“The #1 breed requirement of our dogs is to be non-violent so every time they are violent they can’t be our breed” is some No True Scotsman nonsense that epitomizes the pitbull apologist mindset. Every attack is an exception, but every peaceful dog anecdote is the rule.
I have had so many bad experiences with pits--far outnumbering other breeds (and I have lived next to the kind of chihuahua that gives the breed a bad reputation.
1) A pit puppy ended up beneath my car as a child and we had to get animal control to remove it since it was snapping and growling when we tried to get close.
2) my upstairs neighbor had a Emotional Support Pitbull in a no-dogs apartment. It pulled its two owners around my apartment (he had more muscle than either put together) and fixated on my cats in the window. The owner admitted it was cat aggressive. I was worried for months that one day my cats would escape and then die.
I then moved into the house next to the demon chihuahua. I never worried about mine or my pets safety.
3) I was chased by two loose pit bulls while biking home from work a block away from an elementary school. No owner in sight, and I wasn’t going to get off the bike to find out if they were friendly to walkers. I have been briefly chased by other dogs, but they’ve all been controlled by owners.
4) one aggressive pitbull cleared out an entire dog park and lunged at the corgi who was the last dog out. The owner of a very large poodle mix spotted the car and said “this is a bad dog and we need to leave” and all five dogs and their people cleared out as fast as possible--to the point of sending me back for a water bottle since I didn’t have a dog to wrangle.
(The woman was a career high school security guard. She has honed instincts.)
5) a pitbull being walked by a jogger with headphones on growled at my chihuahua who I had pulled off the trail. I have NEVER been growled at by a dog being walked before or since--barked at, sure. Also, fuck that owner in particular.
I learned my lesson. If I see you walking your pit and can’t get away in time, I’ll pick my girl up. I don’t care if your offended, my dog is worth more.
I am sure some are fine, but I don’t trust them and I don’t trust their owners. The cost of “but he’s never done that before” is too damn high.
There’s a reason shelters are full of pitbulls and it isn’t haters like me--its the fault of the breeders.
This episode did that typical thing Americans often do of using american anecdotes and evidence to evaluate the laws of another country. For example Katie argued that banning American bully's would be hard because they are hard to distinguish from pit bulls, but pit bulls are already banned in the UK! If anything this will make laws easier to enforce, as the "it's not a pit bull it's bully" excuse won't work anymore. A lot of the other breeds that Katie mentioned as dangerous are already banned in the UK.
Similarly, the fact that some attacks weren't actually by American bully's seems irrelevant. If owners are registering dangerous dogs as American bully's to get around a ban then the ban will be useful, irrespective of what the breed actually is
A major issue I found with was how Katie repeatedly cited the UKC or the United Kennel club. This kennel club was founded out of the American Kennel Club refusing to accept American Pitbull Terriers as part of it. They are not the gold standard of kennel clubs and are a FOR profit corporation that takes the misfits and problematic breeders who do not meet the standards of the AKC. I wish she spoke to breeders from the AKC who explained why almost all Pitbull type dogs are not allowed.
"Go to a dog show. And see that they are not the monsters you read about them in the press."
That this argument made it into the episode infuriated me. Nobody says, that they are 24/7 rage machines - but that they have maintained certain traits that can cause them to suddenly attack in certain circumstances paired with a bite strength and behavior that further aggravates any attack.
I would not trust the words of rogue breeders like Wilson further than I can throw their pure muscle, jaws of iron, inbred-and-therefore-psychologically-messed-up-and-likely-in-chronic-pain dogs. It's a huuuuuge moneymaking market, and it's all about, gosh, the concept of "bully," would you believe? The bottom line is, even beyond this clear market for violent dogs, we are breeding ALL dogs into pain, illness, inability to breathe, skulls too small for their heads, etc. Bulldogs cannot even give natural birth anymore. We are Frankensteins making monsters out of the species who have most been our loving companions. Humans suck.
Judging dog owners by the breeds they own is entirely appropriate.
You barely mentioned the problem of bully culture. An obnoxious man does all sorts of things to project danger and intimidation. He takes the mufflers off his vehicles and says "fuck you" to thousands of people every time he drives across town. He gets scary tattoos on his face. He glares at people who say, "Hello."
And he walks an apparently vicious dog with the intention of creating terror.
The UK has every right to ban Pit Bulls and Bullies for exactly this reason.
The line that these things are "bred to be gentle" is the rationalization of a cretin.
I need to agree with Katie 100 times over on one thing, and that’s the smugness people have about adopting/“rescuing” their dogs. It’s insufferable. It makes me want to tell people who ask where I got mine that I stole them.
Katie spends a long time trying to specify what a Bully XL is, but in doing so misses the point that the Bully is to all intents and purposes an American Pit Bull. There have been so few generations it isnt meaningfully different.
In Britain, Pit Bulls are already banned and I dont think she appreciated that ppl say they have Bully XLs, staffy crosses etc. when the dog is clearly a pitbull. (Tbf sometimes they themselves dont know either.) The ban will close this loophole. I live near the welsh boy that was killed and remember deep diving into this and remember all the facebook chat about what exact breed the killer dog was.
Ultimately, all these deaths are from pitbull-type dogs and so there needs to be a ban that is broad enough to cover this. Its imperfect but dog breeds arent black and white categories either.
Okay, this subject annoys me to no end. We have to acknowledge that it's part owner and part the breed.
There's a reason you never hear about vicious pug attacks. Their original purpose was to be a companionship for Chinese nobility. Unfortunately, pit bulls (and most bully breeds) were bred originally for bloodsport and protection. Breeders and shelters do the breed a service by trying to breed that out and selectively euthanizing aggressive dogs.
Also, people need to be more well-educated when they get a certain breed. It's very possible to get a pit bull and never have an incident with it, but you have to be the kind of owner that is willing to acknowledge its instincts and mitigate it. They have intense personalities and really need to be worked. Pit bulls are all muscle and have a hairline trigger of a personality. They are not the dog for everyone.
I have a corgi, and virtually every corgi owner will tell you that they are barky, bossy, and they nip. They are almost ALWAYS protective over their food. There are just certain situations I cannot put my dog in and most corgi owners will tell you the same thing about their dogs.
I just want people to stop treating it like a black and white issue! 😭
Dog breeds ARE NOT animal species. They are human creations. For any human creation, a safety standard of "it's probably fine" is not good enough to justify a potential dangerous animal roaming the streets.
Also: We are talking about phasing out a dog breed - not culling every last pitbull in the country. Considering the littany of health issues of this breed, it's also for the best for the dogs.
The only time I was ever attacked by a dog (very glad the dog didn't go for my then 4-year-old son) was by a Pitbull. Got me on the left knee and took me right down. I had an umbrella and beat it until it let go. The dog's owner came outside and asked, "He didn't get you, did he?" I said, "He did indeed. Do you see the blood coming out of my fucking knee!" The owner replied, "Gosh, he's never done that." They moved out two weeks later.
Episode 183: American Bully X
“The #1 breed requirement of our dogs is to be non-violent so every time they are violent they can’t be our breed” is some No True Scotsman nonsense that epitomizes the pitbull apologist mindset. Every attack is an exception, but every peaceful dog anecdote is the rule.
I have had so many bad experiences with pits--far outnumbering other breeds (and I have lived next to the kind of chihuahua that gives the breed a bad reputation.
1) A pit puppy ended up beneath my car as a child and we had to get animal control to remove it since it was snapping and growling when we tried to get close.
2) my upstairs neighbor had a Emotional Support Pitbull in a no-dogs apartment. It pulled its two owners around my apartment (he had more muscle than either put together) and fixated on my cats in the window. The owner admitted it was cat aggressive. I was worried for months that one day my cats would escape and then die.
I then moved into the house next to the demon chihuahua. I never worried about mine or my pets safety.
3) I was chased by two loose pit bulls while biking home from work a block away from an elementary school. No owner in sight, and I wasn’t going to get off the bike to find out if they were friendly to walkers. I have been briefly chased by other dogs, but they’ve all been controlled by owners.
4) one aggressive pitbull cleared out an entire dog park and lunged at the corgi who was the last dog out. The owner of a very large poodle mix spotted the car and said “this is a bad dog and we need to leave” and all five dogs and their people cleared out as fast as possible--to the point of sending me back for a water bottle since I didn’t have a dog to wrangle.
(The woman was a career high school security guard. She has honed instincts.)
5) a pitbull being walked by a jogger with headphones on growled at my chihuahua who I had pulled off the trail. I have NEVER been growled at by a dog being walked before or since--barked at, sure. Also, fuck that owner in particular.
I learned my lesson. If I see you walking your pit and can’t get away in time, I’ll pick my girl up. I don’t care if your offended, my dog is worth more.
I am sure some are fine, but I don’t trust them and I don’t trust their owners. The cost of “but he’s never done that before” is too damn high.
There’s a reason shelters are full of pitbulls and it isn’t haters like me--its the fault of the breeders.
This episode did that typical thing Americans often do of using american anecdotes and evidence to evaluate the laws of another country. For example Katie argued that banning American bully's would be hard because they are hard to distinguish from pit bulls, but pit bulls are already banned in the UK! If anything this will make laws easier to enforce, as the "it's not a pit bull it's bully" excuse won't work anymore. A lot of the other breeds that Katie mentioned as dangerous are already banned in the UK.
Similarly, the fact that some attacks weren't actually by American bully's seems irrelevant. If owners are registering dangerous dogs as American bully's to get around a ban then the ban will be useful, irrespective of what the breed actually is
A major issue I found with was how Katie repeatedly cited the UKC or the United Kennel club. This kennel club was founded out of the American Kennel Club refusing to accept American Pitbull Terriers as part of it. They are not the gold standard of kennel clubs and are a FOR profit corporation that takes the misfits and problematic breeders who do not meet the standards of the AKC. I wish she spoke to breeders from the AKC who explained why almost all Pitbull type dogs are not allowed.
"Go to a dog show. And see that they are not the monsters you read about them in the press."
That this argument made it into the episode infuriated me. Nobody says, that they are 24/7 rage machines - but that they have maintained certain traits that can cause them to suddenly attack in certain circumstances paired with a bite strength and behavior that further aggravates any attack.
I would not trust the words of rogue breeders like Wilson further than I can throw their pure muscle, jaws of iron, inbred-and-therefore-psychologically-messed-up-and-likely-in-chronic-pain dogs. It's a huuuuuge moneymaking market, and it's all about, gosh, the concept of "bully," would you believe? The bottom line is, even beyond this clear market for violent dogs, we are breeding ALL dogs into pain, illness, inability to breathe, skulls too small for their heads, etc. Bulldogs cannot even give natural birth anymore. We are Frankensteins making monsters out of the species who have most been our loving companions. Humans suck.
I'm pitbull ambivalent. I guess you could say I don't have a dog in this fight
Judging dog owners by the breeds they own is entirely appropriate.
You barely mentioned the problem of bully culture. An obnoxious man does all sorts of things to project danger and intimidation. He takes the mufflers off his vehicles and says "fuck you" to thousands of people every time he drives across town. He gets scary tattoos on his face. He glares at people who say, "Hello."
And he walks an apparently vicious dog with the intention of creating terror.
The UK has every right to ban Pit Bulls and Bullies for exactly this reason.
The line that these things are "bred to be gentle" is the rationalization of a cretin.
The reputation of pit bulls as dangerous is part of their appeal for some people.
Just like some voters admire our former president *because* he insults people--it’s a power move that appeals to some people.
So it’s obvious why pit bulls became such a polarizing breed.
"What's a Cujo?"
"A bad dog from a movie."
Read a book, kids.
I need to agree with Katie 100 times over on one thing, and that’s the smugness people have about adopting/“rescuing” their dogs. It’s insufferable. It makes me want to tell people who ask where I got mine that I stole them.
Katie spends a long time trying to specify what a Bully XL is, but in doing so misses the point that the Bully is to all intents and purposes an American Pit Bull. There have been so few generations it isnt meaningfully different.
In Britain, Pit Bulls are already banned and I dont think she appreciated that ppl say they have Bully XLs, staffy crosses etc. when the dog is clearly a pitbull. (Tbf sometimes they themselves dont know either.) The ban will close this loophole. I live near the welsh boy that was killed and remember deep diving into this and remember all the facebook chat about what exact breed the killer dog was.
Ultimately, all these deaths are from pitbull-type dogs and so there needs to be a ban that is broad enough to cover this. Its imperfect but dog breeds arent black and white categories either.
Okay, this subject annoys me to no end. We have to acknowledge that it's part owner and part the breed.
There's a reason you never hear about vicious pug attacks. Their original purpose was to be a companionship for Chinese nobility. Unfortunately, pit bulls (and most bully breeds) were bred originally for bloodsport and protection. Breeders and shelters do the breed a service by trying to breed that out and selectively euthanizing aggressive dogs.
Also, people need to be more well-educated when they get a certain breed. It's very possible to get a pit bull and never have an incident with it, but you have to be the kind of owner that is willing to acknowledge its instincts and mitigate it. They have intense personalities and really need to be worked. Pit bulls are all muscle and have a hairline trigger of a personality. They are not the dog for everyone.
I have a corgi, and virtually every corgi owner will tell you that they are barky, bossy, and they nip. They are almost ALWAYS protective over their food. There are just certain situations I cannot put my dog in and most corgi owners will tell you the same thing about their dogs.
I just want people to stop treating it like a black and white issue! 😭
*steps off soap box*
Dog breeds ARE NOT animal species. They are human creations. For any human creation, a safety standard of "it's probably fine" is not good enough to justify a potential dangerous animal roaming the streets.
Also: We are talking about phasing out a dog breed - not culling every last pitbull in the country. Considering the littany of health issues of this breed, it's also for the best for the dogs.
"He looks like he's been lifting weights and avoiding seed oils" 😂😂😂😂😂
The only time I was ever attacked by a dog (very glad the dog didn't go for my then 4-year-old son) was by a Pitbull. Got me on the left knee and took me right down. I had an umbrella and beat it until it let go. The dog's owner came outside and asked, "He didn't get you, did he?" I said, "He did indeed. Do you see the blood coming out of my fucking knee!" The owner replied, "Gosh, he's never done that." They moved out two weeks later.