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Comment by bdcravens | Hacker News Reader

As the owner of two pit mixes, I'm biased, but I acknowledge statistics, and recognize that mine may be atypically gentle. The issue of course is a lot of BSL is too wide in scope. There's a big difference between a 70 pound Staffy and a 35 pound APBT-lab mix, and that's not just limited to size and strength.

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People love to describe their pitbulls as "gentle" and "loving" until they rip the baby's face off.

Ditto for German Shepherds and Dachshunds (I have 3 dogs; the one in addition to the 2 pits is a Dachshund, and he's bitten pretty much everyone he's gotten close enough to)

Those crazy Germans!

There is a categorical difference between the two. While dachsunds may have a propensity for violence, it is verging on comical to compare them to a German Shepherd, just because of the comparative physical capability of the dogs. A dachsund could get it in its head to attack me for days and I would never require anything more than a bandaid, while a German Shepherd could seriously injure me even were I trying to defend myself.

As I've said elsewhere on this thread, the first-order consideration for breeds is just the physical capability; temperament and training are second-order considerations that may mitigate some of the capabilities, but rarely will increase the danger of a breed.

> A dachsund could get it in its head to attack me for days and I would never require anything more than a bandaid

Wot?

Here's a quick google result to the contrary: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families...

You might not die, but a Dachshund's bite can require stitches.

They can absolutely kill a small child.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/12/27/dach...

I'm curious- is the Dachshund a rescue or did you raise it from a puppy? And if you raised it from a puppy, when was the first time you first socialized it? Did you begin immediately after weaning at 8 weeks or did a month or two pass before you brought it into the world? Those first couple months after the 8 week mark are critical for to reduce reactivity and encourage proper socialization. So many people I've come across just hear than you can't bring your dog out into the world before all their vaccinations and in doing so, they royally screw over their dog by lack of proper socialization and that's why you see so many poorly behaved dogs.

We raised him from a puppy. I probably am guilty of putting less effort into him than I did our pit-lab (She was also raised from a puppy; I was worried about everything I heard about pits, and fell into the trap of "cute wiener dog" thinking for the little one). To this day (10+ years later) he's still a dominant dog, and the pit-mix is actually super passive, loving on every person, kitten, and dog that's ever come into our home. (though perhaps her lab influence plays a large role in that)

Yes, that is how not being prejudiced works. You judge the individual based on what it has done, not what it might do or what others do.

The terrible bigotry against pet lions must end. They must be allowed to roam the streets of NYC and whomsoever objects has deep prejudice.

Sort of. I think the high-order bit here is whether the dog is capable of causing grievous harm. Chihuahuas can be aggressive and can attack without warning, but they will rarely require more than basic first aid to treat, and the possibility of death is practically zero.

At a minimum you are talking about dogs that are capable of killing a child and seriously injuring an adult, and when we talk about the larger breeds in the pit bull family, clearly capable of killing an adult.

Some larger breeds, like golden retrievers, can be ferocious when provoked, and can be dangerous in this regard, but in terms of brute strength are more limited. This is even putting aside differences in temperament.

That's like waiting until someone is killed before putting up a traffic light.

dog genetics are probabilities. Your dogs are likely able to suppress their instinct but find the right trigger and your dogs are very likely to be ripping out an animal’s throat, including a human’s.

BSL works because it is also based on probabilities, specifically the probability that a group of closely related dog breeds are all likely to exhibit the same behaviour.

The problem with pit bull type dogs is the breeding that makes them attack a target’s most sensitive region - the neck. Better to have all related breeds removed that run the risk of yet another child dying because someone could not be arsed to contrôle their dog.

Can confirm. My dog is the sweetest thing (a mutt, mostly Australian shepherd) but she is ready to murder when she sees a possum or raccoon.

A threatening person I have little doubt she would have a go at.

Dachshunds are the same way, as they are bred to be hunters.

I agree. Pitbulls should be regarded as a public health threat like smallpox or the aedes aegypti mosquito, and eradicated.

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