Dog Bite Law
Dog Bite
By
David Utter, Dog Trainer
Obviously dogs have no say in this comparison. Is violence or dog bites a learned response from our environment or is it in the DNA? I can tell you that after 21 years of dog training I have worked with many breeds and there are no bad breeds. I also have seen an increase in violent crime in the past 20 years due to irresponsible lazy parents that do not take control of their children and teach them right from wrong. Being a parent myself I use the same pack leadership in my home as in dog training and my kids have manners and are well socialized. I have accomplished training my children with never hitting them as you should not hit a dog.
I have trained Pit Bulls and have found them to be lovable dogs with a good heart and they like people. I also have worked with Tosa Inu, Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, Akita and Chows all great dogs to own but are considered by many dangerous to society. Unfortunately I see many gang members and want to be bad boys select the breeds I mentioned to intimidate people. I am confident trouble started in the home with the parents.
Many dogs get a bad reputation due to the few violent individuals who want these breeds as companions. What needs to be done in passing dog laws is enforce dog obedience training for large or powerful dogs. It is not fair to have a dog isolated in a yard because the dog is not trained and socialized. This is cruel to the animal and no dog deserves to be neglected. Dog owners should be liable if their dog bites a person when not provoked.
Some children cannot leave a dog alone or any animal with out provoking and trying to hurt the animal. I have seen this all my life as children play dangerously with dogs to get a reaction from them. Dogs need a witness to save them in cases were the child threatened the dog hurting the dog with an object. Therefore always have children supervised around a dog for both of their protection.
If you enter my home to commit a crime or attack me in the street I will not apologize for my dogs aggressive behavior. Dogs should protect us from violent criminals and not be accused of being dangerous dogs. Self defense is a right not a privilege.
There are many aspects of the dog bite law. This web site is more breed specific to working dogs and powerful dogs used for sport and guardian use. Therefore, the specific topics discussed will be more relevant to dog breeds than all areas of dog bite laws.
The most common law is the one bite rule. The one bite rule is from the English common law pertaining to injuries inflicted by domestic animals. The one bite rule protected the dog owner from civil litigation from the victim from a first bite from each of his animals.
However, the one bite rule is not appropriately named. In practice the dog owner can be liable for any bodily injury caused by the dog not limited to a bite. Currently 18 states in the U.S.A. use the one bite rule. The remaining 32 states have modified the law to dog bite statutes. Courts have concluded that dangerous propensity is a dogs intention to bite without provocation. In states were the one bite rule is common law there is a higher percentage of fatal dog bites.
In the U.S.A. there is a violent crime committed by humans every 22 seconds according to the FBI reports. There is a dog bite every 40 seconds in the U.S.A. according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Unfortunately dogs do not get fair representation in our legal system. In the U.S.A 38% of the families own a dog. 20 people on average die each year in the U.S.A from dog bites and over 16,000 people die each year from homicide in the U.S.A.
I will agree that dog laws need to be enforced and hold owners liable. I do not agree with looking at bite statistics of dog breeds and using the breed as a reason to ban a breed. There is controversy that dogs breeds for fighting or guardian dogs have no place in our homes. I ask these lazy legislators if they are also looking at the statistics of race in our jails to determine immigration laws and sterilizing people? That would be a hot topic for debate. I do not think the ACLU would ever let that bill pass the house and senate.
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