Post #618038
2026-03-10 22:05 UTC
This is definitely the fairest point in favor of pit bulls. That being said, even rampant misidentification toward pit bulls wouldn’t be enough to offset 51% – a straight majority – of identified dogs being the perpetrators when 70% of victims knew the dog. At worst, assuming it somehow did, that would suggest “dogs that most people would perceive as pit bulls are more aggressive than other dogs not perceived as pit bulls”.
In fact, because of the immense stigma associated with pit bulls, shelters have been found to intentionally misidentify them to make them more adoptable.
Replies (1)
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@just2look@lemmy.zip 2026-03-10 22:11
Counterpoint, people are more likely to pick a breed with a reputation for being aggressive if the dog acted aggressive. And being familiar with the dog doesn’t improve that likelihood they know what the breed is by a whole lot. The only reason I knew what the breed of my last couple of dogs were is because of genetic testing. And one of them was half pit, and I would absolutely have never guessed. He was half pit, half golden retriever and looked nothing like either breed.