[mkewish]

This urks me to no end . . how come there isn't any small breeds on the list?

I'm sure if they did a study on how many people of bitten by small dog breeds vs. large dog breeds, they would shocked.

Unleashed: Is your dog 'dangerous?' Deemed breeds might surprise you | MLive.com

 

[lizzyjo]

bite

I'm guessing its the big dog , big bite vs. little dog, little bite thing. I have big dogs and little dogs and you would probably get bitten by my chihauhau before my boxer..

 

[Klamari]

Probably because they're focusing on the "dangerous" part. And not just number of bites. For an adult, a Chihuahua biting you is probably not as "dangerous" for your health as a Rottie or GSD biting you.

But I get your point. I've been bitten by many, many more small breed dogs than larger breeds (including the "dangerous" breeds).

 

[PaddyD]

Before we got our GSD, we called our insurance agent to see if it was a problem with respect to home-owners insurance. GSDs were not on their list.

 

[TitonsDad]

My former step mom had a mini doberman. That thing (I call her a thing on purpose) could do some serious damage that I'd never see my GSD do. I've been bitten by that little &^%$ many times to the point of breaking skin.

-E

 

[TitonsDad]

Before we got our GSD, we called our insurance agent to see if it was a problem with respect to home-owners insurance. GSDs were not on their list.

State Farm? :toasting:

 

[PaddyD]

State Farm? :toasting:

Good guess, but wrong . Don't actually know what it is but it's not
State Farm. However, I will take you up on that :toasting:

 

[Kris10]

I hate reports like this because they come up with a list and don't prove the results. How do they come up with these lists? Was this study statistically sound? There was an article on another thread about fatal dog attacks for the last year and socioeconomic status was a significant variable in those cases.

 

[DHau]

I have noticed that the little yappy dogs are a lot more ferocious than the big dogs.

 

[King&Skylar]

I've met more aggressive labs than german shepherds, i'd like to know who decides these things lol.

 

[adamdude04]

I wonder how they get their data.

Is it number of reported bites/attacks per breed, and GSD had the 3rd most? (many complains from service (police, military) dogs that pushed the GSD so high up?)

Or is it bite force (lbs) x size (weght)?

A survey done in the mall asking which breed most people are affraid of???

 

[Salem]

I live near the area that the news article is talking about, and when I read it on Sunday I was very upset!

It doesn't seem fair that you should have to muzzle a dog, if properly trained, when walking them (if on the "dangerous" list). Some parts of the city are shady, and if I lived there and was walking my (future) GSD, I would not want him/her muzzled for fear of being jumped.

I wanted to write a letter to suggest that if a dog is a Canine Good Citizen, then they should be allowed to be muzzle-less. Then again, there is no way to tell if an owner is following the law if the dog does not have a muzzle without stopping them and asking for proof of the dog being a CGC (unless they had a huge flashing sign around their neck saying "CGC dog!!!")

I don't know. GSDs are such great dogs (as are many on the list) and I hate how owners that have well-trained dogs and follow the laws have to be punished because of rotten owners! /rant

 

[CassandGunnar]

I wonder how they get their data.

Is it number of reported bites/attacks per breed, and GSD had the 3rd most? (many complains from service (police, military) dogs that pushed the GSD so high up?)

Or is it bite force (lbs) x size (weght)?

A survey done in the mall asking which breed most people are affraid of???

The OP's link referred to a list of dangerous breeds that the City Council was using. The list they used was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control.
I could find nothing there that listed or shows how they got their data.
My guess would be it comes from LE reports or from Clinic/Hospital/ER data collected, but I'm not sure of that.

 

[Kris10]

Of all the dogs I have been around in my life the one bite I ever rec'd was from a Chihuahua. I was a child and it was my grandpa's dog that I spent a lot of time around and knew very well.
I still have a scar on my hand. Well, it is the size of a sesame seed

 

[adamdude04]

I don't know. GSDs are such great dogs (as are many on the list) and I hate how owners that have well-trained dogs and follow the laws have to be punished because of rotten owners! /rant

because we have some owners who think the word (or similar) "stop" is more effective than a leash. And as posted in another thread, one owner who let's their dogs out of the home to run out into the yard barking to a person walking by the yard. This does not help the cause and only makes the dog look aggressive and the owners look reckless with the breed.

I wish you did write a letter tho.. But I agree it is a touchy subject.

 

[adamdude04]

The OP's link referred to a list of dangerous breeds that the City Council was using. The list they used was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control.
I could find nothing there that listed or shows how they got their data.
My guess would be it comes from LE reports or from Clinic/Hospital/ER data collected, but I'm not sure of that.

I figured. But everyone knows best

Like for example: Maybe we should put a ban on vehicles older than 1997. If you own this year or older you must hand keys and title to your local junk yard or jail time will follow. Reason? No crumple zone and lack of safety features. Big blocks of steel are a risk to the driver and other vehicles on the road. Now there may not be that many crashes out there with older vehicles but the risk is still there -anything can happen no matter what make or model

 

[CassandGunnar]

They tried something like that with the cash for clunkers.............lol.
I take the point of view that you can't protect stupid people from themselves.

 

[Salem]

because we have some owners who think the word (or similar) "stop" is more effective than a leash. And as posted in another thread, one owner who let's their dogs out of the home to run out into the yard barking to a person walking by the yard. This does not help the cause and only makes the dog look aggressive and the owners look reckless with the breed.

I wish you did write a letter tho.. But I agree it is a touchy subject.

That is also a problem in the area. Dogs running around in yards, both fenced and unfenced. I agree that that definitely does not help.

I believe that the council will not make a decision until April 1st and there are a few meetings in the coming weeks. I still want to write a letter, but I just don't know how to make them see that not all of the dogs of the listed breeds are bad - the whole "It's not the breed but the deed" argument. It would be harder to plead a case because a pit bull attacked a young boy when his owner was walking him in a nearby city about a week or so ago.

The pit bull apparently took advantage of the owner "falling" or something (the details are sketchy) and he charged and attacked the boy. He required about 100 stitches in his legs, I believe. It was later discovered that the dog was known for attacking neighborhood dogs. He killed two dogs before and recently fought with the boy's family's dog after jumping the fence.

I would love if they ruled that dogs that are CGC would be allowed without a muzzle, but like I said before, it would be hard to identify them when walking because not everyone will follow the ordinance.

 

[adamdude04]

They tried something like that with the cash for clunkers.............lol.
I take the point of view that you can't protect stupid people from themselves.

Oh yeah I remember that!! Lol was that a joke..

 

[CassandGunnar]

That is also a problem in the area. Dogs running around in yards, both fenced and unfenced. I agree that that definitely does not help.

I believe that the council will not make a decision until April 1st and there are a few meetings in the coming weeks. I still want to write a letter, but I just don't know how to make them see that not all of the dogs of the listed breeds are bad - the whole "It's not the breed but the deed" argument. It would be harder to plead a case because a pit bull attacked a young boy when his owner was walking him in a nearby city about a week or so ago.

The pit bull apparently took advantage of the owner "falling" or something (the details are sketchy) and he charged and attacked the boy. He required about 100 stitches in his legs, I believe. It was later discovered that the dog was known for attacking neighborhood dogs. He killed two dogs before and recently fought with the boy's family's dog after jumping the fence.

I would love if they ruled that dogs that are CGC would be allowed without a muzzle, but like I said before, it would be hard to identify them when walking because not everyone will follow the ordinance.

I went back and re-read the original article about what the council is considering. In the County where I was a deputy, most cities and the townships had dangerous animal ordinances. From what I remember about them, what the city in MI is proposing is the 2nd step in most of the other ordinances. For example, if there were a certain number of complaints of the animal running loose or the animal is picked up so many times, or there is a biting incident, then the owner is required to muzzle the dog, put up the signs, keep the dog inside of a fenced yard but only under supervision. They may be required to purchased additional liability insurance.
I'm sure if Google dangerous animal regulation for ordinances, you could find several examples of what different cities have in place.

It always makes me shake my head when I hear about stories like you posted about the poor kid who was bitten. Just watch, 1000 people will come out of the woodwork to defend the dog and the owner. I have a close friend who is police officer in a large city in MN. He was forced to shoot and kill 2 pit bulls. He was called to a report of 2 dogs running loose. Before he got to the call, the dogs attacked and mauled another dog. When he go there, the dogs turned on him and he had to kill them both.
****I'm not condemning pit bulls, my daughter has a therapy dog that is a pit bull that she takes to work with her every day. My belief is that it's the owner/handler, not the dog.