Nature or nurture? Pitbulls get short end of the stick
Nature or nurture? Pitbulls get short end of the stick
2025-05-02
Earlier in March, a pit bull that attacked twice in just 11 days once again put the spotlight on this controversial dog breed. The pit bull was developed for dogfighting, and with its muscular build and strong bite, their attack could be fatal. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture outlawed the ownership of pit bulls. As for those already kept as pets, their owners must make sure they’re registered and neutered. However, it’s not impossible for pit bulls to be loving pets with proper training, and even pit bulls that were aggressive can be rehabilitated. Let’s take a look.
Thor the fawn-colored pit bull can’t wait to play before his owner could take off his muzzle. He seems really affectionate.
He doesn’t only enjoy snuggles with his owner. Even at the first meeting, Thor is already turning over for belly rubs from us. It’s hard to image that he used to be quite aggressive only a little more than three years ago.
Near the end of 2021, Thor had bitten a three-year-old boy to death, causing uproar. Looking back at old footage from after the attack, Thor can be seen heavily chained. He’d lunge on any stranger he sees. No one would dare come close.
Later, Thor was impounded and was about to be put down. Doglovers petitioned to put him up for adoption instead. That’s how he found a new home with Ms. Lu and escaped premature death.
Lu Chiang-chun
Thor’s owner
I don’t think it’s the dog’s problem. Rather, it’s the owner’s neglect and lack of proper training. So when the petition was running, we also joined and tried to adopt him. So we already knew about the incident. But I still believed the dog isn’t at fault, so I really made sure I could adopt him.
After Thor narrowly escaped the fate of being put down, he started going under desensitization training at the shelter, so he won’t be so quick to attack when stimulated. Later, he came to Taipei to live in his new home. His new owners made sure to build a good relationship with him right from the beginning.
Voice of Lu Chiang-chun
Thor’s owner
Back then we spent nearly two weeks sleeping with him on the floor in the living room. We did that until he’s familiar with the new place and trusted us.
Ms. Lu pampers Thor with love and often takes him out for walks. All that helped train the pit bull to become less volatile and prone to aggression. It takes great patience and care, as well as training by a professional trainer to turn an aggressive pit bull docile and affectionate.
Also in 2021, another pit bull named Chienshih attacked a friend of its owner when the man drunkenly teased it. Chienshih bit on the artery on his right inner thigh, causing heavy bleeding that resulted in the person’s death.
Like Thor, Chienshih was also impounded. But the latter was even more distrustful. While under confinement, animal protection officers could not get close enough to put a muzzle on it, so it spent more than three years in the cage.
Lin Chih-cheng
Hsinchu County Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
To take a dangerous dog out for a walk, it must be muzzled first. Our volunteer struggled to put a muzzle on it. Our director decided for safety that without a muzzle, it could not be taken out, so it spent quite some time under confinement.
After more than two months with a trainer, Chienshih could finally be muzzled and taken out for a walk. In February, he finally found a new home.
News of pit bull attacks on humans as well as other dogs abound. At best, the victim is left injured, and at worst, they lose their life. But are pit bulls naturally more aggressive than other dog breeds?
Hsu Chao-hsun
Trainer
Pit bulls were initially breeded for dogfighting. They have a strong bite, and won’t easily let go when they bite. That’s what’s most worrying.
Huang Yu-chih
Trainer
In the early days, I’ve seen dogfighting in Taiwan, which involves gambling. Once I saw a pit bull injured after a dog fight, and I saw with my own eyes, its owner stitching the dog’s wound himself. The dog’s belly was bitten open, so the owner rearranged the organs and then stitched up the wound, without anesthetics either. The dog was even eating. From that you can see how it is. It’s not afraid of pain or being bitten.
Although dogfighting was outlawed with the introduction of the Animal Protection Act in 1998, and pit bulls become kept as only pets to be loved, pit bull attacks still grab the headlines every time.
The most recent pit bull attack was in Taipei early March. In just a span of 11 days, Lucky the pit bull twice pounced out of the car and attacked a scooter rider nearby. The owner, Mr. Hsu insisted that Lucky had opened the car window by itself, but fellow pit bull owner Ms. Lu is not buying it.
Lu Chiang-chun
Pit bull owner
Seriously, it’s too much of a coincidence for the dog to open the car window by itself twice. Also, why was the dog so aggressive that he’d directly go after someone? It must’ve been trained to do that. The owner must have instructed and trained him to attack like that.
Amid public outrage, Taipei authorities seized Lucky and fined Mr. Hsu again, for a total of NT$200,000.
In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture banned pit bulls from being imported as well as kept as pets. It also mandated that pit bulls already kept as pets in the country all be registered and neutered. The pit bull is the only dog breed whose ownership is outlawed. At the same time, they must be muzzle and attached to a leash no longer than 1.5m before they can be taken out.
But it’s not just pit bulls. Any kind of dog can lose its temper, only that a pit bull’s strong bite and propensity not to let go make for a fatal attack. Proper training is key to making sure a pit bull does not get triggered.
Today we’re visiting another pit bull owner named Sandy. She watches over her seven-month-old son playing with her two-year-old pit bull Diamond.
When Diamond was adopted at only two months old, Sandy and her dog trainer already had the goal of making sure Diamond will be trained so as not to attack anyone or any other animal he’s unfamiliar with.
Hou Hui-ju
Trainer
Our training is restraint-oriented. So he’ll repeat the same response, which it to sit and wait for a reward. Eventually he’ll learn what “Sit!” means even if there isn’t a treat for him. He’ll know what it means to wait.
But that’s not completely fail-proof. To prevent him from fighting other dogs, the trainer taught Diamond to run away when he gets into conflict.
Hou Hui-ju
Trainer
Let’s say we’re out on a walk and another dog is approaching. I wouldn’t wait until it gets too close before taking him away. I know that the other dog is approaching so we should leave. And at this moment I’ll instruct Diamond to leave with me. And when he does, I’ll give him a reward.
Sandy
Diamond’s owner
We have different levels of rewards. For simple things like sitting down, shaking hands and waiting, we’ll give him some small treats. But when he does leave in a conflict, we’ll make sure to give him what he wants most but can’t get so easily.
After the ban went into effect in 2022, many pit bull owners gave up their pets because they couldn’t train the dogs properly.
This pit bull, Peter is already more than ten years old. He’s one of the many abandoned pit bulls following the ban. After many years of careful nurturing, Peter now has a much calmer temperament. But his advanced age makes it difficult for him to find a new home.
But not anyone interested can adopt a pit bull. Their new owners must have officially recorded history of owning one. But because there aren’t so many pit bull owners, many of these pit bulls are still being kept captive at the shelter.
Lu Chiang-chun
Pit bull owner
There are just so many terrible owners like that. It’s like giving birth to a child but not raising and educating the child. So why are you having one? It’s the same with pets. You get one because you like how it looks, whether that’s cute, fierce or handsome. But then you don’t train it or raise it properly, and it becomes problematic. And then you don’t want it anymore. It’s this irresponsible attitude that really angers me the most.
The problem all boils down to the owner, whether a pit bull attacks or gets abandoned. But still, it’s too easy to stigmatize the breed, making it less likely they’ll find a loving home.
As for Chienshih, who’s bitten someone to death before, he now has a new name, Shihshih. Under the new owner’s care, Shihshih now looks much friendlier and calmer, even though it still gets uneasy in new environments and needs further desensitization training.
As for Thor, he’s now fully socialized. He even has his own social media with a much bigger following than his owners. Even though pit bulls are raised to be aggressive, whether they can be loveable and be loved still depends on us humans.
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比特犬傷人 是生性兇猛 還是無良飼主失責？
2025-05-02
比特犬素有「狗界戰神」的稱號，全身肌肉發達、生性兇猛、咬合力驚人。農業部已在2022年公告禁止輸入和飼養比特犬，要求當時仍在飼養的比特犬，必須完成登記與絕育。動物行為專家指出，如果在幼犬時期給予適當教育，並謹慎飼養，比特犬也能和其他毛小孩一樣溫馴忠誠。民視異言堂這次獨家追蹤到了，曾經咬死屏東幼童的比特犬，觀察牠在經過重新訓練，以及找到新主人後的生活與性格轉變，一同來了解。
還沒等主人拿下口罩，這隻米黃色比特犬「索爾」，就迫不及待想要找人玩，個性相當親人。
不只喜歡磨蹭飼主，就連才第一次見面的記者，索爾也上前靠近，甚至躺下來討摸，撒嬌的萌樣，很難跟三年多的凶狠形象，聯想在一起。
2021年底，索爾咬死屏東一名三歲男童，引發社會關注，重回案發現場，儘管當時索爾的脖子上，被栓有三條粗鐵鍊，但一見到陌生人靠近就暴衝，模樣兇狠 讓人不敢靠近。
後來索爾被送進收容所，還一度傳出要被安樂死，經愛狗人士不斷地請求，最後找到新飼主陸小姐，才躲過死劫。
[[飼主 陸將軍]]
“對我而言會覺得不是狗的問題，這是主人疏失跟教育的問題，所以在幫牠請命的時候，其實我們也是有加入，想辦法把牠領養下來。所以那時候，即使知道牠有(咬死人)的狀況，但我還是相信這不是狗的問題，所以我還是想辦法把牠搶來領養”
死裡逃生的索爾，在收容所期間，先經過訓練師訓練，降低敏感，不讓牠因外界刺激，容易有攻擊行為，後來跟著新飼主在台北生活，為了與索爾建立好關係，飼主花了相當多的心力。
[[聲源: 飼主 陸將軍]]
“那時候我們花了，將近快兩個禮拜的時間，躺地板陪牠睡覺，就是睡客廳，睡到牠熟悉為止，讓牠保持一個信任感”
陸小姐不僅給索爾安全感，也時常帶索爾四處趴趴走，這些也都是為了降低比特犬敏感度，減少攻擊行為的訓練。然而從強烈攻擊性到溫馴親人，這樣的轉變，得靠人為專業的訓練，和耐心的陪伴。
同樣發生在2021年，這隻名為「尖石」的比特犬，因為飼主朋友酒後逗弄，突然失控，咬住他右大腿內側動脈，導致大量失血，送醫後宣告不治。
跟索爾一樣，尖石也被送進動保所收容，只不過尖石戒心重，在收容所期間，動保員無法幫牠戴上口罩，因此牠足足有三年多的時間，沒有踏出籠子半步。
[[新竹縣動保所技正 林志成]]
“因為危險犬隻要出來遛狗的話，必須戴上口罩，我們的志工一直很難幫牠戴上口罩，所長基於安全的考量，如果沒有戴上口罩，原則上就不准出來活動，所以牠在籠子待上滿長的時間”
直到動保處找來訓練師，經兩個多月的訓練，尖石才願意戴上口罩，外出散步。之後也才順利配對到新飼主，展開新生活。
比特犬咬人，或是咬其他狗的事件一直存在，輕者受傷、嚴重致命，讓人好奇，比特犬天生就比其他品種的狗狗，來得兇猛嗎?
[[訓練師 許朝訓]]
“比特犬其實一開始被培育出來，是要來鬥犬用的，重點是牠的咬合力很強，只要一去攻擊牠就不會鬆口，這才是我們最擔心的地方。”
[[犬類行為訓練師 黃昱智]]
“台灣鬥狗、賭博，很早期我也都有接觸，當時有一次就是比賽完，其中一隻比特受傷，當下我看到的是，這個主人自己在幫牠做縫合，就肚子咬開了，把(內臟)弄一弄，然後自己把牠縫合，當下也沒有打任何麻醉，那隻狗還在吃飯，你就可以知道，牠本身的能力就是這樣，牠不怕痛不怕咬”
儘管這段令人揪心的黑歷史，在1998年《動保法》上路後，賭狗行為被禁止，比特犬才擺脫鬥犬的命運，成為寵物，但每每只要傳出攻擊人，就會躍上新聞版面。
比特犬傷人事件頻傳，但這次是發生在台北市，主角Lucky在短短11天內，二度闖禍，引發社會譁然，徐姓飼主辯稱，二次都是因為Lucky誤觸車窗，自己跳車咬人，但同為比特犬飼主的陸小姐認為，這絕對是人的問題。
[[飼 主 陸將軍]]
“因為其實講實在，沒有那麼剛好，兩次都是狗自己開的窗，這是一點。還有一點是，為什麼狗牠會有這樣的兇性，甚至是很直接性的攻擊人，這個其實就是教育來的，一定是主人有去做相關的指使，跟這種教育，才會導致狗會有這種習性”
直到第二次事件後，在輿論的壓力下，台北市政府產業局，才將Lucky收容至動保所，並對飼主開罰共20萬元。
事實上 農業部在2022年便已公告，台灣禁止輸入和飼養比特犬，並要求當時仍在飼養的比特犬，必須完成登記與絕育，是台灣唯一禁止飼養的犬種。政府也要求進出公眾場所前，飼主必須幫狗配戴嘴套，繫上不超過1.5公尺長的繫繩。
其實不只比特犬，每一隻狗狗，都會有情緒失控的狀況，只不過比特犬因咬合力強，且不鬆口的特性，只要被咬到 不管是人或是狗，傷勢都會相當嚴重，如何不讓比特犬失控，正確的訓練仍是關鍵。
這一天來到Sandy家，家中飼養的兩歲比特犬Diamond，正在和她七個月大的兒子親密互動。
早在Diamond，還是兩個月大的幼犬時，Sandy與訓練師就已經想好對策，希望降低比特犬與生俱來的兇性，讓牠不會一看到不熟悉的人或動物，就衝上前攻擊。
[[犬類行為訓練師 侯惠茹]]
“我們訓練的，其實它的概念是一種制約，牠重複去做一樣的行為，坐下等待，得到獎勵。久而久之就算你身上沒有獎勵，牠也會知道坐下是什麼意思，等待是什麼意思”
然而有時衝動已經無法避免，為了不讓狗狗硬碰硬，真的打起架來，老師便教Diamond遇到衝突就逃跑。
[[犬類行為訓練師 侯惠茹]]
“假設今天我們在路上，遇到前面刺激，有一隻狗已經要過來了，我不會等那隻狗很靠近的時候，我才帶牠走，我會知道牠可能要過來，我們先逃跑為主，我就會下cue，Diamond 走，當牠有跟著我逃跑，我會給牠獎勵”
[[比特犬飼主Sandy]]
“我們的獎勵有分等級，像一般的坐下、握手，簡單的等待那些，可能都是一些小零食，可是當牠逃跑成功的時候，我們一定會給牠最想要，最難得到的東西”
正因2022年政府公告比特犬禁養，加上許多飼主，無法找到正確的訓練方式，引發不少比特犬棄養問題。
眼前這隻比特犬Peter，已經十多歲了，而牠正是禁養令下，被遺棄的流浪比特犬。經過幾年的照料，現在Peter個性穩定，但因為年紀過大，還找不到願意飼養的人。
只不過想要收養比特犬，飼主必須要有相關飼養紀錄與經驗，不過由於本身飼養比特犬的人數相當少，許多比特犬沒人領養，只能終身關在收容所裡。
[[飼 主 陸將軍]]
“太多有這樣子的爛主人，有點類似像你會生小孩，但你不會養小孩跟教育小孩，你幹嘛生。一樣，你今天養牠們的情況下，因為牠可愛，因為牠長得看起來很兇猛，看起來帥，所以你養了牠，但你又不會教，不會照顧，導致牠出事了，然後你再不要牠，那種沒有責任心的心態，是讓我最氣憤的”
不管是攻擊還是棄養問題，說到底還是飼主的問題，但這社會總是一股腦地，把比特犬貼上標籤，導致牠失去與人好好相處的機會。
曾經兇猛咬死人的尖石，在新飼主的照料下，有了新名字石石，現在看起來溫馴親人，但時常會對陌生環境感到不安，仍需要持續的減敏訓練。
索爾則是已完全社會化，飼主還用牠的名義開立社群帳號，粉絲人數甚至超越飼主。比特犬雖然生性兇猛，但並非所有皆然，我們與比特犬的距離，取決人類自己。
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