Posted as I thought this was interesting given recent stories about unattended dogs/children and *very* negative outcomes.
I generally look at the owner. If the owner has it together and is paying attention, odds are the dog is fine or will be checked good and early.
Always skeptical of studies like this, especially out of the USA.
I just can’t believe it. My own personal experience of dogs is too contrary to tell me otherwise.
I would expect dogs behaviour to be on a bell curve, with the curve moving along the horizontal axis depending on breed.
I also suspect that if you buy a labrador, you are expecting it to be super friendly, so you treat it as such.
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My issue with trying to analyse dog attacks is there are too many variables.
The first issue is that a lot of dogs that are going to attack people are selected by people who either want their dog to be aggressive or are incapable of training a dog not to be aggressive.
The local thug isn’t going to get a Golden Retriever, yet even as placid a dog as this will be aggressive if mistreated . The local thug is going to pick a “hard” breed, so that dog is then doubly damned right from the start, by nature and nurture.
I have been bitten twice, once by a Labrador and once by a German Shepherd, the Shepherd I was at fault for, it was a rescue dog that was nervous and I didn’t pay enough attention to the warning signs. The Labrador was just in a cunt dog mood, for whatever reason.
Unfortunately I suspect a lot of it has to do with cost, rescue centres only have Staffies, and even pedigree “crosses” cost a fortune now.
So people who can’t spend thousands on a good family dog, have to opt for a cheaper dog like a Staffie or Staffie cross, are less likely to be able to afford training and time for socialisation.
I feel like this whole debate is a smoke screen for shitty parents. Don’t leave your kid alone with an animal. If you do and it gets killed, you’re up for negligent homicide. It doesn’t matter if the animal was a Pitbull or a Golden Retriever or 6m long python.
This study isn’t based in science in the slightest. They simply surveyed how dog owners perceive the personality of their dog.
A better title would have been, “Owners of mixed breed dogs’ perceptions of dog behaviour has little to do with breed, study finds.”
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Posted as I thought this was interesting given recent stories about unattended dogs/children and *very* negative outcomes.
I generally look at the owner. If the owner has it together and is paying attention, odds are the dog is fine or will be checked good and early.
Always skeptical of studies like this, especially out of the USA.
I just can’t believe it. My own personal experience of dogs is too contrary to tell me otherwise.
I would expect dogs behaviour to be on a bell curve, with the curve moving along the horizontal axis depending on breed.
I also suspect that if you buy a labrador, you are expecting it to be super friendly, so you treat it as such.
[deleted]
My issue with trying to analyse dog attacks is there are too many variables.
The first issue is that a lot of dogs that are going to attack people are selected by people who either want their dog to be aggressive or are incapable of training a dog not to be aggressive.
The local thug isn’t going to get a Golden Retriever, yet even as placid a dog as this will be aggressive if mistreated . The local thug is going to pick a “hard” breed, so that dog is then doubly damned right from the start, by nature and nurture.
I have been bitten twice, once by a Labrador and once by a German Shepherd, the Shepherd I was at fault for, it was a rescue dog that was nervous and I didn’t pay enough attention to the warning signs. The Labrador was just in a cunt dog mood, for whatever reason.
Unfortunately I suspect a lot of it has to do with cost, rescue centres only have Staffies, and even pedigree “crosses” cost a fortune now.
So people who can’t spend thousands on a good family dog, have to opt for a cheaper dog like a Staffie or Staffie cross, are less likely to be able to afford training and time for socialisation.
I feel like this whole debate is a smoke screen for shitty parents. Don’t leave your kid alone with an animal. If you do and it gets killed, you’re up for negligent homicide. It doesn’t matter if the animal was a Pitbull or a Golden Retriever or 6m long python.
This study isn’t based in science in the slightest. They simply surveyed how dog owners perceive the personality of their dog.
A better title would have been, “Owners of mixed breed dogs’ perceptions of dog behaviour has little to do with breed, study finds.”