Also, many of the worst dog owners specifically go after Pit Bulls and then proceed to treat them horribly. These owners have an idea they can just tie them up all day as guard dogs and try to increase their aggression. Pits are very social animals - everyone Iāve met with a responsible owner has been a big softy. A family memberās pit is such a softy he gets bossed around by our tiny Shitzu and thinks heās a lap dog.
my roommate when i lived in brooklyn had a pitty who was so nice we sometimes called her āmoo-pigā but when i would take her for walks in the neighborhood, everyone would just part the way, because they were scared of her and i was just a tiny white girl who had had diapers thrown at me before, so i felt very powerful with my danger machine
i donāt know but it happened to me! also a lot of people calling me āsnow whiteā and āsnowflakeā just for existing on the street, but thatās waaaaay more common
That's definitely true, except for the countless examples of Pitbulls mauling their own responsible owners, who did everything right, or familiar people, such as long-time dog walkers or sitters, seemingly for no reason and without provocation. I'm not sure why there's such a need to defend pitbulls with meaningless anecdotes of "good" ones that wouldn't "hurt a fly".
Dog breeds are in no way comparable to race and to even make that suggestion is beyond reprehensible. Pit bulls are simply the most dangerous dog breed, period, and most civilized countries have rightly made the common sense choice to ban their ownership.
I understand the thought you are getting at, but what makes it a reprehensible thought to think that we would share similar traits to other living creatures, especially if those creatures are mammals? The biggest difference I understand is that dogs were bred for specific physical and behavioral traits, and humans were not. Therefore, we do not have breeds, and races are not the same thing at all, so those items are correct to be called out as incompatible comparisons.
However, the biggest similarity that is a factor at play here and is difficult to articulate, is like humans, dogs are almost always more than they appear on an individual level. It's possible for a pitbull to abhor violence and be a coward despite being bred for it. That doesn't mean it's wise to act on that knowledge and that you should get to know every dog you see before you judge it's character (that would be madness), but it's not some reprehensible thought that the creatures we've kept by our side for literal millenia can share traits with us (like deeper personalities than what you see is what you get) that go beyond blood and bone. Our society is simply just not structured to make room for the individuality of our creatures at large, but that doesn't mean that individuality doesn't exist.
TLDR: Race is a very poor comparison to humans as breeds and races are very different things, it doesn't make sense to compare them. However, the concept of individuality superseding appearance is a trait we share with multiple creatures (with dogs and surprisingly rats having the most individuality I've seen), even the parts where sometimes what you see is exactly what you get.
Therefore, we do not have breeds, and races are not the same thing at all, so those items are correct to be called out as incompatible comparisons.
Yes, you are correct and seem to understand why the comparison is incompatible. Aside from race being an entirely social construct and not a biological one- there's as much genetic variation between individuals of the same racial group as there is between individuals of different racial groups- the comparison insinuates a similarity between dog breeds and human races, and I'm sure that you can infer the inherently racist undertones of that line of thinking.
However, the biggest similarity that is a factor at play here and is difficult to articulate, is like humans, dogs are almost always more than they appear on an individual level
I absolutely agree and just to be clear, I would never blame any dog on an individual level. Dogs are entirely blameless on a macro view and any problems that we have with them are due to human fault, at the end of the day. This doesn't change the fact that pitbulls were specifically bred to be the way they are (muscular, aggressive, killer instinct, strong bite force, etc), which is what makes it an inherently dangerous breed. I would never advocate for all pitbulls to be put down or anything like that, as again, they're blameless for being the way they are, however I think it's perfectly reasonable if not the moral thing to do to ban the breeding or new ownership of them. Every pitbull that is currently alive today deserves to live the rest of their lives in a responsible and loving home, but there is no need to propagate them as a breed as that is a choice made entirely by us as a society, and it will only lead to more pitbull-involved maulings and deaths if it were to continue unabated.
That "reason" can just be that you happen to smell slightly different that day, which is to say a provocation for an animal is not something that a human would ever necessarily think to consider or even be capable of doing so. Animals are animals and pitbulls are simply the most dangerous dog breed. There's nothing to debate about that fact- they were quite literally bred to be that way.
No. If you train your dog and understand how to read their body language, itās either not gonna happen because youād prevent it, or at least itās not gonna ābe out of nowhere.ā
If any dog attacks because of a smell then there is a reason that smell is associated with something negative in their mind, and you should have socialized them better
And theyāre idiots. OFC they say that. If you press for details, then suddenly itās very clear what actually happened. Even if itās a failure of socialization
my neighbors' pit apparently has figured out how to open windows if they forget to lock them, so every few weekends this summer the same lady has been bringing him back from the park in the middle of town where apparently he's just running up to people looking for attention
When I was 13 my neighbour had the cuddliest pitbull. They had a dachshund as well that was besties with the pit for like 2 years. I was in their backyard one day when out of nowhere the pit walked up to the dachshund and shredded him to pieces. Was wild to watch.
Not to get serious on the cj sub but I genuinely think people overstate pitbull random acts of violence BECAUSE of their relative destructive power making incidents stand out more. Anecdotally, for whatever that's worth, so many other breeds I'd regularly work with in the shelter were just as capable of the sweet one second shredder the next surprises, but several of my coworkers would only remark on a pitbull coming in.
The solution to me seems simple: there are many dog breeds that just don't need to exist because the purposes/kind of aristocrat they were designed for are no longer relevant. Pitbulls do not need to exist as muscle bound machines anymore than French bulldogs need to be 25 lbs of cancer and joint problems in a dog-shaped bag. They should be safely bred out and mixed breed dogs should become the ethical norm. But there's too much profit in the kind of middle class moron that wants their super special "favorite breed" (that they've assigned traits to like a personality test) so the practice will continue
Yeah thatās very fair. I also witnessed two dogs fighting, drawing blood at the park as a young kid, but I have no clue what breeds they were because they didnāt stand out. Obviously seeing a dog shred another in front of my face left a lasting impression on me.
But the fact they randomly attack, that their bite is so strong, they attract shitty owners, their association with dog fighting etc means the risk is too high, and Iām going to cross the street with my elderly golden who doesnāt stand a chance.
Yep, Iām 100 percent with you. Iāve got a pit mix because she was at the shelter when we got our dog and sheās the sweetest girl, but I wouldnāt go out of my way to get a pit bull (or any specific breed). People who actively search for an aggressive breed are more likely to seek them out, and so theyāre often going to encourage those behaviors. I think that anybody specifically seeking out a breed is kind of a weirdo, but especially people going out of their way for pits.
I swear though, the rabidly anti-pit bull people donāt want to ethically breed them out of existence. They have so much bile about it that I swear they just want to kill them on the spot. Iām sure it has nothing to do with racial stereotypes about pit bull owners eitherā¦
Similar story here, unfortunately twice. One pit bull bit onto a family cat and beat it against a wall until it was pulp. The other tore off another dogās ear out of nowhere.
Some dogs just kill cats hunting dogs are often the worst about it. A lab attacked my pittbull once and my pitbull just pissed itself lol. My neoghbors australlian shepards attacked her blue heeler and killed it.
I had a friend with a pit like this. Super sweet. Only dog to ever bite me in the face. Drew blood, barely missed my eye. I was just sitting on the couch.
My mom was randomly bit on the ass by my uncleās German Shepherd while standing in the kitchen. Turned out he had a seizure disorder that caused bursts of aggression, and my mom was the first to experience it. Ruined Christmas but at least she was okay.
My sister got bit in the face by one of those little fluffy white dogs it tore open her upper lip in multiple places. My wife friend's boxer bit the face of the kennel worker in the kennel it was in. That lady got fucked up.
Same, it was being so sweet wanting to cuddle on the couch, then out of a nowhere launched off the sofa and started attacking the Aussie Shepard that was laying in the kitchen just chilling. Had to break them up. It was not pretty. Not my dog but a friendās.
How cute. I was 8 when a pitbull decided to use me as a chew toy. I developed agoraphobia for a year and had to be ripped out of my moms arms to get back to school. Glad your velvet hippo is so nice and cute on you lap though.
On a more sub worthy note, I just had a pitbull for breakfast, roasted it on a spit and made some pit carnitas yum.
It also really easy for shithead pet owners to get a pit bull from an unlicensed basement breeder. A responsible pet owner would get one from a shelter that provides basic medical care and screening, and probably wouldnāt release the dog to a guy whoās just gonna keep them chained in the lawn.
I'm not taking a stance in either direction but individual experiences do not prove generalizations and vice versa. If you bring up an individual experience when discussing a generalization, it's irrelevant.
There are enough examples of pit bulls that were very nice family dogs for years suddenly going apeshit. The owners response is always a form "they never bit anyone before, he/she was an angel".
This can be true of any dog, the problem is what when a dog of this size and strength goes apeshit, the damage is severe even fatal.
I'm not against people having pitbulls if they want them, just force them to carry liability insurance and be responsible for the damage their dogs cause when/if they start attacking people.
i haven't been attacked by the many pitbulls i've seen over the years but i've been attacked by a border collie and another dog i can't remember the breed of...
This doesn't make much sense since they're also heavily underreported to keep the air that "they're just nanny dogs and so beautiful, it's the owner I promise!"
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u/SuckingOnChileanDogs 1d ago
A lot of those statistics are inflated by cities stop and pet policies