Deeming Dogs Dangerous by Breed: Fact or Politics

[David]

Quote: Is your dog really dangerous or is the government saying so because it is a certain breed? Are you facing the prospect of having to give up your companion animal because your state legislature or town council is considering breed specific legislation? Has your insurance company notified you that it is canceling your homeowner's policy because your dog is a certain breed?
Join the experts at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to discuss the nationwide effort by local and state governments to control the dangerous dog problem by banning certain breeds of dogs and why this breed-banning initiative will not work. Hear the latest on the controversy around temperament testing. Learn why the key to tackling this issue is through increased funding of animal control services and better enforcement of licensing and cruelty laws.
This is from a story from the Washington Post.

Do you think we tend to automatically assume a dog is dangerous because of the breed? And is this warranted for certain breeds?

[Peor]

No, you can't judge a dog by it's breed (that sounds corny...). Not in advance anyway.

Dogs are bred for special purposes. Some to hunt, others for beauty, to run, to guard, to herd... But that doesn't mean that a Mastiff, as example, is going to be dangerously aggressive, because he is a Mastiff. How you raise a dog is one major factor. If you raise a dog that will be suitable as guard dog, to guard, it will. If you raise a dog suitable to guard as a companion at home, with no specific duty, it will not guard the same way a trained dog would do.

Some responses come natural to some dogs, like how hunting dogs can be triggered to hunt something blindly, forgetting the rest of the world (I've seen once 4 beagle ladies I knew, sudden hunting at a unsure dog, who was ironic literal the underdog). A Rottweiler can be a lovely companion and very sweet, like any dog. It may have tendencies to maybe be more on it's guard then the average dog, but he may just as well not be. you can't deem a dog breed dangerous because they "might one day in their life do this". The personality of the dog and how the boss is with her or his dog, also marks out how the dog will be. The environment may be of influence too. But you can't say a certain breed of dog is dangerous. Just that they are more prone to do something. Just like you can't say that Italians will all become mafia types, that Arabs will be terrorists, or that all Western folk are going to be slave traders. A little extreme to say, but my point is that there is only a probability factor among a certain group, but can't say that they are all the same.

*End rant* ;)

[squirrel]

I agree with Peor 100%