Parents of mauled 10 year-old ask lege to make Pit Bull ownership a third-degree felony in Texas

[latetotheparty]

Originally Posted by Irishiis49

You are correct there are no bad dogs just bad dog owners!! However if I abuse my Shi tzu and she becomes vicious she does'nt have the capacity to do the damage that a pit bull does. There has to be some kind of breeding restrictions put in place. Too many horror stories and its not the dogs fault!!

so, would you say the same for rottweilers, german shepherds, dobermans, mastiffs, great danes, st. bernards, labs, goldens, collies, basset hounds or any other dog that exceeds about 40-50 lbs in size??


i agree that there should be breeding restrictions in place, although not likely for the same reason you do......

[carlitasway]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

Minimum 10 years - might be a good start for the owners if the animal severely hurts someone - raise it to 20 if there is a death.

This. Punish the owners, not the dogs.

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by latetotheparty

so, would you say the same for rottweilers, german shepherds, dobermans, mastiffs, great danes, st. bernards, labs, goldens, collies, basset hounds or any other dog that exceeds about 40-50 lbs in size??

Plus pit bulls are bred to be unaggressive to humans. I wouldn't say they're less aggressive than, say, labrador retrievers, but they are naturally less aggressive towards people than guard dogs such as German shepherds, dobermans, and rottweilers. These breeds are also larger and tend to have more biting pressure. The only thing about pit bulls (which actually covers three different breeds) is that a lot of people get them to make them aggressive.

Also, I wouldn't assume that simply because a dog bites someone that the owner mistreated them. But I think it should be investigated and if it's found to be true, the owner should be charged with manslaughter.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by carlitasway

This. Punish the owners, not the dogs.

I agree, it's the owner's responsibility, not the dogs. All large dog breeds (rottweilers, doberman pinschers, german shepherds, pit bulls, etc.) can be dangerous if they are mistreated and certainly dangerous if trained to attack. That is certainly not the dog's fault. The owners of these animals are solely responsible IMO. For example, my father had a large doberman pinscher for many years. He was trained very well when he was young and was never mistreated in any way. He was a great dog and one of the most loving, calm and patient dogs I've ever been around. He lived for many years and never tried to attack anyone. I've seen poodles that are far more aggressive than my father's doberman ever was.