Bully Pitts

[Collaborate]

Quick first question - are Bully Pitts a banned breed in the UK? My reading around suggests they are, as they are a cross breed containing Pitt Bull.

Second question is - if I know someone who owns some, but have no reason to think they are aggressive, should I report them?

I've attached a photo of what these dogs look like.

Sadly the RSPCA won't do anything about the dogs being left. As long as they have food and water then that's the RSPCA satisfied.

Being a banned breed has no real bearing on the dogs attacking anyone - a golden retriever is as likely to attack as a staffie x. You say in your first post that you have no reason to suspect they're aggressive.

I guess my question is really what you want to gain out of this situation, you're all over the place at the moment.

I guess my question is really what you want to gain out of this situation, you're all over the place at the moment.

Oh great. I never realised I could monetise this. Please tell.

Now you've reported them as a potential banned breed the dog will probably now be seized and its down to the owner to prove it isn't. Which could take months. Unfortunately some of theses dogs are put to sleep.
If you were concerned about the dogs the welfare then you should've just rang the RSPCA

Surely no dog should have muscles on it like that.

As pp said looks like steroids have been used to beef him up poor thing.

He certainly doesn't look happy.

Oh great. I never realised I could monetise this. Please tell.

Don't be ridiculous, my meaning was quite clear. At one point you're concerned about the dogs' welfare, and they're not dangerous, next thing you're talking as if they're about to attack someone.

Your actions thus far have been to call the police and to call the Kennel Club - it is impossible to offer any advice, if that's what you're after, because it's impossible to tell what on earth it is that you actually want.

Of course you don't like them. No one would call the police for dogs left at home alone fgs. They especially don't call the police on people they don't dislike.

And before the thread started going a way you didn't like the dog had done nothing at all, apart from being abnormally muscled, now you are getting posts you don't like the dog is now a potential threat?

Guess away all you want. My main concern is whether these dogs are a banned type. If they are, keeping them is an offence. I'd make no apologies for reporting that.

I referred to the possibility of the owners leaving the dogs unattended 22.5 hours a day for a week to demonstrate that they are not necessarily the most responsible of owners. Or would you disagree?

I had no particular agenda or desired outcome when I started this thread. I just wished to canvas people's views. I apologise that my ultimate course of action was not in accordance with your opinion. I shall remember to consult with you more promptly in future before taking any important decision.

Well why ask at all?

If you thought the right thing to do was report them, why bother asking for opinions?

No-one on the thread thought you should, so it was a complete waste of time asking if you'd already decided what to do.

And again, pit bulls are not a banned breed, it's a type. If every dog in their pedigree going back 100 years is a pit pull...but they don't fit the measurements they're officially not of type and so absolutely fine to own, if someone has KC registered staffies, with paperwork proving that's what they are, they're officially pit pull types if they fit the measurements.

Because the law is set up so that a tape measure determines whether a dog is dangerous rather than it's actions.

Why does weither they are a banned breed or not bother you so much if the dogs have done nothing wrong.
There must be a reason why you would go out of your way to report these dogs for maybe having pit bull in their dna when the haven't done anything wrong.
Or don't you have anything better to do than stick your nose in and cause hassle for the owners of these dogs.

Are the dogs living in the house alone just with someone visiting once a day ? is this an ongoing thing or are the owners on holiday at the moment ? Are the dogs howling / barking / doing something that indicates they are stressed ?

The owners wanted to leave their dogs for a week, with someone walking them for an hour and leaving them with food and water. I think I've persuaded them to book them in to a doggy day care place.

I've checked with the police, and they aren't banned, so I'm quite happy now.

There have been instances in my city in recent years where children have been maimed and even killed by dogs in the home. If I suspect (wrongly in this case) that a dog is a banned breed, my conscience is clearer if I get it checked out rather than I leave things be and cross my fingers.

"There have been instances in my city in recent years where children have been maimed and even killed by dogs in the home."

Not by pit bulls.

No. That's because they're illegal to own. And that's because out of all breeds, they're one of the most dangerous.

"And that's because out of all breeds, they're one of the most dangerous."

No, they were banned because of one high profile case raised in the House of Commons, statistics on dog bites by breed actually correlate pretty accurately with which breeds there are most of.

BSL and the belief that some breeds are dangerous and some are safe puts people more at risk because resources are concentrated on determining if dogs are of type and destroying them instead of responsible ownership and education on safety round dogs.

Twice in the last few years babies have been killed by small terriers, no-one bothered reporting them, but hey, it's fine to waste police time investigating perfectly safe dogs if they look a bit scary

Of course there are statistically fewer attacks by the less popular dogs, but the chances of a single Pitt Bull or other banned dog attacking and causing severe injury to a person are greater than a single Labrador, say. The Pitt Bulls in particular have been bred as fighting dogs.

Anyway, I'm not here to argue the merits of the dangerous dogs legislation.

There are no merits of it. It's a farcical sham, we studied it as a perfect example of rushed, failure legislation at university.