Xl bullies

[StrangerThings1992]

Let me start by saying I don't think all these type of dogs are bad but I do have massive anxiety over them, especially when a fatal attack is in the news. I was diagnosed with OCD and GAD so I do tend to obsess over things and catastrophise everything but, everytime I'm out lately I seem to be on the alert thinking an off leash one is going to come and maul my kids and how powerless I would be to stop it.
I like dogs in general but I just feel so uneasy if I ever see one out and I'm with my kids. Even if it's on a lead it still makes me feel sick. I realise this may be an over reaction but I can't help it.
I even stopped my 9 year old going to her best friends house because they got one of these dogs. She works all the time so it's left alone most the day and I felt like she wasn't safe so she's no longer allowed there.

If there's any dog experts here, what would be the best way to protect yourself and your child if this situation did happen?

I’m very relaxed generally but wouldn’t let my child go to a house with an XL bully. In fact I would even want to associate with people who own one…..and I don’t care if people think I’m snobby because of this.

A 23 year old woman was killed by one last night in Limerick (Ireland).

https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2024/0605/1453055-limerick-dog-attack/

I think a lot of people feel that way and I definitely wouldn’t let my DC go to a house where there’s a banned breed of dog

While your GAD /OCD may be running the show re seeing them in public (they pass hundreds if not thousands of people a day. It’s highly unlikely to attack at all, let alone attack you), I do think you have every right to say your kid isn’t going to a house where one is left alone all day. That’s a reasonable safety measure.

Yeah this is what I was on about. When there's one in the news my anxiety gets worse.
I have visions of my son walking to school and getting mauled. I know realistically he's more likely to get hit by a car on the way to school but still.
I just really dislike these dogs.

I feel exactly the same OP. Someone in the article above referred to XL Bullies as 'lions on a lead' and I think that sums it up really.

If a large dog like that is coming at you and you’ve got the strength and reflexes under pressure you can grab their two front legs and pull them apart with everything you’ve got. Done with enough force it will kill the dog, without enough force it’s just going to piss them off.

Most people don’t have the kind of training you need to react quickly enough with a huge dog bearing down on them. Once a mouth like that has got you it’s not going to end well for you.

I am a big dog lover but I would not let my kid go to friends house with an xl bully. A kid her age was killed in exactly those circumstances less than a year ago

Whatever anyone says breed does matter, collies that have never met sheep will herd children/chickens etc
Yes individuals from the breed can be perfectly lovely but never underestimate the ferociousness of terrier breeds. It’s all very well when they’re small but a different story when they weigh more than you

I saw one in my local park on a lead but without a muzzle on, and I was quite nervous. It made me think I should have a stun gun or something

Saw a sad story about a little old pug on a walk with his elderly owner when a kid opened a door to a house on the street she was walking on and it ran out killed the pug in seconds. I didn't realise a lady had also been killed, that's awful.

I wouldn’t let a child of mine go to a house with one of these dogs. Or similar. Cane Corso etc.

Actually I wouldn’t go.

And actually lots of the dogs ARE bad. Yes, bad owners, blah blah, but bad owners have existed for ever and we didn’t see deaths and attacks like this.

OP, are the dogs you are worried about XL Bullies or just dogs that look a bit like them? XL Bullies and I don't blame you at all, these dogs are unpredictable and I'd never have kids within lunging distance of one. Staffies or Boxer-crosses can look a little 'Bully-like' but really aren't nearly as worth being wary of.

I'm just wondering if your GAD is making you see scary dogs in dogs that aren't that 'type' at all. Not that this helps you much, but having a look through some breed websites might show you that some of the dogs you are feeling afraid of aren't breeds that are likely to be quite as trigger-happy as Bullies.

I'm very much a dog person and have trained and showed large breed dogs for decades.

There isn't a chance in hell that a child of mine would be going anywhere near a house with one in it, let alone inside the house. You've done the right thing.

If you see one out and it isn't on the lead, or isn't wearing a muzzle, take pictures and report. This is illegal, and the more people who report, the better.

Don't believe the, "it's not the dog it's the owner" rubbish. People wouldn't say that if a Border Collie herded something, or a Retriever retrieved. They have been bred to kill. It's literally their instinct. They've been bred to actually be killing machines. Exaggerated muscles, a build that can grab and hold and shake. To top it off, most of them in the UK are from the same lines, and the progeny have a screw loose. They can turn at any time, even if they seem like "big softies" 🙄

I even stopped my 9 year old going to her best friends house because they got one of these dogs.

Don't ever feel bad for this, they are far more likely to be attacked/bitten by a dog in someone's home then they are out and about, because they are exposed to it a lot more, you are doing the right thing. I question the intelligence and common sense of anyone who chooses to have one of these types of dogs with a family.

With regards the anxiety, you're not alone, I felt that way for a while last year as there are quite a lot of them where we live and I stopped walking my dogs round the streets because of it. I feel better since the ban and the restrictions as most of them round here are now walked with leads and muzzles, so I feel safer getting out and about.

I avoid them like the plague though and will 100% walk away from them, or take a different route if I see one, same as I've done for years with staffies, or any dogs that don't show body language.. I'm not taking any chances with the safety of my dogs or child.

Yanbu

I’m the same. There is a stereotypical male XL bully owner that walks one near me, he does have it muzzled, but even that still fills me with dread when I see it.

As someone above said im not sure there is much you can do. They are very strong. I worked in a kennels in my 20s and they had a contract with police/social services and a dog came in and he was lovely. I think he was seized for being pitbull type. But one day he got hold of a rabbit, killed it and nothing I did could get him to let go until he wanted to.
I dont blame you for stopping your child going to their friends house, any bord dog can be a problem.

I have dogs and I obviously love dogs.

But I wouldn't have one or get near one. There are a few more breeds that I would avoid. Basically anything that was developed for fighting. That includes a lit od the so called bull breeds.

Thers is need for such dogs.

It's just xl bullies. I actually grew up with a staff who was the sweetest dog ever, my uncle had a boxer and my nan had german shepards and rotties so I've grown up with big, and what some might define as 'scary' dogs.
It's just xls I'm just terrified of them.

I also would not let my primary age child go and play at a house with an XL bully.

I'd invite the child to ours, and if direct questions were asked i'd be politely honest.

I'd rather be thought of as a weirdo and still have my DC in one piece.

If pepper spray was legal I'd 100% carry it with me everywhere I went.

That's a good idea, I forgot it is illegal though

I wouldn’t have my child in a house with an xl bully- I wouldn’t mix with anyone who thought it was ok to have one.

I've just,seen someone on our local FB page looking for someone to walk her two "gentle giants" as she doesn't have time. Why did she get them then?

I even stopped my 9 year old going to her best friends house because they got one of these dogs.

This is a completely rational response.

Apparently deep heat works kind of the same. Don't know how effective it would be against a crazed dog though.