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Ok, maybe not… but why do we never see that headline? Has no one ever been bitten by a poodle? They have the same number of teeth as any other dog. To the point: I am doing a persuasive speech on states/countires banning vicious breeds. I personally believe its the owner, not the breed, that causes the problems, but I cant go into my speech with just that. If any of you have any opinions on this topic, please post. I would like to go in as well informed as I can. Please keep it friendly. If there is anyone here who thinks banning a breed is legitimate idea, you will be the most help to me. You are who I need to disprove 😉
I was bit by a poodle when I was about 7 or 8. Our neighbors 2 houses down had one and I was on a go cart sort of thing being pulled but someone on a bike then our neighbors opened their car door and the dog just ran up to me and bite me on the side. Of course at that age I was crying and we had to make sure the dog did not have rabies. It was a little thing too. I think they said it was old and had sight problems
It has been my experience that poodles and other small breeds are the most likely to snap or bite.
So you have a point, our chihuahua has bitten strangers more than once, but because she is so small, the person pitten just brushed it off as no biggie. I think the main reason they don’t make headlines is because while they may injury someone, they don’t have the size to do the kind of damage the larger breeds do.
Kyrin
After doing a bunch of research this morning, I have data and statistics to back up every argument I can think of. Now I just have to worry about what I havent thought of! 😆
Smaller breeds are more prone to bite. I believe it has to do with the breeding involved in obtaining the breed’s characteristics in the first place…Some dogs are simply bred to be aggresive. I think chihuahuas are a meanace to society but I’ve never heard anything bad about poodles. Poodles were originally bred as a water-retrieving breed, I think. Larger non-aggressive breeds that have biting problems are usually due to either inbreeding or the owner mistreating the animal. However, my childhood dog was a rottweiler and he was the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. I would spend a couple days getting to know your breeder and make sure they dont inbreed or mistreat their dogs. Sadly, in this area puppy mills are common. Someday I’d like to get a Pembroke Corgi but we’re waiting til we get a small farm so we’d have adequate running space. Good luck finding the perfect dog for you! 😀
What is very important is to remember that dogs are animals, and can therefore be “unpredictable”, no matter what. For example, here lately, a labrador bit a child. They don’t know why, don’t know if the kid provoked him… no history of biting. Hence I prefer smaller dogs for that reason. If they do bite, not much damage can happen.
Let’s not forget that all dogs have the same ancestor, wolves (hard to believe when I look at my chinese hairless crested), and have been bred over the centuries for particular tasks. Some of them developed reflexes that are inbred and very hard to overcome, even with the owner doing all he/she can. But, most of the time, if a puppy isn’t encouraged to attack, etc., the adult dog will be the sweetest thing.
Would banning a breed help? I don’t know. I do know though, that in general, mutts make the best pets and inherit the best of the mixed breeds. In Canada (or just Ontario, I forget), they banned pit bulls. If you have one, you have to muzzle it when taking it for walks. I’m not sure yet if it makes any difference.
Personnally, I’m afraid of big dogs. My pom-a-poo weighs 14 pounds and the hairless, 6. If they ever turn mean (as if, but once again, you never know), I can be meaner.
Am I any help here?
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmI actually found a statistic in the UK that was interesting. Since banning Pits in the 1990’s, a study showed that the number of bites remained the same even though the number of pit bulls had steeply declined.
I hear you about the damage a large dog can cause when it bites. That is understandable. It also figures that the less severe the bite, the less likely it is to be reported, making statistics on dog bites very unreliable.
I also agree it’s the owner, so I guess I’m not useful producing a counter-arguement. My friend has a mastif with the head the size of a freaking basketball, and though I balked when I first saw her I soon came to realise she’s an utter sweetheart. The only dog that ever attacked me was an airedale that lunged for my freaking face the first time it laid eyes on me. Thank goodness it was on a chain. The owners had just moved in and were in the front yard with it. I must say they were umm… the only less desirable neighbors that I remember ever moving into my neighborhood :-/
Excellent job Ski! If you need signatures for a petition (if that can be done electronically) just let us know. Good Luck!
In my 50+ years I have personally known of 5 dog bite incidents. Not one of them involved a so called vicious breed and every one was provoked by some sort of inappropriate behavior by the human. As with all prejudices, sheer ignorance is the real problem. The majority of the prejudicial people that I have encountered, were so because of their arrogance. They “knew everything” already, which intelligent people know is not possible.
Sorry to run on but this is one of my top “Pet Peeves”!
Well, while I am at it— My Number One “Pet Peeve” is this: Pick up any newspaper in any city in any country and look in the Classifieds and count the number of ads that start with “One year old dog-Free….”. No explanation needed.My parents used to have a miniature poodle. When mom was pregnant with me, the poodle snapped at my brother (I don’t know if he provoked it or not). Rather than risking it happening again after I was born they gave the poodle away. I don’t think the dog had a history of biting/snapping either.
I’m definatly of the camp that believes how an animal it treated by its owners will be reflected in its personality. I don’t think banning breeds help since there still seems to be all the problems after the banning as there is before.
Statistically, Cocker Spaniels bite people FAR more than Rottweilers do per yearv (I have cocker spaniels). Terriers as well. Larger dog breeds just tend to do more damage when they do because of their size. Also, with some of the larger breeds, particularly those bred to guard and have it in their nature, people with less than noble intensions flock to those specific breeds because they are easier to train for things, like dog fights. Some feel that a big dog trained to attack on command is somehow ‘manly’ or a status symbol.
Responsible owners and responsible breeding is really what it comes down to. Poorly bred lines of any breed can produce psychotic or neurotic behavior that is not good to have in a pet. Spaying and neutering pets that will not be bred. It also helps control the pet population 🙂
I have done so much reading and research today. I feel so smart 😆 The numbers of people hurt by pits is staggering compared to other breeds. Over double Rottweiler bites… but these are the dogs that are popular now. Like Siberahk said… status symbols pretty much. Back in the day, it was cocker spaniels who always bit. It always seems to be people who are poorer and a very high percent were dogs kept on chains for the majority of their life. Very sad. I do wonder… only a few people die from dog attacks… look at how many die from car accidents. We dont ban cars, do we? I cant believe they actually ban breeds. There is absolutely nothing out there besides CDC statistics that people are quoting. Those statistics have been disproven and yet they still ban a breed! Ridiculous.
I don’t know if this counts.. but my grandma used to have a standard poodle (the big ones) and it used to bug some sea otters that lived on their beach.. anyway one day the otters had babys and they were tired of the dog always barking around their nest so they teased the dog out to sea and drown him…
On a different point, I believe that female Rottweiler go crazy after the age of 2 or something if they haven’t had a litter of puppies or been spaded… something about their brain keeps growing and starts to push against the skull to the point that the go crazy and die… you might want to check on that though… It happened to my aunts dog..
skigod377 wrote:I have done so much reading and research today. I feel so smart 😆 The numbers of people hurt by pits is staggering compared to other breeds. Over double Rottweiler bites… but these are the dogs that are popular now. Like Siberahk said… status symbols pretty much. Back in the day, it was cocker spaniels who always bit. It always seems to be people who are poorer and a very high percent were dogs kept on chains for the majority of their life. Very sad. I do wonder… only a few people die from dog attacks… look at how many die from car accidents. We dont ban cars, do we? I cant believe they actually ban breeds. There is absolutely nothing out there besides CDC statistics that people are quoting. Those statistics have been disproven and yet they still ban a breed! Ridiculous.
I don’t know if comparing it to cars is the way to go although you could still state it… I think you might want to compare dog attacks to other kinds of animal attacks.. maybe cats or something..
I also totally agree with you that animals are a product of there owners… like owner like pet… and also owners who have the larger dogs should know how to deal with them or how their dog might react to others… for example I have a friend who’s Dad has a Malimut (spelling?) Huskey about half my size (big dog) and the dog is very protective of his family so everytime I came over they would put the dog outside so that he could see me but couldn’t get near me… and after awhile of doing that they would let the dog in because the dog realised that it was ok for me to be there… that I was a friend and he didn’t need to protect his family against me…
I also once saw this video of a women who taught her dog to attack on command.. maybe you can find stuff like that on youtube…
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