XL Bully attack | 8 year old boy seriously injured

[ThisOldThang]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/schoolboy-8-seriously-injured-after-28610020

"A schoolboy is in a serious condition in hospital after being mauled by what is believed to be an XL bully.

Merseyside Police were called to Wadham Road in Bootle just after 5.20pm on Saturday following reports a dog had bitten an eight-year-old boy to the head in the communal area of flats nearby.

The boy was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries and required emergency surgery. He remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition."

IMHO the ban doesn't go anywhere near far enough and all XL Bullys need to be put to sleep.

AIBU?

Enough is enough! Put them all to sleep. I was just having this conversation with a group of friends, and they all said the same thing.

If it was outside shouldn't it have been muzzled? What a surprise that it wasn't

I may have got the wrong impression, but I don’t think there are rules for when they are in their own home… and yet that is where the vast majority of attacks occur.

Nothing will help in this scenario, unless as you say, they are all PTS.

It wasn't in its own home. It was in a communal area

sorry I slightly misread what you were saying.

YANBU!

They need exterminating without delay.

The sort of people who buy and own these vile killers are bot the sort of people to follow any new laws so the only thing that will stop this is getting rid of these animals completely.

Boy was not related to the owners and in a communal area.

I work in a very challenging area (high deprivation, drugs, domestic violence, mental health issues etc etc) and there is only one sort of person who owns these dogs. They are a status symbol for their aggression.

Sick of the it’s not the dog it’s the owners. In this case it goes hand in hand.

I think if you drew a Venn diagram of ‘people who have an American Bully XL’ and ‘people who care about the law’, I suspect you might find rather little overlap.

Oh god my NDN just got a pup XLB these news stories are worrying me :(

That poor poor boy.

Why on god’s earth is some thick f…king bastard letting an unmuzzled XL bully be in a communal area. I hope they go to prison.

Don’t worry, my post was slightly off topic!

That's three attacks in the two weeks isn't it? I'm in the put them all to sleep camp. I see a couple walking one, they have a tiny baby in a pram. Makes me shudder every time I see them. (haven't seen them since the muzzle rules came in)
You have to wonder how many are not being walked now and that will lead to a very frustrated dog.

Every time I speak to a child I work with 9/10 they have an XL Bully.
Insane.

I don't know what the logistics would be but in an ideal world they should all be put to sleep.

I also think it speaks volumes that most of these dogs have cropped ears which has been illegal for years. I think a lot of the issues is its not the dog it's the owner. And the chihuahuas bite more.... OK but a chihuahua bite vs a bully bite is completely different and people need to see this.

Hopefully not since December, and if prior to December, hopefully it is registered and your NDN is complying with the law? Assuming you are in England.

What ridiculous reason do they give for doing this to a dog in this day and age? Or is it just to fit with the brutal / aggressive image?

Agree.

Agree. There needs to be a campaign for all of these dogs to be destroyed, with no exceptions.

In the meantime, everyone needs to report them every single time one is spotted without a muzzle/not properly under control. If the police are inundated with reports something will have to be done (you'd hope!)

How many more people have to be attacked?!?

Exactly that. Makes the dog look more scary/aggressive.

Whilst I mainly agree it’s the owner, not the breed - if we look to the past when the scary dog of choice was a rotty or a gsd etc we saw far less dog attacks/deaths. The owners aren’t going to have become worse in all that time so I do think the breed is a factor

apparently searched for cane corsos have gone through the roof. They are big aggressive dogs too so will we have the same problem and the need for another ban?

I agree.

YANBU! It’s absolutely out of control and the owners of them are living proof that people can really live without a brain!

If you see footage of these attacks like I have you’ll see that these animals where not even provoked! One boy from wales just kicking his ball in the street minding his own and they come out of nowhere same with Birmingham and all the other news video footage I’ve seen it’s terrifying.

Interesting thought. I had a rescue Rotti in the 90's and he had the image of big scary dog probably as a relic of the Omen films (amongst others). People used to cross the road to be away from him, but I never saw the slightest hint of aggression from him in the 5 years I had him. They are a guarding breed though whereas XLB's have been bred for aggression. I humbly submit that the type of owner that chooses an XLB is somewhat different to one choosing a GSD or Rotti. Of course there is crossover, however in the past, the comparable dog of choice would have been a pitbull.

I think the breeders need heavier regulation. Legislating owners without the ability to police it doesn't really work, as has been proved by banning breeds already (I.e. dog attacks have not reduced).

Also, I suspect the increase in human population will by default bring more dogs. Coupled with the pandemic increasing the per capita dog ownership and there appears to be a good correlation of increased occurrences of dog related incidents. Since the majority of these are XLB's it does support the breed not the owner, although I don't believe many XLB owners are necessarily responsible. I agree with the Venn diagram put forward by a previous poster.

I too used to be an "owner not breed" subscriber, but I can't justify it any longer.

YANBU i agree it’s gone beyond who is a responsible owner and who isn’t. The breed itself can do horrific damage if it choses.

The cropped ears is vile and just goes to show. A posh person docks their working dog and are lectured, judged and abused by anyone who fancies a go. These walkers cosmetically and painfully enhance an animal to make it look more dangerous and nobody feels able to say anything. They should be confiscated immediately and a ban for life. No excuse.