Renowned veterinarian-trainer-writer Ian Dunbar is known for expressing his opinions, and they are worth listening to. He’s had a huge beneficial influence on how we relate to dogs. I describe a little of what he’s done on this page about him, and there is a lot more about him at DogStarDaily.com…here’s his bio there.

So I was fascinated to come across a long interview he did with a man named John Bell Young. That link takes you to it.

Here I will include some excerpts to give you the flavor:

He goes on to say that these laws are being repealed in some areas, and he adds “Breedism is the doggie equivalent of racism, and breed bans are frankly stupid.”

The conversation moves to dog bites. Ian Dunbar comments on  incompetent owners being a significant factor in dogs biting and makes a comment I found quite interesting. It’s so hard to get a perspective on things sometimes, but this bit does:

This part didn’t surprise me at all, as he has been a pioneer in teaching people how to socialize their dogs:

Later the conversation turns to the principles of dog training. (Bold emphasis mine.)

So those snippets took me less than halfway down the page of the interview. To read the whole thing, click on the link above and it will take you right to the interview.

Just to give you more of the flavor of Ian Dunbar’s approach, here is one of his many videos on Youtube. This one on selecting a puppy is under a minute long. He refers to a kennel but of course it could be anywhere you were checking out the puppy.