What’s with these XL Bullies?

[wonderr]

Have just read that another of these dogs is responsible for a death.

I haven’t heard of them - what breed is this, a new one? Surely they should be banned?

Wow. Basically, it's similar to the hysteria around rotties when I was tiny (80's and living with one), gsd's and staffies. In the wrong hands ANY dog should be banned.

Mutts mostly. Mixed breeds that are bred irresponsibly and sold to idiots. Backyard breeding is rife and its not just the dogs who suffer.

There are a lot of dogs out there with health problems and/or unstable temperaments bred by unqualified irresponsible breeders, from bitches/dogs that never should have been bred. Its all about the money, not improving the breed or producing a healthy litter.

I haven’t heard of any deaths from Labradors, spaniels, westies, basset hounds, bichons, though, @Changenameobviousreasons

We know it’s the owner but even allowing for that this is the third death I’ve read about this year attributed to this breed.

Whilst I realise that any dog has the potential to attack...
It's very tedious when people absolutely refuse to acknowledge that dog attacks leading to deaths are almost exclusively certain breeds.
I will be happy to be set straight if anyone has links to the contrary.

Irresponsible breed the vast majority needing c-sections, serious health problems from their face shape and limb deformities. Not to mention most them have their ears illegally cropped. Most for far younger than any dog should.
Many of the promoters of this cross have links to organised crime.

It's very tedious when people absolutely refuse to acknowledge that dog attacks leading to deaths are almost exclusively certain breeds.

This. The combination of strong breed and irresponsible owner is clear.

It’s generally not the certain type of dog it’s the certain type of person that owns them.

Every decade has its demon dog. We saw this with GSDs, Dobermans, Rottweilers in the past. The breeds can be brilliant dogs in the right hands.

Agree with the above poster that it's often down to poor breeding and also owners failing to research suitable breeds for their lifestyle and not completing adequate training.

Fashionable breeds always end up having problems because a lot of idiots see it as an easy way to make money with no idea what they are doing. People will buy as cheaply as possible meaning decent health checks have not been completed and there is no consideration for temperament.

I'd fully support breeders needing to be registered, regulated and inspected by local authorities. I don't think the Kennel Club are the arbiters of quality breeding either.

XL bullies are a status dog at the moment and it's going to be a while before the popularity and the resulting problems die down. After that another breed will be vilified when it's the breeders and owners to blame.

It's very tedious when people absolutely refuse to acknowledge that dog attacks leading to deaths are almost exclusively certain breeds

That's because a certain type of bad owner goes for the fashionable 'hard' breed of the moment, something which changes over time.

The problem is those owners

But it’s not just that, is it? Most breeds would not/could not kill a 43 year old woman and cause life changing injuries to a 42 year old man who was trying to save her.

Definitely. Those XLs are's not bred for anything could they're built like tanks for a reason, unlike other family pets.

if people could be stopped from breeding these American bully’s as well as the other latest ‘in’ dog -the Cane Corso which also killed an adult a few weeks back-and also stop promoting them in TikTok or instagram or Facebook-that would be great. They are huge powerful dogs with status and bought by idiots-even worse their ears are cut to make them look ‘ harder’ and then imported here

breedingbusiness.com/american-bully-xl/
Tells you a bit about the breed.
As pp have said, backstreet breeders, only interested in money and not at all selective about who they sell the pups too. Also dog fighting for money still goes on and certain people feel a” hard” dog = status.

If I had the money I'd go around buying up all of them and get them PTS. Id do that with pugs too due to the health of the breed.

They absolutely are. I have met quite a few on walks recently. They were lovely and apparently very gentle examples, but it didn't change the fact that they just look bred to kill. I don't want my children around them, and I will never change my opinion on that.
Similarly, I carried out a home visit last week (Specialist Nurse), and the patient had a huge Rottweiler, who enthusiastically 'mouthed' my hand for ages, while the owner did nothing. I have a cocker spaniel at home, and can assure you that it's a lot less scary when she does it.

One look at those dogs shows what they are bred for and that they are not a family pet. Honestly they look terrifying and the people that buy them are fucking idiots.

Some of the worst dog injuries l have nursed have been by a labrador and Jack Russell

I was attacked as a child by a spaniel....as were my cousins as our grandparents cared more for the dog...which was then kept on a lead around us at my parents insistence

Dog bites unfortunately happen often, and of course, can happen with any breed.
Deaths are thankfully much rarer, and are generally not caused by spaniels and Labradors.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom

Some of the worst dog injuries l have nursed have been by a labrador and Jack Russell

Well, you wouldn’t have been nursing the victims of most of these attacks, what with them being pronounced dead at the scene ‘n’ all. I suppose you could have got her drastically injured partner.

@swimlyn that list makes for truly horrific reading. The message is clear that you can’t leave tiny babies with any dog, but after that there really is a very clear domination of a particular type of dog.

Any dog, however tiny and fluffy, can kill a newborn baby if left unsupervised. But fatalities above that age are almost exclusively the victims of the usual suspects.

I just had a look on gumtree and was horrified to see how many are for sale on there. Looking at the photos is quite revealing too...

I don't think banning breeds works - plenty of people have pitbulls despite them being illegal. But I also can't understand the people who come onto these threads insisting there is nothing inherently more dangerous about a dog like this over any other breed. It's unarguable that fatalities are caused by these dogs and not Labradors, however vicious a Lab might be and however often they bite. There are certain types of dogs killing people - how you solve that problem I don't know but it doesn't help to pretend that the breed has nothing to do with it. When you look at fatal dog attacks, they have the type of dog in common. When we see the news or another fatal dog attack, we all know what kind of dog it is. Sure, plenty of chihuahuas are horrible dogs and any type of dog could be a risk to babies and dangerous dogs come from bad owners and irresponsible breeders, we know, but the dogs that kill are pitbulls and bully breeds and I don't know why some people pretend otherwise.

Me neither. What is to be gained from trying to argue all breeds kill? They don’t.