[user104658]

Hmmmm having grown up with terriers and now owning a dumb floppy Lab, I have to say that the idea that dog temperament has "nothing to do with breed" is clearly just not true. Temprement absolutely can be selectively bred just like any other trait.

I do think crap owners is likely 80% of the problem but you're never going to solve that part of the problem.

I think it's also important to remember that dog breeds are not "natural species" or "race" - they're all just dogs, selectively bred out of choice by humans.

It shouldn't be illegal to own them but it should remain illegal to deliberately breed those traits. I feel the same about breeds where reckless "trait exaggeration" has caused health issues, e.g. Pugs.

There is an effort to "fix" the Pug breed amougst responsible breeders by starting to breed out the very flat face which causes breathing problems. Perhaps the same could be done with pitbulls?


As a final note, I would point out that American Pitbulls and Staffies are NOT the same thing. There's often confusion there, with people thinking it's a similar thing to how Staffies are vilified in the UK. A staffie is not a pitbull.