Har varit fullt upp så här i slutet med skola, jobb och djur( såklart :-D )
Känner bara att jag måste dela med mig av mitt slutarbete i Engelska C som jag gjorde förra terminen. Det ligger mig så varmt om hjärtat att det INTE får stoppas undan och glömmas bort..
Det är tillägnat alla er personer som kämpar för "kamphundsraserna", till alla er personer som ser kärleken som ryms i en AmStaff och alla ni som inte dömmer hunden efter håren..
So here it comes.
Introduction
Banning of
breeds, euthanizing puppies and adults just because they are the
wrong breed. They haven't done anything wrong, they have only their
appearance to blame. Is it right?
As a owner of a
“dangerous” dog, it's a subject close to me because I would not
want to loose my dogs and hand them in to be euthanized. I also
wanted to take a closer look at the facts of “fighting dogs” and
try to sort out if they really are as dangerous as many say. Is it
really necessary to ban them? I wanted to look at both sides of the
story
In the text I
will refer to “fighting dogs” and dangerous dogs when I write
about the breeds that are banned or may be banned, the dogs that
media point fingers at for being vicious.
Those dogs are
on the list on page 2.3.
Methods
Mostly my
search for facts have been in magazines from American Staffordshire
Terrier and the Swedish Kennel Club(SKK) because it is them who works
with this cause everyday. I have looked at different websites which
also is working daily against the banning. Interviewing people with
the experience of “fighting dogs”.
I looked at all
my material, comparing each one to another and there after put my
work together, trying to get a piece of everything so that the reader
can get a overview and some closer parts.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
foundation of the expression ”fighting dogs”
The expression
around “fighting dogs” is often related to other words with a
powerful background and meaning such as Pitbull, “murder dog” or
“muscle dog”.
The fear that
people experience is often related to names, appearance and locks of
a typical dog. They are the kind with big, broad jaws, short fur and
a lot of muscles. People don't really think, they just react in a bad
way and when they see a dog that has the “name” or the “locks”,
people often directly think aggressive and dangerous.
Mental description
Professional
mental judges and ethologists say that these kind of dogs often are
stable and pleasant. In Sweden, 2009, 372 American Staffordshire
Terrier was mentally tested and only one showed unacceptable
behavior. 444 Staffordshire Bullterriers was also tested, zero showed
unacceptable behavior.
A project in
mentally tests were done by the Swedish Kennel Club (SKK) shows that
American
Staffordshire Terrier is social, playful, curious, unafraid and
comfortable.
The Dwarf
Pinscher was remarkably showing aggression, and had a tendency of
being scared.
Golden
Retriever was social, trainable, a little aggressive and had a
tendency of being scared.
Rhodesian
Ridgeback was calm, remarkable aggressive comparing to the other
breeds and had a tendency of fearfulness.
Whippet:
anti-social, uninterested in playing, not very trainable and passably
aggressive.
The forbidden breeds in Denmark
The
1st
of July 2010, the Danish government took an undocumented decision of
banning all kinds of “possible” dangerous dogs and mixtures of
them. 13 breeds were struck by this law and another 12 breeds are on
an observation list and may become banned as well if the government
has their way. Only two of the 13 banned breeds have a background as
fighting breed, the rest are guarding dogs of property and herding
dogs.
Breeds that were
banned the 1st of July 2010:
American
Staffordshire Terrier
American Pit
Bull Terrier
Boerboel
Tosa Inu
Fila
Brasileiro
Dogo
Argentino
American
Bulldog
Kangal
Central Asian
Ovcharka
Caucasian
Ovcharka
Southern
Russian Ovcharka
Tornjak
Sarplaninac
Puppies
born after 17th
of March from these breeds and mixes therefore should be euthanized.
Up until today the law has taken over 200 lives of healthy dogs and
ruined the lives of their owners.
Other countries
Denmark is not the
only country with laws against some breeds, a numerous others also
try and tried with banning some breeds to stop attacks on humans and
dogs. Some states in USA have these laws. But in some countries they
have the law without any progress.
England,
Norway, Scotland, Germany, Italy and Holland all tried the law but
after some time the dog attacks on humans and other dogs increased
instead of disappear. Italy and Holland repealed the law when they
saw that it had no effect. England, Norway, Scotland and Germany are
considering repealing their laws also because of no effect.
Sweden
During the Swedish
election in 2010, Mats Odell (kd) made a statement that he wanted to
make a law against fighting dogs. The Swedish Kennel Club (SKK)
immediately gave him answers that they had been working with the
problem of biting and aggressive dogs for the last 20-years. If the
problem had been easily solved with a law of banning, they would had
done it many years ago. SKK explained that if you want a dangerous
dog you can, with selective breeding and external influence, take any
breed you want and make them suitable for fighting.
It is a big
society problem that create our times dangerous dogs not a special
breed, according to SKK. Mats Odell was deeply criticized of his
statement, not just by SKK but by the majority of the people in
Sweden as well.
Scandinavia
As told earlier
some breeds are banned in Norway and Denmark, but our third country
in Scandinavia, Finland, don't believe in the ban.
The saddest
part of the ban is that none of the kennel clubs in each country
stands behind the decision that has been made, luckily they all work
hard trying to repeal the law.
In Denmark you
can find a organization called Fairdog, they work daily trying
to get the justice for the banned dogs and their owners, they are the
voice which won't stop until they've won.
The real problem
According to many
professionals and the Swedish Kennel Club, the problem with our
dangerous dogs are the owners of them. These kind of power dogs
attract people that want them for the wrong reasons. They think it is
cool with a muscle dog and it gives them a status symbol.
It is because
of those people that the breed has a bad reputation. Otherwise for
example the American Staffordshire Terrier and Pitbull are very
friendly and affectionate with humans. They are an all-round dog
which you can use to almost everything, they are very trainable and
you can try almost everything you want with them. They are often very
successful in what they do, for example agility, seeking, hunting or
skiing.
Whatever dog
you want in your family, you have to know about the breed and what
its needs are. Or else you can easily have a chihuahua which becomes
aggressive or understimulated. It is exactly the same with a muscle
dog.
In almost
every case with a dog bite or attack, the media tries to blame a
typical “fighting dog” but often it is a mixture of many breeds
or not anything like a muscle dog, it can be a Golden Retriever or a
Labrador, which also are the most popular familydogs.
SKK wants to
give the police better resources to work with the laws we already
have. (The law of supervision for dogs and cats 2007:1150) The law
does not concentrate on some specific breeds, it is about overall
concentrating on the specific dogs that is aggressive and the owner
that is clearly an unappropriated owner of a pet.
National Police
Agency gave their statistic on reported crimes that include dogs.
Title Year 2005 Year 2006
Attack
“fighting dog” 140 136
Attack Other breeds 1344 1287
Unfortunately
Sweden does not really have a special list to count statistics so
that they could see if it is true that “fighting dogs” is the
most dangerous, the list above is the closest we get to know who's
the most dangerous.
Veterinarian
Kristina Kruuse, has been bitten two times over her 25-years as a
veterinarian. Once by a Dachshund and once by a Golden Retriever. She
says that you can never blame a special breed, only the owner.
The Survivor – Not everyone is
dangerous
The magazine
Härliga Hund wrote an article about Hector, a pitbull which was
forced to fight other dogs in organized dog-fights.
It was a former
athletic who owned over 50 Pitbulls and arranged dog-fights in
Virginia, USA. 47 of the saved dogs were sent to rehabilitation and
later was placed in new loving homes, Hector was one of them and
Andrew Yori who loves pitbulls took him home. It was clear by his
scars, what he had endured in his life, but it was only on the
outside of his body, on the inside he's a caring, loving dog.
Today,
he has the name “Hector the inspector” and is a trained and
certified therapeutic dog which works with humans at old
people's homes, hospitals and schools. And he was recently rewarded
with a medal for good civil service.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion
After all the
facts I've looked at, both positive and negative, I want to say that
the negative is bullshit and without any background.
Politicians
and governments don't really have any background to hate and ban some
types of breeds. They don't investigate or dig deeper in their own
society problems, they just look at the most simple solution, but not
the true solution.
Even when,
clearly, the professionals advise them not to go down that path,
which other have gone without success. Why didn't Denmark check with
other countries first, before they took the decision of banning and
euthanizing innocent animals, which can't speak for themselves.
As a wise
man once said:
“The
greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way
its animals are treated” - Mahatma Gandhi -
As I have
mentioned earlier, most of these dangerous dogs have been mentally
tested and they preform better than, for example, Golden Retriever.
And the majority of biting dogs are NOT the forbidden ones, it is our
most common family pets. And apparently most people does not have any
experience from dangerous dogs, they only know about the words
“fighting dog” and a typical look. Which is outrageous according
to me. You can't blame someone for their looks.
If it was
done in the same way with humans, I would say that we gone back to
the Second World War when Hitler was dominating to world and he
decided who should live and who should die. The Jews had no voice and
it is the same with this, the dogs have no voice and no rights.
I'm sending
most of my criticism towards Denmark, because of the stupid decision.
Some states in USA aren't more clever either. But overall, most of
the countries do realize the big mistake they've done and are working
to fix or repeal the law when they saw that it had no effect, that
the “wrong” type of owners and people would get a dangerous dog,
one way or another. I just pray to the Gods that Sweden has more
knowledge and cleverness to understand that it is useless to ban
breeds.
What also is
bothering me about these laws are that some types, like the Boston
Terrier (which has a past as fighting dogs) is not illegal. The
Rottweiler is also one of them who's not banned because, for example,
they are used as police-dogs. The German Shepherd had a few years
ago, a negative rumor for being dangerous, but they aren't banned
either. Nobody even thinks about that small dogs are often more
aggressive than bigger dogs, people think it is cute when a small dog
jumps up their legs, barking and nibbling at fingers. It would never
be okay with a big dog, people directly scream, dangerous dog, it
should be euthanized.
I myself,
has met people who cross the street or turn around and walk the other
way to avoid a meeting when I walk my dogs (two American
Staffordshire Terriers). It doesn't bother me so much, because I know
that I have the same right as them to walk with my dogs on the
streets. Some have asked me if they are dangerous, but after they met
them, they don't understand how people can think bad thoughts about
them.
The main
reason for hating and have a fear, is that people don't really know
anything about these dogs, they listen to media and horror stories,
instead of making their own interpretation.
According to me
and many others, there are no such thing as a dangerous dog, only
dangerous owners. It's been said that a dog is a reflection of its
master, and I believe that it is very true. You always get the dog
you deserve. Unfortunately, sometimes an accident happens and if
there is a “fighting dog” involved, the damage can be more
extensive than with another breed because of their strong bite. But
I'm not sure that it is always “fighting dogs” which starts it. I
think in every dog-fight, you should think about what triggers the
fight. Is it two dogs which do not like each other or might it be the
human's involvement which starts it, when one of the dogs feels that
it's necessary to protect its owner. Of course, not every dog likes
other dogs, but then its up to the owner to know its dog and prevent
a possible fight before it happens. It is because of owners ignorance
that most fights start from the beginning. And in the end, who
started the fight?
It's common
that dog owners blame each other and if you own a “fighting dog”
you can count that it's always you fault, anyhow. That's why, you as
a owner, can never let you Pitbull or others to get in a fight, it's
like putting fuel to a fire. And that's why I can say that owners of
our special, dangerous dogs have to be more careful, aware and
responsible.
I want to show
the society that my dogs are as much worth as their dogs are. How
would they feel if the government banned their sweet, innocent dogs
to death?
Blame the
deed, not the breed!
