https://www.doglistener.co.uk/the-american-xl-bully-dog
"Why Do I Think These Dogs Are Dangerous: I am a Dog Behaviourist and an Expert Witness under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act.
I have assessed and in numerous cases defended in court many breeds of dogs. I have never refused to assess or work with any type of dog breed and have worked with dogs for over 50 years handling assessing and working with tens of thousands of them.
Though I have retired now, this breed of dog is one I would totally refuse to work with because of its danger to both humans and other dogs.
I believe they are probably the most dangerous breed ever created and the figures and statistics bear this out. Remember these are a new breed and are particularly new to the UK.
I would like to point out that these bully breeds were also bred for dog fighting and one of the main crosses the American Bulldog which is commonly used. for the sport of Schutzhund.
Schutzhund, currently known competitively as IGP and previously as IPO, is a dog sport that tests a dog’s tracking, obedience, and protection skills. The tracking and protection part is to track and bring a man down.
Dog Attacks and Deaths in the UK: Typically, there are 3 fatalities a year from dog attacks. In 2021 there were four deaths one was a young 10-year-old boy called Jack Lis out of the four deaths two were by American XL Bullies including Jack Lis., and one by an American Bulldog
However, in 2022 there was a massive leap in dog attack fatalities 10 people were killed, 6 of them killed by American XL Bullies and the 7th victim was by an American Bulldog. The American Bulldog is one of the main dogs used in creating the XL Bully.
There have been four deaths already this year. One you may have read about1 a professional dogwalker cal Natasha Johnston., there were 8 dogs implicated in the attack however as I was writing this article the Police believe she was killed by her own dog> an XL Bully, the 2nd death was by an American Bulldog, and the third and XL Bully X Cane Corso and fourth was not unsurprisingly an XL Bully
Conclusion: Think just for just a minute about those facts, where the majority of the death was caused by one breed of dog that is fairly rare in this country. People are buying them as family pets on the glowing approbation of the breeders in America.
This is utter madness. In my role as an expert witness, I had to assess many dogs that were either banned breeds or had attacked or killed somebody. The majority were psychologically and temperamentally sound. I actually felt that the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act was seriously flawed and still is.
I was intrinsically against BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) as it does not take into consideration that there are two aspects to how a young dog’s personality and temperament are formed. Genetics is just one part of the equation. Socialisation and training especially in the first 16 weeks of a dog’s life are critical and have an enormous impact on the behaviour of that dog.
Having said that I believe what they have done with American XL Bully has created a monster and for once in my life I believe that something must be done against this ultra-aggressive and reactive breed. This actually goes against everything I believe In. The humans who tinker with genetics either for profit, fun, something they like the look of or as a status symbol or attack dog are the real villains of this piece. They have created the proverbial Frankenstein monster. Now |I think some sort of legislation is urgently required."