Sick of these XL bully owners

[FreshCop]

I’m just so tired not of these dogs, but the people that are attracted to them and how they behave.

My local area of Liverpool has loads of these dogs and most recently a lady got mauled to death by 5 of them that were kept in a house together. Literally round the corner.

Why aren't measures taken to prevent the unsavoury breeding and sale of these dogs, which clearly have no regard for the welfare of the animals or the safety of people? It is obvious that the average person is completely unable to guarantee that their dog won't harm members of the public.

Examples:

Neighbour who keeps two XL bullies in their apartment and has a one-year-old child. However, it's okay because they are only permitted in the kitchen. Dogs undoubtedly enjoy it, I’m sure. Don’t know what the father is thinking leaving his girlfriend and baby at home alone with two of those dogs, they’re absolutely huge.

A tiny woman who lives across the street has now made the decision to purchase one. He "stays by her side" as she very proudly walks him without a lead. The dog has jumped on me; he's still only a puppy but is already very strong. She appears to enjoy the attention the dog attracts and is proud of herself for walking the dog outside without a leash. My child was knocked over by the dog after it jumped on her. Once more, the woman believes it's all in good fun. There is no way the dog, who is only a few months old, will be able to be handled by her.

Another family on our street has two dogs, but neither of them can walk or breathe normally without stumbling. Both of the "hard" guys—father and son, I think—are exerting real effort and are literally being dragged by these dogs.

It is ridiculous. Moreover, I dread them.

They appear to believe that by frightening off onlookers, these dogs will offer them protection. The number of fatalities these dogs have produced and the fact that the same moron keeps purchasing them. I don't understand the hype because they aren't inexpensive either.

The owners love to have them off lead and then claim that "they are harmless," so i'm not being ridiculous.

Please tell me it’s not just be sick to death of this?

I would have a real problem working where someone brought a dog like this. I would be terrified.

Completely with you OP. They are hideous (the owners and the dogs). I wish they could all just be put on island together to compare the size of their dog's heads since that is clearly the only thought process these sad cases have. The rest of us never having to look at or deal with the freaks again.

Guy lives near me has 2 of these beasts. They killed my friend's cat while they were on the leash as his tiny partner was unable to control them. They have metal teeth and their own insta page with videos of them doing all the protection training with the guy in the padded suit. It's a matter of time before they kill a child.

That dog in the photo a pp posted is like something from a horror film

It’s an easy way for people to ‘buy in’ to being interesting / hard / important / knowledgable / a big wheel in their local area.

Absolute recipe for disaster… but if you say anything in real life you’ll be told to ‘be kind’, cos their dog is ‘soft as anything’.

You get a lot of whataboutery too… JRTs are aggressive… any dog can turn… yeah but not all are 10 stone killing machines.

It must be regional as I'm in the south west & have never seen one. I go to Cornwall and it's all spaniels, labs, cockapoos and dachshunds down there.

I have always had dogs and am very confident with them. In general, I prefer big dogs, as they have better temperaments. And I would give one of these dogs a very wide berth.

It’s not that they were bred to attack bulls, or that they are big, or that they have had body language and bite inhibition bred out of them, or even that they are owned by people who think any of that is a good thing or don’t know any better. It’s because they were bred to attack bulls AND that they are big AND that they have had body language and bite inhibition bred out of them AND that they are owned by people who think any of that is a good thing or don’t know any better. Dogs are wonderful animals and have a lot of safeguards built in - they don’t want any sort of confrontation, they have to be highly selectively bred to fight. A chihuahua is frequently a ball of snappy nerves, but you can pull it off a child with one hand. It won’t hold on for grim death despite a broken jaw. A lab might turn nasty, but has inbred bite inhibition (bred to have soft mouths) a shepherd might hate people, but bloody hell, you know about it long before it bites. Not a Bully. It’s a perfect recipe for a fatality. That’s what it was bred for.

And even then, most of them don’t hurt people. Not even with naive owners that don’t understand them, don’t train them and can’t control them (because no person can. They’re huge with bloody great teeth. If they want to hurt you, they will, unless you have chain mail and a gun, frankly. The only reason there aren’t hundreds of fatalities is because they are mostly lovely dogs. The one that killed that poor lady up north recently was 14 stone. With their low centre of gravity and four legs versus two, you’d have to be a bodybuilder to hold one back). But anyone who understood dogs would understand these dogs are not suitable pets and are the highest possible dog-risk to people. And why would you get one of you understood that? It’s a case of anyone who wants one automatically shouldn’t have one! It only takes a perfectly lovely dog with a UTI or a sore hip that you touch accidentally and they can turn. And most dogs live very stressed lives, because people don’t keep them well, and then it can be anything. Just startling one, or the last person they saw in a red coat kicked them. Some people even less so than others. It’s just a perfect storm.

Genes load the gun. The environment pulls the trigger. It’s not breed or owner, but BOTH. I don’t know what kind of environment or owner they live with when I meet one, just what the dog is. I think the bloodline of anything with ‘bull’ in it should be actively eradicated (by which I mean compulsory neutering, not destroying healthy innocent dogs). There’s no reason to have them. It’s not kind, they have health problems bred in, they were created, not evolved, there is no purpose in having them (and if people fighting dogs is a valid purpose to breed them, then that’s all kinds of awful) and they are being used as weapons on purpose and people are getting caught in the friendly fire. In general, civilised societies control production and ownership of weapons for the safety of all of its members, even if a few don’t like it.

I would have a real problem working where someone brought a dog like this. I would be terrified.

it’s just so selfish. If you want your dog to socialise at work, buy a spaniel or a lab. But bringing one of these to the workplace is ridiculous. And as everyone has said, if they go into attack mode nobody is stopping them.

Due to the fact a lot of them have been irresponsibly bred by idiots I wouldn’t be surprised if a considerable amount are inbred with psychological issues and that’s why they keep snapping and are clearly unstable.

I understand how this “dog friendly” culture is causing worries, I’m a dog lover myself, I see no issue in someone popping into Waterstones to grab a book if they happen to be on a walk for example… but then it’s turning away these XL Bully owner types which I’m pretty certain they wouldn’t take very well.

the smug look on their faces when they can see you’re scared though… bet they won’t be laughing if the thing bit their arm off. They must cost a fortune to feed too.

Yes @Eeksteek , exactly.

There are quite a few of these near me too. It terrifies me walking my DC passed them. One of the ones by me is always walked by a petite teenage girl. Another one is walked by a young man who can just about hold it back as it always stands on its back legs as it passes people and lurches at them. I saw one the other day being walked by a woman pushing a pram with it walking off-lead next to her. When I make my DC walk well away from them the owners always look at me like I’m the one with the problem and smirk.

I’m in London, zone 2. So close to central. And I can describe the exact same owners here too. These dogs terrify me.

I have staffies, love bull breeds and don't believe breed specific legislation works at all. But yes, XL bullies are a breeding disaster and something needs to be done about the morons breeding and owning them. It saddens me to say that about any breed as I do think it's usually bad owners rather than bad breeds but the amount of damage XL's can do is terrifying.

They are a fashion/status symbol now. Problem is it's a 50kg muscular and powerful breed.

Before when it was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a fully grown adult can overpower it.

But these, it's like wrestling a human in weight, and "the rock" in muscular power.

I have a 52kg male mastiff cross. Impeccably trained and a great temperament. He's mastiff through and through, calm, dignified, affectionate but has a strong guarding instinct. This instinct took a while to train. He always barks at the door, but when told "quiet, beddy bed" he retreats without fuss. When guests come he will have a sniff, maybe bring his ball over to play and unfortunately"slobber" on them 😳

But I walk him on a halti always, this way I always have control of him. He's never pulled or lunged, never jumped up on anyone, he probably would happily walk off lead next to me, but that's not the law, the law is "you must always have your dog under control". He has great recall, I mean he puts a spaniel or a Labrador to shame, but again, on the halti always.

You need to be capable and confident owner for these XL large breeds. They need to be trained within an inch of their life. The "teenage" years are the most challenging, as they try and find their footing in "the pack" but remain fair, firm and confident and you'll breeze through this 18months.

Bully breeds also don't have the same temper as a mastiff, mastiffs are renowned for their love of children and families. Mastiffs adore their families and make great family dogs, bully breeds do not. Their prey drive is strong, their temperament unknown really due to the mixing.

@Eeksteek I disagree with your statement that "bull" breeds should be eradicated. By your logic any breed bred for hunting should also be eradicated - the sight hounds (eg grey hounds, Afghans), great danes; war breeds such as wolf hounds, mastiffs; any stock protection dog that has been bred to fight off predators. Where do you draw the line? People can only buy / handle dogs that are 30% of their body weight to ensure they have the strength to hold them?

These dogs are absolutely huge my neighbour has one next door to me -its head is Massive! Since she has got this dog I no longer let my eight-year-old go to the house to play With her school friend, asunfortunately I just don’t trust the dog
My neighbour is a lovely lady however she could not physically handle that dog if it were to get upset and sometimes coming into the dogs territory can provoke it hence why I Don’t let DD there
The dog has always been on best behaviour although ioften Gets on hind legs and puts its Paws on you .. but because the dog is so massive and heavy it can literally cause one to fall over -I never hear it barking though and it seems to be well behaved.
The issue is that dogs can be unpredictable unfortunately no matter how well they are trained at the end of the day dogs are animals and they have feelings and get upset just like humans do, these types of dogs and require somebody extremely strong in order to be able to handle them because they are very very powerful and I don’t think people who cannot physically handle these dogs should be allowed to have them

I agree, there are many established bull breeds which are tried and tested.

Take the Bullmastiff for example, a breed recognised since 1924. Beautiful dogs, loyal, affectionate, docile and reliable.

I'd hate to see the Bullmastiff dissapearing they are wonderful.

The ones I see in my area called American bullies look nothing like the photos on here though there are much taller and are generally white and tan. Are they a different version. Everyone has got one, every shop owner, every young male has one I even looked after a baby who’s mother had two stuck in a council flat where she said everyone on the estate had one. They are everywhere. The ones I’ve met have been friendly tbf but I try not to let my cats out now….

White and tan and taller sounds like and American bulldog. It's a recognised breed, it's an ok dog, needs a lot of excercise though to keep it happy, tend to be quite mouthy though , like to chew a lot!

The XL bully breeds that are popping up are stocky, short in the leg, wide chest, massive heads. They tend to be blue, brindle, or a bit of everything because they are mixed with various bully/staff/mastiff dogs. This is what's making them a bit unpredictable.

No I’m in London and haven’t seen them but the American bullies are everywhere and tbf they seem well looked after just bloody ginormous. The gangs all have them, the big Romanian families have them, the off liciences etc. I’ve never seen them off leash in my park thank goodness. Oh and the owners always tell me they aren’t getting them sterilised. Yes I am that person who asks 😂

Sadly, we will see more of these attacks before the breed gets banned.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/american-bully-dog-fatal-attacks-26558869

I've known a couple of American Bulldogs, both lovely dogs and nothing like the XL bullies.

In my corner of the South East it's all small and medium breeds here...cockapoo country. The bigger dogs if I see any are usually walked by big muscly men as status symbols. I stay well clear.

I have a bigger dog. But last week my son was big by a medium sized dog that was on its lead 😥

I take your point. But those breeds weren’t bred to fight BULLS - very large and strong animals - and later each other. They have the terrier instinct to hold and shake, the muscle to do serious damage, the focus to ignore pain, the will to not back off and the weight to make them effectively immovable. None of the other breeds have all that. It isn’t one thing, it’s ALL the things. The other breeds don’t have those arguments against them in bulk - they have a piece of the stack missing. it’s not a principled argument. It’s a stack of them. You could argue some of these problem with say, a wolfhound. But in the list of fatal dog attacks last year in Britain, there are no Wolfhounds. And something insane (I forget exactly) like 70 percent of them have the word ‘bull’ somewhere in the breed name. Clearly, there is an issue with ‘bull’ breeds. (In my opinion it’s the combination of bulk and terrier instincts)

Dogs are not natural man killers, by any means. I believe you are significantly more likely to be killed by a person than a dog of any breed. A dog needs a very specific combination of genes, will, strength, lack of fight inhibition (a very strong inhibition in pack animals) motivation, triggers and training (or lack of) and stress to attack and kill a person. You need all of them - just most isn’t enough, except in freak circumstances. And all the bull breeds have the first four, right out of gate. The other four are turning up in combination often enough to be a problem. I think those problems should be tackled too, but it’s harder than controlling a dog that was bred as a formidable weapon. Weapons should be controlled. Comparing other breeds is comparing a catapult to a gun.

I think the other breeds either have other uses (or possible uses. And I say that as someone who has Beagles!) and don’t have the whole stack of arguments against them. But even if they didn’t, they are still not deadly weapons in the wrong hands. And either the weapons, or the hands need regulating for everyone’s safety. For the record, I’m also in favour of eradicating dogs that are bred to such extremes that it affects their health. I think it’s unfair and inhumane. I think some bull breeds fall foul of that too. Surely they have joint problems?

Perfectly put! I agree with everyone you said.

my friend has 2 of them as her first ever dogs. Not neutered and she works long hours. Accident waiting to happen. I just pray I’m not around when it does.