Are people actually insane?

What's the answer then? If you own a dog that is similar looking to an XL, you have to accept they might be mistaken for one. Perhaps don't buy a massive muscular meat head mutt? Or are you saying we should just lift the ban and let these freaks of nature continue to breed despite the obvious increase in dog related deaths each year?

Top tip: Full stops make posts easier to read.

I previously owned a bully and no we aren’t all like that. My bully was the lushest thing in the world. She was gorgeous and loved everyone. If someone didn’t like her I would not have become abusive. I would never have taken her to a school event.

Please don’t type cast people. Plenty of people own bulky breeds, treat them well and have gorgeous, loving dogs who wouldn’t hurt a fly. We aren’t all tossers.

@RickyGervaislovesdogs The police also don't know I have seem so many incidences where they have seized dogs which are not XLs and do not fit the descriptors, including one where the owner did not realise she did not have to sign the paper work and by the time she had contacted an animal law specialist it was too late the dog wasn't even assessed just taken straight to the vets to be put to sleep, the amount of dogs that have died in police approved kennels waiting for an assessment is a disgrace, one who died from Parvo while in kennels, one who died in agony from a twisted gut that the kennels didn't pick up on, the list goes on and when they do get them back after being assessed someone of them are in awful states, one had lost all her fur through allergies even though the owners had taken her special food to the Police to pass on to the kennels, dogs who have lost so much weight its heart-breaking, dogs who come back fearful and not the happy dogs they were before being seized, but hey this is Mumsnet so many would not care its a big scary dog and should be killed anyway

I would enjoy Mumsnet a lot more if certain people didn’t think it necessary to swear at every opportunity.

Sorry cant read all the replies but i’d email the school to ask how a dog was on the school grounds in the first place (we have to sign in for sports day, staff everywhere). There’s no way you would get more than 30 seconds onto the school grounds without being seen by a staff member. I’d be asking very strongly that an email is immediately sent out to remind parents no dogs. There will be kids that are extremely anxious around dogs not to mention dog mess. School needs to make sure this never happens again.

I swear dog owners have less brains than the mutts.

I’ve still got bite scars on my arm from when I was attacked in my road by a husky-type dog. Totally unprovoked. To say I was terrified is an understatement and I had to go to hospital to get my arm dressed as I was bleeding all over the place. The owner said the dog didn’t “like people walking behind him” and then ran away. If it had been a small child it could have been so much worse. Many large dogs of certain breeds can be unpredictable and should always be kept at a distance, preferably muzzled. I hate those XL bully dogs and can’t understand anybody wanting one. No wonder you felt terrified OP.

Totally with you OP, very stupid thing for these dog owners to do. No idea why posters might think you're making this up 🤔🤷

What would I do? I’d shoot the bastard dog if I could.

Your sure? Considering even vets aren’t, fuck me they should’ve had you on the panel shouldn’t they! Contact defra asap. 😆

I think you were incredibly unlucky to have two such similar incidents happen in a two day period…….

This is NOT acceptable behaviour in the current climate of dog attacks. The people organising these events need to make it clear that these dogs cannot be around children at all.

We were at a farmers' market type place today, there was one of those huge dogs, no idea if it was an XL bulldog or just a mastiff type thing but it was massive. Owner had it on a tight leash but it was unmuzzled. Everyone was giving the owner a wide berth.

A staffy by any chance? As in the breed that is responsible for almost half of all dog attacks in the country? And has been involved in a dozen deaths this century?

After their breeding lobby got them exempted from the Dangerous Dog Act in 1997 (even though they're pit bulls) there was a staggering 76% increase in dog attacks in the following 10 years. And the numbers just keep going up since then.

Yeah, they're really cuddly and fluffy. Until one day they're not. Like Fizz and Dotty, who killed a baby a few years ago. I'm sure their owners also thought they were "daft and powerful but not aggressive"...

Please keep your bull terrier on a lead, muzzled and FAR away from my family.

@peopleareinsane But you also said at the Ballet class a dad bought in a dog that you are SURE was an xl, well you can't be sure unless it was an xl whose owner was obeying the law and had it muzzled which you didn't mention, but if it again just a large dog not muzzled you cannot be sure it was an xl you are not trained to type it.

@peopleareinsane A big dog maybe, now you may think its an XL Bully but unless you are a DLO trained in interpreting the DEFRA rules to make your decision you are not qualified to say it is are you? same as you @JacquesHarlow you say these dogs are bloody everywhere how do you know these dogs are XLS the answer is you don't unless you too are trained

If they're not bred to kill why are they then?

Since 2023 in the UK, HALF of all deaths by dogs have been by XL bullies, that's a huge percentage. seeing as thankfully there are far less on our streets than other breeds.

That's not misinformation, it's FACT.

Exactly this. I live in London and visit playground all the time working with primary school children. Never seen a big dog let alone a bully dog in children's playgrounds or sports days in 12years but okay op 😄

They are not breed to kill, they aren't fighting dogs. The dogo antino whatever it's called, can't be bothered to write it and a pitty are fighting dogs, fighting not killing.
Education is key. Not spreading misinformation

You aren't a breed expert and it clearly wasn't a bully. There are other bully breeds which exist on earth. Education is key.

However no I don't agree people should bring dogs period especially big dogs to things like you said. It's just anti social

None of your links work.

The difference with XL bullies is that they're bred to kill. I know German shepherds are also aggressive, mainly through poor breeding that's led to them having a screw loose, but there's a much higher population of those compared to XLs yet there still isn't as many of those killing people in recent years. Check out the stats of killer dog breeds over the past few years.

If a dog kills, no matter the breed, it will get reported on. Nobody is hiding these stories to make the XL bully kills seem 'worse'.

Because it doesn't fit the narrative, if you look you can find them.

I recommend googling "most aggressive dog breeds" Dalmatians are on the list relatively high up.
Just because it's not reported on widely in the media doesn't mean it doesn't happen - They aren't massively popular despite 101 Dalmatians, I expect due to the price, and they're also known for being quite aggressive dogs.
I'd wager that there'd be far more attacks if they were more commonly owned.

So with that being said, I'm not surprised that you've yet to see multiple reports of Dalmatians maiming or killing people - I've seen of at least two in recent memory, but then I'm interested in looking into dog attacks as I don't believe it's breed specific so ofc I'd see a wider variety of reports;

mauled by Dalmatian - 2023 news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2846739.st<a class="break-all" href="//51" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">yo Man Attacked by Dalmatian - 2023 www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-walker-mauled-dalmatian-horror-31479988<a class="break-all" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-walker-mauled-dalmatian-horror-31479988" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">988

mauled by Dalmatian - 2023 news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2846739.stm

There's plenty of info online from people who deal specifically with dog attacks that many dog breeds can be, and are incredibly aggressive. They simply don't go reported on in media in the same way because they don't fit the narrative that a certain "look" of dog is the prime culprit.

There are also many bodycam videos online of police trained German Shepherds as another example just flatly not listening to commands from their handlers and causing a lot of damage, but no one ever wants to talk about those because it's inconvenient to know that even a police dog can still behave in such a way despite all the best training possible being given :/

It's all well and good to think that large dogs breeds shouldn't be in these places and I'm inclined to agree to be perfectly honest, but one should apply that line of rationale across the board of large dog breeds, not just to the ones that "fit the part" in a person's mind.

Can people stop gaslighting the OP @peopleareinsane ...please?

By gaslighting I mean statements like

• This didn't happen
• This couldn't have happened because you didn't do X or Y
• Why are you posting here instead of doing X or Y
• This isn't believable because it talks about a popular or timely topic

I believe the OP because these dogs are bloody everywhere in towns. Worse, their owners are utterly entitled in the most silently aggressive of ways. I personally wouldn't risk my safety challenging them, which is why this perpetuates.

I think the OP is right to come on here and seek advice.