My dog is currently having a grass allergy flare up that's giving her a nasty cough, so I took her to the vet to have her skin/throat looked at. We went to the park afterwards and relaxed before it got too hot.
An older man, very clearly already irate, approached us and asked what her breed is. She's a rescue, so my answer is always, "American pitbull terrier mixed with something. We think shepherd." I always say it with a smile and try to be as warm as possible to avoid people thinking we're mean.
He then told me that I shouldn't have brought her to a park where there's children because she will bite one of them. She's a registered therapy dog that I trained myself. There isn't a more friendly, loving, well-balanced animal on this planet. Yet this man really had it in for her...so much so that he left his own child unattended at a public park in a bad neighborhood to berate me about my leashed, friendly dog being a public threat.
Is it ethical to muzzle humans against their will?
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As long as your dog was leashed and showing no aggression, he was a jerk to accost you like that.
That said, it is not unreasonable to be afraid of pit bulls. You know your dog’s behavior but strangers don’t know you or your dog.
It’s possible it is not, or not entirely, the breed’s fault but other factors. I read a bit ago that there are an estimated 3.6 million pit bulls in the US and an estimated 1.2 million of them will end in shelters. Even the ASPCA and PETA are making statements agreeing that pit bulls especially should be neutered.
I knew and have often petted a pit bull that lives here in my apartment complex. Its owner is a very nice man.
This month another dog owner was walking her Yorkie when the owner of the pit came out of his gate with his dog on the leash and unexpectedly encountered the Yorkie and owner - and the pit mauled the Yorkie, and even his owner acknowledges there was no provocation. The Yorkie wasn’t killed and is recovering well - but his owner is still dressing his wounds. He could have as easily been dead. His owner also got bitten during the incident.
I thought about this and counted. I have lived here for three and a half years and I can recall 29 dogs of all breeds who have lived here during that time (and it’s likely I don’t remember them all). This is the only incident of aggression beyond one or both dogs meeting growling and warning each other and one part pit bull mix whose owner let run off leash that tried to attack my Corgi mix. Her owner did a flying tackle and got her back under control.)
@Mamapolo2016 I've worked with hundreds of pitbulls. I've fully rehabilitated almost 100. I've also worked with hundreds of other breeds. From my experience, it is always 100% without fail, the human's fault when there is a dog bite or attack. News articles and uneducated people will say that the attacks are unprovoked, or without warning, but the people who say that never fully understand dog psychology or body language. There are dog aggressive dogs; aggression usually stems from fear due to not being socialized as a puppy. The owner of the pitbull was at fault for having a reactive dog and not muzzling him/her or going through the proper training.
"Pitbull" is an umbrella term for many breeds: The APBT, Am. Staffs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and American Bulldogs, just to name a few. That alone debunks the premise of aggression being genetic, because their genetics are different, not to mention that there is no gene for aggression.
Pitbulls and mixes should be spayed and neutered due to their overpopulation and their health. PETA is a terrible organization, though, and wants to see all pitbulls and mixes be killed. This overpopulation makes them easily accessible and cheap for bad people who are attracted to the negative stereotype, and who want them to show aggression to compensate for their fragile masculinity. This overpopulation and grey area about breed is equally responsible for the seemingly high bite statistics, but their population and what bad people teach them to do is not their fault.
I've heard pitbulls be compared to Honda Civics. Civics are the most abundant and cheaply available vehicle on the market. Because of that, they're the most used for illegal street racing. Is that the car's fault? Of course not. Bad people will intentionally exploit anything that's easily accessible and cheap.
Ultimately, it comes down to responsible ownership. In my ~11 years of experience with rescuing and training dogs of all breeds, the most aggressive large breeds have been Labradors, golden retrievers, and standard poodles. This is because people buy them because they are stereotypically friendly, and they assume that their dog will turn out happy-go-lucky with no socialization or training. When in reality, ALL dogs need the same basic training.
With so many pitbulls dying in shelters from overpopulation and breed specific legislation across the world, there's no excuse for people to still (essentially) racially profile my dog. I know I wouldn't want someone assuming I'm dangerous because I'm half Latino. I'd like people to extend that same courtesy to dogs.
