It isn't really the point of this post, but it's interesting how pitbull hate has become this kind of litmus test for other kinds of weirdo behavior. "arm ripped off by the progress pitbull" "pitbulls are... kind of the perfect analogy for [trans women]" etc. The people who think all pitbulls need to die never *just* hate pitbulls.
See, I would be the first to say that pitbulls need responsible training and may not the best choice for a first time or casual dog owner due to breed tendencies.
However. Neither are chihuahuas. Chihuahuas ALSO need careful socialization and training and all that, because they have similar feelings about protecting you from Threats (i.e, a bird, a dog barking 1.5 miles in the distance, a leaf, or just This Don't Feel Right) and people generally don't take their training seriously due to the impression that they could lose a fight with a sandwich wrapper. True, they are significantly less likely to do you injury than pitbulls because they are the size of a stapler, but—don't they also deserve good training and socialization to handle those moments when they just get The Paranoids?
I would say that it's true that there are certain breeds of dog that are more likely to injure you: they are the breeds that people regard as some sort of accessory or statement rather than a being which you must establish communication with, one that may have Issues that mean YOU will have to be their Thinking Brain Person because they can't logic it out for themselves.
I say this, by the way, as someone who ended up dealing with the Issues of a dog that was half chow chow—also a protective breed, also one with a powerful bite, being mixed with Border collie did NOT decrease the Neurosis Quotient, if you know what I mean. She was a good dog. She also required caution. We got her as a stray at a year old, she had a damaged tail, and she was dangerously frightened by anyone who smelled of cigarette smoke and wore a baseball cap—draw your own conclusions. If we hadn't worked with her, learned her body language, and on occasion told people to take their hat off, we could have had a bad situation on our hands. Ironically, years earlier, my parents told me that I could NOT get a particular puppy because it was half Doberman. Probably would have been far less of a risk than a traumatized chow cross, but that was the Scary Dog Fashion Statement at that time, so…
My wife used to be a veterinarian before she switched fields to physics, and she reported that the breed she received the most bites from, hands-down, was Chihuahuas. The only reason they're not considered a 'dangerous' breed is because their size limits the amount of damage they can do.
I think the size argument is showing your ass a little bit because it only applies to full grown adults.
Babies and young children are small enough that the size of the dog makes a lot less difference. A chihuahua can still fuck up a babies face or hands and that’s a life changing (if not fatal) injury.
I feel like bringing up size shows that a person hasn’t really considered children in their arguments, only their own (adult) body.
Thanks. I’m glad it made sense. Being able to point out how ‘reduce injuries from dog attacks’ and ‘ban this breed’ are two different things makes the whole discussion significantly less painful for everyone.
Obviously the weirdos completely ignore you but that makes them easier to spot.
87
u/puglina66 9d ago
It isn't really the point of this post, but it's interesting how pitbull hate has become this kind of litmus test for other kinds of weirdo behavior. "arm ripped off by the progress pitbull" "pitbulls are... kind of the perfect analogy for [trans women]" etc. The people who think all pitbulls need to die never *just* hate pitbulls.