Ferocious & unsafe or improperly trained?

Pet Pitbull attack in Lucknow reignites debate on big, hunting dogs | Living with a big dog? One needs to understand how to handle and care for them, say vets, animal behaviourists and dog trainers |‘Only an experienced person should keep big dogs’

- Iti Shree Misra

The recent case in Lucknow where an 82-year-old woman died after being bitten by her pet pitbull dog, which has been a part of, and loved by, the family for three years, has baffled the woman’s son, dog lovers and animal behaviourists. The three-year old female dog has been taken into custody by the Lucknow Nagar Nigam authorities and is under psychological observation at the animal facility of the Humane Society of India in Lucknow.

Citing this case, the LNN was quick to issue an advisory which stated that ‘people should avoid keeping hunting dog breeds like American pitbull, rottweiler, Siberian husky, doberman pinscher and boxer as pets because they tend to become ferocious.’ In January this year, the army also issued an advisory to its officers living in Delhi Cantt, asking them to desist from keeping dog breeds such as rottweiler, pitbull, American bull dog, bull mastiff and German shepherd.

While breeds like pitbulls, German shepherds or alsatian, hounds, dobermans, saint bernards and great danes continue to be popular and in demand, one needs to understand how to handle them and care for them as advised by vets, animal behaviourists and dog trainers.

------ With inputs from Debarati S Sen and Dharitri Ganguly

 UNDERSTAND THE BREED BEFORE BRINGING ONE HOME