Sonoma Councilwoman Wants to Ban Pit Bulls -- and Other Aggressive Dogs

You all might want to first realize that there is no breed called a pit bull. This means that many people are confusing multiple breeds into this one category. These include the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire Terrier, The American and English Bulldogs, The Presa Canario, the Dogo Argentino, the mastiffs, and any mix of a bull dog and terrier.  Thus there will be an increase in the percentage of bites for these dogs compared to single breeds of dogs.  There is also public mis-communication as to what a pitbull looks like I bet you can't find the real one in this link http://www.pitbullsontheweb.co....  It took me two tries and I own a pit mix.  These breeeds have different origins none were bred for fighting.  If you want proof of the true temperment of pitbulls look at the Micheal Vick Dogs of the 49 dogs seized by the government from Bad News kennels only one was put down.  The rest of the dogs have been adopted or are living in a sanctuary due mainly to dog aggression.  Vick's two champions have been shown to be some of the most people friendly of the bunch.AS a geneticist I can say without a doubt that no breed of dog is inherently aggressive towards dogs or humans, at this time there is no genetic evidence to support this period.  Dog aggression is a trained or learned behavior usually occurring when dogs reach sexual maturity and get driven by hormones for dominance within the pack usually between dogs of the same sex. People aggression is usually fear based from some trauma in a dogs past or territorial based usually again from hormones.  The hormonal aggression can be reduced by spaying and neutering your dog.  It is important to realize that it truly is the owner's responsibility to take care of their dog aggressive or not my golden retriever has aggression issues so he remains in the back of our home, in a fence, or with me on a leash in non-public places.  I take responsibility for my dog and I am sorry for there loss but you should never take in a dog without being prepared to manage its behavior.

When it comes to Pit Bulls, it is all about nature not nuture.  We owned Alfonse for over seven years and we loved him like a child, but he had a dark side that just could not be denied.  We compared it to, knowing your loved one has a mental illness because we knew it wasn't his fault.  But the plain and simple truth, Pit Bulls are predisposed to extreme aggressive behavior, which can be compared to walking around with a loaded gun at the end of your leash. 

I groom dogs! Pitbulls are a very sweet breed! I am bitten more by the small dogs like Chihuahuas why don't you start banning there. People need to stop being so ignorant! Golden Retrievers and labs attack more than Pitbulls do. Any dog has the capability of being dangerous! If your going to ban one breed ban them all!

"Even as we share the grief of Ms. Napora's family, we do well to keep two things in mind. First, serious incidents involving dogs have always been exceedingly rare, though they generate news coverage that creates an impression they are more prevalent than they actually are. There are roughly 78 million dogs in the U.S., and 308 million human beings. Annually, there is one dog bite-related fatality for every 10 million human beings, and every 2.5 million dogs. Second, official reports may shed some light on the unique calculus of an incident; but they are never a basis for generalizations about all dogs, or even one kind of dog. To illustrate, consider the following. The week before Ms. Napora died, a pregnant woman in Milwaukee, Sharon Staples, was shot to death in the street, in the presence of her 13 year-old son. Police arrested three teenaged boys in connection with her death. There are over 20 million teenagers in the United States. What will the investigation into the death of Sharon Staples tell us about teenagers?

Reports concerning the death of Darla Napora cannot be used to generalize about any of the other 78 million dogs.

Out of respect for Darla Napora and her grieving family, and due regard for their love for their dogs, we must not assume we know more than we do. The more deeply one examines any incident, the more likely one is to appreciate that its complexity cannot be reduced to a simple prescription."

- Don Cleary National Canine Research Council

I don't want to be cold-hearted, but this was an un-neutered pit bull (or whatever), with a female pit bull (or whatever).  Why, why, why would you have a dog strong enough to eat you (any dog, of any breed), running around unaltered?  I strongly suspect this couple were likely just like the parents of that kid in the Haight: backyard breeders, ignorant, thinking they could make a buck off some puppies.  Or they were simply too ignorant to know that pets should be neutered/spayed.  Either way, ignorant people should not own dogs.  If saying so makes me a bitch, so be it.

I hope they do ban the pit bulls. These are vicious animals that must be stopped.

Yes it is a tragic event but EVERY dog is different. As an owner of a pitbull myself I know how loving and sweet the breed truly is when raised in the right enviornment and given enough time and attention. A city wide ban is appalling I will not give up my dog because of someone elses misfortune.

This was NOT a pit bull for gawds sake... It was a 125 pound dog. Probably an American Bull Dog or a cross... Pit Bulls are not human aggressive. Hence they made great fighting dogs b/c the handler could handle them in the pit without getting bitten. I am very sorry abt this tragedy, but let's get the facts straight. BSL does not work.

Pit bulls used to be called Nanny Dogs!

http://digg.com/news/offbeat/p...

There are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners.

State law prohibits banning of dog breeds.  If she wants to ban pit bulls "as a good start" then she also needs to ban golden retrievers and labs, they bite and cause damage too.  Italy started a short list of ban breeds and finally realized when they got to nearly 100 breeds that it was a stupid idea.  Maybe this council woman needs to do some research before spouting out and letting everyone know that she is an idiot.  http://www.nationalcanineresea...She should throughly read this site too http://www.livingsafelywithdog...