What is going on with ridiculous dog breeds ?

I suggest that dog licences would be bought by most law-abiding people. Those who glory in ownership of a bully-type dog do so to show their strength (human, not canine) and that they are not to be messed with. They would not bother.

Bully dogs ought be eliminated from the UK. How this is done is a huge problem with litters being bread in quiet back streets etc., plus of course, the under-resourcing of police and animal welfare staff.

A possible alternative is that all dogs should be muzzled when in public spaces. This would work - but would bully dog owners comply? Probably not. This also, of course, would be a huge shame for the 99% of well behaved dogs.

I hope that a way can be found to act quickly and decisively and shudder to think who is next to be harmed, scarred or killed by one of these animals.

Of course the humans are at fault Oldbat- but what then?

I am very glad I live currently in a country that has very strict registration, local and national, of all dogs- with some breeds or crossbreeds, as per vet recommendations, which are banned, and where anyone with docked ears or tail, are forbidden, and where it is properly enforced.

Whenever our dog is out with us off lead, in the woods, and anyone is around (VERY VERY rare) we always ask if they are afraid of dogs and if they want me/us to put on lead. They always say 'no, we love dogs'- but just in case. People's dislikes or fears have to be respected.

hazel93

As everyone knows not the dog the owners. Yet another death.
Why would anyone want a pet than can kill. amazes me.

And why do many dog owners think it is acceptable for their dog to jump up everyone they see? This happened to me recently and I swiftly back away.... the dog owner simply said "he only wants to say hello"! NO! NOT ACCEPTABLE! Keep your bloody dogs under control!

I agree, Hazel93. Why anyone wants these breeds is incomprehensible to me.

Most of these dogs are “mongrels” so how can you ban them as they are not a pure recognised breed. Sadly undesirable humans use them for dog fighting and drug dealers use them as status dogs. Any dog can bite I was badly bitten aged 4 by a chihuahua. Didnt put me off dogs though. These large out of control dogs are the result of bad breeding. Folk need training as well as dogs. Cockapoos for example may look innocent but many arent due to bad breeding with folk trying to sell them for a ridiculous amount of money for what is a crossbreed. There is an American Bulldog in the next street who lives with young children - the whole family are feral but luckily the dog is ok but he often escapes their garden. Humans are at fault here.

Iam64

Exactly - dog breed characteristics will show. My lab was born knowing how to retrieve especially from water. My spaniel flushes birds and retrieves, brings me a gift every morning, pair of socks, soft toy etc

Our last dog (half cocker spaniel, we never knew who the dad was - owner of her mother suspected some ruffian on a nearby farm) had to bring a present of a shoe to any family member arriving home. Whenever she heard dh’s car she’d charge around looking for one. Just as well there were usually some lying around in the hall.

Re the dangerous dogs, people so often say ‘It’s the owner, not the breed.’ Trouble is, it’s usually the sort of owners who choose this type of dog who are at least 50% of the problem.

While i# think it is true that dogs do have inherent characteristics I think owners bear a big responsibility in their socialising.
My pug was attacked by a cocker spaniel.Fortunately nodamage was done . My dog was on the lead and the cocker wasn't .I always thought spaniels were gentle dogs.However the owner seemed quite ineffectual.
I also agree with someone on another post who said children should be taught to ask if they can touch a dog.

Many years ago Konrad Lorenz was saying that the Chow Chow was a particularly dangerous dog. He said they were very much one man dogs and needed careful management around other people. In those days they were a fairly rare and expensive dog or I expect they would have been picked up by the people breeding fighting dogs now.

We inherited a middle aged Border Collie from a friend. He was a lovely dog and very well trained but he wasn't keen on small children. If he was getting fed up with them there would be a slight curl of his lip and we knew it was time to remove him. Our own Border Collie was badly bitten by a Labrador (that nice family dog) when he was only a coupe of months old. For the rest of his 16 years he was frightened of strange dogs and a nightmare to take out.

Exactly - dog breed characteristics will show. My lab was born knowing how to retrieve especially from water. My spaniel flushes birds and retrieves, brings me a gift every morning, pair of socks, soft toy etc

Dinahmo

Unfortunately there are owners of such breeds who say their dog would never hurt anyone. These aggressive traits, bred in to them generations ago are inherent.

I have a French sheepdog, who, despite being blind, will set outside moving her head to work out where sounds, that I cannot hear, are coming from. I mentioned it to the vet once and he pointed out that it was bred into her ancestors who guarded sheep and stayed alert for the occasional marauding wolf. She also knows when thunderstorms are coming, sometimes an hour before they hit us.

I've had terriers who haven't had lone access to the countryside but who have found moles with great ease whilst out on walks. Bred into their ancestors.

True. We have had little Terrier X for years and none of them have been trained to work but we knew if a mouse or rat got into our garage because they would go nuts until they found it amongst all the clutter. It was just bred in them.
Border terriers walk to heel behind horses and our little Border X did it from a puppy all by himself. He used to follow my husband and daughter on their horses like he had been trained.

That’s tough Dinahmo. Your post confirms, it isn’t all ‘bad owners’. Dogs like people, are all different. I’m sharing my life with a lovely lab who hasn’t read the lab manual about being chilled, calm and easy to train 🐕

I’ve just posted on one of the other threads, reference to the way the XLbullies were created in America. One dog, Killer Kimbo (yes, really) is said to be genetically linked to many XLBullies in Britain. Kimbo was bred from two dogs with the same parents. His descendants have been linked to dog attacks causing death in America and Britain.

Inter breeding contributes to health and temperament problems. These dogs are linked to increasing numbers of dreadful attacks. I’m a dog lover, currently share my life with two. I’ve rescued and fostered dogs. I’ve no hesitation in saying XLBullies are all potentially dangerous. I don’t want to share my public spaces with them

sodapop

I did say dogs of bully breed/size Dinahmo my own JR accidentally nipped a grandchild whilst taking a ball from them, after that every time said grandchild came in the room the dog would hide in the corner.

I wasn't responding to you but to Maddyone

I did have a fox terrier put to sleep a couple of years ago. He was OK with visitors but I think he thought he was the house pack leader. He would sleep under my desk whilst I was working and when I go up he would wake and jump up at me teeth bared. Many t-shirts bear the holes made by his teeth. I talked to our vet about hon and we tried to find a behaviourist. The nearest one was probably two hours drive away but i made the appointment. The day before it was cancelled because apparently they only dealt with dogs involved in court cases. (I'm in France)

One day he bit my had and I had 10 stitches. When I arrived at the doctor he asked if I'd killed him and I said, no, not yet.

I then spoke to the vet who explained the French procedures. It meant that we had to keep him for 15 days. I spent that time wondering what else I could and when we went to the vet I said that I was still undecided. He said he was making the decision for me because it had to be done. I could not stay in the room, which I have done on many occasions with sick dogs.

sorry about the muddle on line 3. ~it should say from a reputable dealer

well ~I have just seen the report on Channel 4 news on this topic.An owner was interviewed whose American bully was soft and gentle. He had probably bought it from aI believe it is the owner reputable dealer , not one if the downright rogue breeders and he had obviously spent time training his dog. It does seem unkind that a well trained dog should have to be put down because of these people who buy them, not as a pet but as a status symbol and cant control them themselves.
A lawyer was also interviewed who specialises in dog cases and he felt that much more detail was needed before people could be sure what was the right thing to do.

Very good post BlueBelle.
I stand by my post, all these XL Bullie type dogs should be put to sleep. They are aggressive and unsuitable to live amongst people, just as a lion is unsuitable to live amongst people.
Since that won’t happen, attacks and killings will continue. If you are okay with that I have to say, I am not.

I did say dogs of bully breed/size Dinahmo my own JR accidentally nipped a grandchild whilst taking a ball from them, after that every time said grandchild came in the room the dog would hide in the corner.

Blebelle Absolutely. I was attacked by 2 dogs too strong for their owner and because they were both muzzled I got a badly bruised arm, but nothing more.

There seem to be many owners who want this type of dog who are obviously not at all concerned about the safety of the public IMO.
The ‘breed’ has been in the news recently in a very negative way. If I had owned a dog like this then I would have taken extreme measures to make sure my dog was no danger to anyone.
But hey ho it’s happened again. Are they so ignorant that they don’t realise the strength of their dogs and the damage they can do?

Good post, BlueBelle.

They need to be banned and ( unpopular I know) but ALL large dogs should be muzzled in public Why would people mind it’s not supposed to hurt the dog but will protect children and all folks from being killed or badly injured
Of course it’s partly down to the owners but some dogs are just too big, strong and aggressive to be pets You wouldn’t walk a tiger around the streets

I have to say that in these cases it IS the dogs. These animals have obviously been bred to be too strong, too aggressive and too unpredictable for even the most experienced dog owner to control. What is the point of them, apart from a macho status symbol? I am glad that they have been banned...

Look, lets be realistic. Of course there are people who like the idea of owning a fierce aggressive dog that has the potential to kill other people or animals, I am not sure they are fussy which. They like scaring people, like people to be scared of them and like using them to bully and control, and of course, often use these characteristic for criminal purposes.

These dogs have been deliberately bred and trained for their aggressive trndencies and it is not just their owners that are the problem, all sorts of animals from mice to farm animals are bred for particular characteristics: milk output, muscle, calmness, speed - and aggressiveness. These dogs, that have killed so many, if owned by the most peaceful pacifist out, would still be aggressive and unpredictable and not safe in public.

They are being banned and that is right.

I agree, Dinahmo, that euthanasia should not be carried out automatically if a dog bites a person. The surrounding circumstances are relevant as you have demonstrated.

I don't think that all dogs should be put to sleep if they bite someone. When my DH was young his cousin was bitten by his family's elderly lab. The dog was sleep in his basket and the boy went to it and the dog bit him. It turned out that the dog was blind in one eye and the boy had approached him on that side.

A few years ago I adopted a blind dog. The son of that family went into his basket whilst he was asleep and he woke up and bit him. He was taken to a vet to be put to sleep but the vet refused and so he was taken to a refuge. I don't think the previous owners knew that he was blind.

Most people don't realise that he is blind but our vet confirmed it. This dog is what the French call a loulou. (rough translation - sweetheart) He is extremely nice natured and is affectionate to most people he meets. He will growl at people he's not sure of but that's as far as he goes.