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 hope I'm never in a position where I'd have to try this but experts say it's the only way to get them to release their bite.

This was on another thread about these dogs so I copied it here. These dogs terrify me.

It must be absolutely terrifying to be attacked by a dog. To be killed by one.of these dogs, horrific.

RIP Nicole.

Every week it's the same thing just Google it

Oh god that’s awful

Where was it?

She's not a breeder. She's a puppy farmer.

This won't work on an XL. The amount of strength and tension you would need to halt it with this method is ridiculous. These things are bred to hold on until the bitter end. It's why their breeders and the people who use pitbulls to fight have to use something called a break stick. Those have a much higher chance of successfully getting the dog to release as it is something that physically wrenches the jaws open. There are videos of people hitting these dogs with shovels, direct blows to the head, shooting at them. They don't flinch. They're bred for that reason exactly - to not let go, and with all common sense to be overridden entirely by adrenaline and the urge to hold on until the prey/opponent is down. They're terrifying dogs.

The video is useful for other breeds, though. XLs/pits/etc are just built so differently to most other breeds.

One of the the posts up-thread led me down a rabbit hole reading about recent pitbull attacks on Reddit, and now I'm angry, with nothing to do about it. 😡

YANBU to keep your child out of homes where a large, dangerous breed of dog lives. It's not an overreaction; in fact, it's only common sense!

It's not these dogs' fault they were bred the way they were, but I wish they didn't exist, and the world would be a safer place if they were all pts. It's not as though there aren't a hundred other, better breeds from which to choose! I'll never understand the appeal these breeds seem to hold for some people.

Dog behaviourist/trainer here...

You are absolutely spot on to keep your kid out of homes with dogs whose needs are not properly being met - any dog. There is a direct correlation between dogs owned by people who fail to meet their needs, fail to understand a dogs needs, and dog attacks particularly on visitors.

As for a loose dog approaching you.

Stand still, folded arms, do not stare.

If you can slowly back away, do so, do not run.

If you have food on you, throw it away from the direction you want to go in, but still move slowly, back away rather than run.

Unfortunately it would be wholly unethical of me to tell you that there is any magic way to stop an attack in progress. There isn't and anyone telling you there is is a fantasist and a liar.

There are a number of techniques that might work however every single one of them will also put you at risk and may well not work, in fact may make matters much worse.

Remember, most dogs do not want to hurt you - there are over 12M dogs in the uk, proportionate to their numbers, very very few attack people. Some don't care about you at all, some are curious, some want to play - the above tactics with these dogs will help keep you safe.

Some of these XL bully attacks appear to have started in confusion and over arousal/excitement (chasing, grabbing at sleeves, very typical over aroused (1) play) rather than predatory or aggressive behaviour and have then tipped over into predatory/aggressive behaviour as people run/kick/hit/scream - it is possible to prevent that 'tipping' happening... by doing the above. You certainly won't make a situation worse by doing the above.

Some of them are likely to have been triggered by fear - these are the attacks that have happened inside peoples homes rather than out on the streets.

(1 - 'play' in this context is not necessarily 'sweet and innocent Disney cartoon fun. Dogs play to practice a variety of behaviours including predation and killing. A dog may play without intent to hurt, but if the 'toy' in their play is a human and the dog is very big, that human can still end up dead. However a dog who is intending to play can be potentially stopped. A dog intending to predate probably cannot if big enough/heavier than their victim).

It's nice to know I'm not alone with my feelings.

I have fears of my children dying anyway which stemmed from my youngest nearly dying at birth. This triggered the GAD and OCD. Nearly all of it is focused on them dying, usually in horrific circumstances. I came off my medication around 4 months ago as i thoutht i didnt need it anymore, I realise now it was a bad idea lol.

I stumbled on the Ian Price footage on twitter when it happened and it was horrific and I've read there is doorbell footage of this recent attack in Ireland going around so I will be avoiding social media for the foreseeable.

Hope you are ok OP. I would suggest going back to the doctor about your GAD and OCD but you are entirely correct to not let your children into a house where Xl Bullies are. They are dangerous dogs and don’t need to be muzzled inside.

I would describe myself as a dog lover, I own two, but I feel exactly as you do. I don't understand why people buy dangerous breeds. Some breeds should be forbidden.

Hope you will feel reassured by the responses & feeling better. I wouldn’t go anywhere near the XLs myself, let alone my kids.

I am the same now I have children with all dogs really. We have had incidents where am owneer didn't have a lwaah on their dog and it came up to me and DS and if qas on attack alert. Simple keep your dog away from me. I know have a multitool kit in my pocket that has a tiny knife. I carry at all times.
I don't have any negative experincea with dogs my family grew up with dogs on their farm. But the interactions are different now. Dogs are everywhere and owners are not controlling them. To the point my DS says he doesn't like them anymore. He used to but becuase they keep coming up to us he now hates them and me to. It is the owners fault on so many levels.

We were on holiday in South of England and we had a few incidents within dogs. There was an XL ON THE BEACH! And it says on the aigna no dogs allowed in this area of the beach no lead! DH was in defence mode and i had my pocket tool in my hand. It is getting ridiculous these days.

I would but I'm not in the UK and it is totally legal for the owner to have an XL bully here and to walk it without a muzzle/lead unfortunately

@StrangerThings1992
I totally understand, I'm terrified of them too.
There's a couple in my area, one is owned by a young man who I've spoken to, he's always out on training exercises with his, it's absolutely huge, not sure if it went rogue that there'd be much he could do about it.
There's another one who has escaped his home a couple of times, it's been on the community FB page when he's got out, the owner is very blasé about it "ok Hun, I'll come get him" kinda thing.
It's been caught on camera near my house.
I have a small dog who I love dearly,
I know it's illegal but I've bought pepper spray (not encouraging you to) my thoughts are if one gets hold of my dog I'm going to do whatever I have to to protect her and myself.
I'll worry about the repercussions of carrying illegal pepper spray after the event.
I keep it in my pocket on walks and have practiced flicking it on / preparing it for spraying while it's in my pocket.
Adult DD says I'm going to get myself arrested but these dogs are a real threat and I'm going to protect ddog and myself.

I also saw this, I certainly didn't go looking for it. It just appeared on FB one day.

It was utterly traumatising to watch.

I've also since looked to see what happened to the owner. Nothing as far as I can see. I can only hope the police are building a case and he gets put away for a very long time but I won't hold my breath

https://bullywatch.link/2023/08/01/finding-kimbo/

you are not over-reacting x

I know how you feel. Thankfully maybe because my area has a lot of roads most dogs you see are on a leash and I’ve never seen a Bully dog and rarely see staffy types etc either so im usually ok walking around my neighbourhood.

However yes dogs are everywhere - I was on a train recently and a woman had her dog on a fairly long leash and was allowing it to roam across the aisle and sniff at other people. It came into the floor of my seating area and I told her to move her dog and she looked all surprised.

She moved then it came back again so eventually I stood up and moved to the quiet carriage. As I was moving her dog just stood in the aisle, I had to tell her to move her dog again . Absolutely ridiculous that I was expected to step over her dog especially when I was carrying luggage. No doubt if I’d kicked it by mistake I’d have got blamed if it had snarled at me or bitten me! There are No dog free coffee shops on my area except for costa. I think we need more dog free spaces again.

And we need some dog free beaches in the UK. If nothing else this ensures there won’t be dog poo hidden under the sand.

Also despite most dogs being under control in my neighbourhood I did have a neighbour in my flat let her dog run and jump on me. I was terrified tbh as dogs are unpredictable so I didn’t know its intention as it ran full pelt at me.

It ended up being “friendly” but it scratched me - accidentally probably. I told her to keep her dog on a leash in the communal areas. She said no so I reported her to the property managers and she was told she wasn’t allowed to have it run around like that anymore. It’s wild that I had to escalate this before she leashed her dog.

Have you worked with a therapist on cbt?

ive known some dog walkers who carry a squeeze lemon juice with some added pepper. pepper spray is illegal fyi but this was to break up fighting dogs.

don’t know if it would work

You are not being over anxious at all. I grew up on a farm, around dogs and all sorts of animals - including bulls.

I would not let a child go in to a house with an XL Bully and neither would I. These dogs are unpredictable, aggressive and often owned by people who do not have the first idea about caring for an animal.

Bearing in mind the most recent XL bully attack required 4 bullets to stop it, I don't think there's a lot that can be done.
Another one was tazered twice and continued to attack until it was shot.
You are not being unreasonable.

i came across a video on tiktok recently - the woman had posted multiple videos of her xl bully - she rehomed him in the last days before the ban.

she had a video with her grandkids putting their hands in the dogs mouth - they were all lying down and cuddling the dog and she posted some shite comment about it being a nanny dog

anyone with an ounce of understanding could see stress signs off the dog - whale eyes 👀, licking, even a yawn.

if that dog ever snaps she will say it was completely out of character - but she doesn’t know the character! she rehomed it so can never understand the history. she doesn’t understand dog body language.

aggressive dogs don’t grown and snarl. they go stiff, they stare. they don’t warn - they bite

OP - watching some episodes of Victoria Stilwell on aggressive dogs on you tube may help you find what to look out for