Finally - govt. explore dog ban

[Tapasita]

Finally the Govt are looking into banning* *American bully XL dogs. I expect the "it's not the dog but the owner" responses to this news but I do think these types of dogs are categorically more dangerous than other breeds, and I'm surprised, given the number of fatalities, attacks and serious injuries over the last few years (most on small children) that it's taken this long for someone in Govt. to pay attention. Why anyone would want to own such a savage dog is beyond me - I personally think it's a working class status symbol primarily. Sorry if that sounds rude but I do instantly judge people who choose these breeds of dogs above any other breed. They know they are heavy, dangerous and powerful. Just why? What are you trying to prove??? They're effing ugly to boot. And they kill children repeatedly.

Certain types of individuals choose that breed again and again with zero care for the consequences. It's just ignorance and "tough image" over..........well, anything else.

Absolutely they should be banned, and people who seek to own a dog - any breed for what it's worth - should be required to have a license and undergo appropriate dog-training courses. These two things should be mandatory, because any dog can kill or inflict serious injury regardless of their otherwise "peaceful" temperaments (which is always the counter-argument.)

American bully XL dogs: Suella Braverman orders 'urgent advice' on banning breed - BBC News

Penny has finally dropped, at last.

It stands for Breed Specific Legislation.

There are lots in the Portsmouth area and surrounding PO postcodes.

Owners however should be fined massively and held accountable for any bites or killings. It's also about time proper licencing was brought back. Dogs should be insured, microchipped and kept on a leash at all times

Yes, and if your dog injures someone you should be prosecuted and given the same punishment you would have been if you had attacked the person yourself, with the dog put down.

It would get rid of the "he's only being friendly" brigade as well.

The only bit I would change is keep on a lead at all times on footways/paths, and under close control in parks and open spaces. Dogs should be able to play in parks, but should be on short leads on eg canal towpaths.

But nothing will happen because by the law of averages 2/3 of MPs will be dog owners so they won't legislate for stricter rules.

I was replying to a pp that said that breeds have predator traits bred into them...

I'm glad to see this being looked into, nearly every dog attack you know it's going to be a XL bully.

Same as certain other dogs they become status symbols of scumbags and chavs and certain insta people who can't handle any sort of dog never mind a big one like this.

The problem with this status symbols is they aren't harmless, they are bred to a have a high prey attack drive and aren't something the general public should own as they cannot handle a dog that powerful.

Hit the mail on the head 👍🏻
That's my experience too!

I'd obviously go much further than that. Any law for which the punishment is a fine is only a law for the poor; since we're talking about drug dealers, it would simply be a business expense.

Jail time. Punish owners of any dangerous dog as though they did it with their own hands.

Nobody would choose to get one of these dogs unless they were monumentally thick or wanting to intimidate people - or both.

That's interesting, because it's not six months since somebody said exactly the same thing about Akitas on here - "You know it's always going to be an Akita". Shortly before that, it was huskies and Malamutes.

It's only a couple of years since it would've been a Staffie.

That's the problem with taking aim at breeds - there's always going to be another one to grab the headlines.

But most of the time it is a XL bully, the others have been here for years aren't bred the same recklessly like XL bullys.

XL bullys are bad news.

Problem is this year is basically all XL bullies.

So get something thought fast such as leads and muzzles for all dogs in public while working on a better fit law for dog ownership and behaviour.

Get rid of them all, and pit bulls too.

@PerfectYear321
How do you deal with them when they come to the vets?

Depends, some are fine, not aggressive at all but I've dealt with plenty aggressive ones. I ask the owner to muzzle before entering the practice. If we know they are aggressive before they come in and we need to do a procedure they are given sedatives to give at home as well.
To be honest we're dealing with an increasing number of aggressive clients, never mind their pets. We'll be needing security at this rate!

www.hepper.com/uk/dog-bite-statistics-uk/

Of the dog attacks that took place last year, it’s thought that six involved a breed known as the American XL Bully
(The Guardian)
This muscular breed originated from the American Pit Bull Terrier, but there isn’t enough evidence yet to know if it’s a dangerous breed. Hospital records don’t include information on the dog breed, and there isn’t a way of knowing how many of these dogs are in the UK. However, experts say there is no evidence to suggest one breed is more dangerous than another. While a bigger breed can potentially do more damage, all dogs can bite.

Only six.

I don’t know if this is completely pie-in-the-sky but ideally I’d like to see only registered and regulated people be allowed to breed dogs, with a requirement for all dog to be spayed or neutered. That would help avoid new dangerous breeds from emerging as well as eliminating unregulated puppy farms.

Yes, he did. Punching it one minute, praising it the next.

It then went on to kill innocent Jack Lees.

Shame it didn't go for the vile owner.

So the dog would have associated the little girl with being punched in the face- notice how it specifically goes for her again at the end of the video.

This is clearly a very dangerous child aggressive dog and an utter incompetent pair of 'owners'.

I live in leafy Surrey very near where this dog walker had her throat ripped out by her own XL Bully a few months ago. A bloke from the local pub was out runningin the woods and came across her body before the response team has arrived and cordoned it off. I won't repeat what he tells everyone in the pub when he's had a few (clearly has PTSD) but it is horrific. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/american-bully-owned-dog-walker-26940137

I saw 2 women walking 3 XL Bullys yesterday in this same area when dropping my son at a nearby housing estate. They could barely control them.

I can only imagine what it's like in urban estates.

I've long subscribed to "blame the deed not the breed" , however I do think XL Bullys can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. They are so muscular and powerful. All dogs can bite however one of these coming at you is simply not in the same league as a bite from a Jack Russell, etc.

That said I also pity the dogs. Look at the way the 'man' in this video slaps the dog around the head. If that's how the dog has been raised all its life, it's hardly any surprise that it doesn't know how to interact properly with humans.

I am not sure that a ban will solve the issue. There have always been people who use dogs as a status symbol. Take away the XLB and I fear they'll just raise maladjusted, ill-treated dogs of another breed instead.

@Brumbies

They need to define the breed as it's not actually a single breed. You can't ban a description without some more concrete criteria.

Banning a single breed was simpler but even that took time.

We have four banned breeds in the UK @gogomoto, but the police and dog assessors go by looks and measurements rather than actual breed, so out of a litter of 4 puppies 2 may be typed and 2 might not.

Cats are more predatory then dogs? I've missed those cat attacks where children have been killed. Though my great aunt had a cat that hated me and used to try and trip me up on the stairs so maybe I'm wrong.

We should just ban unlicensed breeding of any breed. If you want to breed then you have to have a licence and breed under very strict conditions. I know so many people breeding dogs to supplement their income. Poor bitch being bred every year, usually the cockerpoo type. I know someone who has bought another xl, a boy to go along with their girl. Only a matter of time before there are pups there.

And yes to people being charged as if they did the act themselves. The owners of the dog that murdered Jack Lis got away with serving about a third of his life span in prison. The account of the day he died, written by his mum is heartbreaking.

@AIstolemylunch That must have been horrific.
The woman actually owned the XL Bully. It was her own dog.

The police horse also mauled by one had a hopeless owner that couldn't control it. Thankfully the horse is recovering, but has serious lacerations.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=719536773215655

They would make things worse, the underground breeders would charge even more and so would the puppy farmers. The true hobby breeders, who show their dogs would have to stop completely, the people you would actually better off buying a dog from!

As it is with the current two litters per year rule, councils can only enforce this on the hobbists as they can find them easily from the kennel club registrations and they can either not afford the stupid to pay for the breeding licenses or are unable to follow the silly rules that come with them. The people that tend to have the licenses are the puppy farmers. As a result pure bred dog registrations are going down.