To report my neighbours XL bully, it is ruining my life

hi @TheLangyers I'm afraid I haven't read everything you've posted or the other comments but my instant gut reaction as a mum of a young woman is that your mum is totally right.

The woman next door could turn on you, set her family on you, she has rats in her garden, you're wary (almost scared) of her and there's a giant dog running around that has bitten a kid, is off leash, and today it jumped on you, a pregnant woman... And its owner wasn't mortified and didn't run over.

Get the hell out of there. Pay more rent. This is better than being maimed, injured or worse.

Surprisingly it is true, sort of.

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-12-17/responsible-owner-of-xl-bully-dog-shot-dead-by-police-sentenced

But even the judge said the dog wasn’t behaving dangerously, the officer just acted based on his ‘potential’ to be dangerous.

Jesus those fucking dogs. In my local town, one dog went after a small boy, unprovoked on his way to a friend's birthday party and bit his thumb off. Another I heard of escaped its back garden and ripped off the legs of a poor little Dachshund. Imagine the pain and horror of both cases and psychological scars.

I've heard of aggressive dogs, but I don't think any other has the reputation of escaping its confines and going out to attack something or someone like this breed does, or killing their owners. Some people say they're friendly and they're fine, but with this dog, the inbreeding seems to have created a dog that can snap and when they do it's deadly. They're a bloody liability in any neighbourhood and it's an antisocial thing to own one. If someone wants an effective guard dogs, there are other powerful and more reliable breeds to choose from. They don't have to get an X L bully.

Your mum IS right. I'd be absolutely terrified if my daughter and grandkids lived next door to this dog. Especially if my daughter's partner was an idiot who encouraged the dog over.

I've no idea why it's your mum that you've fallen out with, and not your partner.

ETA sorry, I missed your post where you said you've apologised to her. But still, your partner is an idiot.

I would report the fact that the dog is taken out unmuzzled and off lead, as well as being off lead in a garden where it could jump over the fence tomorrow.

Both to the council and police. What you describe today sounds terrifying and you know that the dog has bitten.

Just report it. She's breaking the law and imagine if something happened to you or anyone else for that matter?

It seems so outlandish. A van of armed cops happened to see an XL bully in the streets, so they shot it?
So much wrong with this.
It did not happen. PP is talking a load of (XL)bull

Not even for a dangerous XL bully that might turn on them?

Might they use tasers instead?

Weird that your partner “doesn’t understand” - is he thick? It’s well reported and for good reason that XL bullies often attack children as well as adults. They may be big softies most of the time but there is something in them that just switches. They should be allowed to die out IMO.

I smell bull here.
Armed police do not turn up for a dog who is wandering the streets.

If the dog is definitely an XL bully- it should be registered, on a lead and muzzled any time out of the house and garden .
You can report to the police and council. Don't be fobbed off, XL bully issues are a police matter.

I think if you are privately renting rather than council tenants it's a simple decision.

You can't be terrified of pushing your baby out of your door.

It's not fair but as you've identified, it's for reasons like this that the house is cheaper.

Would you be better elsewhere for nursery/school?

Your mum is worried about you and wants you away from there. I understand why you were annoyed but I think it's a shoot the messenger situation. You've apologised, I'm sure she'll understand why you are so stressed.

I cannot believe there are still people trying to justify the existence of these mutants.

You should move. Even if you reported and the dog was destroyed, she might well get another dog of whichever breed is not yet banned but is next on the list of dangerous dogs!

Definitely report her. There was an XL bully that got out. Police seen it roaming with no muzzle and shot it dead. Owner claimed he was a therapy dog for her autistic son. The son also has epilepsy.

I get why people suggest waiting to report it, but I wouldn’t. I’d report now, it could be anyone else reporting it, someone who saw the dog jump at you. You could report anonymously via crime stoppers, in fact I’d do that and also call the police to report it.
The owner sounds incredibly irresponsible, not to mention breaking the law.

I'm a dog owner but I dont want a random dog jumping at me, especially an XL bully, one of the few dogs im afraid of. Their sheer size and unpredictably is already proven to be an issue and I’d want this dealt with sooner rather than later.

Is it an American bulldog or an xl bully?

When you talked about put bulls in the initial post, did you mean staffies?

I don't understand why your partner encourages the dog to come over if you are so frightened of it. Does he actually know how you feel about it?

You are definitely going into protection mode because you are pregnant.

I couldn’t imagine having to be forced to have my dog PTS. It would be heart breaking. The police are already aware of the dog. If the child was bit and went to hospital it would also have been reported.

It is also exactly the same that your parents dog bites. People think because they are small it’s okay but it’s not. It’s not trained properly if it bites to protect food/toys.

I had a bull/greyhound cross. He was the most gentle dog. He was scared to walk in the park because of the amount of times he had been attacked by small “friendly” dogs.

You owe it to yourself and your unborn child to report this dog. I would report as someone witnessing it jumping up, being in the front garden, biting child. The fact the owner hasn’t recognised these incidents for the seriousness they represent speaks volumes. Another tragedy waiting to happen. If after reporting, the neighbour becomes hostile, ignores, I think you need to move in with your mum until an alternative solution can be found. The owner clearly has no awareness/ doesn’t care about the threat her dog represents. I would also collate all incidents involving this breed in the past 5 years and give it to your partner and ask him again if he’s comfortable subjecting his unborn son or daughter to this level of risk.

Don’t tell your partner. In fact dial down your venting to him. He sounds like someone who would blab.

“Oh no my favourite big doggy has gone, well @TheLangyers never liked him so she’ll be pleased.”

I'd move if you possibly can and then report it so someone else isn't harmed. Don't take any chances with these dogs.

Poor you, mustve been terrifying.
if there has been other incidents where the dog has attacked other dogs in the area, it could be anyone of those owners who has reported this girls negligence.
My neighbour used to leave his xl bully in the narrow stairwell between his flat and mine, and i was terrified coming in and out of the building, it was never on lead and attacked lots of other people and dogs in my area.
My neighbour (a nasty piece of work himself) had numerous warnings from the police, but ignored them all, until one officer finally called time on it one day, took the dog immediately into custody and had it destroyed that day (I know this officer personally).
My point is that not only should you report the dog jumping up at you, you also need to report it everytime you spot the dog unmuzzled and unleashed in the street.
Find out who your local dog warden is, I think their info can be found on your local council website, and they also liase with the police.
I know thar fear you feel and its very real, you really shouldn't be going through this kind of stress especially whilst pregnant.

TBH I don’t think the police will do anything…they don’t seem to care about XLs

Wait a week or two, report it. it sounds like she is breaking the rules for keeping that kind of dog all day, every day - absolutely anyone could report her at any time. Your partner being pally with her and the dog works in you favour, you're the last person she will suspect.

There's no point fretting about what the police will or won't do - you just report it, and their job is to look into it. There's probably some admin requirement that she hasn't complied with, let alone allowing it to rampage around the neighbourhood without a lead or muzzle. I know of someone locally who had their XL bully taken away and destroyed because they hadn't got a license, because "they couldn't get through on the phone" - but it could be done online? I assume someone reported them, and all it took was the police checking the paperwork. Some forces will care more than others, they might even care more or less depending on what else is going on locally - I expect if, for example, someone has recently been mauled, they are more proactive about looking at reports of dodgy dogs. If she decides it was you who reported her and starts hassling you, report her for that.

The dog sounds like a menace and even if doesn't ever attack a human, it could kill someone else's dog, or hurt someone who is trying to fend it off to protect their dog.

It's a shame but the dog would just get euthanised, not burned at the stake or catapulted into the sea.

You could report without telling your partner or your mum. The owner is unlikely to realise it’s you if your partner likes the dog