Last week, in Multnomah Village (Neighborhood in Portland) a loose pit bull attacked another dog who was being walked by his/her owner on a leash. The owner had a CWP and pulled out his pistol and shot the Pit. The Pits owner apparently had a history in the neighborhood of letting the dog run loose even though it had a history of aggression towards other dogs. It was certainly an extreme reaction, but possibly justified. As far as I've seen, no charges were filed against the owner who defended his dog, and the Pit owner had her other Pit put down. I don't know anymore about that part of the story.
I don't know what a 'CWP' is - I googled it, and came up with Cambridge Weight Plan, which I guess isn't relevant. I'm shocked and absolutely astounded that any normal person would be carrying a gun on the street as they go about their day to day business walking a dog. That's just mad, not normal, and crazy.
It must be "concealed weapon permit" given the context. Last week in NZ the government announced very strict new laws against a handful of "dangerous breeds", including American Pit Bulls. They will have to be spayed/neutered, have to be in a fenced section that allows dog-free access to your front door, have to wear a collar stating it's a "dangerous breed" and....shelters will no longer be allowed to rehome them. All because of irresponsible owners.
I find that really strange, Xena, considering the backlash against breed-specific legislation in the UK and beyond. I don't know what the answer is, I really don't, because lots of these dogs do have certain traits through their breeding, but to tar them all with the same brush.... well, I don't know. I agree that it just seems crazy that anyone should be carrying a gun whilst going about their daily business. I have to say, I'm glad I live in a society where such things are considered unbelievable. Go on all you want about your second amendment rights, yada yada yada, but if people can't see just how crazy it is for this to be considered normal, then I just have to put my head in my hands and despair.
@Abby6 Snowie was nicked on the face when he was a puppy of about 4 months. A local dog came into our garden (invited in with his owner) much to Snowie's delight -- he idolised this very old boy called Jango. While Jango had one of Snowie's bones in his mouth, Snowie raced to him cos he was just so excited to see Jango. Jango snapped at Snowie (guarding the bone), nicking Snowie's snout. Poor Snowie, yelped and immediately came to sit next to me, confused! It wasn't a bad nick, just on the surface. But unfortunately left a spot that has never grown over with hair. Because Snowie has black skin on his face covered by white hair, it was very obvious to me for years and really annoyed me! But I've stopped seeing it (as he grew older, the spot looked much smaller in relation to his head). He has various nicks on his face that haven't grown over (from scratching his face, etc) -- I suppose a sign of aging, just like our own faces that have various marks that show the passage of time. But with white fur on black skin it looks more obvious. Snowie's brother has black fur and was attacked by a Staffie (on the cheek area) when he was a puppy and required stitches. That scar has also not grown over with hair although not that obvious due to black skin and black fur. I have read of people using a cream that reduces the scarring -- perhaps a Vit E cream, I don't recall. Might've been coconut oil? I am sure Google will pop up all kinds of lotions and potions you could use (many probably snake skin oil!). Could your vet recommend something?
You know what governments are like - they decide that breed-specific legislation will be popular with many voters, so they make it happen. We've had some appalling dog attacks on humans in recent years, including a 5 year old girl who was killed, so there is support from a lot of people for "harsh penalties". Doubt it'll have much of an impact, though. http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/polit...down-on-dangerous-dogs-in-new-dog-attack-plan
Good thing we're not allowed to carry guns, because there have been a couple of times I might have shot a dog that attacked mine! And their owners!!! (Not really). (I think). With regard to breed specific legislation - it is very sad, because as Sophie says, it is all due to irresponsible dog owners.
But they don't have to wear a muzzle when out in public, leashed? We have a "pit bull" ban here in Ontario, they must be muzzled, the few that are left here. I don't think I ever saw anything that might be called a pit bull before we had the ban. When a trainer took in an older Staffie (intact male, she was taking risks) I was amazed how small they are, he only weighed 25 pounds. She didn't muzzle him either but for unknown reasons all his teeth were ground down to stubs. He was a nice dog and he was polite with Oban who was intact as well but only 8 months old.
My sister had a Staffie before her current dog. He certainly wasn't small! Short, yes, small, no He was entire and never had a scuffle in his whole life. Had no idea what to do with his 'nads, either. Softest dog in the world.
We went to a huge off leash dog park on Sunday. It is called 1000 acres and is just above the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia Rivers. The number of people and dogs there was amazing. (maybe 500+) Generally at least in Oregon, the dogs taken to off leash areas are friendly and get along just fine. There must have been 20 or 30 dogs playing in a section of the Sandy that we went to, with a number of Retrievers and a couple of GSDs swimming for tennis balls in the river. There was one Pit bull who the owner kept muzzled. The dog seemed friendly, but the owner said he was a rescue, and was in the process of becoming socialized. I'm not sure whether the muzzle was just for everyone else's peace of mind, or whether the dog really was not dependable yet, but he mostly just ran around like the other dogs and played. The owner kept him fairly close. I have to say I'm not a fan of pit bulls, but I have never met one that was a problem. I have seen some that acted aggressive on leash, but our neighbor's Sammy acts aggressive on lead also. the number of serious attacks on dogs and people by Pit Bulls is way out of proportion to the number of Pit Bulls in the US. I think it is a combination of nature and nurture, but I don't know what a real solution would be. The common thread is that when the do attack it is a lot more likely to be serious, and often the owners say that the dog never did anything like that before.
An update to my earlier post. The dog that was attacked was a Bernese Mtn Dog (Big) and it suffered significant injuries. He/she spent several days at Dove Lewis which is the Portland area major emergency vet hospital, which would typically be several thousand dollars. I guess that is the reason I have such negative feelings about Pits. They seem to do so much damage once they get started, and in some cases the attacks appear to be completely unprovoked. Our first Lab was attacked by our neighbors large GSD and the injuries did result in a trip to an emergency vet clinic, but just 3 or 4 stitches at the base of her tail. No major harm done except that Ginger took umbrage at ALL GDS from them on.
My goodness. I agree that there is something wrong about the picture of a person walking around with a gun as a natural course of events. Yeesh. Makes no sense to me either. Here in Alberta there are a couple of cities/towns that have pit bull restrictions, but generally they are allowed everywhere else. I see some in our dog park every once and awhile. They haven't caused any problems that I'm aware of.
London has the highest percentage of bull breeds in the UK - it is bull breed central. I am not a fan. Not at all. While I completely accept that the fault lies with humans, and the despicable people that are involved in dog fighting, these dogs do not rehabilitate well, no matter how kind, well meaning, and dedicated the pet owner that takes them on. So, while I do agree that 'blame the breed' is in theory wrong, and it should be 'blame the humans' that doesn't change the reality - sadly, and for reasons that are not the fault of the dogs, a lot of bull breed dogs are dangerous. I don't think breed specific legislation is all that mad, failing a solution that gets directly to the horrible humans responsible of course.
I've just posted a request for advice (in a separate thread) regarding aggression more generally (rather than breed-specific) from neutered dogs towards intact males. I won't repeat the whole quite lengthy query here, but would very grateful if any of you might read it and share your knowledge? Thanks very much indeed folks.
I had exactly this experience with my boy Pongo - he is now three years old and still intact. I've given you my view, for what it is worth, on the other thread. Good luck with it! By the way, your boy is beautiful (if that is him in your avatar picture)
I'm also appalled at US gun laws. A terrifying prospect in the hands of anyone likely to over react. ...
If you are still able to edit your post here how about adding a link to your other thread? I have an intact male, I have certainly had that problem, of neutered males not liking my boy. REcently a serious attack on my boy. I'll go look for your other thread. OK, here's the link to your other thread: http://thelabradorforum.com/threads...ered-dogs-to-my-intact-1-year-old-help.17815/
