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I think dogs, like guns, are not all created equally. A pitbull is orders of magnitude more likely to maul a kid than a golden retriever.
And there is certainly a legislative push to restrict ownership of the more dangerous breeds, at least in Europe.
Personally, I would push for a license requirement to keep any kind of mammals (including kids) for animal welfare reasons alone, and ways to mitigate danger to third parties could be easily added to such a process.
At least in the US, enforcement on rules regarding dogs is basically non-existent. I doubt any amount of legislation short of an outright ban would make a significant change. It's too easy to lie about breed or claim service dog status.
But the broader point is that if my feelings on dogs range from outright disgust to begrudging tolerance, then it's easy to sit here and sneer at the societal cost of allowing them at all. I'm sure others would say some of my hobbies have too many negative externalities relative to their benefits, but my threshold for the acceptable level is higher than theirs just because I like the activity. These sorts of debates are just motivated reasoning and conflict theory all the way down.
It’s like a horror comedy how normalized it is nowadays in various countries across the world for people to bring their precious doggos into public spaces like airplanes, restaurants, supermarkets.
In an era where the “oppressed” and the disabled are usually fetishized, people with dog allergies are basically told “sucks to suck” and to suck it up. And people who merely dislike dog odor, having dog fur/slobber on them or in them, or touching surfaces where a dog’s asshole has been stand even less of a chance to have their preferences considered than those with dog allergies.
Can't forget the dogs that eagerly rub their noses into fresh piss puddles then get brought into grocery stores to shove that same nose all over various people and items.
Dog-obsession is one of the few cultural issues where most liberals and conservatives are in complete agreement. I know plenty of vocally liberal people who will bend over backwards stressing the importance of accommodating every dietary restriction and neurodivergence under the sun except when it would cost them a chance to subject you to their dogs. Inclusivity is paramount, but not when the doggos are at stake.
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