FIGHTING DOGS OR TEDDYBEARS?
Lately there have been discussions about so called fighting dogs, and the media has not spared any time on "jumping on the train". As usual they always write about the most degenerated cases, with casualties and pressed dogs where human victims have been maimed and often have death as an outcome.

Now they even suggest that certain breeds will be forbidden. What kind of hysteria is this really???

"PENIS PROLONGATION"...
When I really has thought through this matter I find "as usual in Life" that a few bad egg among the HUMANS have bought a specific breed in a totally wrong purpose. I believe that if an animal (or a child) ends up in the hands of those kind of people the following case can appear:

- the owner uses the dog as a "penis prolonger" and tries to be the macho-man he can't live up to WITHOUT the dog.
- the owner encourage the breeds inherited capacity to wrong initiatives.
- the owner does not participate in a serious training/education together with his/her dog. Often the dog is raised with violent methods and total lack of empathy. With no understanding for that a dog is a living creature.

THE STEADY, CARING OWNERS THEN?
I feel enormously disappointed that media and the politicians don't ALSO write/discuss about all the caring, responsible dog-owners who really takes responsibility, train properly and in a right, positive way. We who want a dog who is socialized, mentally stabile and give a lot of time to serious dog-clubs, obedience contests, serious breeding and so on.

Think carefully: A human being with wrong, unethical intentions can "produce" a monster out of almost any kind of breed.
A dog is like a child in the sense that the owner (the adult) clearly, committed and in an interesting way shows the dog/child what things is proper and improper behaviour in the herd/family.

BUT, JUST PUT IT DOWN....
To forbid a specific breed just because this breed has happend to be part of some events that has degenerated because of BAD HUMANS is to aim at the wrong goal. But it is of course more easy to blaim the dog...

A dog you can just put to sleep and then the problem is solved ---- until the bad human buys ANOTHER dog and starts all over again.

AN EXHORTATION TO YOU!
I exhort you who reads this to try to remain calm and see to the real facts and not be influenced by medias' negative messages. Media - whom we all knows don't hesitate to write about the MOST negative, just to make money.

How often does the media write/announce good news really? No, because "people" don't want to read about that - it's not selling... and maybe this says something about us, "the people"?

OBS - BUY THE RIGHT BREED!
It is written in numerous dog-books how people that will buy a dog not at all thinks of what KIND of breed that suites their life style.

If you live in a family that DON'T like outdoor activities - then it is stupid, stupid to buy a rottweiler for example.

Many kind of breeds needs extremely much training, activity and stimuli - and if you can not live up to that it is of course equal with PROBLEMS.

Take, for example, the Bearded Collie which is a so called shepherd's dog. This breed runs around as a bullet shot from a canon and demands enormously much activity and stimuli. It is very bad if such a dog ends up in a home where the family members aren't interested in outdoor activities...

The Rottweiler dog are famous for being a WORKING DOG. It just has to work with its brain daily (for example tracking, searching etc.). If one buys such a dog and then don't live up to the demands on leadership and being more stubborn than the dog one of course ends up with a dog who has wrongly directed energies - such a dog will CERTAINLY become "bad" and find his own activities that we humans probably will not like.

Examples can be a home that the dog has chewed into pieces....... a dog who bullies other people and/or dogs.......... bite their owner....... digging up the whole garden.......... escapes and digs up the neighbours garden......

With leadership I here mean: THE ONE WHO TAKES ALL INITIATIVES FOR ACITIVITES - AND ENDING ACTIVITIES!!!! If one can't live up to what this kind of breed needs to feel good - don't buy such a dog, you will only have problems. But it is not the dogs' fault. It is the owners fault - the human who don't take his/her responsibility. It is easy to fall for the cute 8-week puppys' charm and not realise how dangerous this can be.

It is of utmost importance to find out what the different kind of breeds have been breeded forth to do. To choose a dog that suites ones personality. If all had done this we shouldn't need all those shelters and rescue organisations that have to take care, replace och put to death such an enormous amount of dogs every year.

For example it would be a good idea to make an allergy-test on the family members BEFORE buying the puppy...... What are people thinking about? Are they thinking at all? I wonder.......

Please, start to THINK before you buy a puppy!

2000-06-03, Suzanne Svensson