EXCUSE ME BARMAID! I’M AFRAID YOU ORDERED THE WRONG OFFSPRING! I ORDERED AN EXTRA LARGE BOY WITH BEEFY ARMS! EXTRA GUTS AND GLORY ON THE SIDE! THIS HERE! THIS IS A TALKING FISHBONE!
Okay but like, toothless was not domesticated. Hiccup didn’t tame him, he befriended him. That’s the whole point. Toothless is not hiccups pet, he’s hiccups best friend. They learned to communicate and understand each other, i could write a whole essay about how they are equal in that relationship. They’re best friends.
The fact that the Httyd gang knows about the effect of dragon nip but they are never seen using it on any dragons throughout the franchise unless it's like a last resort or an emergency to stop extremely out of control, hostile dragons. They know that grass is like a drug for the dragons so they never use it against them even to try and train them. As if it is against their moral code to try the easiest way to tame any dragon.
Like, these kids know all these little perks about dragons that Hiccup learned in the first movie. The dragon nip, eels, moving spot of light, specific disabling scratch spots etc. And none of them uses these to befriend or train any dragons throughout the course of the franchise! Dragon nip is an emergency last resort for when they encounter a super aggressive dragon, eels are an absolute no, nobody used shiny laser light spot on any dragons post Httyd 1.
No, they befriend the dragons with trust. They'll only give a dragon scratches after asking permission that is telegraphed in their body language.
The riders respect dragons and there are so many little subtle things which show how they never treat these incredible amazing beings as if they are animals, they always treat them as individuals. As equals.