KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Bad Breed or Bad Rap

Bad Breed or Bad Rap

When we first told you about a proposed vicious dog ordinance in Wichita, we heard from you.  Many pit bull owners told us they're upset by the restrictions the city wants to put on the breed.  The city proposes sterilizing pit bulls and requiring they have a micro chip.  There would also be a two pit bull per household limit compared to four right now.

The proposed changes came after animal control found 68 Pit Bulls inside a Wichita home last summer.  It had to euthanize all of them because of their aggression.  The city says Pit Bulls put the largest strain on animal control.  Out of the 5,400 dogs in the shelter last year, 1,500 were Pit Bulls.

So we wanted to know are Pit Bulls born aggressive or is it a learned behavior?  We went to animal behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss to find out.

"Pit Bulls are not a dangerous breed.  Pit Bulls believe it or not are some of the best dogs with people," Dr. Weiss said.  She says they're good with people because they get excited when interacting with others and they're quick learners.  "Those tendencies to be easy to train, liking to be around people, happen to also be good tendencies if you are going to have a fighting dog," she said.

Whether its fighting or biting, Weiss says those are learned behaviors.  She says even if you breed two fighting Pit Bulls, their puppies will not automatically be aggressive.  She says aggression comes down to how the Pit Bull or any dog is treated.  "I've seen incredibly aggressive Labradors, Yorkies, and Chihuahua's," she said.

"You want a dog to be mean, you're going to have to be mean to it," pit bull owner Shannon Bagby said.  She's owned Pit Bulls for 17 years and never had a problem with them.  She gets frustrated when people assume her dogs are vicious.  "It really is a lack of education. With the general public, what you don't understand you fear," she said.

Dogs bit 844 people in Wichita last year but the city doesn't keep track by breed.  Still Dr. Weiss says a bite from a small dog doesn't get the same publicity as a Pit Bull bite.  "So it makes it seem like there are so many more Pit Bulls out there causing aggression than there are Labradors or German Shepard, or Chihuahuas," she said.

It's a bad reputation Bagby blames on bad dog owners.  But she's determined to change the public's attitude towards dogs like hers.  "I encourage people not to wrinkle their nose and get all scared when they see a Pit Bull. I encourage you to give them a chance," she said.