Pitbull Bad Effects

Negative perceptions that individuals form surrounding dogs can have many different negative consequences. These consequences can affect both the dog’s wellbeing as well as their owners. While different breeds are displayed in a negative light, this can lead to their owners being seen in a negative light. Such as when it comes to Pitbull owners, they are often shown as being white thugs or poor urban blacks or Latinos (Twining, Arluke, & Patronek, 2000). The behavior of a dog has a lot to do with the way in which they are raised, they are not born as dangerous dogs. Owners make the choice to raise their dog to either go along with the negative or the positive directions, it all depends on how they go about training them (Twining, Arluke,

Breed specific laws aim at the restriction or ownership bans of breeds that are labeled as being dangerous towards people (Collier, 2006). The Dangerous dog Act in the United Kingdom was implemented first in 1991 and again in 1994. This act prohibits anyone from owning or possessing any dog that belongs to the breeds that are known to be bred for fighting (“Dangerous Dog Act 1991,” n.d). Which in regards to this act the breeds that are targeted by this act are Pitbull’s, Japanese Tosas, the Dogo Argentinos, the Fila Brasileiros, as well as crossbreeds (“Dangerous Dog Act 1991,” n.d). Anyone that owns one of these types of dogs must have their dog neutered, must be muzzled and on a leash in public (“Dangerous Dog Act 1991,” n.d). However it has been seen through research that this act does little to protect the public from dog bites rather it has singled out certain breeds as being a danger (Klaassen, Buckley, & Esmail, 1996). These dangerous dog laws do little to protect the public but rather contribute to the negative perceptions that individuals have about

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is considered to be a form of dangerous dog law. Breed-specific legislation either regulates or bans a certain breed in hopes to decrease the number of dog attacks on humans or even other animals (Hoffman et al., 2014). It is mentioned that more than 700 cities in the Unites States have some form of a BSL, however it varies greatly from place to place (Hoffman et al., 2014). Some places either have the breeds banned completely and others have restrictions when it comes to the ownership of the breeds (Hoffman et al., 2014). Some of the known restrictions are higher licensing fees, registering the dog as dangerous, mandatory sterilization, muzzling in public, signage on property indicating a dangerous dog in on property (Hoffman et al., 2014). Many of these bans specifically have to do with the Pitbull type. However as mentioned previously that the Pitbull type is hard to identify, therefore this contributes to the variation of BSL in the United States (Hoffman et al., 2014). In some places there are not specific guidelines to identify a Pitbull, which can result in a non-pit being placed into the banned category (Hoffman et al., 2014). These bans affect all dogs that fall into that breed category, yet these laws are formed following a few bad attacks. This makes all dogs from these specific seen as bad, this can contribute to the