Society often stigmatizes certain dog breeds--such as pit bulls, Dobermans, and German shepherds--as exceptionally dangerous, particularly to children.
Consequently, these breeds are frequently subject to discriminatory breed-specific laws in an effort to curb dog bites.
However, a dog does not bite because of its breed. Rather, the dog was likely unintentionally provoked by the child. For example, a child may pull a dog's ear or tail, try to kiss an unwilling dog's nose, or approach a dog on a chain.
If children are educated on how to safely interact with dogs, tragic attacks can be much more easily avoided.
Bite prevention programs give children hands-on opportunities to learn about proper canine interaction and enable them to make wise decisions about dog safety.
As a result, these programs are a far better method of preventing dog bites than breed-specific legislation, which fails to reach the core of the dog attack issue: ignorance.
Credits:
Created with images by MichaelDarby1976 - "pit-bull service dog veterinarian" • skeeze - "working dog military growling" • pasa47 - "Warning Pit-Bull"