BBC News - Dangerous Dogs Act change urged by Blue Cross charity

it's about time - BSL is utterly ineffective.

Def think it shoudl be the owner not the dog breed!

they really need to change it as it is not breed specific, in america they call pitbulls nanny dogs because they are good with children. so it shows how much they got it wrong

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the DDA is 'breed specific'.

it lists 4 'breeds', one of which is actually not even a breed but a TYPE.

Ur dog does not have to be registered as a purebred American Staffordshire Terrier AKA AmStaff,
nor a registered purebred American Pit-Bull Terrier AKA "A.P.B.T."
Ur dog just has to resemble an AmStaff / APBT to be taken as 'dangerous', despite any
history of being a perfectly nice, friendly dog who has never bitten anybody.

the dog can be a Boxer-mix, Staffy-mix, Bull Terrier-mix, or any of over 2-dozen breeds or mixes.
it doesn't matter; behavior doesn't matter, the dog can be a saint who rescues drowning children
from the surf, in between guiding blind people across busy streets & doing tricks to make kids in the hospital
smile & laugh - it doesn't matter.

what matters is WHAT THE DOG LOOKS LIKE. The 'Act' is quite specific: if s/he looks like a Tosa, Fila or pit-type,
the dog is doomed - and automatically 'dangerous'.

any dog can bite; there are specific things that make a dog more likely to bite.
being intact [vs desexed].
lack of socialization.
being chained outside; living outdoors [vs in the home].
lack of any training.

the most-likely profile for a dog who bites* in the USA?
- intact
- male
- approx 2-YO
- lives in a fenced yard or on a chain.
* bites = a serious injury needing medical attention, not simple first aid.


the 32-YO California woman who was killed by her dog, at home?
one neighbor who also had dogs, whose yard adjoined hers, had seen her 2 dogs.
other neighbors did not even know she HAD dogs. so they were never walked around
the neighborhood - or at least, never during hours when the nearby residents would have seen them,
& it hardly seems likely she'd be walking them at 2-AM.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007