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Victoria Mason
Kinlea Hensel
English IV H
21 March, 2015

Outlawing or banning certain breeds of dogs is wrong. Lawmakers throughout the United
States want to ban or place restrictions on many popular breeds. They are thought to be
aggressive, but these breeds may bite or attack someone. Imposing a ban of this kind means
eliminating these dogs as pets, loyal companions, and service animals.
All domesticated dogs whether pure breed or mixed descended from wild wolf-like
ancestors. Aggressive behavior encoded in every dogs DNA is its sole means of survival. Dogs
must live and thrive by instinct alone. Its only means of communication and interaction with
human counterparts are snarls, barks, growls, or body language. A dog has no choice but to bite,
scratch, or attack to defend its life or eat. Wild or domestic it comes naturally to dogs as it would
any other animal. How can this justify outlawing certain breeds? Over 75 breeds in one or more
states have been restricted or banned. Not only the highly discriminated against bulldog breeds
are facing this demise, but other similar breeds are as well. This long list includes massive dogs
such as the Doberman pinscher, Rottweiler, Chow, and Mastiff in addition to the popular cute
little French bulldog, Boston terrier, English bulldog, and Pug breeds (Dogs). Laws, restrictions,
and guidelines differ from state-to-state. These bans and restrictions include breed bands, breedspecific legislation, is the blanket term for laws that either regulate or ban
certain breeds completely in the hopes of reducing dog attacks. Breed-specific
measures such as micro chipping, confinement, and registering the dogs in a database. This

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database is similar to a sex offender registry. In addition, owners of certain breeds will need
vicious breed insurance, which usually means the owner must move or give up his or her pet.
Some states are even restricting breeds weighing more than 100 pounds. Iowa has banned all
dogs over 100 pounds. Which means eliminating all large breed dogs that make awesome pets as
well as service animals (Dogs).
Dogs have helped people for centuries. Many breeds of dogs may not make ideal pets but
have been proven to be extraordinary service animals. Law enforcement has uses some of the
same breeds that our society has come to fear. These dogs have apprehended criminals, tracked
missing persons, sniffed out bombs and drugs and even saved the lives of many of the people
responsible for their training and handling. Search and rescue teams have benefitted from dogs
locating victims of avalanches and lost in the wilderness. Statistics show how dogs have helped
visually and physically impaired people with day-to-day tasks. Hospitals and other facilities that
care for mentally and physically ill patients use dogs as a means of therapy. The traits that make
these vicious breeds excellent assistants to humans are the same characteristics people now fear.
Such traits do not make a bad dog (Semenza).
Insurance companies, animal control, law enforcement and society are profiling and
discriminating against certain breeds and their owners. Stereotyping of any sort is wrong. Just as
racial profiling does not work neither does canine profiling. Pit Bulls, for example, are one of the
most targeted breeds around. The reason being, drug dealers, gang members and other criminals
keep these types of dogs. It hardly seems fair because the people who keep the dogs are bad, so
therefore the dogs must also be bad. A dog does not get to pick its owner. Punishing the innocent
animals for the things taught to them is not justified. The law should be cracking down on the
people responsible for training and breeding these dogs to be killing machines. According to

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Cesar Milan, it is unfair to generalize Pit Bulls or any other breed (Herald). Milan states, It is
the same generalizing about people from different cultures like saying all people who come to
America are not good for the country. Milan, an ex-illegal immigrant said, I think it is hilarious
that a pit bull and Mexican are making a difference in the world, we were both almost banned
(Herald). Banning breeds will not solve the problem; it will only place emphasis on other
breeds later. Doberman Pinschers were the problem breed of the 1970s, in the 1990s the
Rottweiler, and today the Pit Bull in Milans opinion. Does society ban certain races because
statistics say they are more violent? If so may be human nuisances should require high-risk
insurance. Banning only breeds ignorance and fearful societies.
Dog qualities such as temperament and training differ for each breed. Concerning bite risk
and aggressiveness, Gilchrist suggests far more relevant than the type of dog are other factors
such as guardianship, early training, and socialization (Huemer). Owner and environmental
factors are more important in determining the risks. Dogs trained, socialized, and kept in nonaggressive environments are less likely to bite or attack, according to David Kirkpatrick, a
spokesperson for the American Veterinarian Medical Association (Semenza). He also said, If
you have a brother and sister their DNA is similar, but they are not going to behave or act in the
same manner (Semenza). Just because one pit bull or equivalent breed does something bad
such as bite, does not mean all pit bulls or other breeds will do the same. Instead of punishing
these dogs by banning them, educate the public that the problem is with the owners not the
breeds. Public awareness, unity, and action are these dogs best hope.
These are some of dogs that they are trying to eliminate, Pit Bulls; English Bulldogs, Boston
Terriers, Chihuahuas, Bassett Hounds, a Wolf hybrid, and several other breeds including mutts.

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The Chihuahuas were and are the worst of all dogs for biting and showing aggression because
they tend to be territorial.
Bad dogs are not born, but created. Every puppy is born innocent, inevitably becoming a
product of its environment. All breeds from the smallest Chihuahua to the giant Great Dane have
the potential to be aggressive and attack. The people who raise them determine which ones turn
out to be good or bad. Punish the inhumane criminal guilty of training and breeding the dogs to
be deadly weapons.

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Works Cited

"Dog Politics." 'Dog Politics' N.P., 22 May 2007. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
Fiala, J "Clear and Present Danger?" DVM360 MAGAZINE 01 Sept. 2007. Web. 6 Feb.
2015.

Herald, V. (2010). "LEADING THE PACK; through enthusiasm, charisma and nononsense training methods, Cesar Milan has created a phenomenon with his TV
show the dog whisperer." Calgary Herald.
"Hold Dog Owners Responsible Instead of Banning Breeds - Breed Specific Bans." Hold
Dog Owners Responsible Instead of Banning Breeds - Breed Specific Bans.
Scnow, 25 Feb. 2009. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
Huemer, Ariana. "Scapegoats and Underdogs." Animals' Agenda. July/Aug. 2000: 30-37.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
"Insurers Target Aggressive Canines by 'profiling' Certain Breeds." DVM360
MAGAZINE. Stephanie Davis, 01 June 2002. Web. 6 Feb. 2015.
Semenza, Gabe. "Con: Some Pet Owners Need Rules." Student Resource Center. Gale, 2
Feb. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2015.