Dogs… To think it doesn’t matter whether it’s a legal breed or not?!

[MsWalterMitty]

Just read about the recent child death in St Helen’s. It’s so awful!

The breed of dog has been released and it turns out it’s not an illegal breed. It’s called an American Bully XL, never heard of it so I googled it, even though I had an idea what it might look like due to its name.

Surely, whether it’s legal or not, this dog seems like a really stupid choice for a family!

To be fair I have giant breeds and even I can see that there’s a huge difference between a little breed running around snapping and barking compared to something that’s 80kg or something double the size of a standard dog built out of pure muscle with a high prey drive.

As the owner of such large dogs (and a vilified breed like a GSD) it’s up to me to make sure my dogs are the perfect examples of the breed that they can be and embarrass the hell out of people who can’t even train a tiny dog right.

Sadly, lots of people owning bullies at the minute seem more bothered about the size and look of them than anything else.

Agree with this. There’s no point to owning them aside from effectively wanting to own a weapon.

I read a news article last week where an American Bully mauled and killed its own owner (a middle aged woman).

It terrified me to think if they can do it to an adult then what hope do small children have?

And if the dog can turn on its owner and kill them…..well that’s terrifying too.

We raised a safeguarding concern over some children in our school whose father got an American bully XL. They had scratches and numerous bruises and head bumps from being knocked over by it. I grew up with all sorts of dogs, but I have never felt fear like I feel seeing them being dragged around by it as it alarm barks at every child on the school run. It is not well controlled, and I am waiting for it to hurt someone.

Yes when I heard about that poor woman I thought "bet it was a bully XL" before I even read about it. Same as the one who killed that 10 year old. Normally I wouldn't be scared of any particular breed but they are fast getting a terrible rep. The woman's mother couldn't come up with any reason why he'd suddenly attack bar it being because of the excessive heat that week. She'd also come back from a night out so had been drinking-no idea if this could've been a factor why it suddenly turned on it's owner. Her partner was also severely hurt trying to save her.

I'm on the fence. I have an American bulldog he's huge soft beautiful but so so strong. That weigh could smother a child if he climbed in bed on top of them by being so loving. You have to be cautious of that potential. I would also never get a rescue dog same as mine, as potential past trauma could make them bite I just couldn't trust it. They're descendants from the dogo Argentina which is a banned breed aswel.

Anyone who has young children and a dog that is a known dangerous breed, that's capable of killing or causing serious injuries is an idiot.

Time and time again these stories hit the news and ifs always the same type of dog, and the same naive people that say 'my dog wouldn't hurt a fly'.

All dogs are capable of causing harm, even the tiny ones, but those that are able to completely over power a human are just fucking dangerous to have in your home, and I can't understand people who have them when they have children.

Nobody should own a dog that they couldn't physically restrain themselves if they had to. I think that would mean the majority of people couldn't own an XL bully.