Re: BSL is totally awesome and makes a ton of sense...
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 10:58 am
When I had my pitbull I was asked if he should go on vet records as an American Pitbull Terrier or if he should be marked as an American Staffordshire Terrier. Same dog, different but for "breed standards," the AKC won't register pitbulls but will happily register them as AmStaffs.
Anyways, the funny thing is that pitbulls are genetically dispositioned to be human friendly, and in fact were the first breed with detailed lineage records (for fighters) and cullign in the case of dogs that were human aggressive. It's an easily defended position, too, for people who refuse to acknowledge it: Pitbulls were bred as dog fighters (from bull-baiting dogs, where the idea of bull breeds comes). Anyways, in teh case of a dog fight, two breeders bring their dogs together, swap dogs to make sure there's no hidden tricks, then put their two animals in the ring where they fight.
When it's time to stop a fight, the owners would step into a ring. The dogs were trained to never bite the handlers, and any pitbull that showed signs of human aggression were culled. You didn't step into a dog pit with two unrestrained killers, that would make no sense. What pitbulls do have is called "gameness," the willing desire to do what they want to do 'til they physically can't anymore, and a prey drive that does push them to attack smaller animals, but simply not humans.
Anyways, pitbulls have a long and distingushed track record of being wonderful family animals and a true American breed. It was only in the '80s when the urban-myth of killer dogs sprung up and people started to breed in giant, and more aggressive, breeds to APBT lines that things got weird.
Mine was the sweetest, dumbest, dog you'd ever meet. 85# of bone, muscle, and slobbery kisses. They're a surprisingly good breed maligned by shitty publicity. There are far worse dog species, many of which are kept without the stigma of aggression (just about any herding dog, small dogs, and things like Chows and Akitas).
Anyways, the funny thing is that pitbulls are genetically dispositioned to be human friendly, and in fact were the first breed with detailed lineage records (for fighters) and cullign in the case of dogs that were human aggressive. It's an easily defended position, too, for people who refuse to acknowledge it: Pitbulls were bred as dog fighters (from bull-baiting dogs, where the idea of bull breeds comes). Anyways, in teh case of a dog fight, two breeders bring their dogs together, swap dogs to make sure there's no hidden tricks, then put their two animals in the ring where they fight.
When it's time to stop a fight, the owners would step into a ring. The dogs were trained to never bite the handlers, and any pitbull that showed signs of human aggression were culled. You didn't step into a dog pit with two unrestrained killers, that would make no sense. What pitbulls do have is called "gameness," the willing desire to do what they want to do 'til they physically can't anymore, and a prey drive that does push them to attack smaller animals, but simply not humans.
Anyways, pitbulls have a long and distingushed track record of being wonderful family animals and a true American breed. It was only in the '80s when the urban-myth of killer dogs sprung up and people started to breed in giant, and more aggressive, breeds to APBT lines that things got weird.
Mine was the sweetest, dumbest, dog you'd ever meet. 85# of bone, muscle, and slobbery kisses. They're a surprisingly good breed maligned by shitty publicity. There are far worse dog species, many of which are kept without the stigma of aggression (just about any herding dog, small dogs, and things like Chows and Akitas).
