Another death by an XL Bully

Laws made quickly as a knee jerk response are generally not good laws.

Agreed. A law requiring the muzzling of all dogs would never be passed.

I never used to be wary of dogs until the past few years, they are everywhere, I cant walk on the beach without some dog bounding up to me, I walk in town, my eyesight is poor and I have lost count of the times I have tripped into these leads that stretch ,I go into a cafe and I have dog scent with my cuppa! I know its not always the dogs fault, ownership and rules need tightening

I do not like or trust any dog for the simple reason that I have had a couple of unpleasant encounters with unrestrained animals over the years.

Neither of them looked at all like those awful ugly creatures in the news recently, but nevertheless I felt extremely uneasy when these things hurled themselves at me.

“Oh he’s only being friendly” is the inevitable response from the owner.
I would like to see, at the very least, all dogs on a lead when they are out where there are people and children around.

I have read that, since the pandemic and lockdowns, dog ownership has greatly increased.
There have been discussions on here in the past about how they seem to be permitted everywhere now, even restaurants.

The photo is a screenshot taken from Instagram.

This person clearly thinks more about her dog than child.

Sadly there are many hundreds of these dogs in the UK and it seems the more bad press they get the more attractive they become!

People may remember several weeks ago I posted about a woman who has bought a Cane Corso dog which can grow up to 45 kg, is fiercely protective and is stronger than a rotweiller and much bigger than an XL bully.

The woman lives in a tiny rented house with a tiny garden and is very small herself and we very much doubt that if the dog went for someone she would not be able to hold it back.

I have reported our concerns to the housing association and the local council now so hoping they will at least check it out because this is an area with several young families with kids and I could not bear for a tragedy to happen and the council saying they had no idea there was such a huge dog living there.

It's pointless banning them, as these "breeders" will just cross out to slightly different breeds to avoid the ban.

I don't blame the dogs, but there are too many stupid people owning the wrong breeds.🙄

It's probably going to come down to any dogs, in public, being leashed and/or muzzled.

Any badly bred/badly reared dog can turn nasty.🙁

A certain cycle and walking path has signs to keep your dog on a lead so I did. A woman came along with her dog off lead and when I pointed out it should be on lead she was very abusive and just carried on regardless. So how muzzling can be enforced I do not know.

I don’t let my friendly lab near people unless they are ok with it. Some people are scared of dogs and small children may be frightened by her size. Most love to pet her but I never assume.
Too many assume their dog is like a human. They are not. To have an XBully with a baby is madness. If they turn they are big and powerful with a hard bite and won’t let go. It’s the owner to blame who has no idea about dog behaviour.

I really don't understand why the general public isn't being protected from dangerous breeds of dog .
My family used to breed and train dogs .

If I've had a dog , which is dangerous and unreliable - I have muzzled it and if nothing can be done I have it put down humanely -heartbreaking as it is .

Well done Primrose. 👏👏👏

I have a dog phobia but usually it’s just when a dog is not on a lead. On Sunday night I went to a local shop and there people in a group talking outside, one with a dog on a lead. I heard him saying yeah, he is an XL. I was nervous but just kept telling myself it was fine, it was on a lead but as I approached the dog saw me and ran at me. The owner pulled it back, smiled and said he was only being friendly. I went into the shop hoping it would be gone when I came out and luckily it was. I was trembling and now my dog phobia is worse. If the dog was being friendly why did it try to run at me?

There you are Buttonjugs
“He’s only being friendly”
Owners say this time and time again don’t they?

Well I don’t want to be friends with their dog, especially if it has just jumped up at me with muddy paws.

Maybe a death caused by an unmuzzled dog of any breed should amount to a murder charge for the person in charge of it at that point. That may stop people being so happy to have a dangerous dog unmuzzled and off a lead in public.

Does anyone watch 'Dogs Behaving Badly'? It is invariably the failure of the owners which leads to the 'bad behaviour' That said, any dog might turn if triggered, although large muscular dogs can do far more damage than a small dog.
Some dog owners either fail to control their dogs or, more worryingly, seem to revel in having a dog such as an XL Bully and training it to guard and protect its owner.
Perhaps a return to dig licences would help as would making leads and muzzles mandatory in certain situations.

* dog licences. I do wish we could edit our comments!

If someone tells you their dog is friendly shout back but mine isn't.

Dottynan - I told one such owner whose dog was jumping all over my on lead huge labradoodle - ‘yours might be friendly, mine’s a killer’. He called his dog, of course the dog ignored him.

Dog licences wouldn't help stop unscrupulous people breeding these dangerous dogs. It should be made harder to keep breeding ANY type of dog (and cat) then perhaps there wouldn't be so many animals waiting for a home in Rescue Centres. Puppy farms still exist with numerous breeds/cross breeds being bred for monetary gain, then 'dumped'.

I am a dog lover but I know any dog can change in an instant. Many years ago my friend had an Old English Sheepdog that was as soft and silly as any dog. It suddenly turned on her and bit her head and arm when she was in very early pregnancy, th vet said it was probably because she smelled different to normal.

I had 3 dogs and when I took them for a walk the middlesized one was always muzzled, he was fine with people but would chance his luck with any dog bigger than himself. i would be perfectly happy to muzzle all dogs outside.

I've trained my 2 dogs to stop dead and return to me when they run up to children or adults. It's a one word command and very useful as I can stop them jumping in rivers, knocking over toddlers etc. They are spaniels.

I’m a hobby breeder of Lhasa Apso’s & take a lot of care to ensure my dogs are health checks and fit and well . I also follow a puppy culture programme with my puppies from day 1 to make sure they are well socialised and fit and healthy . The lady who does my scans told this week of a XL bitch she’s scanned who carrying 12-14 pups and the owner said he’s already got buyers for at least 10 puppies irrespective of the current situation . He told her despite what the law says the people who buy his puppies won’t care as they’re a status symbol 😡😡😡😡

We live on an estate where there have been three biting incidents with dogs recently. Apparently it's hard to get a police response in time to catch the owner and dog.
There are rumours that ours involve an XL Bully dog, but I think it is more likely that is it just a "pit bull type".
It's a shame that there are no longer dog licences. If people had to go to a vet to get the dogs assessed before they could apply for a licence I suspect that aggressive dogs could pretty quickly be picked up.
Personally I bellieve that one biting incident should be enough to have an animal removed from its owner. If dogs are muzzled they cannot bite.
There is a small dachund living here which will charge, barking, at anything - be it animal or human. Its owner refuses to use a lead, let alone a muzzle.

I think the salient point is that all bigger dogs should be muzzled in public. Yes, all dogs of course are capable of biting but bigger, heavier dogs, in the wrong hands can be life threatening. I’m not a great fan of blanket “breed” bands, as all dogs can pose a threat. Some stricter rules on breeders, and harsher penalties are needed. I say this as a life long dog owner with smaller dogs, but many friends with much bigger, well trained dogs.

It’s an obvious starting point imo, to increase regulations on breeding. Currently anyone can mate any dog with any other dog. The charities that rehome poodle crosses are overwhelmed. A cockerpoo can’t inflict the kind of damage an xlbully can. They look like Disney designed them but cross a miniature poodle with a cocker spaniel and sadly, you don’t always get the best of either breed. They’re sold on, or if they’re lucky relinquished to a charity that places the dog with experienced foster carers. The problem behaviours commonly include separation anxiety, snapping at humans, unreliable with children, excitability and “untrainable’. These dogs are often highly anxious having not had the consistent training and care these sensitive, clever dogs need.

Puppy farms, owners or unregistered people breeding looking to make thousands from the litters their poor females produce over and over. No concern about her health and even less about the health and temperament of the parent dogs

We need investment in dog wardens, puppy farms and all breeders must be registered. It will cost money and will hopefully help educate people

What would happen if I went round with a sharp knife and slit a dogs throat which barked at me or came up to me aggressively. The whole country of dog lovers would be up in arms.
Why does this country value dogs more than people.
We are happy to kill rats and mice . Why makes dogs so special?
I am sure this message will create a farour!