All Dogs Should Be Socialized

I have to put in my two cents’ worth about the March 25 letters on the dog-mauling case. I have had Doberman pinschers for the last 20 years since I was attacked in my own home. Having to certify someone who wants to own an aggressive breed of dog won’t work. The answer lies with how the dog has been socialized. I have never trained any of my dogs to be aggressive. They have only received obedience training. Those Presa Canarios were not socialized properly. They were also trained to kill for the sake of high wagers for pit fighting. That’s what sent those two dogs over the edge.

I owned a dog 25 years ago that wasn’t from an aggressive breed of dog. She became vicious for what seemed like no apparent reason. When she started snapping at children and trying to kill our other dog, I had her destroyed. I couldn’t afford to have this dog around with people, let alone small children. She was socialized but something snapped. Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel should have recognized this. It was their own fault. They were unprepared, untrained and uneducated on how to have control over such dogs.

Linda K. Rourman

Temple City

*

In response to the dog-mauling verdict, a letter writer suggests that the Legislature pass laws outlawing certain breeds. His is a predictable but ridiculous reaction. We don’t outlaw whole groups of people because one of their number commits a murder. That’s common sense. We don’t restrict SUVs, even though the evidence is clear that they waste fuel, pollute disproportionately and are lethal to the occupants of standard vehicles involved in collisions with them. That’s a matter of choice. Some are too eager to restrict the rights and freedoms of others in a flawed pursuit of personal safety.

There will always be those who wish to stoke their machismo, compensate for their sense of impotence or create a better gladiator. Outlawing pit bulls or Presa Canarios will only give rise to another breed engineered for violence. But it is the owner who controls, or fails to control, an aggressive dog and who has the responsibility for the dog’s actions. Outlawing breeds would be futile, burden responsible owners and marginalize a majority of fine animals.

Don Howe

Palmdale

*

The breed of dog, Presa Canario, that killed Diane Whipple, is not a pet. It is a mix of bull mastiffs, Staffordshire bull terrier, pit bulls and Dogue de Bordeaux, an ancient breed (still bred) related to the Molossian mastiff, favored by gladiators.

They were often pitted against lions, bears, etc. for sport. The Presa Canario, in its present form, was used as a fighting dog--not for betting, but for the purpose of weeding out the weak, to create a more fearsome creature or, as breeders say, “more stout of heart and courageous.”

The animal should be banned, as in Denmark, Sweden, Britain and Italy, where pit bulls, Staffordshire and Dogo Argentino have been illegal since 1991.

Until local and state governments in the U.S. are held accountable for dogs that maim and kill, we will continue to think twice about walking down unfamiliar neighborhood lanes.

James Aitchison

Leucadia

*

My feeling is that common sense shows us that there are several dog breeds that are particularly aggressive and have a violent, evil streak within them.

I refer especially to pit bulls and the Rottweilers, which we have seen over and over again are responsible for more devastating attacks than any average breed. While I do believe that the way they are raised makes some difference, it does not eliminate that natural inbred tendency to attack.

I do feel the right decision was made to convict the owners of the dog that killed Diane Whipple, as they clearly knew the nature of their pets, and yet they were more or less confined within a residential building ripe for such horrific attacks. They need to be held accountable for the actions of their dogs on all counts.

Jeanne Stacks

Mission Viejo