Wow this post got popular. I got called into work and didnt see the replies, sorry ladies and gentlemen! Trying to catch up tonight.
Are we talking about bulldogs or pit bulls?
because you care about violent dogs designed to kill
As I pointed out in another comment, we don’t know that this is how this works. Nature vs nurture isn’t some no brainer just because it’s about something you don’t like.
But regardless, no thank you. I don’t want any animal to be artificially driven to extinction because people are horrible and thus raise them horribly.
IMO, the issue is purely down to their strength and ability to kill a person.
I don’t doubt their temperament is fine, but when an animal has that much power they’re a serious danger in the rare situation that they’re out of control.
I like Jack Russells, I’ve got two, if they were strong dogs and someone said they’re being banned because of it then I wouldn’t mind. Just don’t let them breed any more.
A dog’s a dog. While I have a preference, ultimately I don’t really care what breed I have.
Pugs should be banned as well. A dog’s a dog, not a fashion accessory.
I don’t doubt their temperament is fine
Pits have an incredibly strong prey drive, and once they decide to attack something they almost never stop. So no, they don;t have the best temperament.
Pugs should be banned as well
There’s at least a retro-pug movement now that is working to breed the overly shortened snout out of pugs, and make them a healthier breed.
Pugs Bulldogs they should be banned for their health reasons.
The problem with “don’t ban them but don’t let them breed more” and allow people that have one to just carry on is you just create a potentially lucrative black market for these dogs (in fact you doing that might make them more sought after), which doesn’t actually fix any problems.
Not necessarily advocating killing animals because they’re inconvenient but ultimately if they’re going to be a problem (and it certainly seems like that’s the case) then the sooner they’re banned the less harm is inflicted overall.
Black market for dogs that shouldn’t exist anymore after 10 years? What would you do with a dog you couldn’t take out of the house? Where’s the demand? I can’t imagine pitbull junkies selling everything they own just to get one more pup either
Well the black market doesn’t exist because it’s not legal to own a pitbull - as you say, who wants a dog they can’t take outside?
My point is if you ban breeding but you don’t ban owning the dog then you risk creating that black market.
Pugs should be banned as well. A dog’s a dog, not a fashion accessory.
completely disagree, my last dog was a pug & I loved the shit out of that lil guy. best 10 years of my life.
next dog will probably be a Frenchie, they’re super cute.
The issue with pugs is not that they’re evil or bad creatures, it’s that humans have selectively bred them for their looks, but that’s lead to the animals suffering because their breeding means they have massive problems with breathing, their knees, spine, eyes, etc. That’s unfair on the animal.
It’s like saying we want to eliminate genetic diseases like Down’s syndrome or Haemophilia. Nobody’s saying individuals with those conditions are bad, it’s that we don’t think people should be born with conditions that give them a worse life.
Now for dogs it’s a bit more complicated because those conditions are afflicted upon them by us purely for aesthetics, and if dogs are banned that inevitably leads to some being killed which isn’t very fair on those animals, but if we can’t find a way to reverse the worst aspects of their breeding is the only way we can prevent further suffering.
Every owner thinks their dog is a “good one” until it’s too late. They should be required to be neutered and not allowed to breed.
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Ahhh, the ol lemmy switch-a-roo!
Especially the dogs.
Cultural question to Brits as this happened in UK. Do people care if their dog attacks someone or is highly agressive to humans in UK?
By what I’ve heard from my friends, dog owners often put the blame on attacked/harassed passers-by, they don’t feel accountable for their wrongdoings (i.e. not using leash and not paying attention to where their dog is and what is it doing).
Over here, especially in urban areas, it’s expected that your dog doesn’t approach others. Aggressive behaviour doesn’t fly. Aggressive dogs on lead are accepted if the owner has complete control, but anything beyond that isn’t ok.
Thanks for feedback. My friend had numerous occasions where he ended up with dog attacking him in parks in urban areas, this is why I’m curious about it. They’re affraid of the dogs in general so situations like this make them anxious for next days. From their experience, dog owners were often behaving like real twats even in clear situations such as being bitten by a free running large dog(s)without close supervision.
If you live around the estates and poorer areas you can find lots of people with big dogs cooped up in small flats (apartments). There is a culture now of “my dog has rights” or “I can do what I want” whenever these people are challenged about their abusive or neglectful behaviour. The Police used to tackle these owners but gave up caring years ago (they did the same with traffic and as with dog attacks the KSIs have massively risen there too).
If someone does get bitten most owners do tend to blame the victim in my experience. “You shouted/waved your arms/ran!” etc etc.
Thanks for the feedback. This is exactly what I’ve been hearing from friends that had problems with dogs in UK. They usually described this issue as dog having more rights to do whatever it wants than people.
Ban the breeding of all dogs.
As in selectively or sterilize all dogs?
At the risk of pissing off the UK anti-dog chuds; it seriously makes me wonder how people in the UK are treating their dogs that’d cause them to act like this. I’ve known several people with pitbulls throughout my life. My dad had one as a child. None of those pitbulls ever hurt someone, but then again, none of them were beaten, abused (afaik), or trained as attack/home defense dogs. While I know pitbulls are different from an “American Bully XL” (damn, I love dog breeds that sound like marketing company named them), they’re pretty similar. If anything, a pitbull is more aggressive than a bully, so it would have been more likely for any of the pitbulls to suddenly “”“snap”“” and start attacking people for no reason.
They never did.
In fact, despite pitbulls being legal in the US, I’ve never personally heard of someone being attacked by one. I know it happens, I’ve heard about it in the news, but no one I’ve talked to has ever had an issue with a pitbull or known someone who has.
The only conclusion I’ve come to is that either the UK has a culture which encourages beating or abusing your dog to discipline them (causing them to eventually lash out), or (the more likely of the two) is that the dogs are being trained as attack dogs. That means it really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone when an attack dog, well, fucking attacks a human.
YOU TRAINED THEM TO FUCKING DO THAT YOU DUMBASS HUMAN SHITHEAD AND THEN YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO ACT SURPRISED WHEN THEY DO WHAT YOU TRAINED THEM TO DO.
Don’t blame the dog, blame the asshole who trained them. If your dog attacks another person and maims or kills them, you should be the one held accountable. You should be taken to court and tried as if you shot or stabbed someone. Maybe the UK already does that, but if not, I wonder how many people would still train dogs to attack an intruder or (aggressively) defend their home if they knew they could be locked away for 1st degree murder or treated like a mass shooter if their attack dog goes on a rampage.
Advocating to ban a dog breed because humans are pieces of shit is like saying we should ban climate activism because some climate activists engage in eco-terrorism.
The dogs were bred to be incredibly violent and dangerous. Pointers point, herders herd, and pits and bullies fucking kill.
Bullies actually weren’t. They were bred to be strong, but another goal was to for the breed to have a lowered prey drive.
The reason why they’re so dangerous is because if one does become aggressive, then it is more than capable of completely ripping you apart. There are, however, breeds of dogs designed to defend livestock and homes (attacking intruders like animals or humans), but most of those are very rarely banned because they’re typically trained by a professional instead of a random chav who wants a dog to boost his ego because he can’t own a gun. Some examples are: Komondors, Great Pyrenees, Tibetan Mastiffs, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and yes, Pitbulls (but not bullies).
Any dog can be trained to be aggressive (except maybe golden retrievers). Any dog can be mishandled, abused, beaten, or otherwise conditioned to lash out at someone. Stop blaming the dog and instead blame the human. The dog does what it’s been trained to do and if it’s been improperly trained, then it will appear to act erratically and lash out at random people, regardless of whether they’re a threat.
citation needed
It’s in the name numbnut, Pit bull, it’s a pit fighter dog.
Advocating to ban a dog breed because humans are pieces of shit is like saying we should ban climate activism because some climate activists engage in eco-terrorism.
I’d love for you to try to explain that simile.
I was trying to come up with a simile that people would be upset about. If I said, “it’s like saying we should ban Republicans because of the white supremacists” then people would be saying, “yeah, we should ban Republicans”. If I said, “it’s like banning Russians because of the war in Ukraine” there are a lot of people who’d unironically agree with that.
I know it’s not a perfect simile; there’s likely a growing number of people who believe that eco-terrorism is quickly becoming a necessity if we hope to have a chance of surviving the next 20yrs. However, there are a still a lot of people who’d tell you that blowing up an oil rig or assassinating the CEO of BP is too extreme.
I’m kind of surpised these pests weren’t banned in the UK, yet. The usually love banning stuff.
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First UK bans guns, then knives, now big dogs… what are you supposed to protect yourself with?
Plastic bags and the element of surprise
Since when should you be able to buy a dog as a defensive weapon?
Dogs raised as violent tools are explicitly the source of this problem.
Dogs are THE biggest detereant to home invasions
Every dog is a reflection of it’s owner. Every time this debate comes up I just think how incredibly dumb these people are. Punish the dog fighters and abusers. People can make any breed aggressive and dangerous.
How about we talk of things in our control first.
A lotta dumb asses in these comments don’t know nothing about bulldogs
They have some of the highest kill counts…
Two of four fatal dog attacks in the UK in 2021 involved a Bully XL, with the number increasing to at least six out of ten last year.
Stop defending aggressive dogs, looks bad. It’ll look extra bad when they maul for because they are such sweet dogs…
And I’m sure those dogs were raised in a loving household, and not at all raised as attack dogs or abused at all /s
Defending the dangerous thing while blaming the owner is a favorite argument against gun control.
Are we comparing dogs to guns now? I think I need to take a break from the internet
Are both dangerous in the wrong hands? Yes.
Seeing things you don’t like and blaming the internet…
One of them is a living thing…
Some people are responsible with guns, but I’m still comfortable with getting rid of all of them because it’s not like the guns would be hurt with that decision. They’re inanimate objects.
I’m less comfortable with putting down an entire breed of animal because some people are irresponsible assholes, and either abuse their pets or raise them to be attack dogs.
You’re assuming how this can be done. The law in the UK is that it is illegal to import or breed these dogs. You can implement legislation in which dogs can live out their lives and eventually it ain’t a problem.
Of course, I am not willing to watch children and old people getting mauled because you care about violent dogs designed to kill. Kill 'em like they kill me burgers…
When something was created by humans to be a weapon yes, you compare them to guns. It’s like comparing a dog that was bred for eating grass to a lawnmower because their traits were bred into it to provide them with a certain function, in this case being a dangerous weapon.