• Omega_Jimes@lemmy.ca
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    21 hours ago

    This is it, full stop. Dogs are individuals and should be treated as such.

    I helped raise and home two litters of Staffordshire pups, we kept a rigorous list of the owners that we interviewed and checked the homes once a year to monitor the dogs progression. We made the owners sign a contract stating that if the living standards weren’t up to snuff, we could reclaim the dogs. I worked with a fellow who raised Staffies for 30 years. In two litters, we had around a dozen well trained, friendly huggable porkchops. Two litters that had no recorded bites past a few months old (puppys nibble but can be trained), and showed no aggression with other animals. All those pups lived to old age, and passed in happy homes. I’ve also met too many pitbulls that were beyond any help i had to offer. Damaged dogs damaged by poor parenting.

    I know my story is anecdotal, and i don’t expect to change minds here, but i cant stand the outrage against such lovable dorks when something like the chihuahua exists.

    • crapwittyname@feddit.uk
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      10 hours ago

      Dogs are animals, and no amount of training can make it certain they will not attack, because, as you say, they are individuals. Therefore a well-trained Pitbull remains more dangerous than a well-trained [insert literally any other dog breed here].
      I absolutely love dogs, including Pitbulls. I despair at what humans have done with selective breeding, by giving Pugs a lifetime of health problems, Pitbulls a greater chance of being euthanised, greyhounds a brain the size of a pea etc., etc. The right thing to do is to vote with our feet and stop the demand for breeds that shouldn’t exist. The real villains here are the people creating pure bred pits for profit.

      • Honytawk@feddit.nl
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        13 hours ago

        And the people who pay those breeders for these types of dogs are part of the problem.

    • Flax@feddit.uk
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      15 hours ago

      Dogs aren’t individuals. They’re animals. You don’t need a pitbull. There are plenty of other beautiful breeds like Retrievers/Laboradors or Border collies, etc.

      With pitbulls you have to train them specifically not to fight to lower the chances. They shouldn’t be available to own to the general public.

      • Tattorack@lemmy.world
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        13 hours ago

        Humans are also animals. Part of the animalia kingdom, like everything else of flesh and bone.

        Animals may not be sapient (being capable of human level generalist brain processing), but they’re absolutely individuals with individual personalities.

        You’d know this of you’ve lived with a few cats, or dogs, or worked on an animal farm for any length of time.

        • Honytawk@feddit.nl
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          13 hours ago

          Yes, and humans also get judged based on their own actions.

          You aren’t going to lock up the parents of a serial killer because they didn’t train them well enough.

          Dogs are individuals as well. Some still show their wild instinct even when trained well enough. Or are you saying dogs can’t have a personality?

          • Tattorack@lemmy.world
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            13 hours ago

            Well, that depends on whether or not the parents were abusive, now doesn’t it?

            Not sure what country you’re from, but abusive parents tend to get locked up.