Breed bans are stupid, no one breed is inherently more aggressive than another. Some are stronger and can do more damage, but that does not make them any more likely to attack. Actually, the fact that these breeds, like pit bulls, are seen as dangerous may make people more nervous around them, putting the dogs on edge and making them more likely to bite to protect themselves. I think a good alternative to these straight out bans would be mandatory obedience training for all dogs so that the owners are given no choice but to at least start training their dogs well and socializing them, and may make people think a little harder before getting a dog in the first place. It is the owner's lack of training and lack of control over their dog that leads to many attacks, as well as people training their dogs to be aggressive in the first place. A friend of mine rescued a neglected pit about a year ago and he was one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known. He would sit on top of chairs and couches like a cat, never growled or even played rough despite the previous mistreatments. Poor thing darted out of a door and got hit by a car earlier this year and is very dearly missed. When I was a kid we had two rottweilers, another "mean" breed, and they wouldn't touch me even when my two year old self brought them their food. They were called Killer and Bruiser, but they were teddy bears, they eventually got stolen because they would go off with anyone. We lived on a river and they would follow canoers down the river, eventually someone just didn't bring them back. No bad breeds!

To me, no. It's about how a dog was raised and sometimes it has to do with the way they were bread. It all comes down to humans. Even some of the sweetest breeds can have monsters in them because of the way they were treated and also in the genes.

It's not the breed, it's the owner.

And now I have been faced with my pit mix being banned in my community, I don't know what to do. I got a letter on my door yesterday that says no pitbulls allowed not even pit mixes. I just want to cry, he's such a gentle dog and I never let him outside alone or without a leash. I have been up all night trying to figure out how I can keep him. He's not dangerous, I mean really I bought him a bone yesterday and when I gave it to him he peed because he was so excited how is that a vicious dog. I can't afford to move but I refuse to give him up, I have even thought about going as far as telling them he's not a pit he's a bulldog rott mix, because he looks like he could be but I hate lieing. I just don't know why they are singled out, I mean I know why but I just don't understand it right now.

From when I was 4 to 12 years old, my family lived next door to a family that raised pit bulls as guard dogs. While the parents of the family were at work, my younger sister and I would throw sticks over the fence for the gaggle of puppies to fetch back to us. They were adorable!

I was friends with the child of that family but when I visited we were forbidden from playing with the puppies because we might "ruin them". It never stopped me from playing with them through the fence when the breeders were away, though.

A few months later the puppies had gotten bigger, and disappeared for a few days. When they came back, they wouldn't play anymore, only jumping at the fence and trying to attack us. I don't know what they did to them, but they were completely changed.

People in the neighborhood reported them several times, and eventually they were banned from owning any pit bulls, and eventually from having any dogs at all, by either animal control or the neighborhood association, I can't remember which. Regardless, the only thing that ban changed was that they kept their dogs inside from then on, as I found out on a playdate.

Soon after my parents called in and reported the locked up dogs, we moved away, but I still worry that they're abusing sweet dogs to make them into guard animals.

Sorry for the rambling story! Anyway, my point was that the bans should be on people misusing dogs, not the breeds themselves!

i believe it is the way the dog is trained

There is some genetic factor in how dogs behave, usually caused by irresponsible breeding. The dog groomer who mentioned the Cockers was probably a victim of Cocker Rage - an inherited rage/anxiety disorder caused by extreme overbreeding. There are cases of overbreeding and inbreeding leading to vicious Golden Retrievers, for heaven's sake.

I think the answer is more dog-related education, not bans. For example, when 101 Dalmatians came out, people ran to get them, only to find they're more like Dobermans than Labs. Dobermans who have coffee instead of blood. They were overbred, inbred, and then the newly adopted dogs were abandoned en masse. Or take dachshunds. People think because they're small dogs, they are easy to raise, not taking into account that these are dogs bred to fight wild badgers. So they coo and fawn over the cute little sausage dog, who in turn gets insecure from the lack of pack leadership, and gets aggressive.

Dogs need a firm but loving hand, and people need to be much more aware of this.

A lot of times it is how they are raised, and sometimes you get a dog that can have a bad temperament. It is sometimes genetics that causes a mean dog, but this is rarer.

I have a rottweiler and she is such a sweetheart, I have also known pitbulls that have been extremely sweet and docile too. I've only had 2 dogs attack me, not badly but they seemed to just go off for no reason, one was an american eskimo and another was a black lab. I have owned a black lab and she was sweet and gentle but the one who attacked was anything but. I think that it all comes down to the owner and how they raise and train their dog. To ban or outlaw a breed just because of the rep that it has gotten in society saddens me and doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me at all!

I don't think so at all. I have a pitbull, and she's the sweetest dog in the world. I've also seen chihuahuas that are crazy vicious. It's all about how you raise them.

This made me all warm and fuzzy, shows that not all pit bulls are vicious

Pit Bull Loves Some Bunny

I said some should require mandatory obedience training. Not because the dogs need it, but because the humans do.

Honestly i dont really have an opinion on this so i voted other.

Nope all dogs can attack.

Hell no. The breed isn't dangerous, it's the owner training it.

That whole town needs to watch Cesar Millan. It's not necessarily the breed, it's the upbringing.

I think so much depends on how an animal is cared for, and not so much what breed it is

It's a fact that pit bulls ARE strong, muscular dogs. This makes them vulnerable to being mistreated by owners who want to use them for fighting or to attack people. A dog who has been raised right just won't bite people.

People used to think dobermans, rottweilers, and German shepherds were inherently dangerous because they were being trained BY PEOPLE to act violently. I imagine in cities where pit bulls are banned, criminals will just use some other strong breed as fighting dogs. And then there will be a movement to ban chows.