To think having XL bullies around children is child neglect?

Exactly what @Chesneyhawkes1 said 👏

We have an old lhasa apso who has never nipped anyone. I don't allow my grandson 4 to be unsupervised with her not because I don't trust the dog more I don't trust the grandson. Children are impulsive and can't be expected to know how to be safe around dogs whatever their size IMO.

The scary thing is the child doesn't even need to be left alone with the dog.

Even if you are in the same room and it decides to attack - there is nothing you can do to stop it.

My MIL was attacked by their family dog randomly one night after having the dog for 7 years without any previous incidents or signs. The breed of the dog? A bloody jack russell. It was immediately put down and she will have facial scarring for the rest of her life.

Any dog can turn so having a child with any dog is child neglect technically. The idiots that breed the XL’s for ‘demon dogs’ will just find another breed to abuse. They did it with the German Shepard’s and the dobermans.

Do we just ban all dogs or do we ban back street breeders and try and fix things that way?

DD picked a chihuahua. I have no idea why she chose that breed as her favourite breed. She has coveted chihuahuas since she was old enough to talk and a chihuahua was top of her Christmas list from as soon as she could write to when I finally relented and bought her one for her 18th birthday.

While I don't know why she picked that breed I do know why I eventually allowed it and that was because it suited her lifestyle and her needs at the time. She has very bad social anxiety and would use my little lurcher as an emotional support dog, taking her to bed with her when she was feeling suicidal. She often told me that dog saved her life. Had she ever been alone in the house when the suicidal urges hit and the dog hadn't been there she would have acted on it.

When the lurcher passed away DD was gutted. I knew she needed another companion breed and I knew my working breed(s) Rottie/Beagle cross wouldn't fit the bill but a chihuahua, among many other breeds, would have. There were no Chis or other suitable companion breeds available in local rescues but I kept looking.

DD had been on a waiting list for a reputable chi breeder for years so when the breeder contacted us to let us know a buyer dropped out and DD was first reserve I bought her it for her birthday.

A Jack Russell killed a baby while it was left unattended with the baby. It was in the UK. I remember it distinctly because I had a baby and a JRT at the time, although I never left them alone together.

I grew up around dogs, as did my children, and as DD19 currently has 2 very young chihuahuas who can live for up to 20 years I imagine her kids will be the same.

For me, it's a case of weighing up the benefits and risks. I can't imagine life without a dog. I suffer from depression and the dog gets me out daily. There's also the companionship, stress relief, and opportunity to teach kids responsibility and how to care for other living beings.

I didn't have a large breed when my kids were young. After my JRT passed we had a JRT/Westie cross and a small lurcher/Italian greyhound cross. We currently have a rottweiller cross but I didn't pick any of those dogs. The terrier cross was from the rescue I volunteered with at the time as a behaviourist/trainer and the lurcher was left on my doorstep.

We got the rottweiler cross when I posted on a local rescue page listing what we were looking for in a dog and he was the closest fit. I'd have anything from a chihuahua to an Irish wolfhound as long as it fit my requirements.

I have nothing against large breeds and frequently took in lurchers and greyhounds who needed teaching how to live in a home after a life in kennels and thought nothing of letting my children visit their grandparents who had an Akita and a Lab when they were young and later adopted a bull lurcher from my rescue.

All of these attacks have one thing in common and it's not the breed it's an irresponsible owner.

yabu snd hysterical but Mumsnet will agree with you.

Apologies I’ve just seen Jack Russell is in that post I quoted. Still would rather fancy my chances with a JRT over an XL Bully

So a pp on this thread has said a Jack Russell has killed before….. is this just not true or maybe in another country? Personally I’m all for a ban on these dogs, they’re just far too muscular, even if not aggressive. Any dog can turn but even if they don’t I have experience of a relative being knocked over by an over-exuberant one and suffered quite bad injuries from it.

I’ve been through the stats on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom

There have been 70 fatal incidents in Britain since 1980 involving dogs. 3 of these incidents saw people die from sepsis following a dog bite (these incidents involved a spaniel, a pit bull terrier and an XL Bully and Cane Corso).

Some incidents involved more than 1 dog type and some were cross breeds, for the cross breeds I’ve gone with the first named breed.

The dogs with the highest number of fatal attacks are:

American Bulldog - 12
Pit bull Terrier - 11
Staffordshire bull terrier - 11
Bully XL - 9
Rottweiler - 7
Mastiff - 4

The following breeds had 3 fatal attacks - Alsatian, Jack Russell and German Sheppard

The following had 1 fatal attack - Malamute, Lakeland Terrier, British Bulldog, Husky and Cane Corso

All of the incidents involving XL Bully’s have occurred since November 2021, so 9 attacks in the space of less than 2 years.

I am a dog lover but these types of dogs are too high risk and the consequences can be deadly. They should ban the lot. They are too unpredictable.
I also agree that a child and a dog of any breed should never be left alone.
It turns my stomach to see these big muscular dogs around young babies and children, totally irresponsible and stupid.
If people are found to be breeding, buying and selling these types of dogs they need to be sent to court and heavily fined as well as having dogs euthanized. If they are then found to have another similar type of dog, sent straight to prison. We need to have absolute zero tolerance now, enough is enough.

I'm not sure why the police didn't come sooner. It did seem like the attack just went on and on and on before they showed. We're semi rural so maybe nobody closer? I'd like to know that myself

@pawsandponies wondering what the thinking is when you've got a baby, why choose a dog that could be a real problem if it snapped because of its size and breed. And don't say it's trained, Even trained dogs can flip

@Devilsmommy one before one after why my I ask?

I’m so so sorry. How absolutely horrific for anyone to witness that. Are you having professional help?

how come the police didn’t turn up sooner?

@Anothernamechangeee yes it was, my living room window looks down onto his mom's garden where he was attacked. I had an unencumbered view of the whole thing and honestly I've got no sympathy for all the people moaning about their little softie pets who've got the capability of killing a human being. I will never be able to not picture what I saw, a video doesn't give justice to the absolute terror those dogs caused

My god this is absolutely awful, I’m so sorry.

was it Ian price? It makes me feel absolutely sick, I can’t imagine seeing something like that in real lif

@pawsandponies did you get the dog first and then have children or the other way around?

Why impossible, @pawsandponies ? @HauntingSecrets obviously is!

Well I have Rottweilers and two kids and many other animals but I suppose it's impossible that I am both a responsible pet owner and parent.

How awful, @Devilsmommy to witness something so shocking and brutal. I hope you're doing ok 💐

@SidekickSylvia thanks for thinking of me. Yes am sleeping slightly better but any time I hear a dog bark or growl I tense up and get horrible gnawing in my stomach. Sick of seeing pics of these dogs with children, makes me feel sick. Don't know if I'll ever look at dogs the same way. Can't unsee that horror

That's interesting, @HauntingSecrets . You're obviously a caring and responsible owner.

I have small dogs that are taught bite inhibition, they are taught to bite safely.

I read a story of therapy dog who’s handler accident shut its tail in the car door, the calm well trained dog snapped at the handler and caused a serious bite as it had never been taught bite inhibition. It’s a step often missed out when training calmer breeds but it’s essential for every dog.

When my toddler accidentally fell on my sleeping dog, my dog snapped at her, she made contact but didn’t even leave a bruise. This is why I won’t leave my children unattended around any dog, no matter how safe the owner tells me it is unless they have expressly taught bite inhibition.

How are you Devilsmommy? I hope the initial shock is easing and you're able to sleep a bit better. I can't imagine the absolute horror of what you witnessed last week, and I hope that you've got some support.

These hideous dogs should never have been engineered and the sooner they're history, the better I'll feel.