It’s the deed not the breed

A visitor to the sanctuary this weekend told us that she had recently been to another shelter and they had twenty four staffordshire bull terriers all wanting new homes.    We too, always have staffis.   The problem is that while most are lovely good natured dogs, some have been ruined by their owners and are difficult, if not impossible to offer for adoption.   You may be thinking that you can re-train any dog and it is, to some extent perfectly true.   When the aggressively inclined dogs go into re-hab  we can soon get their trust.   They relax, become friendly and well behaved – with us!   For some breeds though, their nature is to be protective, they’ve had hundreds of years of selective (by humans) breeding to make them fierce and fighters.  This was a valuable characteristics in days gone by – after all, before there was a police force, most people relied on their dog to guard them and their property.    Even now, once this trait has been brought out, by previous owners and for whatever reason, it is hard for a dog to forget it – the enemy is at the gate and I’m going to get him!

A dog who has not been trained to guard and who considers humans to be his friends, is unlikely to be any problem.   The Dangerous Dogs Act, brought out in 1991 by Home Secretary Kenneth Baker, was drafted with the help of various animal agencies (did any of them actually take in strays?).  It called for the compulsory destruction of certain ‘types’ of dogs.   Pit bulls became illegal.  Pit bull types and three other fighting breeds (the Japanese Tosa, the Fila Brasiliero and the Dogo Argentino) had to be registered, muzzled and leashed at all times when in public.   The dog was presumed guilty and it was down to the owner to try to prove innocence.    Over the next few years thousands of crossbreeds, many of them lovable family pets, were seized as pit bull types.   Even staffis were seized, a police spokesman commented that ‘a Kennel Club Pedigree isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”   Dogs languished in kennels for years while their owners tried to save them, only to fail and the dogs were put down.

In 1997, the government caved in to public pressure and the Dangerous Dogs Act was finally amended to remove the compulsory destruction clause.   An amendment to the Act is now going through parliament.   It is not breed specific and seeks to punish irresponsible owners, the dog is not to be condemned because of it’s breed or appearance.   At the same time there seems to be little emphasis on education, which is surely the key to preventing dog attacks.    Understanding the dog’s nature, psychology and needs is vital and educating the public to know which is the right breed of dogs for their circumstances and time available.  If we train the humans, a well behaved dog will follow on.   More expensive bureaucracy, which we can ill afford in these credit crunch times, may not achieve it’s objectives.   The key to preventing dangerous dogs is teaching people how to ensure their pet is happy and well behaved.    We need more training  classes for owners, more information from Local Authorities (who are responsible for stray dogs) and it surely must be time for pet care to be taught in schools.