White Dog, Black Dog - Dead Dog

What's the difference between a "white" dog and a "black" dog"?

Is this a "white" dog?

Is this a "black" dog?

Do we assign racial attributes to dogs?

Are Golden Retrievers considered "white" dogs (owned by whites) and are Rotties and pitbulls considered "black" (owned by African-Americans or other minorities) dogs? 

And after a bite incident, which dog will get the needle and which dog will be given a second chance at life ?

Is the way in which dog bite incidents handled racist?

The "black" dog is more likely to be a dead dog , or so it would seem.............

A "Family-Friendly" Dog Attack

Do you think there's a difference between how a bite by a Golden Retriever is handled in the press and by animal control vs. a bite by a Rottweiler or pitbull?

What would Malcolm Gladwell say? Let's thin slice this:

According to a report on WFAA in Dallas/Ft. Worth, three-year-old Breanna Webster was mauled by her neighbor's dog - the child stepped on his foot. The news report said, and I quote, "Little Breanna Webster was playing with a dog most people would consider family-friendly, a golden retriever".

The attack took off most of the child's upper lip, and the owner admitted that wasn't the first time the dog had attacked a child.  She said she always tells children under the age of 10 to stay away from him, "because he'll bite you."

Little Breanna faces years of surgeries to repair her face. Now the dog is in quarantine with Mesquite Animal Control, and the agency will likely force the dog to be deemed dangerous and forced outside the city limits.

Breanna 's family wants the dog put down.  "I don't want that dog released to do it to another child," said Twyla Teague, Breanna's grandmother.

Hollaway (the dog's owner) understands, even if it pains her.  "I would want them to put him down, but he's mine. So I have to make that decision," she said.

Race-Based Dog Policy?

I guess I'm confused by this story - it says that Mesquite Animal Control, and the agency will likely force the dog to be deemed dangerous and forced outside the city limits.

What pitbull, Rottweiler or Doberman would be forced to "live" outside the city limits after mauling a child? As if living would even be an option - ha.

And stunningly - the owner KNEW her dog was aggressive - and worse - KNEW her dog had attacked children in the past, so why did she have a child visiting in her home with the dog present?

ANY dog - regardless of breed, any dog that is human-aggressive, should be humanely euthanized. In this case  the decision SHOULD be made for you by lethal injection.

Ok - so here's the question - had this dog been a Rottie or a pitbull, would the owner even be allowed to made such a decision?

Race-Based Media Coverage?

In the last year, how many dog bites, maulings or attacks  by Golden Retrievers or other so-called "family-friendly" dogs go unreported or are under-reported in the media?

How much space in the paper - or how much air-time is given to dog bite stories about Golden Retrievers or say, Cocker Spaniels?

Is it more likely that reports of dogs identified - or shall we say "mis-identified" as pitbulls or Rottweilers get reported by the media?

Is public policy applied differently to pitbulls and Rottweilers versus Golden Retievers and Cocker Spaniels?

And are those Golden Retrievers more likely to "get off" after an attack or a fatal incident? 

Remember last year's tragic incident in which a six-year-old Long Island girl was accidently strangled to death  by the family's Golden Retriever?  The dog was not chained, the dog was a family dog and socialized. The dog was playing tug with the child's scarf, wrapped around her neck.

A six year old child was dead, in an incident that was sadly, and so tragically, and very probably, highly preventable.

My heart ached when I saw the story on the news, but my chin dropped when I heard the dog was whisked away to the West Coast by a Golden Retriever Rescue - to be rehomed. 

Now I adore Golden Retrievers, but I have to ask - had that dog been a pitbull, a Rottweiler, a Doberman or even a German Shepherd - would  that dog have been flown to a new home some 3,000 miles away?

Or do you think that if a pitbull, a Rottweiler, a Doberman or even a German Shepherd accidentally stranged a child, that the dog would have been sentenced to death by lethal injection?

A reader points out that this Golden did nothing "malicious" - I quite agree. However, that is not quite the point, ether.  There are plenty of other incidents by targeted breeds - - also not "malicious - but the point here is that the outcomes are very different - life and death different.

Race-Based Public Policy?

Do we, as a society, assign race to breeds of dogs?  Is there a racial bias in how we view dogs and their owners? Is there a racial bias in how evenly - or not - animal control laws are applied?

Does the public, and do the press and the politicians discriminate against dogs - and the people who own them, - either intentionally or unintentionally?

Are Pitbulls and Rottweilers puppies of a lesser God?  Are  Golden Retrievers "white" dogs and are Rotties and pitbulls "black" dogs? 

"Black dogs and 'white" dogs ...........

Which dogs are more likely to end up dead dogs? 

Not only do dead dogs tell no tales, black dogs are the Quick and the Dead.  Or should I say Dead and real Quick.

Comments

[Franki]

This is not a race issue. Don't be silly. Some people make everything a race issue.

[Caveat]

Actually, with reference to the comparative popularity of Labs vs American Pit Bull terriers, APBTs lead the labs in popularity by a wide margin.

Registrations stats show that last year in the US, there were 180,000 labs registered.

APBTs? 250,000 and remember that's purebred, registered dogs.

If you combined the three to five purebreds erroneously lumped together as 'pit bulls' they would outnumber not only the most popular AKC breed, labs, but probably a few breeds from the top ten combined.

As for jaw strength varying from breed to breed, that's been proven to be incorrect. While obviously a larger dog is more powerful than a smaller dog, a bull and terrier type has no advantage to the jaw over a dog of similar size.

We all know the myth about 'pit bull' attacks being more serious is just another fairy story with no factual foundation behind it.

I didn't think I'd find people on this site who would buy into media hype and unreferenced statements by self-styled experts.

Sheesh.

[Marjorie Darby]

I don't have enough U.S. data to draw a reasonable conclusion about serious dog bite injuries in the United States but, in Canada, the hospital reporting data suggests common notions about the severity, or lack thereof, of attacks by popular breeds is not especially well-founded.

(I will say that, in the U.S., approximately 80% of the most serious dog biting incidents - human fatalities - over the past few decades are attributed to non-'pit bull' dogs.)

The Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) records dog bite injuries treated in reporting hospitals.

The 'treated in hospital' reference is important because only about 8% of all dog bites are medically treated, and 99% of those are no more serious than a skinned knee, according to objective hospital injury reporting criteria. Presumably, only the most serious dog bite injuries would require treatment in hospital.

With that in mind, it's reasonable to say the CHIRPP data represents the most serious dog bite injuries that occur in Canada.

Here's what a CHIRPP report found:

“Of the 385 records in the study, 278 (72.2%) specified the breed of the dog. There were 50 types of purebreds and 33 types of cross-breeds identified. The most common breeds were German Shepherds (40), Cocker Spaniels (16), Rottweilers (16) and Golden Retrievers (15).”

So, knowing this information, I'm somewhat astonished by those who claim how "friendly" and "harmless" Golden Retrievers are, or that when they do bite, their bites are "less damaging".

Based on the CHIRPP data, Golden Retrievers cause more severe dog bite injuries than just about every other breed in Canada, save the ones listed with more attack records.

(Of course, the number of attacking Goldens...like all breeds...represents only a tiny fraction of the larger population. 99.9% of all dogs, from all breeds, will never be involved in an attack at any time in their lives. I often put it this way, "If any breed were 'genetically programmed to attack', certainly more than 0.1% of them would.")

What's most telling about the CHIRPP data (aside from no mention at all about 'pit bulls'), is the sheer variety of dogs who attack. "There were 50 types of purebreds and 33 types of cross-breeds identified."

Also, the top four specified breeds total 87, or 22.5% of all hospital records in the study. With another 27.8% not specifying breed, that leaves about 50% attributed to 46 other breeds and 33 cross-breeds recorded.

Clearly, there is no one breed responsible for the majority of dog attacks serious enough to require treatment in hospital.

When we look at dog bite data around the world, we see no commonality in breed, size, or original breed purpose among biting or attacking dogs.

What we do find in common are telltale signs of irresponsible ownership, such as:

-lack of supervision (anywhere, but especially on the owner's property, or in the presence of children);

- poorly-socialized dogs (dogs who don't know how to behave appropriately around innocent strangers, including other domestic animals);

- dogs who've behaved unjustifiably aggressively in the past (i.e. against a perfectly innocent target who clearly did not mean the dog any harm). Examples of aggressive behaviour include (but are not limited to) staring, menacing barking (as opposed to alertive), lunging, raised lips, growling, attempted bites, and successful bites;

- about 20% of bites, attacks, and fatalities involve dogs that are routinely chained;

- the majority of dog bite incidents involve owners who have not complied with dog control by-laws in their area (i.e. licensing, leashing, vaccinations, etc.).

The good news is, if you're a responsible dog owner (no matter what breed of dog you own), and you've properly socialized your dog and supervise it whenever you're outside the home or around children, and your dog is not permitted to behave aggressively towards any innocent person or domestic animal, and you generally obey dog control by-laws, you're in the lowest risk category for having your dog involved in an unwarranted bite.

I researched dog biting incidents for eight years. I didn't find one attack case involving a responsibly-owned dog of any breed. Not one. Again and again, I came across (often very nice) people who didn't have a clue what it means to be a responsible dog owner or raise a good canine citizen. As night follows day, their indulgently or inappropriately or even criminally reared dogs lash out is very predictable (and preventable) ways.

Simply put, there is no such thing as a breed of dog that has never bitten, attacked, or killed (a person or animal or both). A bad owner can make a biter out of any dog.

[Carla Benoist]

Whew. Heavy subject and all too Right On the money. This last GR incident really makes it transparent. I am so so terribly sorry for the little girl and her parents --- and stunned that everyone doesn't see the breed prejudice and Lack of Basic Dog Safety instruction at work.

Sadly Carla in RI

[Kirstan]

"I used to tell town hall leaders that it is not a breed but the owners that are to blame. Truth be told there are far more dog bite attacks from Labradors being treated at the local hospitals than the Rotties, Dobes and Bullies but this is due to the fact that there are far more out there from the popularity of the breed. the ratios make this possible. But go back and check how many of these Lab attacks caused deaths and the ratio to the "prey" type breeds is slim to none. They don't have the same drive and bite strength. "

AAAHHH! Come on now, Laurie! There is no way to gauge 'bite strength' in an individual dog much less an entire breed of dog. Sometimes, I think that 'dog people' are no better at commenting on dogs than the average ignorants who usually do the breed blasting.

I think we are all aware that there are dog bite incidents in all breeds of dogs (or most, anyway) and usually, they are preventable but, due to poor management on the handler's part, they do happen. It's, as usual, a result of owner idiocy.

To say that a breed of dog has more bite strength and that it's a proven fact is completely untrue. I've read the statistics, the studies and can say, that there is NO conclusive evidence of bite strength.

I hope this is not the information you're giving out when you go to Council meetings. Leash and containment law enforcement will go far to curb bite incidents... this is not novel. I'm sick that animal/animal attacks actually MAKE the evening news. Dogs get into scraps with other animals - it's not unheard of anywhere and, as usual, is preventable by the owner. It's really own one, two or three breeds that get the news report with the 'what if it had been a child' remark. It's usually not your current breed, Laurie, that makes the news though individuals of your breed have been known to grab other animals... difference is, no snide 'child' remark and no 'call to ban'.

I'm curious, you say you used to tell the town hall leaders that it wasn't the breed but the owners... what do you tell them now?

[AnimalEnthusiast]

This article is very interesting. I never thought of dogs in this way, but I can see how it could happen.

[D. Shields]

Apart from assigning value or goodness to a dog on a breed or appearance basis, most shelters will tell you that black/dark coloured dogs & puppys are the hardest to find homes for. This is especially true if they have pointy ears.

Basic colour bias seems to be a part of our society, even when it comes to animals.

[Laurie]

Having shown and bred Dobermans, I am used to fighting the breed specific legislation issues. I now show and live with Goldens and find this article ridiculous. First because the most obvious difference in these breeds mentioned is that the bite and jaw strength is far greater from one breed than the other and the liklihood of death is greater. A persons ethnicity has little to play into this decision and suggestion of it is ludicrous. As for the choking incident, it was an accident pure and simple and nothing malicious on the dog's part. All parties involved knew this thus the dog was not euthanized. What a waste of literary space. In fighting the BSL I used to tell town hall leaders that it is not a breed but the owners that are to blame. Truth be told there are far more dog bite attacks from Labradors being treated at the local hospitals than the Rotties, Dobes and Bullies but this is due to the fact that there are far more out there from the popularity of the breed. the ratios make this possible. But go back and check how many of these Lab attacks caused deaths and the ratio to the "prey" type breeds is slim to none. They don't have the same drive and bite strength. This is a proven fact.

[Caveat]

I've believed for some time now that all this breed-hating is nothing but sublimated racism.

Let's face it, overt human racism is not tolerated any more (although it seems to be seeping back into society, especially on redneck radio stations)so dogs make an easy target for the bigots and ignoramuses among us.

In Europe, they refer to breeds as races, if that helps.

As for bites, well, there are bites and bites. I'd never view every bite as a reason for the death sentence - it depends so much on the circumstances. To bad we can't put the owners down instead.

We had a GR incident here in Ontario last week - little 3-year-old kid at a neighbour's, dog was visiting while the owner was on holiday, kid got ripped up pretty badly, had to be hospitalized.

The news coverage was subdued, to say the least and of course they had to mention how 'sweet', etc, GRs usually are. Funny, they never mention how sweet APBTs, AmStaffs and Staffords are when reporting on them.

By mentioning how 'friendly' a particular breed is (right after it has ripped a kid's face open), they are misinforming the public who know virtually nothing about dogs.

I'm glad to see they are reporting a few of the attacks by other breeds, but it's too little, too late.

The MSM has a lot to answer for, in my opinion.

[lisa]

This is a well written article and rings so true, it is also relative to an issue we have with one of our foster dogs in rescue. I am also a white, middle class, female living is suburbia. As a responsible pit-bull owner, I believe that there are no free bites, and if my dog were to bite someone, it would be put to sleep immediately, and I expect the same from any dog owner, regardless of breed. Dogs that bite are a liability, we do a terrible injustice and contribute to breed bias by allowing dogs that bite to continue to be an accident waiting to happen.

I must add that I do rescue work and volunteer my time fostering pit bulls in rescue, we had a bite incident at my home this past weekend, this is the first bite incident ever in my lifetime. A 7-8 month old pit mix pup hopped a gate and bit a child sitting at my kitchen table, unprovoked, all while I was there supervising because she wanted a cookie. My feelings are that this dog should be put down, but it is really out of my hands because she is involved in a rescue, I have a foster agreement and this decision must ultimately be left up to the rescue. I have hired a behaviorist to evaluate this dog to satisfy the rescue, all at my own expense. I want the dog out of my home becasue I am not willing to take a risk with a foster dog that I wouldn't take with my own dog.

[Carlbetski363]

This article is very interesting in that we have a Japanese Chin that will bite a child in a heartbeat. He just doesn't like children. When small children come to our house he is put up for everyones piece of mind. That lady in Mesquite was wrong, wrong in letting a child get near her dog.

[Robin Whitaker]

I am a white/middle class female, I am not a drug dealer and I have never had any 'run ins with the law'. I adore the Rottweiler and Pitbull, I have both and find they are so lovable and so willing to please. Although they have had obedience training, I still would never allow any child or stranger alone with them. They are still dogs, and I realize that any incident could bring severe consequences because of what they are. I am not willing to lose them so I take extra precautions for their safety.

[Joanne]

I liked your article on what is considered a black dog and white. I would be interested in finding out how this turns out.

[Eric/DogStar]

No doubt about it. Happens all the time.
Eric/DogStar