Denver is one of those places that has a “pit bull” ban. According to Wikipedia, the relevant wording is: A “pit bull” … is defined as any dog that is an American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of any one (1) or more of the above breeds, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the standards established by the American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club for any of the above breeds.
“… Any dog displaying the majority of physical traits …” sounds pretty open to me.
The nearby town of Aurora is even more strict, banning the usual Staffordshire breeds, but also American bulldogs, all the Presas, Japanese fighting dogs like the Tosa Inu, and Corsos.
I’ve had one person ask me if Leon was a full-blooded pit. I could see a little bit of confusion because he’s roughly the same size and stocky and muscular (even moreso than in this slightly older photo when he wasn’t as filled out), but to me his face looks nothing like any kind of fighting dog.
I also had a woman ask me what breed he was, and when I told he he was a boxer/English Bulldog mix, she said, “Aren’t those illegal?” Apparently when she heard we had a “Pit bull dog ban” she parsed it as “Bulldog ban.”
sigh Okay, I’m a dog lover here, but I can understand the request. Hell, I generally won’t let any dogs in my care (or, for that matter, my cats) around a little kid who hasn’t been socialized to dogs.
This is for the protection of my animals (from eye pokes, ear pulls, tail pulls, and accusations of them being a vicious monster when they react appropriately to said aggression) rather than the protection of the children.
Yes, yes, kids should be socialized to dogs. In reality, I don’t have any friends who would let their kid misbehave around animals, but social obligations sometimes mean that I have to put up with bratty kids of stupid parents.
So shouldn’t the kid be put away then? And I don’t have a statistic, but I’ll bet that more kids are injured by other kids than dogs. I understand protecting your dog from someone’s unruly brat, but shouldn’t visitors bring a cage for their kid?
Oh if only we could do this in the cafe where I work. Parents, just because you have bought something from us doesn’t mean the whole space is a playground!:mad:
I love circular definitions. How about “A properly trained dog doesn’t need to be confined to a crate or basement.”
If the child isn’t properly trained, keep it in its crate until it is. I’m not going to kid proof my home to satisfy some parent’s need to upholster the world for the child’s protection.
Of course dogs mind being exiled to the basement or stuck in a crate! It doesn’t matter how well behaved and trained they are. Dogs are intelligent, social animals. They want to be where the action is or where their person is. Just like people.
Being well trained means they know how to behave around people. Most of the dogs I have been around behave better in public than most kids I’ve seen.
I agree but we were invited. I’m sure your dog is wonderful etc but that Is subjective. I’m simply not interested in taking that chance. And other kids are unlikely to harm my child whereas as just one mishap with the dog could have major consequences. Most kids aren’t going to do major damage and whether you like it or not folks children are held in higher regard than animals. And you should keep your ire for the irresponsible dog owners who do much more harm than someone who just doesn’t want them near my kid.
I repeat… My dogs live here. Invited or not, you bring your kid to my house, my dogs are not going to be penalized for it. You don’t want to be around several happy, well-behaved, frendly dogs? Then you know where the door is.
I have a little plastic sign hanging on my fridge door; I got it when I first started showing dogs back in 1982. It says:
This house is maintained for the comfort and security of my dogs.
If you do not understand this, then you do not understand me.
I have one friend who is very nervous about dogs. I am working on her and she’s improving! She’s OK with my smaller dog.
But on the few occasions she’s come to my house, I put the big dogs (black lab, Rottweiler) outside because she finds them overwhelming. They don’t mind, they snort around the back door for a minute and then go off and pee on things in the back yard.
Most of my friends are “dog people” but I have a few who aren’t; that’s OK, they are still friends. OTOH, could I date someone who doesn’t understand that my dogs are very important to me? Absolutely no way.
I love my cats enough to put them in the basement (with their litterbox, food, and toys) rather than subject them to the whims of a child who might tug on their extremities.
I love 'em so much, I put 'em down there rather than risk that the parent of said untrained child calls animal control with a trumped-up sob story after the child gets the swat that it so richly deserved.
It’s a function of living in a society–it has nothing to do with how important my pets are to me.
Well we would not be friends PapSett and I’m betting we are both the better for it. I’ll upset dog owners when I have to if I feel a family member is in danger. Dogs are animals and they operate under different rules than humans do. I don’t see the upside in taking the risk. In the end, dogs are below humans. End of story.
Again though, if irresponsible owners were taken to task more often then I think non-dog people would find it easier to be around dogs.
I’d put the dogs away. They’ve never had a problem around kids, but a host that doesn’t even make that minor effort to make one’s guests comfortable is a poor host indeed. The dogs don’t hold grudges much, and if the kid isn’t comfortable around them, it’s not an optimal situation for the kid, the parents, or the dogs.
Nope, we surely would not be. See… what people like you do not understand is my dogs ARE my family. I have no human family. None. Furthermore, I like most dogs better than any child I ever met.
If your precious little flowers are too delicate to be near a friendly, small dog that I would bet my right arm would do no more than lick them, well… all I can say is you are doing those kids no favors either by ‘sheltering’ them from one of life’s sweetest pleasures.
You can say ‘end of story’ all you want. In MY home, my dogs are family, and your kids would be the intruders. And that is the end of MY story.
This is one of the ‘dangerous dogs’ you would not allow near your kids:
