By Cesar Millan

February was a month that provoked a lot of conversation on our site. We announced our first ever breed of the Month as the pit bull, and the media was full of stories about pit bulls. Among them, McDonald’s canceled a radio ad that said petting a stray pit bull was riskier than trying their new menu item. An Argentine Mastiff, often referred to in coverage as a pit bull-like dog, if not actually a pit bull, bit a Denver TV anchor live on the air. Another controversy this month was when the Westminster Kennel Club dropped Pedigree as a sponsor of their annual dog show because they said viewers found their commercials about adopting shelter dogs to be too depressing.

All of these stories said something in one way or another about breeds. Reading our readers’ discussions on the site made me think about what the breed of a dog really means, in terms of the actual dog, and the media perception of the dog. The pit bull, for example, is a breed that receives a lot of media attention, and more than its fair share is negative. It’s one of the reasons we chose them as our first Breed of the Month, and one of the reasons I’ve always chosen pits like Daddy and Junior as prominent members of my pack. We want to dispel the myth that the any breed is inherently vicious or bad, and because of the pit bull’s portrayal in the media, we thought that was a good place to start.

The McDonald’s ad was an excellent example of the media’s insensitivity about breed. If they had made a statement like that about a person’s race, nationality, or other characteristic, there would be an uproar, and rightly so. The dog lovers who heard the ad caused such an uproar that the ad was quickly taken down with an apology.

You can see where McDonald’s thought the pit bull was fair game after an Argentine Mastiff named Max bit Denver anchor Kyle Dyer during a live segment. It was a scary moment and Ms. Dyer needed 70 stitches. Many media outlets called the dog a pit bull, or pit bull-type dog, which upset many pit bull owners who correctly pointed out that the Argentine Mastiff was not a pit bull. Although the American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terriers are typically the only breeds correctly referred to as pit bulls, it doesn’t really matter as far as public perception is concerned. Any dog that is any part pit bull or even just physically resembles a pit bull is going to be lumped in with the pit bull breed, for better or worse.

What bothered me at the end of the day about whether an Argentine Mastiff should be counted as a pit bull or not is that it doesn’t really matter. Whether that dog had been a pit bull, an Argentine Mastiff, or a Dachshund, it would have been just as likely as any breed to have bitten the anchor under those circumstances. The discussion really shouldn’t be about which breed is better or worse, but how that situation could have been avoided with any dog.

I think a lot of people missed the point of the Westminster controversy as well. It wasn’t about whether mixed breeds or purebreds are better. I have both kinds of dog in my pack and I love them all. It was about the club creating the perception that the shelter dogs were depressing, and implying that viewers of the dog show didn’t want to have to look at mixed breeds when they were enjoying the purebreds of the show. That felt a bit breedist.

Breed is just one aspect of what a dog is. While certain breeds have certain physical or temperamental characteristics, every dog is different. When we hear statements like “all pit bulls are dangerous.” or “all purebreds have health problems,” it’s our ears that should go up. While it’s true pit bulls are powerful dogs, they are loving dogs with peaceful temperaments. Bad owners have made some of them dangerous, but the vast majority are not. Responsibly bred purebreds are subject to the same health problems as any mixed breed. It’s the irresponsibly bred dogs from some backyard breeders and puppy mills that are prone to health problems. If we want to dispel these myths, we need to focus on the issues humans bring to the table, not the breed of the dog.

This week I was grateful to be recognized by the National Hispanic Media Coalition at their annual Impact Awards. Alex Nogales, the President and CEO of the organization said “Recognizing the positive portrayal of Latinos in the media is a social justice matter. Latinos make up 16.5% of America. We need and deserve to see uplifting reflections of our community onscreen. NHMC is very proud of the career achievements of this year's awardees and most honored to celebrate them with our community.”

I was honored to represent my community and I am honored to advocate for dogs of all breeds, mixed and pure, large and small. We should all be the given the chance to be known for who we are and not what label society has given us. We should all be allowed to define ourselves.

Stay calm and assertive,

Cesar

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