Protecting kids from dogs

[Yeen]

We live very close to some lovely woods where I take my DC walking most days. Lots of dog walkers as you'd expect, most dogs on lead and perfectly friendly (I haven't got a problem with dogs). However recently there's been a huge increase in very large pit bull type breeds (I think they're American Bully XL dogs), and they never seem to be on leads - owners often miles away. I find these types of dogs really intimidating and most of the recent dog attacks in the news seem to involve them. I have no idea how I would even go about attempting to protect my DC if one attacked. If one is nearby I make sure DC aren't running around and are standing with me. Are there any other practical steps I could take?! I am usually carrying a hot drink of some sort, is that going to be of any practical use against a dog if it attacks??

I know what you mean OP, they scare me too. I was walking through a city centre park the other day and there was this horrible massive bull breed off its lead and sniffing around this toddler while her parents tried to call her away.

The other day I was pushing DS in his pushchair and he saw a dog off the lead on the other side of the road so he pointed at it and it immediately came trotting over and growled when he squealed in excitement. Luckily it backed off when I shouted no at it but what if it had been a bully type? He and I didn't do anything to provoke that dog.

I absolutely hate all the dog defenders here. It's terrifying that children and adults can't walk/play in public because they have to be on constant alert from dogs.

@Yeen do the dogs look like the attached photo? My dogs breeder lives in Bristol and has 14 dogs. They're all child friendly (appreciate ill dogs or scared dogs can still snap sometimes).

They're not XL, they are Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldogs but are big and I understand why you'd be worried.

Generally I'd advise getting a break stick and learning how to use it and learning about the collar twist to choke out option.

I do let my dog off lead but he is recalled if I get a whiff of anyone nearby until they are gone because he's 14 months and thinks he's 2kg instead of 42kg.

That advice was given by a dog trainer.

Even Caesar Milan and his team have trouble with this technique( taking back legs) and they are skilled dog handlers.

Avoidance is the best plan.

Get a dog dazer. It is becoming quite ridiculous that people cannot go for a walk without being harassed by dogs or put in danger. I look at some of these dogs and ask myself why .. just why .. would you want that in your home?

It's so sad but honestly if one of these dogs were to attack you or your child there isn't much realistically that you could do to stop them. Hitting the dog, putting boiling water on it etc isn't going to make it let go.

The only thing I could think that would work would be a break stick as previously mentioned and learning how to use one. But even then once you had it off it is likely to keep trying to attack.

I worked with dogs for over 10 years. If these dogs were off lead near my kids not a hope in hell I'd be carrying on going there.

Those dogs are hugely powerful they killed a fully grown adult male recently. He was dog sitting it for a friend. I just avoid them completely if I see one. So far in my town I have seen three, two with proper scummy looking blokes and one with a young woman that could barely control it.

I just wouldn’t walk in those woods.

Toooldtoworry

Explain to me how you would hold that dog back when it is full size in an attack?
How strong are you? If you are an average woman you are not going to be in control of this dog when it is full size.

You are ruining the community for everyone else who want a peaceful walk. Most people will think you are irresponsible and a danger to themselves, their children and their dogs.

if you pay attention to the news reports you'll notice that most dog attacks occur in the home environment (house, garden, or the immediate vicinity of the house), after physical/psychological abuse or provocation and it's usually a family member of the owner that's attacked. Dog-on-random-human attacks on the street are very rare. Dogs owned by the sort of people that look after them by take them out for regular exercise walks are rarely the feature of these stories.

Most Munsnetters wouldn't recognise a bull breed accurately if it was labelled, and these hyperbole threads just feed the anxiety.

If it attacks your kid then you can stab it to death.
You wouldn't know how. You'd just hurt yourself or your kid trying. Assuming you weren't picked up and arrested for carrying the knife first.

Unfortunately after that poor girl was attacked in London, many people commenting on twitter and here Said they had been attacked in woods with dogs running up to them.
Going down is fatal, try and stay in feet.
Also recent thread said k9 spray and high pictured noise

Look I’m not fan of this type of dog and they’re irresponsible owners and I think they give responsible dog owners a bad reputation.
But what sort of knife do you think you’d need to stop a dog like that we’re not talking about a penknife with a 2 inch blade here.
I recently saw a boy badly bitten by a bull breed his father had repeated hit it hard over the head with an enormous spade and his mother had tried to stab it with a paring knife then an average kitchen knife it was impervious.

You could legitimately carry a walking stick, one of the tall hardened wood ones people sometimes use hiking. I've had a big dog jump up at me snapping at my little dog who I'd picked up, ripped my clothes and ended up with a scratch on my leg through my clothes. We didn't go near them at all, for all those people saying just stay away. They were interested in our dogs, so im absence of those they may well not have come near, still not good enough and the owners didn't even apologise let alone put them on lead.

Horrible looking thing. "Child friendly"? There's nothing child friendly about an animal that the average adult couldn't overcome in a fight.

Some do look a bit like this yes. I admit maybe I don't 100% know what breed they all are, maybe they aren't all XL bullies. I just know they are big and intimidating!

Honestly there is no point telling me to walk my kids elsewhere because we would not be able to leave the house. These dogs aren't everywhere, all the time, but I'd have no guarantee of not coming across one anywhere we walked.

For the millionth time, where should I walk then, given I've seen dogs like these on the walk to school, nursery and the local park? If anything the woods are better, at least I have more chance of putting distance between us!

Walk where you want. As a previous poster mentioned most dog attacks happen in the home. You’ve probably got more chance of being hit by a car mounting a kerb.

If you see dogs you’re scared of (breed unknown) every single time you leave your house, wherever you are, and nothing at all has happened why do you still think the dogs are a problem.

Because of the dog attacks in the news, which seem to frequently happen out of nowhere and always involving the same breeds.

i try to to ever
judge the dogs at all but again with these asshole breeders these
dogs
have been caught up in the total chav culture of breeding for sooo
much money, chop the ears off to look crazy scary and then provide
fear
in the community.
but there are good owners of XL bully's too and it's getting on the mind frame. they are going to be around so if u are in an area of seeing them a lot at your park, then it's maybe an opportunity to get to know them a
bit. find one theat seems as friendly as u can possibly, talk to owner if they seem approachable tell them ur scared because of media reports and take it from there.
i'm not advocating for them at all, i've came across some i'm shit scared off in my area due to my cats roaming about, but realistically they are not going any where as a breed. i do think the mad chav hype has calmed down slightly too tho, it was constant in my city for a while, mad breeding, and were talking thousands of
pounds.
the dog is only acting to how it is being raised and it's not it's fault whether it's genetics, human factors etc. if staying away from them is impossible them try to get to know them. do some
research and meet one.

And they are nearly all in private homes. Not random attacks on the street

"Horrible looking thing" In your opinion.

A slug is a horrible looking thing, I think beetroot are disgusting to look at, and I've seen plenty of men much uglier than slugs, but the look of the thing is irrelevant when discussing its character.

Always had bull breed dogs.

Unfortunately there is no breed standard for the American XL that is recognised, added to which people are breeding in Cane Corso and other Mastif type dogs and creating monstrously huge, ridiculously strong dogs with dubious traits. They serve no purpose and never have, aside from its now bigger money than drug dealing.

I think its worrying that because of the scum breeders and ignorant but justifiably cautious public that breed specific bans fail because no one can tell apart which dogs are pits, or bullies, or dogo etc,...and as a result fear is being unjustifiably stoked around all bull breed dogs.

There is after all very little to fear from well trained, well bred, and well socialised EBT or Staffs, or boxers, or Amstaf, and certainly your average Boston could be picked up and tucked under your arm!

Can we please be very specific when we discuss "bull breeds" and not lump all breeds together.

And whilst some may find bull breeds "Horrible looking things" beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and bears no relation to its character, or else a lot of fat ugly people would be locked in doors because I said so

I had a neighbour once who looked like a Bulldog chewing a wasp, nicest kindest sweetest person, but not in my opinion a thing of beauty!

@crazeekat

I don't understand your post.

Very recently a dog behaviour expert said xl bullies abs those types of are bred to chase bulls.

It's in bred I them. No amount of good owners can ever get rid of that instinct.

It's a horrible looking thing because it could easily tear a child apart if the fancy took it. Probably easily tear me apart too as I'm only a few kgs heavier than it. Noone needs such big, dangerous dogs. They should be viewed the same way as cigarettes - ok if you want one in your home but don't pollute the rest of the community with them.

Oh no! I am too and my child is terrified of dogs because of the disgusting, aggressive mutts that the owners simply smile at when they're jumping up on a 5 year old and aggressively barking in her face. I am known to kick them as hard as humanly possible in the chest or even head in that situation.
If the dog is aggressive I have every right to defend myself and my child. If the owners want their precious little doggos to not be attacked back then they should keep the horrible things on a lead or better yet put them in a pound where they belong.

Which woods op just so I can be prepared?

awaiting the crazy dog obsessives who will threaten to call the police if their disgusting mutt is kicked when it's simply self defence and the police agreed with me and declared the dog out of control and seized it.**

Gross. Child friendly? Get a grip. That thing isn't suitable to be in a civilised society whatsoever.