Woman 19 dies in dog attack

And people are blatantly ignoring the existing rules on not having them off lead in public etc. I gave zero confidence that there will be no more breeding.

They're all much loved, affections, family pets.

That is, until the day they're not.

Your friend is a fool and you are clueless.

I also had that mindset, until these dogs, they are not like other dogs at all regardless of ownership/training, but yes, they do attract the wrong type of owners in my opinion, which makes them worse.

With most dogs I think their behaviour depends on training and how they are treated. We had a Staffie, who also have a bad rep. She was a rescue who had been very badly treated (broken bones) by previous owners yet was a lovely dog, who lived to over 15 years and was never aggressive.

Well yes, ofcourse.
Anyone with an punce of common sense has known its the breed fir a long time

I really had the opinion much earlier in life, before the whole XL Bully thing blew up. I've always had dogs, border collies and GSDs, dogs which often had a bad reputation. But I saw so many under-exercised, under-socialised dogs, or dogs where owners seemed to expect the dog to know what to do without any training.

Then rottweilers became the 'dog of choice' for thugs. I only knew these dogs as pets and it seemed to me that they were perfectly decent dogs. As long as they were taken out and walked a lot and given things to occupy their minds, they were all right in the house. The only aggressive ones I ever met were owned by the 'short choke chain and skinhead' brigade.

Once the XL Bully breeds began to become popular and I came across one or two, I changed my mind. It wouldn't matter how much exercise or socialisation you gave them, they are capable of turning with no warning, which is not something I have ever seen in another dog. It's the lack of warning behaviour which I find the real problem.

It seems to me that the likelihood of the breed being the main factor is increasing daily. Family pets that appear to just 'snap' unexpectedly upon reaching adulthood, exhibiting sudden unpredictable behavior and almost super strength during these attacks. Is this a "mental break" ingrained in an XL bully's DNA from being genetically bred for specific traits, or could it be due to the high levels of inbreeding? It seems clear these "episodes" are much more likely (maybe even unavoidable) for XL bullies and the government needs to treat it as such. The banned dog list just isn't enough.

I agree, and I don't own an xl btw. They are bred and bought by morons, then regularly ended up in shelters. Up until recently, my local shelter and many others would rehome these dogs as 'gentle giants'. These unsuspecting new owners would have been told that the dog had been temperament tested etc.

Would you want to be alone or your children alone with it?
Would you want one of these dogs as a pet?

Promise I'm not asking thus to be arsey, just trying to understand the mindset.
When you thought it was owner not breed, what was your reasoning when you guard about repeated killings by these dogs?
Did you think thet attracted a certain sort of owner.
The ones who said the dog was lovely till it turned, did you think they just didn't know what they wre talking about and must have trained it wrong.

Genuine questions as its interesting to hear from someone who had that mindset ( and kudos for saying that was your opinion. )

Agreed. We have created dog breeds with particular characteristics to do particular things. My terrier can dispatch a rat with one shake, I've seen him do it. He would have no instinct to bring it to me once he'd done it - unlike the retrievers who will bring me all sorts of interesting things they find on walks, I've got quite a collection of odd gloves......

Any of the breeds which were invented to fight/kill are likely to do that out of pure instinct. Bullies are totally different in temperament to something like a Newfoundland, big soppy dopes bred to save lives in water.

XL Bullies should not be allowed to be kept any more than a Lion or Tiger should (and yes, you can have some soppy tame Lions and Tigers but you still shouldn't; have one living in your house)

Well exactly
These dogs were not bred for any other purpose than to be intimidating and anyone who would choose to have one has the kind of mindset that means they shouldn't be allowed a pug let alone something actually dangerous.

I disagree, I’ve always been wary of dogs but at least staffies and Rottweilers are half normal and don’t just jump out of windows to kill people. Xl bullies are like pit bulls on steroids, the breed shouldn’t exist.

I imagine that in the correct hands and suitably muzzled in public a Leopard would not be much trouble. I don't think that I want the general unlicensed population to start having them as pets though.

"Don't worry he's a softie really", usually said about 30 seconds before the mauling starts.

I just don't see the ban and restrictions being enforced at all. A few days ago, I was walking down the street and a couple had two XL bullies off lead, unmuzzled. The woman was staring at people as they walked by, almost as if she wanted someone to challenge her. What on earth do you do when people just don't follow the law?

And even when people follow the rules they are still a problem. I was entering my flat with my puppy and small dog, and a man walked by with his XL on a lead. He was being dragged and clearly unable to handle it (despite him being a big bloke). The dog (who thankfully was muzzled) went berserk at my puppy and launched at her making her cry. I have no doubt that if the dog wasn't muzzled she would have been mauled.

I don't think you can be a good XLB owner. To begin with, you've chosen to obtain one. They don't do anything specific that any other large breed doesn't do. They are chosen specifically to be a status symbol, so I have no sympathy for people who choose to bring them into their homes.

An xl moving into my street would be a reason I would put my house up for sale.

I was just about to make a post on this but you beat me to it.
I saw an answer on Reddit which said they can’t think of a solution to the xl bully problem. Of course a massive cull would be the best solution but I don’t think that’s likely to happen. In a country that practically worships dogs, it would probably cause public outrage.

But I just cannot believe that the owners continue to constantly get away with this, when you take into account that this is a country where you can get 4 years just for carrying pepper spray.
I think anyone who owns a dog that kills should be tried for murder. If there were harsher punishments maybe that would deter people from keeping xl bullies as pets.

Has anyone got any petition ideas or something?!

Why is it that we accept particular breeds are good at particular things, apart from when it comes to XLBs. Happy to accept that collies are natural herders, that gundogs are great at flushing out game, that sighthounds are natural chasers and hunters, that retrievers are great at retrieving, but a dog that was designed to attack, maim and kill? Noooo, iTs ThE oWnEr NoT tHe BrEeD. It's just stupidity, pure and simple.

This. These dogs didn’t ask to be bred. Same for whatever breed comes along and takes their place.

I'm a massive dog lover and owner, but I agree it's time for these dogs to be euthanized. There is clearly something wrong with this breed genetically that cannot be corrected with good training etc. I'm sure there are a few decent owners out there trying to do the right thing. I feel sorry for them, but enough is enough.

I think we need to start being much stricter with dog breeds generally. Nobody needs a mallinois, cane corso, or an enormous bull breed to enjoy pet dog ownership.

Agree this breed should not be a pet and best to let the breed die out naturally but I wish there could be a kind of sanctuary for these dogs to safely live out the rest of their days without euthanasia 😢😢😢