Sled Puller said:
A dog thinks for itself, a gun/car/bat/knife does not.
I'm not sure why I'm having to explain that?
I don't much care for Malumutes, wolf-dogs or Chows, so going that direction doesn't affect me.
First, regarding the other 'evil, killer breeds', I didn't post those because I thought you liked those breeds but because it's an entirely different group of breeds that is responsible for human deaths. If you want to ban pits, then you can't stop there. So the first order of business is to decide how many human deaths are acceptable per breed? If we say zero, then we've got about thirty breeds to ban (plus extras that are lumped in under umbrella names like 'pit bull', 'sled dog', 'hound dog', etc. ), if memory serves. Plus 200+ more with the capability of killing a person.
The gun/car/bat/knife analogy is relevant because when under proper control, a dog does not have the opportunity to think for itself. I don't leave my dogs alone with children (regardless of whether I have my dogs or a 'pit bull' or a Chihuahua). I don't let them run the streets loose. I don't leave them unattended unless they are properly secured. Etc. In any situation, I am in control. My dogs are fully obedience-trained and will listen to me both on- and off-leash, but I still keep them onleash as an extra measure of control. In these situations, I think for my dogs. Only indoors or when supervised and properly contained do they have the opportunity to think for themselves.
As I said above, in 86% of those cases, the dogs were blatantly out of control (unrestrained). The others don't specify the degree of control or the exact situation. That lack of owner control is the only thing that gives the dog an opportunity to think for itself. It's the same as if someone picked up the gun you left lying in the backyard unattended and shot someone. It's your fault for leaving your firearm in a position where it's outside of your control.
A dog does not have the ability to reason, and neither does a 3-year-old child. When let out the back unrestrained, the dog is no more responsible for killing someone than is the 3-year-old child that picked your gun up and shot his friend. Owners/parents need to take responsibility.
Chris