To think having XL bullies around children is child neglect?

Yes. Extremely selfish

I didn't mean literally lock. It was a figure of speech.

Absolute refusal to let go then. Or however you want to frame it.

I have heard stories about dog attacks where a dog that previously could be trusted suddenly attacks a family member out of the blue. most of the stories are about bully breeds but other breeds can have aggression issues.

The truth is, dog attacks happen so quickly and sometimes out of the blue that having parents or family members around doesn't prevent it happening, it only means the person gets help faster. A dog can do a lot of damage in a few split seconds before someone can react and intervene.

So to answer your question- of course leaving a child alone with a dog is not safe or wise. But realistically, for many people there may not be an alternative. Without generalizing it is partly a social class issue- the socioeconomic status of people more likely to own bully breeds are perhaps also the people with less money for childcare/ dogwalkers/ support in general, and I don't know who is going to help these families, or what can realistically be done to control who is allowed to own dogs.

As a dog owner myself to a cross breed ( collie/ springer ) with 2 very young children, i would not leave my child nor advise anyone else to leave a child on their own with any dog due to the understanding that any dog has the potential to get violent and children could always do something wether intentional or unintentionally hurt the animal causing a reaction.

I do though believe that certain dogs should always have a muzzle on in public only down to the fact of how much harm they could cause to a member of the public and that certain people should not have dogs of certain breeds of they cannot control them. For example I have seen an elderly man in my area with an akita who is unmuzzled and only on a standard neck collar and lead, this dog could be really friendly but members of the public won't know this and will see a huge animal with a frail man who will not be able to pull back a dog of that size/strength.

When it comes down to it for certain breeds of dogs like the XL bully, akitas and other dogs of high strength that people who are wanting one should under go extensive training and made sure that they have the correct wear for these animals to aid in control in public while always wearing a muzzle in public for the assurance of public safety.

Some will say my views will somehow be unjustifiable to the dogs in question but it would be more unjust to the animal to place them in unsafe situations where it could possible hurt someone and have it's life cut short as a result of bad ownership.

^ This
More children are harmed by humans than dogs.

Totally agree, you used to have a license when you had a dig, don't know why it changed. The onus should be on the owners , and no dog big or small should be off lead , simple

Is the answer to licence dog owners? Understand this may not be a popular view, but I honestly feel the owners are the key. Have seen small aggressive dogs and large ones. To me it's the owner who must be responsible for training and managing their dog.

what a ridiculous statement 🤦🏻‍♀️

I don't know what the solution is but some of the recent media pictures of those dogs snuggling up to babies and children are really chilling.

Of course all dogs can bite if provoked but just one bite from these large breeds could easily kill.

The "but my dog would never attack" brigade are so naive as any dog when in pain or getting a fright can turn in an instant.

Same with the "it's not the dog it's the owner" - it is the dog mauling people regardless of the owner.

U just choke a dog out, no need to stab it or hurt it but use a lead or by the collar twist it until the dog is out. Then u can get it on a lead or owner can then control it. I dont believe any dog should be off lead nowadays, I've walked my own dog a couple of times and another dog (not a bully's breed) has attack my dog which left me to pick her up off the ground. You have more control over ur dogs wen on leads, end off!!

Are you for real, not all xl bully's are bad, it is how they are trained and how they are bought up, like a child. You can't hate against them when you don't know how they are trained. Also the little dogs can be worse, going for the big dogs and biting them, stop judging until you actually know what the dog is like

It's not just XL bully's, it's the same with all dogs.
It depends how a dog how been brought up as well, if a dog isn't trained or brought up to b a fighting dog I wouldn't trust it around me let alone a child. What needs to happen, is we need to start punishing the owners instead of punishing the dog, a dog can be trained at any age but these irresponsible owners that don't give too shit abt the dog are being left to own another dog to do the same.

@Iheartpizza bull breeds can't lock their jaws

"locked on" does not exist, no dogs jaw can lock.

A dog attack, on a person or other animal is unacceptable, irrespective of breed.

However, It's the damage that bull breeds can do, plus their reluctance to let go once locked on which is the issue.

The vast majority of other breeds could be kicked, punched, wrestled away. These can't be.

No dog would be injured if these dogs wore muzzles. But who’s going to police that? As I said earlier, my dog was attacked by a husky. Before that a cocker spaniel. His owner was mortified but he flipped suddenly. No explanation for it. Thankfully “just” bites but dogs can be difficult to predict. We have decided not to have another one.

Sorry, the above was to Iheartpizza.

I totally agree from a logical perspective and I wish they didn't exist, I just don't think I'd have it in me. I've never had to give a thought to my (and my dog's) safety before, when walking my dog, and I hate that I have to think about it now. I wonder how many beloved pets have been ripped apart in front of their owner's eyes by these monster dogs, too.

“Banning”? What would this involve? How do you find the dogs? Are they then kept in a pound or destroyed? How are they identified? Who destroys them? Who would if the dog hadn’t done anything? How do you stop breeding? Who will “police” this? What would you do with the breeders? What would you do with their dogs? How do you find these breeders in the first place? It is already an underground type of breeding practice.

Unworkable knee jerk laws solve little. There will be another cross breed developed to take their place. Unless we throw a huge amount of money at this snd are prepared to destroy dogs (will the vets?) it is difficult to see a law working.

So getting hysterical doesn’t solve the issues of poor dog ownership in society. If there was no market for these dogs they wouldn’t be bred. How do we destroy the market?

Well that's the only way you will have a fighting chance. A pocket knife isn't illegal to carry I don't think and you would need to get it in the heart or the throat.

I've never broke the law either but what are we supposed to do exactly? I'd rather be convicted of carrying a knife that I'm not supposed to than die!

I wish I could, but I've never broken the law in my life, and I don't think I'd be able to start now.

You use a knife....

Whilst banning certain breeds is not a silver bullet, it would be one step forward. Not that I think this government will do that.

As for child neglect, given the lack of resources for children's/social services, I doubt most councils would follow up if you reported it as such.

I think they're terrifying dogs

However, do you feel the same about rottweilers? Dobermans? Jack Russells? German Shepherds?

It's the owners. A bad owner can turn a chihuahua into a menace. And even one of those could do a lot of damage to a toddler

How do you kill the dog though? I'm 5'10" and 11 stone, so if my spaniel flipped and attacked me, or another person, I could lift him/hold him back. These XL bullies weigh almost as much as me and are solid muscle. Fit, healthy men can't stop them.

The poster who's tried to turn this thread into a debate about watching traumatic videos has admitted to having a large dog, and I can't help but wonder if they'd be able to restrain it if it flipped. Because that should be the absolute bare minimum requirement.