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In reply to the discussion: Pit bull bites off N.Y. 5-year-old's genitals [View all]Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)I do not believe that any animal can bear "blame." Blame is something that can only be applied to a human being capable of reason. Blaming an animal for something is a lot like shouting at a cloud for blocking the sun.
Yes, there is instinct. But instinct isn't autopilot. A dog's instinct is to take a crap wherever it happens to be when it feels the need. It can be trained otherwise, and most dogs that spend any amount of time indoors are so trained. A dog's instinct is to chase something that runs... unless it is trained otherwise, then it behaves just fine. A dog's instinct is to bark and howl (well, most breeds, archaic and spitz dogs are notable exceptions) in order to communicate with each other and try to communicate with humans - unless they are trained otherwise.
Training overcomes instinct. Your comparison to horses isn't exactly spot-on, because a lot of what you're talking about is simple physical ability; draft horses are just too big to do the stuff a thoroughbred does. Similarly, no one's saying you can train a pug to herd cattle, it just lacks any physical capability for the job. But, you could probably train a pug to herd guinea pigs or something (and yes, that is the cutest image you will have in your head today
), and you could train a draft horse to race (though it wouldn't win, except in an all-draft race perhaps.)