Neighbour’s XL Bully

[Dente]

My neighbour has one of these dogs, which to be fair I always on a lead, but I’m so bloody scared of it when I am out walking my dog. He says it’s friendly and our dogs have sniffed each other and he while on leads, but I just feel so uneasy. I feel that if he slipped and that dog got loose it would be such a danger to everyone around. The area I live in is mainly families with young children and I just can’t understand why someone would get this kind of dog?

I understand all dogs can be aggressive, but all dogs don’t have this power and muscle that means they can easily kill!

All well and good to the rest of your post @Frequency, but
Educate people on canine behaviour
I dont keep dogs, I dont have to be on the lookout for their behaviour, the owner needs to keep it under control and away from me.

I'm sure the poster meant people who are interested in dog ownership

@Soothsayer1 I agree that owners need to be responsible for controlling their dog and preventing it from approaching strange people and other dogs but as a dog owner, I disagree that people who don't own dogs do not need educating.

I am sick of small children, often encouraged by their parents, rushing up to my two smaller breeds and attempt to pet them without asking (an old, grumbly westie and a chihuahua who is like a child magnet). The westie would rather chew off his own leg than interact with a small child and the Chi is terrified of strangers. They both give very clear signals that they do not wish to be petted but most people don't recognise them. My rottie mix, otoh, adores toddlers and thinks everything living thing in the world is a potential bestfriend. His body language is clearly relaxed and friendly. People with small children often cross onto muddy grass to avoid coming within a few feet of him.

Perhaps more worryingly, when we encounter school-aged children without their parents, they have no issues with rushing at my rotty mix and throwing their arms around his neck (most dogs would hate this and view it as a threat).

Basic dog behaviour should be taught in primary schools.

I am sick of small children, often encouraged by their parents, rushing up to my two smaller breeds and attempt to pet them without asking

Totally agree, no one should touch a dog they do not know.

Same way I would like not to be screamed at for keeping my hands to myself and not wanting to touch someone's dog. Unfortunately many people get dogs as conversation starters\socialising tools so encourage them to ' speak' to people.

@Frequency
I agree 100% no one should approach a dog without first getting consent from the owner!
I have been attacked & chased by dogs in the past where the owner acted like nothing happened, 2 hospital visits after a dog bite, the owner checked if anyone was watching then backed away slowly & left me standing bleeding shocked & not knowing what to do

It was a response to a post about discouraging pet ownership, read the post I was replying to 🙄

@Soothsayer1 That's awful and I am sorry you had to experience that. If I notice someone is obviously nervous and it's safe to do so, I will move to another path or area away from them. I am not a sociable person and want to avoid most people as much as they want to avoid my dogs

Proper breeding controls would reduce this kind of thing. The vast, vast majority of well-bred dogs would not be aggressive even without training and socialisation. It's simply not in their nature to be aggressive. It's a trait which goes back to when they were wolves. Dogs were descended from wolves who were confident and friendly around human settlements. They learned to work with one another for mutual benefit eg the wolves would assist in hunting in exchange for scraps and a warm place to sleep.

Plus, by removing BYB you're left with responsible breeders and rescues which would mean less and less people having access to dogs which do not suit their lifestyle or level of experience.

You wouldn't walk the streets with a loaded gun. So why is it ok to walk the streets with a vicious breed that is 60 kg of determination to kill?

Except its not determined to kill, is it? It sniffed ops dog and went on its way. Has done nothing whatsoever wrong. Just looked at her funny which, judging from this post, I imagine is a reaction OP gets quite frequently.

@Frequency

"Educate people on canine behaviour. Attacks rarely, if ever, come out of the blue. Dogs give many, many warnings before they bite. The problem is, unless this warning is a growl, which is the dog's last line of communication, most people don't spot the warnings."

And yet, two people highly familiar with dogs have been killed by Bully XLs.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-59781502

www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/fareham-dog-walker-and-trainer-ian-wiggy-symes-thought-to-be-killed-by-xl-american-bully-breed-dog-3804344

These dogs clearly attack without warning. Otherwise these highly experienced dog handlers would have picked up on the warning signs, wouldn't they?

Just looked at her funny
stared her down you mean, isnt that a sign of aggression?

Eye rolls aside, it still didn't make sense. I already read the post you were replying to. But by your response I assume you weren't sure what you were saying either!🤷🏾

You clearly lack understanding.
A poster said pet ownership should not be encouraged, I said there would be many more cats and dogs impacting the planet if cats and dogs were not domesticated because the majority of owners neuter/spay their pets which in turn keeps population levels down. For example, if left unspayed and kept solely outdoors my cat would be responsible for producing well over 100 kittens. Understood?

There is some crossover with the gun argument in that if you speak to pro-gun Americans about strengthening laws to make gun ownership harder or banning guns, they'll come out with the phrase 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' and tell you they themselves own a thousand guns and 'handle them responsibly' and 'legislation won't help'

And in the UK when it comes to dangerous dog breeds and discussion of banning them, or bringing in tighter regulation foer ownership you get the phrase 'certain dogs don't kill people, it's the owners' and 'I have xyz dog and am always responsible' or 'legislation won't help' Someone here already used the argument 'well...humans kill humans and we put up with that' argument. I didn't realise we were this mad about dogs in the UK.

And why should people living in poorer areas be more at risk from idiots with these sorts of dogs? They are principally Chav dogs, I'm sorry but the owners are always very obvious to spot. They fit a type.

My niece has a rescue bully. I think it would be classed as an 'XL bully' over here.
She's lovely. But, she's not a dog for the ignorant to be around. If she feels threatened, her tail goes down, she avoids eye contact, and she seeks to remove herself from the situation. Smart dog. If only people could be as smart.

I went to niece's home. Rescue bully spent about two minutes on her bed, grumbling, telling me to mind my p's and q's. After that, she was in my arms, on my chair, and in my bed. I bloody love that dog. I've seen photos of the hell she's been through, and she deserves her life. With respect to the trauma she's been through, and how that's affected her.

And FGS, now dogs are subject to classism? Honestly? But would it be okay for the landowner having german shepherds patrolling their estate, rotties, or dobermans? What the hell isn't proscribed by classism in the UK?

I get you op, I love dogs but I'd be uneasy around one too. All these poor children that have lost their lives to their " harmless" family pet is really upsetting. A big dog like this could has such muscle power, a moment of animal instinct could be fatal to the little innocent child plsying.

And so many more poor children have lost their lives to their mothers and their fathers. . .

I think there are other similar arguments too like smoking bans, music bans etc.

Others don't want to walk in dog poo and don't want to hear incessant barking.

There are so many others too.

Exactly the point. And as a number of people on this thread have shown, is that they don't understand that their dog can be a danger to others because it is nice and friendly to them and their children!

It's understandable that 'they' (owners of dangerous dogs) feel like it is defending their own child, which many would. There are a means and a place for such dogs and that in my opinion should be restricted to working dogs. I have to be honest that I didn't give this much thought until my dog was attacked but, after working with the police it is a bigger problem than most realize. It's like a man with a small cock - he buys a flash car to compensate.

Someone should be able to walk in the park or their back garden without a threat of being mauled.

I've got a standard American bulldog. So the XL is basically a much larger version.

The simplest way I can put it, is I'd never have a dog I couldn't overpower if need be.

No. Because most domesticated dog and cat breeds wouldn't be capable of surviving in the wild without humans. And even if they all could, they wouldn't live as long without human intervention. Most have been overly bred to be genetically unfit. After an initial surge, levels would balance out. Nature would dispense of the genetically unsuitable ones.

But assuming you mean in the short term, it is demand that fuels the massive amount of domestic pets and the huge industry around them, which impacts the environment far more: The plastic food packaging, the fuel used to transport pet food, the resources (some of which are finite abd irreplaceable) used for littering and bedding. The medicines used to treat them, The cost of cleaning up domestic animal waste.

We stop buying pets their demand would eventually dwindle, the industry would shrink and I doubt they'd be released wholesale onto the wild. I am all for pet ownership 100%, regardless, but I can still understand the argument for reducing pet ownership even if I don't agree with it.

Understood? Now go be rude to someone else.

Serious question, where do you live?

I live in the ghetto. It's become increasingly gentrified but the previous elements remain. It's not being classist. It is fact.

You're welcome to come on a walk with me to the local park for a game of spot the owner.

I absolutely agree with you.
You are very wise to get a smaller, less physically demanding type of dog who you can make happy and who suits your lifestyle.

It is a case of absolute selfishness, and stubbornness to buy a BC without knowing how intense and focussed they are, and what their needs are.

''I want a Border Collie and none of you can stop me!''..and there are always Greeders who will take the money of such people.

I too have a smallish, quiet breed of dog, but I'm lucky that I love this type {small sighthound} and know I can keep them happy.

But no dog would suit a person like that.

They could get away with having a cat if the cat was a moggy and they had neighbours, as it would find other humans to entertain it when they were out.