"I know all about the ups and downs, the daily, not to say hourly changes in mood that seem to be a necessary concomitant of love for us over-sensitive humans. Dogs are not subject to these shifts in mood. When they give their love they give it for good, true to their dying breath. That is how I should like to be loved." - Elisabeth Russell.
Recent writings have focused on the shocking story of a chihuahua cross breed which was savaged to death by a pit bull terrier. My federation strongly deplores such ferocious behaviour and hopes that the necessary precautions are taken by the authorities concerned for such a barbaric act not to be repeated.
The writings in question seem to focus on pure-bred dogs only and because of this, they are misleading and incomplete. As if cross-breeds are not as savage as pure-breeds if man does not rear them properly. We know for a fact that even children reared in the wrong environment are a potential danger, even more so than the innocent dogs. The blame lies in man's failure of knowledge of how to socialise or properly bring up man's best friend.
Any dog with a broad head or cropped ears is game for the breed banning fanatics. Terriers have "bull terrier" in their name, don't they? So they must be evil. What about shape, weight and size? It looks as though this might be the criteria used to enforce breed specific legislation. But the question, "What really makes a dog, any dog, dangerous?" is still unanswered.
The answer is a scary one, especially considering that the real criminal rarely gets punished. The dog's owner is what makes a dog dangerous. Bad dogs are not born; there is no genetic mutation present in certain dog breeds that makes them turn against their owner or reach out and bite their latest victim. Bad dogs are created, usually by the people who raise them, less often by unscrupulous breeders who deliberately or unknowingly breed unsound temperaments. Every dog is a product of his environment. Every puppy is born innocent of future charges levied against him by the public.
Dog aggression is any behaviour meant to intimidate or harm a person or another animal.
Growling, baring teeth, snarling, snapping and biting are all aggressive behaviours. Although aggressive behaviours are normal for dogs, they're generally unacceptable to humans. But from a dog's perspective, there's always a reason for aggressive behaviour. Because humans and dogs have different communication systems, misunderstandings can occur between the two species. A person may intend to be friendly but a dog may perceive that person's behaviour as threatening or intimidating. Dogs aren't schizophrenic, psychotic, crazy or necessarily "vicious" when displaying aggressive behaviour.
Because there exist various types of aggression, such as dominance aggression, fear-motivated aggression, protective, territorial and possessive aggression, predatory and redirected aggression and so on; because it is so complex and because the potential consequences are so serious, due mainly to improper raising, we would recommend that all dogs should be muzzled in public except for toy and other small dogs usually varying in weight from, say, two to 10 kilogrammes.