Highlights: In a bizarre turn of events last month, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that he would ban American XL bullies, a type of pit bull-shaped dog that had recently been implicated in a number of violent and sometimes deadly attacks.

XL bullies are perceived to be dangerous — but is that really rooted in reality?

    • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Temperament does not equate to ability and preponderance to cause severe injury or death.

        • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Also, no your link does not say temperament is propensity to attack. A dog can fail the temperament test because it is shy or nervous, as per your own link.

            • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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              1 year ago

              You are really stretching the words may be a lot here. Most fearful dogs are more likely to run away, and will only attack if cornered with no other way out. Seems you’re the one who doesn’t know about dog behavior, would explain why your a pitbull apologist.

              • squirmy_wormy@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                That’s patently untrue. A fearful dog is very likely to be reactive, and that reaction will vary based on many different things, both personal to the dog and to the context of the situation. Fight or flight is a common way of remembering that.

                And a dog (or any creature) in a reactive mode is dangerous.

                You sound out of your depth here bud…almost reactionary.

                • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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                  1 year ago

                  Nope, spent my whole life around dogs. Fearful dogs are very unlikely to attack, they’re nothing like aggressive dogs.

                • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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                  1 year ago

                  My guy, I really am very smart. 99th percentile or so through my PhD, and into my well published scientific career.

                  Pitbulls suck and we need to stop breeding them, live with it.

            • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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              1 year ago

              Pitbulls dominate the list of fatal dog attacks:

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks

              And yet they only account for about 6% of owned dogs. They are more dangerous than other breeds, vastly more so in fact. And just because dogs only kill a few dozen people each year, there is no reason not to eliminate the majority of that source of deaths.

              And I’ve had friends attacked by “well-trained” and friendly pitbulls. Really nice neck scars they got from that super duper lovely little pibble. Don’t know anyone injured by any other breed.

              And how many cocker spaniels have killed people? I;m seeing zero on the list of attacks.