Although a certain dog breed might have traits that contribute to its behavior, these traits are not the only reason why dogs behave in a certain way.
Study after study has shown that a dog’s breed is not a major factor when it comes to aggressive behavior, and yet breed-specific legislation still targets specific dog breeds all over the world.
While dogs of different breeds are genetically predisposed to be talented at certain tasks, the environment that a dog is born into has a more significant impact on the dog’s future success. How a dog is socialized, raised, trained, and cared for are more important factors to consider rather than simply relying on a dog’s breed or breed type to predict what its behavior might be.
Breed specific legislation (BSL) is problematic, costly, and damaging to dogs and their families. Rather than restricting specific breeds, encouraging responsible ownership, the use of positive, non confrontational training methods and the elimination of puppy mills (also known as puppy farming) and backyard breeding will go a long way to improve the lives of the dogs that fall into any sort of breed specific law.
The breed that everyone thinks of when they hear “BSL” is pitbull. Aside from the obvious issue that the law targets a specific breed in the first place, the biggest issue is that there is no true pit bull breed. There are “pit bull type” dogs that include the American Staffordshire Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Any of these breeds or combinations of these breeds are called “pit bulls” but the actual breed itself does not exist.
Pit bull type dogs get a particularly bad reputation, especially in the media, but it's important to understand that the average pit bull type dog is highly social and friendly, and are naturally people lovers. Irresponsible or reckless people either train their pit bull type dogs to be aggressive, or simply neglect and/or abuse them. Any dog of any breed that is subjected to this kind of treatment could become aggressive and a bite risk.
There are breed-specific issues happening all over the world. If BSL is being proposed or is enacted in your area, contact your local government representative and voice your opinion to prevent this ineffective legislation from being enacted or continue into law.
