For the millionth time, my issue with guns is the lenient regulations that allow unstable and uneducated people to purchase them with ease. For the second time, I believe that just as you should prove yourself stable enough to own a gun, you should have to prove yourself able to care for a dog. And to repeat myself on one more point--since this is NT and the brain capacity for rationale or reading comprehension is lower here than most places apparently--this is not exclusive to pits, and pit bulls--or any other breeds--are not weapons. Treated the same way and given the same circumstance, the reactions of dogs of any other breed would be the same. Guns: inanimate objects--weapons--that serve to injure. Pit bulls: living and breathing beings with feelings, both emotional and physical that serve as an integral part enriching many family's lives. How you can relate the two and equate them to hypocrisy is baffling; the two subjects are on opposite ends of the spectrum and have nothing to do with each other. Even in the likeness that you're connecting, I've already said I'm for similar rules on both.. so uh, where's the hypocrisy? Because I'd personally own one and not the other? That's a preference, not a stance.
Hey look, Zan, I can post links too:
http://www.goodfordogs.org/blog/2010/09 ... the-media/
http://www.pitbulls.org/blog/pit-bull-n ... t-1st-2010
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/feature ... reeds.html
Well there's a reason there are more death related to pools and cars and bikes, there are just a lot more of them.
Guess what. There are more mistreated pits than any other breed.
And in addition to the mistreatment, tell me--what do you notice about the information in this cdc report? http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalS ... eeds-a.pdf
Pit bulls and huskies are the only "purebred" listed as a "type" rather than the breed. Any idea why? Two reasons: 1. because the average person doesn't know the difference between an American Pit Bull Terrier and other bull breeds that look similar so all of them are lumped into the same "pit bull" category and 2. when an attack occurs, if there are any similar physical characteristics to that of an APBT, it's assumed to be a pit bull. There are several breeds that have similar physical characteristics that are mistakenly assumed and reported to be pits that are most likely mixed or other bully breeds; for the sake of reporting them, it's easier to lump them into the "pit bull type", which is not actually exclusive to American Pit Bull Terriers, which are a distinct breed.
So, you have a bunch of mixed breeds and virtually any 50-60 pound breed of bulldog (and there are several) accounting for pit bulls exclusively because they may look similar. When these issues are reported, do you honestly think every stat comes from a vet going and finding the dog and certifying the breed? No, that's not plausible. They come from victims or witnesses making assumptions about what they think the breed is. You couple this with being the most abused breed, and yeah, you're going to see some inflated statistics.
Everything we know from examining the APBT in personality tests shows that it's a loyal, loving, courageous breed with a big goofy personality. Any fact sheet you find on the American Pit Bull Terrier on any reputable site by people who actually *know* about dogs will list traits such as these; they will not list bad temperament because it simply is not inherent to the breed.
I agree with you on regulating breeding--but in general, not just on pits. Pits are probably the most overbred breed currently, but as a general rule breeding in needs to be curtailed altogether. It just leads to thousands of neglected and abused pets that become scared, defensive, and dangerous.