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Original poster

Met an XL Bully today for the first time

226 replies

Woahyeahyeahyeah · 29/12/2023 16:08

Was out for a Family walk earlier today at a NT site and met an XL bully for the first time, he was 9 months old and 8 stone! Although I've seen pictures and obviously the news reports, but to meet one in person I was absolutely astounded at the sheer size and power behind him. The strength and muscles! Wow! My Young DC said he was more like a Lion than a Dog.
Don't get me wrong, he was beautiful, friendly and had the character of just a normal over excited Pup - we also have a puppy and they played for a few minutes. His Family were really nice people with young children, they spoke of how sad they feel about the muzzle enforcement in the New Year. Not sure where I'm going with this post but wondered, does the Law also include at Home? Or is it just in public places?

OP posts:
PermanentTemporary · 30/12/2023 09:40

What strikes me in the death accounts is that they were a mix of small children in the dog's home, plus professional dog walkers and probably backstreet breeders ('15 dogs were destroyed' suggests some kind of professional operation). Just like with guns, it is in fact the owners/operators and the small children housed with these animals who are at most risk.

I assume that any sensible dog walker won't take them any more? Essentially they are a full time job for people without any other family members. Insane.

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:42

cheshirecatssmile · 30/12/2023 09:34

I've only come across 1 XXL bully. Male intact was told 9 month old. He was literally the size of a cow!
No harness just a fabric lead attached to the collar.
Dog was very bouncy and the fella was struggling to control him. Told him from a distance that training and possibly neutering in the future may help. No he wanted to breed from him.

Owner asked what breed my dog was. Belgian malinois. Who was sat next to me as trained. Off lead.
He said that a BM was a dangerous dog and that my dog should be on a leash as they are known to attack.

My dog has had vigorous training. On and off lead. Can walk past cats and not bat an eyelid. Yes took a lot of time and patience but we got there.
But she's been attacked herself by 3 off lead labs. Whilst on lead.

I think BM are a great example of how it's the owners that are the problem.

They're amazing dogs but take a lot of work. Mostly, the people who own them know this and put in the work. XL bully owners that don't (some are fantastic owners so I'm not casting aspersions on the good ones and obv there are bad BM owners) have chosen that dog because it looks how it does and expect it to magically train itself because they've seen the nice ones. A BM in the wrong hands could be devastating but they're more likely to be in the right hands.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 09:43

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:30

@whatsitcalledwhen I disagree. Unless they're small or weak, a powerful dog can be pulled back. I speak from experience when my dog has responded to being attacked. I hold his collar, straddle him and pull back. The issue is only when the other dog is off lead and they move back with me. They're always off the lead too so happens all the time.

BUT these Herbert's, as my dad calls them, usually are small and weak.

Have you seen footage of an XL bully attacking an adult human? People have hit them with baseball bats, metal bins and more and they have continued the attack.

A lead would not make a blind bit of difference to an 7/8/9 stone XL bully in full attack mode. It's not just the size, it's the breed's muscle power and level of aggression during attack mode.

Perhaps you haven't seen one in attack mode. Perhaps you haven't read that dog experts, who understand the physiology of dogs more than us laypeople, say that an XL bully in attack mode cannot be overpowered.

Outside of dog experts even, the founder of the UK's largest Martial arts school, for example, says they are impossible to overpower.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-fight-xl-bully-according-27698035.amp

It makes me sad that an otherwise responsible dog owner (which you sound like) can't see that. To think you could straddle and pull back an adult XL bully in attack mode is madness, I'm sorry.

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:50

@whatsitcalledwhen I've seen them in attack mode but not having to be hit with bats so expect you're right. What I have seen is people making pathetic attempts to pull the dog back etc "oh Fido come back" sort of thing because they weren't prepared. I've had it happen so many times now I'm always prepared 😔

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:51

@whatsitcalledwhen ps thank you. I do take my dog ownership very seriously because of his breed.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 09:53

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:50

@whatsitcalledwhen I've seen them in attack mode but not having to be hit with bats so expect you're right. What I have seen is people making pathetic attempts to pull the dog back etc "oh Fido come back" sort of thing because they weren't prepared. I've had it happen so many times now I'm always prepared 😔

But the reality of the breed is that even if an owner is genuinely trying really hard to control or overpower them, they physically will not be able to once in attack mode.

Did you know that on multiple occasions they have had to be shot dead by the police as they've been unable to control or restrain them?

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 09:55

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:51

@whatsitcalledwhen ps thank you. I do take my dog ownership very seriously because of his breed.

I appreciate you take it seriously but I do think that because you're a dog lover (I am too) you've had your blinkers on and think that if someone is responsible or firm or sensible enough, XL bullies can be a suitable pet that is safe to own.

Any dog that cannot be overpowered by a human if needed, due to the muscle mass, the natural aggression in attack mode and the bite power that an XL bully has, can never ever be a suitable pet.

Ever.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 09:59

@doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic

I know it's distressing but as an example, this XL bully had to be hit with a hammer and then tasered in order to stop it during an attack on two adults.

Do you think if it had been on a lead, the owner could really have overpowered it or got it under control?

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1818341/XL-Bully-dog-Coventry-police/amp

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 10:03

"The dog's owner has since decided to put his pet "to sleep" following the brutal attack."

Like he had a choice!

"Police officials then tasered the dog and put it in a wheelie bin to ensure the public's safety during the "distressing" incident."

If it was alive how the hell did they get it into a wheelie bin?

Yeah that's crazy. Sounds like I couldn't control it.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 10:06

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 10:03

"The dog's owner has since decided to put his pet "to sleep" following the brutal attack."

Like he had a choice!

"Police officials then tasered the dog and put it in a wheelie bin to ensure the public's safety during the "distressing" incident."

If it was alive how the hell did they get it into a wheelie bin?

Yeah that's crazy. Sounds like I couldn't control it.

They got it in the wheelie bin because it had been tasered so could no longer continue the attack. That's how strong they are. They need to be tasered to be stopped when in attack mode. It's terrifying.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 10:09

And it's with all that in mind that I ask you @doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic whether a genuinely responsible, sensible dog owner would ever ever choose an XL bully?

Presumably a responsible, sensible one would do their research so would know full well the risks that I've outlined on this thread.

If they were to go ahead and choose an XL bully then they are in fact not responsible, sensible dog owners.

Which means anyone who chooses an XL bully is not a responsible, sensible dog owner.

Ever.

BrimfulOfMash · 30/12/2023 10:21

One got loose in our road this week.

It is young, fit, very energetic and colossal. A huge slab of muscle.

Its owner was walking it down the road towards a woman with 2 young kids unloading her boot. Somehow it got free and was tearing all over the road, jumping, very excited. He called it to no avail. He started running after it, trying to grab it, huge game to dog. Then he started yelling at it aggressively, dog now seriously evading him.

At this point the woman gets a pack of cooked chicken bits out of her shopping and she and the girls start trying to tempt it and grab it. Dog is grabbing food but they can’t grab and hold dog. Dog has 4 people milling round it, shouting, holding out food. Which looked like a highly volatile situation to me.

Eventually it ran into an alley and the owner cornered it and led it away, he was a well built fit man, and he had to lean his whole weight, straining, to hold it back and make it follow him round the corner.

He could not control that dog on or off the lead.

All these rescues that can’t be re-homed with children: what happens when they accidentally get loose?

BrimfulOfMash · 30/12/2023 10:29

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 09:30

@whatsitcalledwhen I disagree. Unless they're small or weak, a powerful dog can be pulled back. I speak from experience when my dog has responded to being attacked. I hold his collar, straddle him and pull back. The issue is only when the other dog is off lead and they move back with me. They're always off the lead too so happens all the time.

BUT these Herbert's, as my dad calls them, usually are small and weak.

Good luck with holding and straddling the dog if you are the one it has turned on.

The professional dog walker in Caterham was found to have been killed by her own XL Bully.

Had dogs all her life, experienced at training etc.

doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic · 30/12/2023 10:31

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 10:09

And it's with all that in mind that I ask you @doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic whether a genuinely responsible, sensible dog owner would ever ever choose an XL bully?

Presumably a responsible, sensible one would do their research so would know full well the risks that I've outlined on this thread.

If they were to go ahead and choose an XL bully then they are in fact not responsible, sensible dog owners.

Which means anyone who chooses an XL bully is not a responsible, sensible dog owner.

Ever.

Ha! I see what you did there! Fair, I can't argue with that. But I stand by any large dog being able to do the same. My dog in the wrong hands would be the same.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 10:55

@doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic

But I stand by any large dog being able to do the same. My dog in the wrong hands would be the same.

Do you think that 'any large dog' would need to be hit with baseball bats, hammers and finally be tasered in order to stop an attack?

The sheer strength and refusal to stop an attack once in motion does make this breed different to the vast, vast majority of other larger dogs.

I'm not saying other breeds wouldn't also attack people or be impossible to overpower, but to say 'any large dog' would be able to continue an attack under those measures (bats, hammers, requiring a taser) just isn't correct, sorry.

Megifer · 30/12/2023 11:16

They are really popular where I live. I heard barking outside my door a few months ago, opened my door and came face to face with what I swear was a cow. It was huge!! It CAME IN MY HOUSE - actually just nosed my door open and trotted past my 😲 face and plopped itself in front of the fire while I was just walking around in circles like "wtf do I do here?". Honestly? I was a bit scared at first but he was the gentlest soul I'd ever shared a space with. I got him dried off and after about an hour of this dog snoring away I heard a woman shouting, I swear, "Barbara... Barbara...." dogs ears perked up. Yep, he was called Barbara and belonged to a 60-odd year old woman 🤣

I must admit all the fb posts about how a lot of them only have 24hrs left to be rehomed are getting me a bit choked up. Very sad situation all round.

But....Barbara 🤣🤣

Mirabai · 30/12/2023 11:28

i don’t think anyone should own a dog that they cannot restrain themselves if it comes to it. 8 stone is a lot. Can the wife restrain it, can the children? Probably not.

cheshirecatssmile · 30/12/2023 11:47

@doriangraybutimthepaintingintheattic
Thank you for
BM has been trained from a pup.
Apparently
I took her in due to last owner , well less said
It took along time to get her back to basics
We train everyday
Love's agility
And the postman

redhatwhitebeard · 30/12/2023 11:50

Why is it a sad situation? A dog that is 8 stone of pure muscle and is known to be unpredictable in temperament has to be muzzled in public places! Thank god for that! These people are the first to cry 'he was so friendly' after a child or adult gets mauled. I was on a bus in London once and saw an XL Bully that was not muzzled and off lead rip a cat to shreds on the side of a pavement! The owner had no control and was kicking it to try and get the dog off! These dogs are a status symbol, nobody with any common sense would need an 8 stone dog around young children!

Megifer · 30/12/2023 11:53

redhatwhitebeard · 30/12/2023 11:50

Why is it a sad situation? A dog that is 8 stone of pure muscle and is known to be unpredictable in temperament has to be muzzled in public places! Thank god for that! These people are the first to cry 'he was so friendly' after a child or adult gets mauled. I was on a bus in London once and saw an XL Bully that was not muzzled and off lead rip a cat to shreds on the side of a pavement! The owner had no control and was kicking it to try and get the dog off! These dogs are a status symbol, nobody with any common sense would need an 8 stone dog around young children!

Are you replying to me? If so I think you are confused at what I think is a sad situation all round.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 11:53

Megifer · 30/12/2023 11:16

They are really popular where I live. I heard barking outside my door a few months ago, opened my door and came face to face with what I swear was a cow. It was huge!! It CAME IN MY HOUSE - actually just nosed my door open and trotted past my 😲 face and plopped itself in front of the fire while I was just walking around in circles like "wtf do I do here?". Honestly? I was a bit scared at first but he was the gentlest soul I'd ever shared a space with. I got him dried off and after about an hour of this dog snoring away I heard a woman shouting, I swear, "Barbara... Barbara...." dogs ears perked up. Yep, he was called Barbara and belonged to a 60-odd year old woman 🤣

I must admit all the fb posts about how a lot of them only have 24hrs left to be rehomed are getting me a bit choked up. Very sad situation all round.

But....Barbara 🤣🤣

You're very lucky that the dog was calm. The damage it could have done to you if it panicked in new surroundings or if you had screamed or shouted or run away from it is very scary.

I believe people who choose to own an XL bully despite them not being able to overpower them (this is true of everyone but especially a 60 year old woman) are foolish at best. But considering the dog was able to escape her / her home / her lead (as these are ineffective if a dog that size really wants to run off) she's also incredibly selfish.

Due to the potential for injuries or worse and also selfish to put 'Barbara' in any kind of situation where she could hurt someone. Because it would be entirely her fault if the dog was then put down.

People shouldn't own them in the first place. To choose that breed knowing what is known about them is, as I've said, both foolish and selfish.

redhatwhitebeard · 30/12/2023 11:54

@Megifer Barbara's owner sounds a complete idiot, who can't control her dog! Imagine if a newborn baby had been lying on the floor and Barbara thought it was a dog toy! Pathetic and dangerous! Not a cute story at all!

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 11:54

And I really hope there weren't kids in your home while you dried off an XL bully you had never seen before?

redhatwhitebeard · 30/12/2023 11:55

@Megifer no I was replying to the original post! I have replied to your situation separately.

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 11:55

whatsitcalledwhen · 30/12/2023 11:54

And I really hope there weren't kids in your home while you dried off an XL bully you had never seen before?

Imagine also @Megifer if your child had been the person the dog encountered and the child had screamed or even pulled their tail etc. You would very likely have had a child with catastrophic injuries at best. I shudder when I hear people excusing people who choose proactively to get these dogs.