10 Comments - Skeeter - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 9:31 am: Weisner’s pit bull ban is ridiculous. It is the easy way out. It has the appearance of making progress, but really will not make the slightest difference. Dogs are as they are trained. My GSD is gentle and well-behaved because I make sure that he is gentle and well-behaved and I work on it on a daily basis. I know some kind and gentle Rots and Dobermans. The problem is that some large dog owners don’t work on training or worse, encourage vicicious behavior. Does Weisner really believe that getting rid of one breed will solve the problems? If pit bulls are not available, then people will turn to Rots. If pit bulls and Rots are not available, people will turn to Dobermans. We need to crack down on dog fighting and on truly dangerous dogs. Banning a breed will not solve any problem. - Gish - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 1:25 pm: Here, here. It is about as silly as banning certain guns because they appear menacing. People need to realize that dogs and guns are no more dangerous than the people in charge of them. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 1:59 pm: Gish, You raise a valid point. Distinguishing between the different kinds of bull dogs is about as dumb as distinguishing between different kinds of handguns. Of course, if someone was going to suggest banning wolves or wolf-hybrids, I would have to agree that they should be banned. Wolves are great in the wild or in a zoo. I sure don’t want my neighbor to have one though. - Dog Eat Dog World - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 2:46 pm: I’ll remember that Skeeter next time the topic of why we have so many people in jails across the nations. - ron - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 3:29 pm: at some point the competing interest of the hispanic and african-american communities is going to result in a problem for the democratic party. now the white machine can control both. when the machine loses control, i predict a backlash by the losing faction. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Jun 6, 06 @ 3:33 pm: Gish and DEDW, Sometimes a dog is just a dog. I train working dogs, not analogies. - Gish - Thursday, Jun 8, 06 @ 9:06 am: Is a wolf, raised from a pup inherently more dangerous than a pit bull? Somewhow I doubt it. It all comes down to the owner via their training and care. On the other hand, we do have people running around with exotic animal licenses and I haven’t heard anyone really raise a fuss about those. - Skeeter - Thursday, Jun 8, 06 @ 9:46 am: Gish, There is definitely a difference between a pit bull and a wolf or wolf hybrid. For those of us serious about dogs, it is a big issue. The wolves and wolf hybrids are clearly dangerous. There also is no proven rabies vaccine for these animals. I suspect the same thing could be said about some weapons. - Gish - Thursday, Jun 8, 06 @ 1:23 pm: Yes. I understand there is a difference but my question was: Is it inherently more dangerous? Maybe to clarify a bit: Would you not agree that the capabilities of the owner would play a significant, if not overriding, consideration as to the danger inherent in a wolf or wolf-hybrid? - Skeeter - Thursday, Jun 8, 06 @ 2:00 pm: No, I wouldn’t agree. I would not trust a wolf or wolf-hybrid around children no matter who trained it. It is by nature and genetics a dangerous animal. Moreover, given the lack of a proven rabies vaccine, I would be extremely concerned about even a playful bite [mouthing] that you are going to get from any puppy. A pit bull is different. It is a dog. Although there are some from poor breeding that are unfortunately impossible to keep in a safe manner, when well bred and well trained it is not necessarily a danger to other dogs. Although as I noted, I train working dogs and not analogies, I suspect that the analogy probably fits the gun world too. Some weapons cross the line from having a potential for danger to being something that should be allowed in only the most limited circumstances if at all. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.