Dangerous Breeds; is there any such thing?

As working vet, I see both sides of the coin. This is a very touchy subject! And with good reason- In the place where I live, Pit bulls have been banned… The funny thing is this- there is NO way that I as a vet can actually prove that a dog in question is a pit bull (or any other breed) or not.

Genetically, there is effectively no difference- so there is no way that it can be proven that a particular dog is a particular breed! Even if it is pretty obvious- (though funnily enough, there seems to be a lot of red nosed Staffordshire terriers around here these days…)

I have met some dangerous dogs in my working life as a vet- the most dangerous was a Japanese Akita- I took one look, and just knew. “It would be suicide to step out from behind my table…” So I examined at a distance, without eye contact. Scary dog! Then again, the most aggressive dog I have ever treated was a Chihuahua!

I also had a friend (another vet) who had a client with a small fluffy dog- and you know what?- If the dog got onto the bed before her at night, she slept on the floor!

My point is this- ANY breed of dog is potentially dangerous…

Nearly all of this has to do with how the dog is treated and trained, especially from about 8-12 weeks of age (this is when the dog is most impressionable). Many people who buy ‘aggressive’, or ‘dangerous’ breeds, buy them because they want that sort of dog- and then they make them so by how they treat and train them. Some of these breeds do have more aggressive tendencies than others, but I believe it is how they are treated that leads to how they behave.

Dogs have personalities, just like people- some are harder, or more aggressive, even within a breed.

So- No- we should not be banning certain dog breeds! We should be banning certain people from owning any sort of dog, more like it!- however, this opens a whole other can of worms.

I believe that 99% of puppies can make a good dog, and I also believe that some dog breeds are not for ‘beginner’ owners. Be responsible- take your puppy to puppy school, and obedience, keep them properly confined, never leave them alone with kids (what would your dog do if a little one poked him in the eye, hard?).

Enjoy your dogs, they are such wonderful friends!

Dr Edward