Another XL bully death

I agree that dogs do have breed specific behaviour traits - walking with a friends collie pup, my spaniel cross wanted to retrieve a ball and the puppy wanted to round us all up! But seriously, the XL bully is often badly bred, interbred and bred from a line of dogs which were known to be unpredictable and dangerous (Killer Kimbo). If they were little dogs, like chiawauas, people wouldn't make such a fuss but they are big enough to overpower and kill other dogs and adult people, and potentially children. Apart from a role where they're used for intimidating people I can't see the point of them - maybe the fantasy is they are good at protecting their owners but that's also shown not to be the case as they do turn on their owners. Children in households with these animals loose in the house should be taken into care if the dogs aren't removed. It's not the fault of the dog any more than any other animal which can injure and kill but the risks are too great - we don't let people keep with cheetahs and leopards in their homes after all, even if they are friendly and hand reared...

after the last woman was mauled to death, I read an article where a man was saying how they are bred to be vicious and the more they're bred, the worse they get, he said that the 2 largest from the litter are bred and so on, I don't care what folk say about their XL's being loving pets....it's bred into them, they're a danger to the public and should definitly be banned from this country. the paltry law says they should be registered kept on a lead and muzzled when outside, what about when they're inside, and who checks up on this..not good enough ..

As far as I'm concerned, all dogs have the potential to "turn", even if the reason isn't apparent.

Rotties, German shepherds and staffies are not ‘devil dogs’. They make good family pets. Totally different than XLbullies or other bull dog / cane corso crosses.

I personally wouldn't have an XL Bully, but l often see a young man with 1. He can control his and has it muzzled and it looks in lovely condition. However l must admit if l see him in the distance l go in the opposite direction.
My late dh and l had rescue border collies. Our last one, Finn , had numerous problems due to mistreatment and cruelty before we got him. He was very reactive to most dogs. He also didn't like children. But because he looked so lovely, most children tried run up to him to stroke him, l was always on edge. Sometimes it doesn't matter what a dog looks like, they can have problems.
On the other hand, my present rescue, who is a shepherd/lab mix and large is a gentle sweetheart. He also has had years of abuse from people and probably other dogs as he spent years in a dismal shelter. Toby loves everyone as if untouched by all the harshness inflicted on him by people.

I read that the owner of these dogs never exercised them. Apparently she had 'cages' for them. I would imagine the poor things just went mad. Should never be keeping them, but the owners of these dogs always seem to be extremely stupid!

I feel so sorry for the dogs too. It's not their fault they are as they are, they're either trained to be aggressive or it's in their nature.

I've never yet met a Bully dog but I've met, over the years other ''devil'' dogs such as Rottie's, German Shepherd, Staffie's etc. and not one of them has ever shown any sign of un-warranted aggression, they've all be very gentle with me.

rosie1959

Unfortunately you can’t legislate about every eventuality. These dogs were owned by the lady and were properly registered and she chose to keep them.

and she paid the price for her own stupidity. I wonder how many times she told others "they wouldn't harm anyone"

Chocolatelovinggran

Dickens is correct, as ever, about the nature of the animal being hard wired.
One of my daughters has a Welsh sheepdog:
affectionate and obedient, but with an inbuilt need to herd her " flock" ( us!) and keep us safe. She deters any dog she sees as too close with a low growl.
The family are working at socialising her around other dogs, but it's clearly a struggle for her. A person who she perceived as a threat might be at risk of a nip.

I’m actually very wary of collies ( even though, as a breed I do like them) because most people can’t give them the amount of exercise and mental stimulation that they need. And breeds such as Belgian Shepherds regard territory as wherever they are and therefore protect their pack and their territory when out being exercised. It’s so important, when out walking a dog, to know the breed characteristics of other dogs you might meet.

MayBee70

keepingquiet

The answer is simple- bring back dog licensing.

It won't happen because of the dog lover lobby, there is no electoral support for licensing so these fatalies will continue because dog owners see it has a price worth paying for their freedom to own a dog.

But hasn’t the dog licence been replaced by the fact that it is illegal not to have your dog micro chipped?

Unfortunately, despite the fact that, by law, you must now have your dog microchipped, you just need to take a quick look at the 'missing dog' posts on social media to see that many dog owners simply haven't bothered to get it done.

Is that enforceable? Is it enforced? What is the penalty?

keepingquiet

The answer is simple- bring back dog licensing.

It won't happen because of the dog lover lobby, there is no electoral support for licensing so these fatalies will continue because dog owners see it has a price worth paying for their freedom to own a dog.

But hasn’t the dog licence been replaced by the fact that it is illegal not to have your dog micro chipped?

There again, I can barely understand what I've just written.

For the life of me, I cant6undesrand why a genuine animal lover would want one of these dogs as a "pet".

I am a dog lover and have one small dog. I would be very happy to pay for a dog licence as would many of my fellow dog walkers, keeping quiet, so your statement that there is no support for dog licencing is not correct. We do not like to see dogs out of control either.

Actually, keepingquiet, I think most responsible dog owners would be in favour of bringing back some kind of licensing system, but as usual, it would be the irresponsible ones who would find some way round it - so then you need to be able to enforce such a system, and that all costs money.

The answer is simple- bring back dog licensing.

It won't happen because of the dog lover lobby, there is no electoral support for licensing so these fatalies will continue because dog owners see it has a price worth paying for their freedom to own a dog.

Chestnut

Guns of course cannot escape and go round killing people on their own, yet dogs can do just that.

... and do. Good point.

The mere fact that they can escape their homes and gardens - anywhere, at any given time - means that in principle, the public at large, are all potential victims.

These types of dogs are potential killers. Even those whose owners insist "wouldn't hurt a fly". A small child running around might unwittingly alert the inherent instinct in a pack animal to hunt and kill it.

Also, unless you are very in-tune with your dog - it might be unwell or just 'off-colour', and it can't tell you that's how it's feeling, so a friendly gesture towards it might irritate it to the point it will attack you. Which applies to all animals, but if it's one of those strong and powerful dogs, you might pay a heavy price.

Having these dogs around children is tantamount to me giving our grandchildren a loaded gun to play with.
In no circumstances should these dogs be allowed.

Sago

My husband has a gun license, to hold this he has to be deemed mentally fit, background checks are done and our home can be checked at any time by the Police to check ammunition and guns are stored securely and separately.
If he were to fall foul of any of these measures then quite rightly his license would be revoked immediately.

Yet anyone can have these killer dogs, keep them in an unsuitable environment, walk them wherever they wish, by whoever they wish and worst of all keep them in a house with babies and children.

To comply with new legislation dogs should be muzzled in public, neutered and registered.

This is not enough.

I feel strongly that all these dogs should be euthanised.

That's a very good point, how much legislation goes into gun licencing, and yet there is no licence at all required for keeping dogs. It was stopped many years ago, before these dangerous breeds came into circulation.

I have an I-Spy Book of Dogs from about 1960 and none of these dangerous breeds seem to have existed back then. There is a Mastiff and Bull Mastiff, that's all.

If dog licencing were at a realistic price (with reductions for pensioners) then it would be self-funding and enable wardens to chase up dangerous dogs.

Guns of course cannot escape and go round killing people on their own, yet dogs can do just that.

Joseann

I don't think XL Bullies are in any way "sweet". Their physique for one thing, let alone their strong jaws. If you want to make comparisons, my golden retrievers have soft mouths and can delicately hold a raw egg in their gentle cheeks without biting it. Yet, however gentle and affectionate they may be, they still need discipline and the right environment so they know their place as dogs in the household.

So true, and the last part applies to all dogs, no matter which breed. All dogs, big or small, need proper training, discipline and boundaries and the right environment. Yes, they become as much as part of the family as any other member, but they still need to know their place.

Dickens is correct, as ever, about the nature of the animal being hard wired.
One of my daughters has a Welsh sheepdog:
affectionate and obedient, but with an inbuilt need to herd her " flock" ( us!) and keep us safe. She deters any dog she sees as too close with a low growl.
The family are working at socialising her around other dogs, but it's clearly a struggle for her. A person who she perceived as a threat might be at risk of a nip.

Gillycats, although x breeds, these dogs have breed characteristics. As Callistemon points out, a large number of xl bullies in the UK were bred from an American dog Killer Kimbo. His name is an accurate description of his temperament.
It’s correct to point to owner/handler incompetence but we can’t ignore breed characteristics. These are bred to intimidate, to be aggressive, fight on as has been shown in many of these attacks - they’ve needed to be shot to end the attack.
They’re interbred by irresponsible people.
My current dogs are show, not working types, a spaniel and a lab. They came from responsible breeders, who breed for temperament and don’t advertise. Their pups go to previous owners or people with a reference. My dogs conform to breed characteristics. Spaniel sweet, kind, gentle, flushes ducks, retrieves from water. Lab, big giddy affectionate immature 3 year old. Perfect obedience in classes, a work in progress when in the real world with distraction. He’ll swim all day, retrieves from water with enthusiasm. Breed characteristics and bred from dogs with good temperament, 5 generation pedigree.
I’ve also rescued, fostered a number of different breeds and x breeds. Characteristics always there. I have no time for xl bullies, don’t trust them, my dog training friends all share the view these dogs need banning

I don't think XL Bullies are in any way "sweet". Their physique for one thing, let alone their strong jaws. If you want to make comparisons, my golden retrievers have soft mouths and can delicately hold a raw egg in their gentle cheeks without biting it. Yet, however gentle and affectionate they may be, they still need discipline and the right environment so they know their place as dogs in the household.

Many think they’re a bad breed. They’re not. They’re sweet dogs by nature.

They are cross breeds.

About half the XL Bullies in the UK were bred from one dog in the USA, Killer Kimbo, and are inbred. They were bred with a killer instinct.

Why anyone would want one is a mystery, particularly anyone with children in the house.