Dogs that are illegal to breed from?

[DNHandTNS]

I've seen local ads for puppies that have a Pitbull Mother and American Staff Dad. Are these legal?
I thought it was illegal to own a pitbull?

Laws explained here:

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/banned-dogs

Essentially it is illegal to own one unless it's on an exemption register. If it's on the exemption register it must be castrated/spayed.

The dogs you are seeing may have been illegally bred, or may have been bred outside the UK, or may resemble pit bulls but not actually be pitbulls.

Pitbulls CAN be kept legally as pets, but there are a lot of restrictions you have to follow, and your dog has to be registered/licensed.

I very much doubt this is a pitbull. Lots of breeds can look like pits to the untrained eye. Presa Canario, American Bulldog, staffs and Bullmastiffs to name a few.

There are very, very few genuine pitbulls in this country. People can write anything on an advert.

pethelpful.com/dogs/10-Breeds-Most-Commonly-Mistaken-For-Pit-Bulls

You best bet is report them. Pit bulls can't be bred from they are scamming people.

It said Pitbull on the ad, but I didnt see the parent dogs so am worried its a puppy farm too.

@DNHandTNS

It said Pitbull on the ad, but I didnt see the parent dogs so am worried its a puppy farm too.

They're not really dogs that tend to be puppy farmed - more likely it's a backyard breeder trying to make some money.

Personally I would just report the advert as you can't legally breed pitbulls in this country.

Just want to add, Im not interested in dogs (actually scared of them) but I found the ad by accident after someone's dog escaped and I followed a link where I found the ad.

The term ‘pitbull’ is liberally used by those who actually have a Staff or mixed breed. It is so infuriating as it is to the detriment of the poor dog, who ends up facing a potential death sentence if the authorities get wind.

Thanks for the info, its very misleading (and stupid) of people to do that.

They don't even need to have any pitbull to fall foul of breed specific legislation, just look pitbull type and fit measurements.
To advertise a banned breed is stupid & probably condemning pups/parents to be PTS as exemption process is expensive & can't sell or pass on to a new owner once exempted easily.

www.bluecross.org.uk/our-campaign-end-breed-specific-legislation

I know of someone who had their pitbull cross destroyed by the police. No idea if it was a real one or a different breed that looks like one but selling dogs described as pit bulls is definitely a thing.

@DNHandTNS

Thanks for the info, its very misleading (and stupid) of people to do that.

Totally stupid.

For starters what is defined as a pitbull under the DDA is very loose and completely based on looks.

So most people who own a dog that happens to end up looking a bit like a pit bull (it can happen fairly easily with very random crosses) would go out of their way to avoid ever mentioning that just in case their dog was reported and it was decided that it does fit the the description.

Thanks for the info. It seems crazy to advertise them as such.

Someone I know recently got a dog that they say is half pit bull. I was amazed as I didn't think there were any Pitbulls in the UK, but am now going out of my way to avoid that area because I'm scared of dogs.

Are there likely to be enough breeding stock in the U.K. to have dogs with any significant amount of pitbull in them after then being illegal to breed from for 30 years?

Nope - not really.

Are there enough other breeds that look a bit like them that you could create dogs that you could convincingly tell people are half pitbull?

Definitely. Especially because most people couldn’t identify one anyway, lol

I’d be slightly wary of being up close to a dog someone told me was a pitbull or half pitbull in the U.K. - not because pitbulls are or aren’t worse than any other breed IMO... the original legislation is stupid, pointless and hasn’t worked to stop dog attacks and was a completely knee jerk reaction to pander to media hysteria.

But what sort of owner or breeder wants dogs they’re describing as an illegal breed? Not good ones...doesn’t matter what the breed is really with shitty breeders and owners.

But there’s genuinely no need to avoid a whole area... you might not want to be in an enclosed room with it, but they’re not hugely likely to be wandering round savaging people - for starters that tends to draw police attention.

@DNHandTNS

Thanks for the info. It seems crazy to advertise them as such.

Someone I know recently got a dog that they say is half pit bull. I was amazed as I didn't think there were any Pitbulls in the UK, but am now going out of my way to avoid that area because I'm scared of dogs.

The likelihood if these dogs having any kind of pitbull in them is vanishingly small. Pitbulls have been illegal here for years now.

There's really no need to avoid a whole area on the off-chance that you may come across someone with a pitbull-type dog. Pits themselves are not dangerous dogs, but because the stereotype is pitbulls = illegal and therefore dangerous, people make assumptions.

I also suspect most people couldn't pick one out of a line-up.

Thanks for the info. I'm amazed people would say they have a half pitbull dog in that case. Maybe they want to seem intimidating?

@DNHandTNS

Thanks for the info. I'm amazed people would say they have a half pitbull dog in that case. Maybe they want to seem intimidating?

Yep, you've pretty much summed it up. For lot's of people it's a status thing, though it's not as prevalent as it was maybe 5-10 years ago.

Dogs go through phases of being "in fashion" - at one point it was huskies, then pits, nowadays it's "wolf" dogs or things like the presa canario.

Advertising online that you own a pitbull really isn't a smart move though police can and will seize your dog if they're suspected to be pitbulls and they can be destroyed.

So you didn't actively search for the advert you just ended up there even though you are scared of dogs so you decided to post on mumsnet dog house.... if i was that disinterested in dogs I wouldn't know dog house existed on mumsnet and now people have clarified it could be a pit you are going to avoid that whole area. Come on this post is not for real.

You either found the ad by accident or your friend just brought one something doesn't quite add up.

Despite what all the pitbull apologists say, they do indeed bite more frequently and their bites cause greater damage than any other dog breed. That attracts two types of people: trashy people who want a scary, intimidating dog, and social justice warrior type people obsessed with victims who have an axe to grind and are out to prove "pibbies" are just misunderstood. Never met a pitbull owner who didn't fall into one of these groups (I live somewhere it's legal to own them). Horrible, aggressive, unpredictable dogs.

@Highfalutinlootin

Despite what all the pitbull apologists say, they do indeed bite more frequently and their bites cause greater damage than any other dog breed. That attracts two types of people: trashy people who want a scary, intimidating dog, and social justice warrior type people obsessed with victims who have an axe to grind and are out to prove "pibbies" are just misunderstood. Never met a pitbull owner who didn't fall into one of these groups (I live somewhere it's legal to own them). Horrible, aggressive, unpredictable dogs.

That post alone shows what kind of person you are. I feel sorry for you.

@TheSunshines if you're in the UK where they're not even legal, safe to safe I've got way more experience with them than you have. But there will always be the nutty people in denial of all statistics on their attacks; I know nothing will convince you.