Fierce Chihuahuas

Revised: Sept 4 2012; 16:45 GMT
Revised: Jan 17, 2013; 19:47 GMT

We know that Chihuahuas are as capable of biting, or more capable of biting, as so-called pit bulls.

MPP Chen DiNovo, Toronto

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SRUV has previously identified an argument used by advocates of pit bulls in which the advocates compare pit bulls with Chihuahuas and claim that Chihuahuas are more aggressive. They make this claim with apparent sincerity. 

Pit bull advocates seem not to notice how bizarre this argument is. The following examples were all found with a single search of the news, and copied as quickly as we could cut-and-paste them. It is as if a Kremlin propagandist sent out a talking points memo a few days ago, and the pit bull advocates are obediently responding. 

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There are bad Chihuahuas when I'm out for a walk that the owners can't control. I think it has to do with the owners, not the dog.
      KTNV.COM

In fact, studies show that bites from such breeds as chihuahuas, golden retrievers, Labradors, poodles, Scottish terrier, and Shetland sheepdog breeds occur quite often. (MPP Laurie Scott)

     MyKawartha.COM

Anyone who's been chomped by a Chihuahua . . . knows that pit bulls are not the only biters, and in many cases are not biters at all.
     WTRF.COM

New Democratic MPP Chen DiNovo correctly noted that any canine can bite a person and some breeds are even more aggressive than pit bulls. "Everyone knows it's the deed, not the breed, that's the problem. We know that German shepherds, we know that Labrador retrievers, we know that Chihuahuas are as capable of biting, or more capable of biting, as so-called pit bulls."
     CBC.CA and TheStar.COM

I'e never been bitten by a pit bull. I've been bitten by a Chihuahua, a poodle, a hound dog.
     Citizen-Times.COM

If you speak to veterinarians you will find that they feel pit bulls are incredibly sweet dogs and that the most aggressive breed that comes in is Chihuahuas.
     TCPALM.COM

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Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

RSPCA Act

Any dog is capable of any act, at any point in time.

  -- Michael Linke, CEO of the RSPCA, ACT

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We have all heard the following phrases:

• Judge the deed; not the breed
• It's not the dog; it's the owner
• It's all how they're raised
• And above all, All dogs bite

When listed together we are struck by just how defensive these phrases are. Following a sensational attack one or more of these phrases are invariably hauled out to defend the breed of obsession.

Following the recent death of Ayen Chol at her mother's feet Mr Linke (the owner of a pit bull) abandoned these overused phrases  and struck out for something more impressive. He came up with the wildly imaginative phrase in the header of  this post. SRUV will henceforth refer to his construction as Ax3.

Any dog, Any act, Any time; Any trebled, or cubed. Mr Linke's statement is an exponentially improved version of the tired old meme All dogs bite. Not only will any dog bite, given the chance, or perhaps even maul you to death, but according to Mr Linke any dog is likely to do, or at least capable of doing, anything, at any time.

I believe Mr Linke's intention with Ax3 is that we shouldn't fear a pit bull attack any more than we fear a nip from a chihuahua. Indeed, this is the way much of the advocacy rhetoric functions: by making specious comparisons that are blatantly dishonest, but insanely effective.

If we further deconstruct Ax3 we might believe that my chihuahua could write a symphony on a par with Mahler's Night Music; she might even write it tonight.

Pit bull advocates have been coming up with similar nonsense for years. SRUV has discussed elsewhere on these pages how pit advocates have used these phrases to frame the debate. It begins with a casual mention, like Mr Linke's statement to a member of the press following the death of a child. Then it spreads and takes hold, like a virus. Other pit bull advocates read these phrases, believe them despite their absolute lunacy, and repeat them. And eventually they are accepted without question.



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Sources:
The Herald Sun, Point Cook Weekly, and The Australian, among others.

Statistics in SRUV:
Statistics are from the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here. This page may also include information from Dogsbite and Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.



Google News: Today's pit bull attacks



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Bit Five Times

Revised: January 13, 2014; 18:53 GMT

A sophisticated rhetorical device has been adopted by pit bull advocates.

I have been bitten by a     (blank)   .

A popular variation is  I know a man/woman who was bitten by a  _(blank)_ .

The blank is filled with the name of any breed, other than a pit bull. A reader who scans the comment sections following news accounts of pit bull attacks will often find this trope.

The most gentle dogs are preferred (golden retrievers), but diminutive dogs (dachshunds, chihuahuas) are also popular choices to fill in the blanks.

This rhetorical device accomplishes several aims at once:

1. It reinforces other pit bull arguments, for example All dogs bite 
2. In comment sections, it ignores and displaces the news of the attack
3. It serves as a homily, reminding us that bites are ordinary, can be endured with humor, and are not worthy of special consideration;
4. It equates the bite of a pit bull with that of the   (blank) , thereby diminishing the horrors of a pit bull mauling.

The stories are inevitably unsubstantiated.

This writer witnessed an over-the-top performance of this rhetorical device. At a Town Council meeting where BSL was under discussion a speaker gave a tour de force performance, which opened with the following line:

I've been bitten by dogs five times in my life, and not one was a pit bull.

The speaker went on to give a nuanced account of her alleged personal dog bite history.

These speeches always follow the same pattern, and they work on the same level as political speech: it frames the reader's (or listener's) understanding of an issue by framing the language used to discuss it.

How is it that this tactic has come to be so widely embraced by the pit bull community? How do they all know and share this experience? How could so many people who own pit bulls have been bitten by so many dogs that aren't pit bulls?

What were these pit bull owners doing wrong to get bit so often?

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