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?

Yeah I have so I do have some coping methods which work sometimes. But other times I just spiral.
It has helped posting on here and knowing I'm not alone in my thoughts.

I get your point but that depends on how you define big dogs. My boy stands 80cm at the withers and around a metre to the top of his head when standing normally. Not much point in muzzling him though, he’s harmless unless you’re a rabbit or a squirrel and then you’re fucked, really fucked.

I wouldn’t want my 6ft 16 year old ds in a house with one of these dogs

I would do the same op unfortunately with older children you have less control

Thankfully he doesn’t hang around parks but he certainly was a few years ago

ffs how many children and adults have to be killed before we say enough they need to all be pts

Can someone explain to me why so many dogs are in harnesses around the chest now instead of collars with leads attached? It seems far more sensible to be able to drag a dog off by the neck collar than to drag on a harness that allows the dog to thrash its head around.

I suspect because it's safer for the dog and allows greater control over the dog's whole body and not just its head. It would have to he pretty close to someone to bite them.

Also more comfortable for the dog.

Imagine if you were on lead - would you prefer a chest harness or a neck collar?

I also read that there was video of this attack on the internet last night. It is absolutely mind boggling that someone would have released that. I cannot imagine (don't want to imagine) how traumatising it must be to witness one of these attacks.

Fortunately I don't do X/TikTok and only have actual friends who would not be posting such stuff on Facebook. The thought of coming across it makes me feel physically sick.

After the Ian Price attack I joined many XL/Pitbull watch type FB groups both here and in the US.

The problem is completely out of control in the US.

I came off all of these groups a month or so ago as having daily reminders of the horror that these dogs inflict on other innocent animals and people was just too much to bear.

OP I would suggest that you do the same. If anything comes up on FB then you can choose not to see that type of video again etc. it will only harm your mental health further if you keep being exposed to this.

Mainstream news I appreciate is harder to avoid

Harnesses are often not more comfortable. They restrict movement and cause rubbing in a lot of dogs.

Lots of people also use a harness as an excuse to let their dog drag them about because they aren’t pulling them by the neck 🙄

I can categorically say having handled about 100 dogs a day for 15 years, a collar gives you a million times more control than a harness. There’s no way to control the head and neck with one and that’s where the teeth are.

Collars damage the sensitive structures in a dogs neck.

That damage generally goes unnoticed unless its something really severe like tracheal collapse. However it causes the dog pain, particularly when the dog tenses up or pulls on the lead, or is yanked by the lead.

This tends to happen when the dog sees a person or another dog and looks towards them.

The dog then starts to rapidly association seeing people/other dogs with pain and this is a major cause of 'reactivity' ie a lunging/barking frustrated/aggressive response to the sight of people/other dogs. In the CCTV video of the XL bully that went on to kill Jack Lis, wayyy back when this all really started... you can see exactly that cycle occurring!

Well fitted harnesses are advised as they keep the dog safe whilst the owner (in theory) trains the dog not to pull.

It certainly does not give greater control of the dog - the complete opposite. They are only really suitable for small dogs.

We have a few of these XL bullies near us and I feel the same. I carry a Stanley knife with me which sounds ridiculous to type out but with two toddlers, I’d rather feel safe.

My PIL have recently had new
neighbours move in next door with two young girls and decided for some explicable reason to bring home a “pocket bully” puppy for them. I really do question whether some people have brain cells 🙄

I understand the thought but it’s the opposite -

plenty of dogs when VERY desperate can/will slip out of a collar. You cannot slip out of a harness

imagine the difference between putting a toddler dashing out into the road in a headlock, versus grabbing both arms round his chest and picking him up.

tragically more children and adults shall be killed by these dogs

and it won’t be until it’s the child or adult are from a family where they are able to take high profile action (have money behind them) that things will change

I am surprised that Mp’s are keeping so quiet about this (I am not suggesting it becomes an election issues but it is becoming an issue of safety for the public)

We would not accept this from any other pet but with dogs people loose all sensibilities

I do think some of the fear surrounding them, such as carrying knives(!) to protect yourself from one is very over dramatic. They're not roaming the streets waiting to attack like lions. Being wary of them is very wise though and I say this as a huge dog lover who has had breeds that have been previously deemed as 'dangerous'. Strong dogs need strong owners and good training. I personally would fuss an XL if I saw one but I probably wouldn't let my children into a house with one without me there. You shouldn't trust every dog and certainly don't trust their owners unless you know them very well.

Then again, on Mumsnet all dogs bar labradors and spaniels get criticised. I'm sat with my pug currently and I've had nasty comments on his breed on here 🤣

They might not be roaming the streets but there are more and more of these incidents happening and it's so easy for them to escape from a house/garden, or the owner drops the lead etc.

Personally I think it's sensible to carry some kind of protection. If they're loose and aroused then they will attack. If you're defenceless then you're going to die in all likelihood!

Yet here we are telling our kids not to go out with knives for protection...

Because like so many others, they haven’t a clue about dogs. There are very few breeds that need to be on a harness, most should be on a collar and lead.

When you want a dog to pull a sled, you harness it, then it can use its power most effectively to pull. You don’t want that when you’re walking your dog. You are handing control to the dog.

@HRTQueen

I am surprised that Mp’s are keeping so quiet about this (I am not suggesting it becomes an election issues but it is becoming an issue of safety for the public)

i don’t know where you’ve been but there’s been a lot of work and regulations implemented for xl bullies

It’s a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless you have a valid Certificate of Exemption.
It’s also an offence to:

• sell an XL Bully dog
• abandon an XL Bully dog or let it stray
• give away an XL Bully dog
• breed or breed from an XL Bully dog
• have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle

The rules you must follow if you own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales.

source:%20GOV.UK
https://search.app/vDhka8VKsQG61Fgw7

Funny how assistance dogs all wear harnesses and yet do not pull... how strange.

Perhaps the idea is that you train the dog to walk nicely on a lead, and the harness acts as a safety net, keeping the dog safely attached to the owner without risk of hurting its neck/delicate structures within the neck/throat.

Collars do not offer 'control', they serve to cause pain and/or discomfort. The instinctive response to pressure on a collar is to pull harder, not stop pulling (hence those who train using collars as a tool, give a sharp painful jerk, often with an upward motion to concentrate force on the most sensitive area of the throat, rather than a steady backward pull).

This is true, I’m always amazed at how undeterred dogs are by collar leads – straining, sounding like they’re choking for breath but still pulling for their life to go in the direction they want or get at a bit of bread on the pavement

I won't let my kids go to a house with a dog like that - i have experience of this getting out of hand, my husbands friends young child died. All these dogs need to sadly put down - i say this as a dog owner.

Funny also that professional dog behaviourists also support use of a collar and lead for most dogs.

Oh I’ve seen a few ‘professional’ dog ‘behaviourists’ support collars in lots of ways that causes pain to the dog.

@EarlyBird12345 ours wear harnesses as one had surgery on his neck and can’t wear a collar now, the others wear them as it’s not the first time they’ve had to be dragged out of bogs 😂. Apart from that I do a lot of wild swimming with my dogs and like a harness to hold on to - it’s fun being towed around in water by two dogs. We’ve never attached the leads to our dogs collars, they’re all retired or current search and rescue dogs and work on a harness.

I don't let my DC go anywhere where there is any dog let alone an XL type creature. I don't care if they will be shut in another room or behind a baby gate, animals can and do escape. Happily, I have a pet hair allergy so I play on that and make it out to be much more severe than it is.

Lots of people in the past have been offended, including family, when I have not taken kindly to being jumped up at or even licked by their dog. I have made it clear that I don't like dogs, I am frightened of dogs and don't want them near me. Looking at you xmil who tried to lie my precious baby on the floor so sil's dog could sniff at them to get used to them. No way.