3 ms·

Small dogs are more aggressive, big dogs can do more damage. Ultimately, it’s a matter of training - how are they raised? - and a matter of the owner maintainin

Small dogs are more aggressive, big dogs can do more damage. Ultimately, it’s a matter of training - how are they raised? - and a matter of the owner maintaining control. I really don’t believe in the whole “some breeds are inherently evil” thing.

gongdzhauh 3y ago
I used to think this, but then I talked to a doctor friend and they explained that most of the dog bites they see in their hospital come from pit bulls with good owners. The dogs had never acted out in the past and were loving family dogs, until something snapped and out of seemingly nowhere the dog attacked someone. The statistics on dog bites in many countries are also pretty clear that some breeds, like pit bulls and German shepherds are responsible for a disproportionate amount of attacks on humans. So while the great majority of pit bulls are loving dogs without any aggression, I would never take the risk of owning one.
- genter 3y ago
  I've had multiple family members and close friends with pit bulls. They are all extremely affectionate, loving dogs. I've also seen several of the aforementioned dogs turn aggressive in the blink of an eye. I think what makes them so dangerous is that people let their guard down because they think that their dog is special and not aggressive.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    What makes them dangerous is that they have the capacity to cause massive amounts of damage with no recourse unless people have a knife or gun nearby. We do not let people walk around society with hyenas and tigers and lions and wolves and chimpanzees. What makes a dog with "pit" or "bull" in its name any different? And maybe this applies to other dog breeds too, I am not a dog person, but the point is if an animal is capable of causing serious harm to people, then society has an interest in restricting its population where people do not want to worry about being attacked by animals.
- alyandon 3y ago
  It'd probably be better to look at bite statistics normalized against the population size of a particular breed rather than "which breed causes more bites". Popularity of a particular breed can skew that statistic.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    No, it wouldn't be better. Because besides a sepsis issue a Chihuahua biting me isn't going to worry me one bit whereas a Pitbull biting me would be a serious problem even if it had just flossed and brushed.
    - brianjking 3y ago
      .
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        I think your incessant spamming of this thread with nonsense has more or less disqualified you from the discussion so forgive me if I won't respond to you 'just asking questions'.
    - alyandon 3y ago
      I'm not arguing that a large dog bite vs a small dog bite is better or worse nor am I arguing that your opinion and risk tolerance is somehow invalid. I certainly wouldn't want to be bitten by any large breed dog. I've personally never seen an aggressive pit bull but I've seen aggressive mixed breeds and german shepherds. I don't think it would be reasonable for me to conclude based on my observations that no pit bulls are vicious - and thus I'd rather look at actual data that has been normalized when judging the relative merit of one large dog breed vs another.
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        I've seen multiple instances of people being bitten by Pitbulls, also by Bull Terriers, which , while much smaller than Pitbulls are no less dangerous.
bitcharmer 3y ago
Stop with this nonsense already; some people believe the earth is flat but that doesn't make it correct. This exact mindset contributed to unnecessary deaths. There are many other strong and big breeds and yet pit bulls and their derivatives are responsible for overwhelming majority of serious incidents. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom#2020%E2%80%93present https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in...
Buttons840 3y ago
Let's skip the emotionally charged words like "evil". Do you believe some breads are more likely (statistically speaking) to kill a human than others?
- sky_rw 3y ago
  I will never stop finding it hilarious how quickly progressives run to racial crime statistics and hold demographic breakdowns of violence sacrosanct when it comes to dogs breeds.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    There is no contradiction if you do not think a dog should have the same rights as a human.
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    With humans, we first thought "let's give all people equal rights" and then "let's stop discriminating against people who used to not have those rights", not the other way around... Can't believe I need to remind you, but humans still actually own dogs, like property. And wait till you hear what some humans do to other animals and sea creatures. Apparently humanity collectively decided it will not treat animals like humans so here we are. If you go vegan and propose a plan to ban all that injustice maybe some will agree with you. But otherwise there's much worse stuff than "dog racial crime statistics" to think about, stuff we do to animals that don't even murder us unlike these dogs
  - oh_come_on 3y ago
    Progressives are against dog breed bans because of ^^^, which is absolutely wild to me. Humans are different than dogs! Believe it or not!
- aidenn0 3y ago
  - I would wager that a Chihuahua is less likely to kill an adult human than a Bullmastiff, just because it is less capable of it. - Many small dogs, in general, are poorly behaved because you can just pick them up and move them instead of having to train them. - People also make sweeping statements about breeds like the American Pit-Bull Terrier when the variation within the breed is very large. - If I'm an asshole who's going to train a dog to be aggressive I'm going to pick one that looks scary. - Selective breeding within a breed can change temperament as well. - Banning individual breeds is stupid whack-a-mole. People will just pivot to a different large-dog breed. - If you want to make people not use dogs as weapons, about your only choice would be to ban dogs over a certain weight. This would almost certainly ban e.g. Bloodhounds (males commonly exceed 100lbs when at a healthy weight) though so isn't going to happen.
arp242 3y ago
> I really don’t believe in the whole “some breeds are inherently evil” thing. I don't think anyone really claims that; or at least very few people claim that. It's about averages in behaviour, combined with the greater damage you mentioned. I think almost everyone agrees that on average there are differences in personality between dog breeds. These dogs have been responsible for more than half of deaths in recent years, and I don't think half the dogs in the UK are Bully XLs. In the end basically nothing at all is lost by banning a few breeds beyond upsetting a few people who want a dog in a very peculiar shape and accept no other shapes, to which I say: "if you're such a dog lover then why do you care so greatly about the exact shape of your dog?"
more_corn 3y ago
Dogs are a great example of breeding behavior in. Dogs with a hunting lineage will point spontaneously. Dogs bred for fighting and attack will fight and attack. Go try into pet a chow. I guarantee it will snap at you if you are not known friendly. Because we bred them as guard dogs and that behavior is literally passed on genetically. Think that’s impossible? Ask a dog breeder. It’s possible, it’s practiced. Go find that video of the guy stealing a bike and the house golden coming up for belly runs. Dog breeds have different behaviors that we’ve deliberately bred into them. It’s not the dog’s fault. It’s our fault. And our responsibility. Claiming that it’s not real in the face of evidence is an example of dangerous, willful ignorance.
iancmceachern 3y ago
"Between 2013 and 2021, Pitbulls Were Involved in the Most Dog Bites in 20 States. In many states, pit bulls are responsible for almost half of all dog bite injuries. Research conducted in Harris County, Texas, also concluded that pit bull bite incidents were 213% more likely to be severe than other breeds." https://worldanimalfoundation.org/dogs/pitbull-statistics/#:~:text=20.,Dog%20Bites%20in%2020%20States&text=In%20many%20states%2C%20pit%20bulls,be%20severe%20than%20other%20breeds https://worldanimalfoundation.org/dogs/pitbull-statistics/#:....

gongdzhauh 3y ago

I used to think this, but then I talked to a doctor friend and they explained that most of the dog bites they see in their hospital come from pit bulls with good owners. The dogs had never acted out in the past and were loving family dogs, until something snapped and out of seemingly nowhere the dog attacked someone. The statistics on dog bites in many countries are also pretty clear that some breeds, like pit bulls and German shepherds are responsible for a disproportionate amount of attacks on humans. So while the great majority of pit bulls are loving dogs without any aggression, I would never take the risk of owning one.

genter 3y ago
I've had multiple family members and close friends with pit bulls. They are all extremely affectionate, loving dogs. I've also seen several of the aforementioned dogs turn aggressive in the blink of an eye. I think what makes them so dangerous is that people let their guard down because they think that their dog is special and not aggressive.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  What makes them dangerous is that they have the capacity to cause massive amounts of damage with no recourse unless people have a knife or gun nearby. We do not let people walk around society with hyenas and tigers and lions and wolves and chimpanzees. What makes a dog with "pit" or "bull" in its name any different? And maybe this applies to other dog breeds too, I am not a dog person, but the point is if an animal is capable of causing serious harm to people, then society has an interest in restricting its population where people do not want to worry about being attacked by animals.
alyandon 3y ago
It'd probably be better to look at bite statistics normalized against the population size of a particular breed rather than "which breed causes more bites". Popularity of a particular breed can skew that statistic.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  No, it wouldn't be better. Because besides a sepsis issue a Chihuahua biting me isn't going to worry me one bit whereas a Pitbull biting me would be a serious problem even if it had just flossed and brushed.
  - brianjking 3y ago
    .
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      I think your incessant spamming of this thread with nonsense has more or less disqualified you from the discussion so forgive me if I won't respond to you 'just asking questions'.
  - alyandon 3y ago
    I'm not arguing that a large dog bite vs a small dog bite is better or worse nor am I arguing that your opinion and risk tolerance is somehow invalid. I certainly wouldn't want to be bitten by any large breed dog. I've personally never seen an aggressive pit bull but I've seen aggressive mixed breeds and german shepherds. I don't think it would be reasonable for me to conclude based on my observations that no pit bulls are vicious - and thus I'd rather look at actual data that has been normalized when judging the relative merit of one large dog breed vs another.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      I've seen multiple instances of people being bitten by Pitbulls, also by Bull Terriers, which , while much smaller than Pitbulls are no less dangerous.

bitcharmer 3y ago

Stop with this nonsense already; some people believe the earth is flat but that doesn't make it correct. This exact mindset contributed to unnecessary deaths. There are many other strong and big breeds and yet pit bulls and their derivatives are responsible for overwhelming majority of serious incidents. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom#2020%E2%80%93present https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in...

Buttons840 3y ago

Let's skip the emotionally charged words like "evil". Do you believe some breads are more likely (statistically speaking) to kill a human than others?

sky_rw 3y ago
I will never stop finding it hilarious how quickly progressives run to racial crime statistics and hold demographic breakdowns of violence sacrosanct when it comes to dogs breeds.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  There is no contradiction if you do not think a dog should have the same rights as a human.
- throwaway290 3y ago
  With humans, we first thought "let's give all people equal rights" and then "let's stop discriminating against people who used to not have those rights", not the other way around... Can't believe I need to remind you, but humans still actually own dogs, like property. And wait till you hear what some humans do to other animals and sea creatures. Apparently humanity collectively decided it will not treat animals like humans so here we are. If you go vegan and propose a plan to ban all that injustice maybe some will agree with you. But otherwise there's much worse stuff than "dog racial crime statistics" to think about, stuff we do to animals that don't even murder us unlike these dogs
- oh_come_on 3y ago
  Progressives are against dog breed bans because of ^^^, which is absolutely wild to me. Humans are different than dogs! Believe it or not!
aidenn0 3y ago
- I would wager that a Chihuahua is less likely to kill an adult human than a Bullmastiff, just because it is less capable of it. - Many small dogs, in general, are poorly behaved because you can just pick them up and move them instead of having to train them. - People also make sweeping statements about breeds like the American Pit-Bull Terrier when the variation within the breed is very large. - If I'm an asshole who's going to train a dog to be aggressive I'm going to pick one that looks scary. - Selective breeding within a breed can change temperament as well. - Banning individual breeds is stupid whack-a-mole. People will just pivot to a different large-dog breed. - If you want to make people not use dogs as weapons, about your only choice would be to ban dogs over a certain weight. This would almost certainly ban e.g. Bloodhounds (males commonly exceed 100lbs when at a healthy weight) though so isn't going to happen.

arp242 3y ago

> I really don’t believe in the whole “some breeds are inherently evil” thing. I don't think anyone really claims that; or at least very few people claim that. It's about averages in behaviour, combined with the greater damage you mentioned. I think almost everyone agrees that on average there are differences in personality between dog breeds. These dogs have been responsible for more than half of deaths in recent years, and I don't think half the dogs in the UK are Bully XLs. In the end basically nothing at all is lost by banning a few breeds beyond upsetting a few people who want a dog in a very peculiar shape and accept no other shapes, to which I say: "if you're such a dog lover then why do you care so greatly about the exact shape of your dog?"

more_corn 3y ago

Dogs are a great example of breeding behavior in. Dogs with a hunting lineage will point spontaneously. Dogs bred for fighting and attack will fight and attack. Go try into pet a chow. I guarantee it will snap at you if you are not known friendly. Because we bred them as guard dogs and that behavior is literally passed on genetically. Think that’s impossible? Ask a dog breeder. It’s possible, it’s practiced. Go find that video of the guy stealing a bike and the house golden coming up for belly runs. Dog breeds have different behaviors that we’ve deliberately bred into them. It’s not the dog’s fault. It’s our fault. And our responsibility. Claiming that it’s not real in the face of evidence is an example of dangerous, willful ignorance.

iancmceachern 3y ago

"Between 2013 and 2021, Pitbulls Were Involved in the Most Dog Bites in 20 States. In many states, pit bulls are responsible for almost half of all dog bite injuries. Research conducted in Harris County, Texas, also concluded that pit bull bite incidents were 213% more likely to be severe than other breeds." https://worldanimalfoundation.org/dogs/pitbull-statistics/#:~:text=20.,Dog%20Bites%20in%2020%20States&text=In%20many%20states%2C%20pit%20bulls,be%20severe%20than%20other%20breeds https://worldanimalfoundation.org/dogs/pitbull-statistics/#:....