6 ms·

"High-Risk" dogs present increased legal liability that owners tend to discount or disregard. "Disregard for legal liability" is a fairly reasonable descriptio

"High-Risk" dogs present increased legal liability that owners tend to discount or disregard. "Disregard for legal liability" is a fairly reasonable description of criminal behavior. This scientific study merely validates the basic logic involved.

ty6853 2y ago
Another cause for disregard for liability: - I am broke and nothing to lose - My impoverished neighborhood is full of crime and I need protection - Police do not protect and X number of my family are felons as a byproduct of poverty so I cannot keep gun accessible in house - therefore get big scary dogs for protection
- johnea 2y ago
  You failed to list "Attorney" as a cause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diane_Whipple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diane_Whipple One was convicted of murder for the death of a woman killed by their dogs... Dog's became massively popular during the plague, and most of these new owners neither knew nor cared about training the dogs, with significant bad results. It's reached the point where I actually search for "dog free" restaurants to patronize...
cwillu 2y ago
High-risk dogs are entirely owner created. People with behavioural issues acquire a breed with a reputation, and proceed to train and encourage that behaviour. It would be shocking if this wasn't correlated with other deviant behaviours.
- happytoexplain 2y ago
  As in nearly all nature-vs-nurture behavioral discussion, the word "entirely" usually has no place.
  - numbrzgames 2y ago
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- radlad 2y ago
  > High-risk dogs are entirely owner created. Unfortunately, some dogs do have higher potential for harm than others, even setting aside training. For some, this is due to their bite strength (e.g. Rottweilers, Doberman, and yes, pitbulls.) Some tend to be more skittish/wary of strangers (e.g. guard dogs like Akitas and Dalmations) and act more unpredictably around them. On the other hand, breeds like Beagles and French Bulldogs seem to very rarely cause serious injury. Even a Pomeranian or Chihuahua, while often wary of strangers, can't typically do much damage... edit: Since I'm being downvoted, I'd love if someone could explain why? I don't think I said anything particularly controversial. I grew up with a Rottie-Pitbull mix and my family has numerous pitbulls (and other dogs) in it. I've had numerous friends with Akitas. I agree that owners are responsible for training their dogs to behave appropriately, and yet I've also seen the damage that larger dogs can do, and the difficulty that even experienced dog owners can have with these behaviors.
  - belorn 2y ago
    Very small dogs are "safer" because any human can use force to overpower them, making any behavior a moot point. A very large dog need very good training simply because their strength is greater than that of most humans. A German shepherd that jumps into people faces is bigger problem than a Chihuahua that can't even reach you knee. That said, potential for harm is a poor measurement, and dogs are fairly low on the list if one looks for high risk ownership. Most stuff people own or have in their house is more dangerous, and even among pets they are far from the top.
    - radlad 2y ago
      > Very small dogs are "safer" because any human can use force to overpower them, making any behavior a moot point. Yes! Thank you for summarizing half of my original comment. This is exactly right - larger, stronger dogs carry a higher risk because they are harder to overpower. That said, even small dogs can and do hurt vulnerable humans. But they are certainly lower-risk than larger dogs. The other half of my comment points out that dogs are bred not just for specific looks, but for specific behaviors and temperaments. I understand why people don't like to discuss this (either because they worry it takes responsibility away from the dog owner, or because it sounds a bit too much like eugenics) but it's absolutely true. This is why we have pointing dogs, sight hounds, and scent hounds, for example. As for the second part of your comment, this seems a bit like whataboutism. Certainly there are bigger risks in life besides dogs, but it's kind of besides the point of this discussion.
numbrzgames 2y ago
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ty6853 2y ago

Another cause for disregard for liability: - I am broke and nothing to lose - My impoverished neighborhood is full of crime and I need protection - Police do not protect and X number of my family are felons as a byproduct of poverty so I cannot keep gun accessible in house - therefore get big scary dogs for protection

johnea 2y ago
You failed to list "Attorney" as a cause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diane_Whipple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diane_Whipple One was convicted of murder for the death of a woman killed by their dogs... Dog's became massively popular during the plague, and most of these new owners neither knew nor cared about training the dogs, with significant bad results. It's reached the point where I actually search for "dog free" restaurants to patronize...

cwillu 2y ago

High-risk dogs are entirely owner created. People with behavioural issues acquire a breed with a reputation, and proceed to train and encourage that behaviour. It would be shocking if this wasn't correlated with other deviant behaviours.

happytoexplain 2y ago
As in nearly all nature-vs-nurture behavioral discussion, the word "entirely" usually has no place.
- numbrzgames 2y ago
  [dead]
radlad 2y ago
> High-risk dogs are entirely owner created. Unfortunately, some dogs do have higher potential for harm than others, even setting aside training. For some, this is due to their bite strength (e.g. Rottweilers, Doberman, and yes, pitbulls.) Some tend to be more skittish/wary of strangers (e.g. guard dogs like Akitas and Dalmations) and act more unpredictably around them. On the other hand, breeds like Beagles and French Bulldogs seem to very rarely cause serious injury. Even a Pomeranian or Chihuahua, while often wary of strangers, can't typically do much damage... edit: Since I'm being downvoted, I'd love if someone could explain why? I don't think I said anything particularly controversial. I grew up with a Rottie-Pitbull mix and my family has numerous pitbulls (and other dogs) in it. I've had numerous friends with Akitas. I agree that owners are responsible for training their dogs to behave appropriately, and yet I've also seen the damage that larger dogs can do, and the difficulty that even experienced dog owners can have with these behaviors.
- belorn 2y ago
  Very small dogs are "safer" because any human can use force to overpower them, making any behavior a moot point. A very large dog need very good training simply because their strength is greater than that of most humans. A German shepherd that jumps into people faces is bigger problem than a Chihuahua that can't even reach you knee. That said, potential for harm is a poor measurement, and dogs are fairly low on the list if one looks for high risk ownership. Most stuff people own or have in their house is more dangerous, and even among pets they are far from the top.
  - radlad 2y ago
    > Very small dogs are "safer" because any human can use force to overpower them, making any behavior a moot point. Yes! Thank you for summarizing half of my original comment. This is exactly right - larger, stronger dogs carry a higher risk because they are harder to overpower. That said, even small dogs can and do hurt vulnerable humans. But they are certainly lower-risk than larger dogs. The other half of my comment points out that dogs are bred not just for specific looks, but for specific behaviors and temperaments. I understand why people don't like to discuss this (either because they worry it takes responsibility away from the dog owner, or because it sounds a bit too much like eugenics) but it's absolutely true. This is why we have pointing dogs, sight hounds, and scent hounds, for example. As for the second part of your comment, this seems a bit like whataboutism. Certainly there are bigger risks in life besides dogs, but it's kind of besides the point of this discussion.

numbrzgames 2y ago

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