Docile dogs maligned by pit-bull looks

By THERESA GARNER

Vicious or fighting dogs may be registered as different breeds to hide them from authorities as the Government plans new dog control laws.

Staffordshire bull terrier breeders told the Herald yesterday that their "family-friendly" dogs were often mistaken for dangerous american pit bulls or crossbreeds.

And veterinarians backed those claims, saying identifying pit bull terriers for muzzling would be impractical.

The Government this week announced plans to tighten dog control laws, which include a ban on importing american pit bulls, brazilian filas, japanese tosas and dogo argentinos, and the compulsory muzzling of those dogs in public.

Owners would also have to have identification microchips implanted in their dogs.

While the controls were generally welcomed, critics questioned how the planned rules would be enforced.

Veterinary Association chief executive Murray Gibb said the controls were a mixed bag and identifying pit bulls for muzzling would be particularly difficult.

"Vets deal with dogs all the time and know this breed varies so much in its physical characteristics, and is so closely related to staffordshire and english bull terriers that it is just not possible to accurately identify individuals on the basis of visual assessment."

It was also wrong to assume aggressive dogs could be identified by breeding and not social factors.

"All dogs are potentially dangerous. A rotten owner can make any breed of dog aggressive."

It might be more sensible to register dog owners.

But where microchipping had been used in Australia there had been vast improvements in the control of animals, Mr Gibb added.

Staffordshire bull terrier breeder David Hartley said the law changes would increase the number of people disguising their american pit bulls and crossbreeds as staffordshires when they registered them.

"They [dog fighters] have caught on to the fact by calling their dog 'staffy cross' they can hide it from the authorities."

A submission by owners and breeders of pedigree staffordshire bull terriers to the Government cites the Kapiti Coast, where the district council banned pit bulls five years ago, and where the number of pit bulls registered has dropped from 60 to none. The number of "staffy crosses" registered is 275.

"Owners have simply registered them as something else," Mr Hartley said. "There is a significant number of dogs registered as 'staffy cross', 'staffy' or 'staffordshire terrier' that are not staffordshire bull terriers."

The same submission claims the two dogs destroyed for the attack on Carolina Anderson, whose horrific injuries led to the law review, were not american staffordshire terriers, but crossbreeds.

"The Auckland City Council authorities tell us that there was no SBT or american staffordshire terrier in the cross."

The submission said it was unfair to name the staffordshire bull terrier as the most common breed to attack people, as a survey of local councils included in an interim Government report had done.

Mr Hartley said this was a travesty, as the report called all dogs registered as variants of "staffy" staffordshire bull terriers. "We know, and they know now, that the staffordshire bull terrier isn't biting anybody."

A 1996 study by Southampton University named the staffordshire bull terrier as one of the top 10 breeds most suitable for families and children.

The proposed restrictions on pit bulls and other fighting breeds would not significantly reduce the number of attacks, Mr Hartley said.

While he welcomed the law changes, they "treated the symptoms", and not the culture of dogs bred in backyards, registered as incorrect breeds, or not registered at all.

"The dog-fighting community has for years been pumping out pups of the loosely pit-bull type for their barbaric sport.

"We are convinced this is going on right under the noses of the authorities," he said. "We need to target the people and the culture that keep these dogs for the purposes of fighting and status symbols."

AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

Weight 10-50kg; Height 46-56cm. When dog fighting was banned in the US in 1900, two strains developed. The show strain was labelled american staffordshire terrier. The fighting dog strain was labelled american pit bull terrier. The two are now recognised as separate breeds.

STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER

Weight 12-17kg; Height 35-40cm. Highly intelligent, eager to please and very people-friendly. Special empathy with children. Known in Britain as the 'nanny dog'. Created in early 1800s by crossing the bulldog and terrier. Reputation as a combatant in dog fights has dogged it into the present.

AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER

Weight 25-30kg; Height 43-48cm. Larger and heavier than staffordshire bull terrier. Descended from same lines, but now a separate breed. Typically docile and playful with its family. Can be aggressive to other dogs.

Source: NZ Kennel Club, edoglovers.com