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[Brian Fellows]

I just want another Siberian Husky

Actually I want 2.

 

[McLesterolBeast]

It's not as if there would be any persisting damages to people who could no longer own any particular breed of dog. It's a freedom that has no value besides the fact that it's classified as a freedom. If a breed is prone to violence, then strip the owner of their "right" to own that breed (or put a limit, saying all existing registered animals are fine, and all newly registered ones are either restricted or heavily taxed). They'll shed a tear or two while under the impression that they're losing their favorite breed, until they find some new breed that has a set of other characteristics equally desirable, minus the violence.

 

[Do The Mario]

Yes.

The kid’s i used to baby sit a few years ago had the most unstable rottweiller, it was purely foolish of there parents to have brought such a animal for them.

Like I said some people lack the common sense and experience to house such an Animal, potentially the best result would be a license for certain breeds of Animal rather then a total ban.

You need a license to own dangerous reptiles (in Australia) so I don’t see why dangerous mammals should be an exception.


Speaking as a Zoologist (almost) you have to acknowledge all animals have a degree of instinctive behaviour despite how “good natured” the animal is normally, I think a licensee and some minor training would go a long way to solving the problem.

This way only people truly keen and interested in such a breed of Animal will own one, rather then “impulse pet shoppers” which don’t understand the dangers and requirements for such animals.

 

[McLesterolBeast]

Why even allow a license? The benefits behind owning a breed with violent tendancies are trivial. Maybe in rural areas it would be acceptable, but in the city? There's no justifiable reason. The fact that some pet owner may have a 'thing' for pit bulls (or whatever violent breed there is in question) isn't justification. Those account for negligable benefits, both in terms of the "liberty" associated with the freedom itself and the intangible benefits of being able to own a dog with particular features that vary marginally from a less hostile breed. The costs to society from even a statistically improbable attack far outweighs that.

Mandatory registration and insurance would be better fit for the situation.

 

[Karg]

Registration, but I've seen this apply to some other breeds recently. When I was apartment hunting 2 years ago, 2 different apartment places said German Shepherds were not allowed. Pit Bulls and Rotties were on that list as well, but Sheperds? My Shepherd is a huge lap dog, he barks at paper bags that roll down the street like tumbleweed. Bite someone? Yeah right, hes a menace to that apartment community...

 

[Azih]

All dog owners should have their pets forcibly replaced with kittens!

 

[evilromero]

With that in mind, then, I'm against any blanket ban of dog breed, but I wish there was a way to legislate responsibility among owners of breeds like pitbulls.

Well, it's mostly the lower-class owners who present a majority of dog related incidents. If you didn't notice Pitbulls have been rampant in the past few years thanks to rap videos encouraging irresponsible individuals to adopt them. Commonly boyfriends buy them for their skanky girlfriends to ensure a long lasting relationship. I think a license should be required for owning a pet. Since you're taking a life into consideration it's very important. I fail to believe most owners, or potential owners consider all of the responsibility and income required to care for a pet. Of course the same could be said of lower income families having babies as well, which is another problem altogether.

 

[Bregor]

I highly recomend this book to all prospective dog owners:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...104-4887484-4439964?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Read it before getting your dog.

 

[MrPing1000]

they need to ban British Bulldogs poor little guys have be created in a way that they all have breeding problems, they can at least go with the alternative breed a british bulldog and a labrador

 

[Bregor]

And oh yeah, be carfull where you get your dog from. Irresponsible breeding is a big factor in some dogs temperment problems (not to mention the health problems it can cause). Above all avoid pet stores - they typically get their dogs from puppy mills that pay no attention to the health and temperment of the parents or puppies.

 

[Gorey]

I used to have a strong aversion to pits and rotts. In the last few years, however, I've met dogs from both breeds that forced me to re-think my opinions. Heck, an ex-girlfriends' pit bull was a better human being than she was. I miss the dog more than the woman.

I'd definately support mandatory registration and insurance for high-risk dog breeds. Enforce some form of education into the system so the quality of owner can be screened somehow... It sounds rather tyrannical, but we are talking about potentially lethal animals. Every pit owner I know would support this, or has already mentioned it.

That said, the worst dog bite I ever dealt with was delivered by a Belgian Shepherd.

 

[Karg]

I just want another Siberian Husky

Actually I want 2.

Do yourself a favor and get a Husky. I have one and shes the best. Friendly, meets and greets anyone that comes to our house, and a great dog overall.....except they offer no protection. Someone could be robbing us as long as she had a rawhide to chew on she'd just sit there. Other than that my Husky has been great over the last 4 years.

 

[Do The Mario]

All dog owners should have their pets forcibly replaced with kittens!

Why?

Because they rape the native wild life

I know rangers and grounds keepers that burn feral cats 50+ at a time, yes it’s shocking but so is going for a jog and seeing 5+ native cockatoo’s with there inside’s hanging out.

I don’t condone incinerating cats but we have a major problem with ferals in Australia

Why even allow a license? The benefits behind owning a breed with violent tendancies are trivial. Maybe in rural areas it would be acceptable, but in the city? There's no justifiable reason. The fact that some pet owner may have a 'thing' for pit bulls (or whatever violent breed there is in question) isn't justification. Those account for negligable benefits, both in terms of the "liberty" associated with the freedom itself and the intangible benefits of being able to own a dog with particular features that vary marginally from a less hostile breed. The costs to society from even a statistically improbable attack far outweighs that.

With the right training and care from a competent owner there is very little danger in having an aggressive breed. We had a German Shepard when I was young I would pull on his mane and ride him like heman’s battle cat the dog was raised well and was no danger to anyone.

The license goes a long way in deterring “impulse” pet shoppers who look at a pit bull pup think “how cute” and buy it with no idea how to raise a dog, let along an aggressive breed. It also makes sure owners understand what is required to care for the dog (so it doesn’t get dumped) and to take precautions to make sure it stays safe and so do the people around the animal.

The situation were I live is much different to America I suppose with the insane size of the Average block of land and in the fairly “well of” area of Australia I live in I have 3 large public sporting ovals and a national park all within 5 minute walk of my house owning a large and more aggressive animal isn’t as bigger issue.

So yes I agree such Animals have NO place in a small house or flat or in more densely populated areas but in Australia we really don’t have that problem.

Is animal registration required in the states?

You have to get your dog registered in Australia with the local council; you will get a small fine if a ranger you are caught out.

 

[fennec fox]

I don’t condone incinerating cats but we have a major problem with ferals in Australia.

Yeah, but you have problems with all kinds of imported animals in Australia, including wild camels. :lol Personally I'm all for eradicating cats since they have a shitty attitude and make me sneeze, but I respect that many people disagree with me.

I live in a neighborhood in San Francisco that I wouldn't call "bad" or "high-crime" ('cos it's not), but it is very urban-American, and nearly every dog that lives nearby is a pitbull. It drives me nuts. In fact, considering how dense San Francisco is, it's rare for me to see someone walking a small dog on the street at all, no matter what neighborhood I'm in. It's always at least Golden sized.

The laws for dog licensing in the US, like the laws involving ferrets, vary widely from state to state and even from town to town. For the most part you do need one as it's proof your dog has been vaccinated against rabies and so forth. Occasionally you need to pay more if you're keeping a dog that's not neutered or "dangerous", i.e. a wolf hybrid or something.

 

[ge-man]

I agree with Pheonix about banning owners. I might have a bias considering that my family has had a German Shepard for 7 years now, but I do think there are a lot of other factors involved besides breeds. What are people going to do when they have banned or phased out the more well know agressive breeds to find that there are still problems with other types of dogs? Banning breeds will do little, you either need to do an across the board dog banning (not likely to happen ever) or do something about owner responsiblity.

 

[itschris]

Pit bulls are banned here in Winnipeg. They recently increased the fine for having them, too:

The efforts are paying off as the municipal pound has overseen a gradual reduction in dog-bite attacks, which had hit 310 in 1990 -- the year its controversial prohibition on pit bull ownership kicked in.

"It's been steadily going down and we're sitting around 150 to 160 right now," Dack added, pointing to the 166 canine bites reported in 2003.

"We're cutting it down. We've had a 50% reduction here over the past 14 years, which is fairly significant."

Examples of recent increases in Winnipeg's dog ownership fines:

- Keeping an unlicensed dog -- $250, up from $75
- Failing to tattoo a dangerous dog -- $1,000, up from $50
- Keeping vicious dog in a manner deemed unsafe to any person or animal -- $500, up from $50
- Owning a dog that bites or wounds any person or animal -- $350, up from $150
- Harbouring a pit bull -- $1,500, up from $150
- Owning a dog that pursues any person or animal -- $200, up from $75
- Allowing a dog to run at large -- $100, up from $50

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/01/23/907438.html

I'm not sure what to think about this; I've never owned a "dangerous" breed of dog (although one of my cousins got bit by a rottweiler once).

 

[Lil' Dice]

I'm all for mandatory licenses for the possession of high-risk dogs. Among them would be German shepherds, who despite being portrayed as law enforcing police officers, are fucking assholes.
Oh well, I'm getting a Pit Bull anyway, he will be muscular and good natured, and attack anyone wearing a Nintendo shirt on sight.

 

[darscot]

Looks like it's official Ontario just band Pit Bulls. So it is now illegal to buy, sell or breed a Pit Bull. Existing owners can keep there dog but it must be leashed and muzzled in public.

Link

 

[Shinobi]

Heh, a lot of people are upset about this. Personally I can't say I care...let them have a pit bull taking a running leap at them before saying how nonsensical it is.

And yeah, there are pit bulls that are nice and wonderful. I'm sure there are well behaved pet tigers in the world as well...doesn't mean they should be allowed to run around the park.

Good riddance I say.

 

[Shig]

I checked that site, and my dog (the rotweiller) is the 9th most intelligent.

Mine is the 1st. Border Collies 4 lyfe.

Actually, I have two of them, one is really smart but the other is just pathetically stupid. He's the only moronic Border Collie I've ever seen in my life. He's just so damn lovable, though.

 

[Brannon]

I'm all about banning the goddamn practice of inbreeding. Nothing more inhumane than having dogs fuck their siblings over and over again and the result is a prize winning dog that breaks down after a couple of years on the circuit due to a host of medical problems that wouldn't be there if not for the continued dominance of a flawed genetic malady. Gimme a mutt.

 

[Tarazet]

+1 good reason to move to Canada.

Dogs are like small children, you love your own, hate everybody else's. They bark at all hours of the night, they shit on your plants, they terrorize your cats (although my outdoor California Spangled Cat is burly and fearless), and they drive away wildlife.