Category Archives: Sticky Issues

A collection of posts that cover sticky issues about the enduring pit bull problem, including: vicious attacks and breed-specific legislation.

Shelter Dog Terms Targeting Unwitting Fosters and Terms Used to Describe Major Liability Dogs - A 2021 Addendum

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There are Liability Dogs like Rusty (smaller), and there are Major Liability Dogs (large and powerful), like Quincy, Dieter and Brutus (seen above) awaiting adoption at shelters today. Unicorn Fosters DogsBite.org - Last July, we published a special report that identified 125 behavior terms for shelter dogs decoded that mask aggression. We also categorized the terms into their meaning (e.g., impulsive aggression, anxiety) and risk level (e.g., very-high, high, mod-… [Read full blog post]

Webinar: Shelter Dog Behavior Review with Sue Sternberg and Gia Savocchi - Reviewing Worst-Case Scenario Dogs

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These Types of Dogs Should Not be Placed into Our Communities Webinar: Shelter Dog Behavior Review with Sue Sternberg and Gia Savocchi - Fall 2020. Oyster Bay, NY - In a rare appearance on YouTube, we are able to bring to you the expertise of animal behaviorist Sue Sternberg, who has been crafting the Assess-A-Pet Protocol test for shelter dogs since the 1990s. While professionals and the public can always access paid webinars of Sternberg, it is an atypical occasion to witnes… [Read full blog post]

2020 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs

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Nonprofit Captured 79% of All Breed Identification Images in 2020 Photographs of six fatally attacking dogs in 2020 obtained from multiple sources. Jump down to view all 2020 breed identification photographs or read our analysis first. DogsBite.org - In 2013, we began the tradition of publishing breed identification photographs of fatally attacking dogs when available through news reports, animal control agencies, police departments, social media and public infor… [Read full blog post]

2020 Edition: 125 Behavior Terms for Shelter Dogs Decoded that Mask Aggression in Dogs Available for Adoption

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Coded Language and Shelter Jargon that Camouflage Aggression 2020 Edition: 125 behavior terms for shelter dogs decoded that mask aggression. Recent Investigation DogsBite.org - Since 2016, we have been examining how taxpayer-funded shelters conceal aggressive behaviors from adopters in order to achieve the single metric 90% "save rate" of no-kill. Today, that goal has been upped to a 98% "save rate". In the last 4 years, there have been multiple investigations by news… [Read full blog post]