My own experience is that German Shepherds and Dobermans have been bred for the companion market for so long that they are not so inherently dangerous that they need to be included in a ban or in a list of breeds requiring special controls. Because they are "protection breed" dogs, they tend to be more suspicious, protective and reactive and so can be more dangerous than hunting or working or purely companion breeds, but my personal handling experience has shown me that most are safe by nature and those that have been desocialized can be made safe with proper behaviour modification.

Rottweilers are more "iffy", in part because they have not only been bred to be inherently suspicious and protective, but because massive power was added to the breed. Their jaws are much more powerful than the jaws of German Shepherds and Dobermans and they tend to weigh 25% more. Amanda Muir's arms were crushed by a Rottweiler, not a German Shepherd or a Doberman. Rottweilers are now the dog of choice for the protection market for good reason: too many German Shepherds and Dobermans are not very threatening anymore. But AAS has rescued many Rottweilers and we believe that because they are not a fighting breed, they can safely be re-bred for the companion market too.

Pit Bulls are bred for fighting. To that dangerous attribute has been added terrible power of muscle and jaws. The most dedicated dog rescuers cannot decently and humanely rehome more than a tiny fraction of them. The most well-known Pit Bull "rescue/defend" group does not even return phone calls from people asking them to save doomed Pit Bulls. Pounds and SPCAs are full of Pit Bulls and Pit Bull crosses that are routinely killed. Credible statistics put Pit Bulls at the top of fatal dog attacks in percentages that far exceed the prevalence of Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls should not exist: they suffer, are killed, and inflict harm, in numbers that are not defensible.

To all the new "weapons of destruction" dogs that are appearing in growing numbers such as Cane Corso, Italian Mastiff, Presa Canarios, Fila Brasileiro, Argentinian Dogo and the terrifying Presa-Pit Bull, legislators must just say "NO!" Permitting all breeds, regardless of size, power, and traits, must be stopped.

Back yard Mastiff breeding in Vancouver/Presa Canario in Coquitlam video http://www.animaladvocates.com/video/presa-mastiff.htm