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Jordan Mayhew
UWRT 1102-090
EIP Reflection
December 8th, 2014
Extended Inquiry Project: What is BSL and How Can We Change It? Reflection
In the beginning of this project I thought I wanted to focus on spreading bully breed
awareness and find a solution as to why they keep winding up in the wrong hands. I first
proposed the question of whether or not there is a link between so called aggressive breeds and
the personalities of their owners. After figuring out there was not an abundance of material
available in this area I realized if I wanted these answers I would have to go get them myself.
Due to the time limitations of this project I began asking more questions about the information
that was available. My focus surrounding the subject of bully breeds changed from wanting to
place blame for their construed reputations to figuring out some sort of solution to reverse them.
I began my search through scholarly databases to get a better understanding of the
stigmas surrounding bully breeds. I had previous knowledge of breed specific laws or BSL, but
wanted to really dig deeper to find out exactly whom and how many people or animals were
being affected by these laws. I became interested more specifically in the link between humans
and their pets. I found two studies led by Laurie Ragatz, Vicious Dogs: The Antisocial
Behaviors and Psychological Characteristics of Owners and Vicious Dogs Part 2: Criminal
Thinking, Callousness, and Personality Styles of Their Owners. These studies sparked my
interest further into this linkage. However I came to a fork in road when there seemed to be little

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other creditable information on this specific subject. I realized then that my idea was probably
too specific. It was at this point in my inquiry that I decided to completely start over and began
by typing BSL into Google. In my second go around I completely allowed my naturally
inquisitive mind to roam and started believing that there were no wrong answers. My inquisition
led me to some not so useful sources such as Breed Differences in Canine Aggression by
Deborah Duffy, Yuying Hsu, and James Serpell. This article wasnt very useful to me regarding
BSL as it focused more on the actual acts of canine aggression comparatively from one breed to
another and proposed no solutions. The article did not provoke any further investigation within
me. However, an article by Sandra Sylvester and Alexander von Fricken, Have a Dog in the
Fight: Rethinking Dangerous Dog Cases, provided some of my most useful information and
inspired future ideas. Sylvester and von Fricken proposed a do-able solution to BSL by
developing Irresponsible Dog Ownership Laws or IDOL. I found these law propositions to
appease my need to find some sort of an answer to my inquiry.
Overall, I was greatly surprised to discover the abundance of talk going on about BSL.
There seemed to be only two sides to the conversations: those for and those against. The
discussions led me to believe there are lots of other people out there, just like me, who have a
great interest and passion in the subject but feel confused or overwhelmed with how they can
make a change.

The most challenging part of writing my research essay was in using I for the first time
in decades. This form of essay writing made me feel like I was doing something wrong. It felt
wrong because I actually enjoyed it by incorporating my personal stories on a topic I am

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interested in. I enjoyed the combination of tying the two together. Upon completion of writing
my essay I felt surprisingly confident and relieved. I was surprised in my ability to piece all of
my gathered information together in a cohesive manner. I was relieved to make sense of it all and
felt confident in what direction I wanted to head in next. After completing my essay I felt
empowered to investigate in the future and felt like I could make a difference through inquiry.
Inquiry based research has no specific end destination or idea to prove. There are truly no
wrong answers or leads to confine you. Our natural urge to understand and question can lead us
to new discoveries in inquiry. This type of research is very different from your normal research
paper. Your topic is malleable and can change based off of your natural progression of ideas.
Inquiry research gives you the freedom to choose your end or where you want your research to
stop. Just like in a normal research project you learn new thoughts and ideas; however what you
learn through your inquiry is based on what you want to know. For the first time in a school
assigned research project I forgot all the rules and was able to make my own. I had never
completely started over once I began a project and that felt liberating.
I began my project similar to a jack of all trades. I knew some about a broad variety of
topics related to my subject, but wasnt a master in any of them. I learned valuable new
information that could further enhance my creditability regarding BSL and pit bulls. I hope to
use this new found information to aid me in educating others. I came across lots of specifics
regarding the number of dogs in America and annual dog bites. I learned that BSL is based off of
a sixteen year old study and couldnt believe that it hasnt been updated since. I was educated
more on the variety of extreme public views, and most importantly I was introduced to the idea
and concepts of IDOL.