Breed Specific Legislation

Increasingly local governments are adding laws to the books aimed squarely against certain breeds of dogs. Is this a reasonable solution to growing reports of dog attacks?

Follow up:

Every dog has a unique personality which IS NOT breed dependent, but does suggest what potential problems you may see in that dog. As an example, I've worked with dogs from the same litter where one was very docile while another had tendencies toward aggression. Same breed, same litter! These variations of personality occur in ALL breeds.

Larger, stronger breeds can obviously cause greater harm if they have tendencies toward aggression. Because of this I always recommend such dogs only be owned by strong, conscientious, experienced owners. But putting laws on the books for specific breeds does nothing to address dog aggression as a problem in society. What would help? My suggestions include:

• Educating owners on "warning signs" of aggression.
• Encouraging effective temperament testing to properly evaluate dogs on an individual basis.
• Prosecuting anyone who irresponsibly encourages aggression in their dog(s).

Endorsing breed specific policies or legislation is not well informed in my opinion. We don't make presumptions about humans based on race, so why should we make assumptions about dogs based on breed? Dogs, like all living things, are a product of their genetic make-up AND their experiences. Making presumptions based only on breed will cost many good dogs their lives unnecessarily.