BSL or Breed Specific Legislation is a threat to ALL dogs, not just Pit Bulls or other “dangerous breeds”. Basically, BSL looks at the breed of a certain dog instead of the behavior of one specific animal. An analogy for BSL in humans would be racial profiling, due to the fact that it does not look at the characteristics of the individual, instead generalizing them to be true for an entire breed or race. Think BSL doesn’t affect you because you only own labradors or golden retrievers? Wrong. If the knee-jerk reaction of BSL catches on in the way that many supporters of BSL hope it will, people will then see that once all of the Pit Bulls are gone, issues related to dog bites will still exist. The proponents of BSL will then move onto the next breed, and so on, until BSL does affect you.
What can you do as a dog owner?
Speak out against BSL, and let people know why breed specific bans are not a reasonable solution to the greater problem of poor dog owners. First, BSL laws are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. There are over twelve different breeds of dog that are commonly mistaken for ‘Pit Bulls’. Second, banning a particular breed of dog will only serve to make that breed more enticing to people who choose to use their dogs for harm rather than good. People with no regard for the law will not be impacted as a result of BSL legislation, so it doesn’t affect the irresponsible owners that it should. Third, BSL laws (even proposed ones) cause caring, intelligent owners to shy away from dogs that are considered dangerous. With less capable owners interested in owning these types of dogs, it practically ensures that these dogs will fall into the wrong hands.
What are some alternatives to BSL?
1) Active enforcement of current dangerous dog laws and tougher penalties for offenders. We need to focus on responsible ownership by letting neglectful owners know that their actions will not be tolerated.
2) Better education for dog owners in the areas of canine safety and animal behavior. The more owners know about the ways their animals behave, the easier it will be for them to avoid any potential issues.
First they came for the Pit Bulls,
and they banned them and killed them.
Their owners cried out in horror but I did not object,
because I did not own pit bulls.
Then they came for the Rottweilers,
and they banned them and muzzled them.
Their owners cried out in protest but I did not object,
because I did not own Rottweilers.
Today they have come for my dogs,
and they will ban them and take them from me.
As I cry out in outrage and anger no one objects, because they do not own my dogs.
Steven says
i have two pitbulls. they are the best dogs i have ever owned. i have 9 month old daughter and my male will lay his head on her chair when she is taking a nap. if she is crying they both come get me and let me know there is something wrong and i need to go get her. my sister was against me getting a pitbull for a family dog. but she changed her mind after one night that she stayed the night here with us. i trying to go and give my neice a kiss goodnight and and my male slaps my hand away. IF YOU HAVE NEVER OWNED A PITBULL DONT TALK ABOUT HOW BAD OF A DOG THEY ARE. THEY ARE THE MOST LOVING DOG
Sarah says
Yes ! If you have never had a pit bull then don’t act like you know them. I tell people that all the time. They say oh no you have a pit bull with a toddler. When I hear people talk badly about pit bulls I ask how many have you owned? They say none. I say how many have you really met. They say none. So who are you to tell me I have a bad dog. The on,y thing you know about pit is what the media feeds you. They tell these bad stories to get viewers.
All we can do is try and educate people one at a time.
Kathie says
I have to say I very much agree with this post. I have had the unfortunate misadventure of meeting the media version of a pit and it was a bad scene, but that didn’t stop me from adopting a mix breed pit puppy. She is absolutely the most adorable pup I’ve ever seen (and I have seen many as I used to work with a professional dog trainer helping to teach dog owners how to handle their animals properly). Her only problem is that she seems to be constantly trying to bite and chew on everything, but she is very intelligent and quickly learning that if she wants to bite, she goes to her toys. Her biggest “flaw” is being a cuddle-bug. She’s only really happy when she has a human holding her or playing with her. Luckily, my home has plenty of humans and we all have free hands for her. I’m really looking forward to seeing her grow up.
My point in that bit of bragging on my new “baby” is that it really is completely unfair to decide a breed is evil based on a few of them were raised by mean-spirited owners.
Mary says
My husband and I have a male Pit. He is 3 years old and lives with a 5 pound Chihuahua and a 6 pound Pomeranian. Boy what a sight. It is all in how you raise them and it is so true when they say the bad apple owners spoil our barrel. Because of nuts who want to make a buck the good owners have to suffer. I believe the laws need to be written that each dog be assessed on its own merits and not the whole breed discredited. Our big baby will bark when people come in, then when they sit down he jumps on their lap. Some people who don’t know him are at first startled or maybe even unnerved but they quickly come to ease when he gives them a big kiss on the nose and not a bite LOL. Our Pit is very loving and protective of children. And it is histerical when my daughter decides to dress him in skirts and blouses. Poor fella he takes it all in stride. But he loves her and wants to make our girl happy. We don’t take chances with our boy we make sure he is kept safe from the world. Did you ever think you’d see the day when you had to protect a Pit from the outside. They were made to protect us and now because of the misconduct of humans we now have to protect our babies. Yes there have been bad situations with Pit Bulls but if you look at each situation you will see that a human was behind the cause. So if they would punish the people behind the cause more severely then maybe they just might not want to turn these wonderful beautiful animals into nightmares for all the good owners.
Sharon says
THIS is the reason I fight BSL. I’ve never owned a pit bull, not to say I never will but I haven’t yet.
BSL scares me because I know my boxers won’t be too far down the list once they’ve gotten all though “dangerous” pitties off the streets.