Another XL bully death

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

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But hasn’t the dog licence been replaced by the fact that it is illegal not to have your dog micro chipped?

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

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But hasn’t the dog licence been replaced by the fact that it is illegal not to have your dog micro chipped?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

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.

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"

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 ..

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...

The daughter of a friend and her partner have 2 xl Bullies. Not only do they live in a flat but they also have a 9 month old baby. Poor granny is constantly worried about the baby - as we all would be - but the daughter/partner insist that their dogs wouldn't hurt a fly. Where have we heard this before?? My husband and I would have liked a little dog when he retired but neither of us is fit enough to give even a small dog the exercise it needs. We do have 2 beautiful cats though. Each of the children has a dog - 2 Cockapoos and a Bedlington terrier so we make do with dog sitting for our grandogs instead! (I even bought them all a Xmas bandana just to wind up the owners, bad Nanna!)

I too think theses dogs should all be euthanised. In most cases these dogs are owned by irresponsible owners who have them for the wrong reasons, keep them in unsuitable conditions and don’t give them enough exercise or stimulation. I have a sheepdog who is always on a lead when out walking even in a park or woods. My one dread is coming face to face with one of these dogs that the owner cannot control. Personally I think all dogs should be on a lead at all times unless in a secure paddock. Too often my dog has been attacked or set on by an off lead dog that has no recall. She is a sitting target for unruly dogs. I know if she was off lead she would bolt if annoyed by another dog. I wish I had a pound for every owner that shouted ‘he only wants to play’.

I find the use of “Rotties” and “Staffies” (not just you, Iam64, I’ve seen plenty of examples, so not personal ) a bit alarming. They may or may not make good pets, but they are still dogs which you wouldn’t want to meet off the lead. I don’t find the attempt to make them sound cute and cuddly reassuring….

Staffies are/were lovely dogs, though. I find it sad that people have turned them into a breed to be feared. My partner, after our dog was attacked by one, now panics when he sees one.

I'm not very comfortable around staffies, although our golden plays with a friendly one off lead.
A week or so ago we were cooped up in the lift with a staffie and a collie on a ferry. The latter had a muzzle on, as did our dog, but the man with the staffie said his dog refused to wear one. I felt pretty uneasy for the minute until the lift door opened.

All these breeds are fads and fashion items, as far as I'm concerned.
As one fades, so another, bigger, more muscular, potentially more dangerous breed appears, and we all have to hear how wonderful they are as pets.

No thought for the poor animals

Joseann

I'm not very comfortable around staffies, although our golden plays with a friendly one off lead.
A week or so ago we were cooped up in the lift with a staffie and a collie on a ferry. The latter had a muzzle on, as did our dog, but the man with the staffie said his dog refused to wear one. I felt pretty uneasy for the minute until the lift door opened.

If he was supposed to muzzle the Staffie and it 'refused' to wear one, then the animal should be removed from his ownership.

The only other options is the animal is never taken out in public - which would be hugely cruel to the dog.

Of course the dog 'refused' - they don't like being muzzled obviously - but we don't like being attacked and ripped at by their jaws, so he should just damned well muzzle it.

There's always one... my-child-won't-wear-the-uniform, my-dog-doesn't-like-being-on-a-lead, etc. If he can't get the muzzle on the dog he is not in control of the it.

Wearing a muzzle was part of my dogs puppy trying course. Because there might always be circumstances in which a dog might need to wear one. The XL Bully that has a home for life at a rescue kennels near to me has a special muzzle that is very large. It bothers me that her home for life at the kennels is costing a lot of money that could go towards helping many more animals and they are using her to show how ‘nice’ those dogs can be.

Some people like to believe they know all about dogs, have a special bond, their dog isn't like other dogs etc. It may just be about a sense of superiority, a lot of the time. Also a failure to accept some obvious things - dogs have big jaws, they are predators, and breeding, which is done on purpose, actually WORKS - so dogs bred for aggression will be aggressive. We have three Goldies who are soft as butter, but they are still dogs and always need to be watched around small children, in case they get it wrong. In some ways dogs are better than humans (in my opinion) but they are not the same as us and very few of us have the skill to see into a dog's mind. I imagine middle-aged women like to keep these aggressive dogs to feel powerful, and it's sad that they haven't found better ways to be effectual in life.

My daughters dog went to a rescue that specialised in terriers, because as they said,most terriors would fail the tests given to show they are safe for rehoming.
They can snap, they pull on the lead, they have a high prey drive etc because they are terriors.

Terriers. Not terrorists!

Sadly, this country has a certain subset of neanderthal nitwits who think they know best, and will want to get round any laws that are passed. In my country, anyone causing anti-social issues like this would be jailed, AND have their State Benefits removed, forever if necessary.

For those referring to the 'XL Bully' (or lookalikes) - several dog owners have been killed by their dogs, which were not odd breeds at all, they just became a mini wolf pack due to some incident. Sadly the owners couldn't say what had set them off.