Woman 19 dies in dog attack

[Matrixremooted]

Woman 19 dies in dog attack in Bristol

Apologies if there’s already a thread on this, but how many more lives have to be taken in these horrific attacks before the Government admit that the current measures are failing. It surely has come to the point now that all XL Bullies should be euthanised.

I don't think you can be a good XLB owner. To begin with, you've chosen to obtain one. They don't do anything specific that any other large breed doesn't do. They are chosen specifically to be a status symbol, so I have no sympathy for people who choose to bring them into their homes.

I just don't see the ban and restrictions being enforced at all. A few days ago, I was walking down the street and a couple had two XL bullies off lead, unmuzzled. The woman was staring at people as they walked by, almost as if she wanted someone to challenge her. What on earth do you do when people just don't follow the law?

And even when people follow the rules they are still a problem. I was entering my flat with my puppy and small dog, and a man walked by with his XL on a lead. He was being dragged and clearly unable to handle it (despite him being a big bloke). The dog (who thankfully was muzzled) went berserk at my puppy and launched at her making her cry. I have no doubt that if the dog wasn't muzzled she would have been mauled.

"Don't worry he's a softie really", usually said about 30 seconds before the mauling starts.

I imagine that in the correct hands and suitably muzzled in public a Leopard would not be much trouble. I don't think that I want the general unlicensed population to start having them as pets though.

I disagree, I’ve always been wary of dogs but at least staffies and Rottweilers are half normal and don’t just jump out of windows to kill people. Xl bullies are like pit bulls on steroids, the breed shouldn’t exist.

Well exactly
These dogs were not bred for any other purpose than to be intimidating and anyone who would choose to have one has the kind of mindset that means they shouldn't be allowed a pug let alone something actually dangerous.

Agreed. We have created dog breeds with particular characteristics to do particular things. My terrier can dispatch a rat with one shake, I've seen him do it. He would have no instinct to bring it to me once he'd done it - unlike the retrievers who will bring me all sorts of interesting things they find on walks, I've got quite a collection of odd gloves......

Any of the breeds which were invented to fight/kill are likely to do that out of pure instinct. Bullies are totally different in temperament to something like a Newfoundland, big soppy dopes bred to save lives in water.

XL Bullies should not be allowed to be kept any more than a Lion or Tiger should (and yes, you can have some soppy tame Lions and Tigers but you still shouldn't; have one living in your house)

Promise I'm not asking thus to be arsey, just trying to understand the mindset.
When you thought it was owner not breed, what was your reasoning when you guard about repeated killings by these dogs?
Did you think thet attracted a certain sort of owner.
The ones who said the dog was lovely till it turned, did you think they just didn't know what they wre talking about and must have trained it wrong.

Genuine questions as its interesting to hear from someone who had that mindset ( and kudos for saying that was your opinion. )

Would you want to be alone or your children alone with it?
Would you want one of these dogs as a pet?

I agree, and I don't own an xl btw. They are bred and bought by morons, then regularly ended up in shelters. Up until recently, my local shelter and many others would rehome these dogs as 'gentle giants'. These unsuspecting new owners would have been told that the dog had been temperament tested etc.

It seems to me that the likelihood of the breed being the main factor is increasing daily. Family pets that appear to just 'snap' unexpectedly upon reaching adulthood, exhibiting sudden unpredictable behavior and almost super strength during these attacks. Is this a "mental break" ingrained in an XL bully's DNA from being genetically bred for specific traits, or could it be due to the high levels of inbreeding? It seems clear these "episodes" are much more likely (maybe even unavoidable) for XL bullies and the government needs to treat it as such. The banned dog list just isn't enough.

I really had the opinion much earlier in life, before the whole XL Bully thing blew up. I've always had dogs, border collies and GSDs, dogs which often had a bad reputation. But I saw so many under-exercised, under-socialised dogs, or dogs where owners seemed to expect the dog to know what to do without any training.

Then rottweilers became the 'dog of choice' for thugs. I only knew these dogs as pets and it seemed to me that they were perfectly decent dogs. As long as they were taken out and walked a lot and given things to occupy their minds, they were all right in the house. The only aggressive ones I ever met were owned by the 'short choke chain and skinhead' brigade.

Once the XL Bully breeds began to become popular and I came across one or two, I changed my mind. It wouldn't matter how much exercise or socialisation you gave them, they are capable of turning with no warning, which is not something I have ever seen in another dog. It's the lack of warning behaviour which I find the real problem.

Well yes, ofcourse.
Anyone with an punce of common sense has known its the breed fir a long time

I also had that mindset, until these dogs, they are not like other dogs at all regardless of ownership/training, but yes, they do attract the wrong type of owners in my opinion, which makes them worse.

With most dogs I think their behaviour depends on training and how they are treated. We had a Staffie, who also have a bad rep. She was a rescue who had been very badly treated (broken bones) by previous owners yet was a lovely dog, who lived to over 15 years and was never aggressive.

Your friend is a fool and you are clueless.

They're all much loved, affections, family pets.

That is, until the day they're not.

And people are blatantly ignoring the existing rules on not having them off lead in public etc. I gave zero confidence that there will be no more breeding.

Same here! Am stroking my gorgeous dog as I type.These dogs need to be euthanised..every single one of them.

Absolute bollocks.

Genetic testing has shown that most UK XL bullies are from the blood line of a particularly dangerous dog. This lineage is responsible for most fatalities.
I am sure it's a drooling softy.... until it isnt.
I am also concerned that a police dog handler is so poorly informed.

I read about fighting dogs in the rings, and one of the traits that was bred into them was for them to appear quite friendly and passive - they would not burst into the ring immediately gunning for a fight, but would approach the other dog tail wagging then unexpectedly attack. It made them better fighters because it put the other dog's guard down. I think part of the problem is these dogs with fighting genes have the ability to mask what they are truly feeling, and can appear quite friendly and placid then suddenly switch without warning (which is what they were bred to do). I've seen footage of XL bully attacks where the dog is attacking and merrily wagging its tail. So dogs that were bred to be unpredictable act in unpredictable ways.

People are still breeding them though - illegally.

I think this is it, it's the unpredictability. Every other dog I have known (and I've got one now) of 'uncertain temperament' doesn't REALLY want to fight (they might, after all, be killed themselves) so there's a lot of posturing and dominant behaviour that goes on first, before they get into the actual 'that's it, I'm going to have to lose my temper now'. Whereas the Bullies don't seem to have that prior warning marker - they go from loving pet to killing machine without giving any signals that this might happen. There's no chance to get away.

My friend recently saw a man walking one of these dogs which was muzzled and on the lead. However it was pulling and lunging and he simply didn’t have control of it. It could still knock someone over and potentially kill them even with the muzzle.
I’m also a dog lover and have had nine rescue dogs over the years. I would have all XL bullies pts as a matter of urgency.

There are useless, ineffective owners of all breeds throughout the land, but they're not all killing people - particularly healthy adults - regularly, are they? It absolutely is the breed, and anyone who thinks they have perfect control of one is a fool.

At least this incident seems to be someone who had consented to be around the dog, unlike the poor man seriously injured earlier this week.