? I don’t give a fuck if tiny dog breeds bite - if I can theoretically score a field goal with a pet, the relative risk is low.
It isn’t a problem with pit bulls it’s a problem with owners that do not properly care for their pets. A pit bull that is mistreated is a dangerous animal. One who is raised in a caring family is not. Same with a cat, same with a beagle or chihuahua, same with a human being. Pit bulls were bred for violence but their existence does not center around it. I have been the owner or co-owner of three bully breed dogs in my life and not once have I or my partner been attacked by them, even when we first met and the dog was nervous. I have on the other hand been bitten by multiple small breeds, once very badly.
All this to say, I hate when people call for the extermination of pit bull breeds on the grounds of “they’re dangerous”. Every dog is dangerous. I do support certain restrictions, to ensure they have the space and can’t cause trouble in cramped quarters (because despite everything else I do agree that having bullies in an apartment complex is a bad move), but saying they should all be rounded up and killed on the basis of their ancestry is a line too far. Dogs who are mistreated are dangerous no matter their breed. Dogs who are well taken care of are very frequently not, no matter their breed. The good solution is not to remove the breed, but perhaps to have a better vetting and licensing process for the owners and not make these dogs available to people who only want one to make it fight - which is, by and large, where the pit bull reputation stems from.
I hear you, but pit bulls should not be in a city at all. The fact that loose pit bulls tend to be the poorly treated ones is a sufficient to justify an outright urban ban on them, because the “one bite” rule is not sufficient protection when that one bite could be life-ending, and how the fuck do you proposed to distinguish brutal pit owners from responsible owners from owners that have psychologically damaged rescue pits? I don’t give a fuck if tiny dog breeds bite - if I can theoretically score a field goal with a pet, the relative risk is low.