Met an XL Bully today for the first time

[Woahyeahyeahyeah]

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?

@Prawncow Generally very big, powerful dogs are not dog aggressive in the way that eg Jack Russell’s are. They don’t feel the need to challenge other dogs because they’re totally confident that the other dog isn’t any threat to them.

So all fine when an XLBully sees a police horse in a London park, launches itself across the park and brings down a huge fit horse? Because it has seen something bigger than itself. As seen earlier this year.

Watch out livestock, pony riders, Great Dane owners etc.

I'm sorry but I judge anyone who chooses a dog breed as a domestic pet that could easily kill a human.

No kids at home at the time. It was all fine, the "what ifs" didn't happen and Barbara (🤣 barbara....) got home fine after his adventure and I never saw him again although assume he is local (he'd got away from his dog walker apparently) just the op reminded ded me of it, was a funny thing to happen! He was a lovely dog tbh, wouldnt have one though, and his owner said he cost her nearly £100 a week in food 😱

@Cincinnatus did that make you feel better enjoying someone else being upset about their one dog? I think it is necessary to ban the breed but I really dont agree in revelling in someone being upset about their own dog being subject to this new law. I think that just makes you look bad

No kids at home at the time.

So there are kids who live in your home and it was just luck that they weren't the people this dog encountered when it entered your home.

I have a little one and I'm shocked you're sort of laughing off or dismissing the 'what if' when it is a 'what if' about the dog injuring, maiming or killing your child.

Sheer dumb luck that nothing bad happened. You wouldn't have stood a chance. A child even less so.

Obviously not 🙄

In the same post I said

Lots of the stories I’ve seen about XL bully attacks seem to suggest they were going after another dog and a human got in the way. That suggests poor socialisation/training

Very large breed dogs - like Great Danes - need to be well socialised and well trained. You need them to be calm and confident and not react even when they’re provoked because they’re too big to physically restrain. They have to have better temperaments than smaller breeds and then have the right training. A dog the size of XL bully with the attitude of a Jack Russell is a disaster waiting to happen.

A dog that wants to attack other animals is a nuisance if it’s an on lead chihuahua, a problem if it’s an on lead Labrador and a deadly threat if it’s a breed that’s too large and strong to restrain.

Well the kids - teens - don't open the door so they wouldn't have encountered it.

I'm dismissing the "what ifs" because there are too many to consider - what if I'd have had a baby and I didn't want to leave it on the floor when I answered the door so I picked it up and tripped over with baby? What if I hadn't opened the door and the dog got ran over outside my house? What if the woman had a heart attack in my home and scared the dog? What if I died and the dog ate me?

What if, as happened, the dog was fine, just cold, wet, barked outside my door, and was reunited after an hour with no drama and I thought it was a bit of a funny story to share? 🙄

@whatsitcalledwhen who cares? The dog was called Barbara! This is the level of stupidly we're dealing with when it comes to dog safety!

Answered the door 🤣 opened the door, it didn't knock, obviously

@CormorantStrikesBack is that Near Chapel Allerton? Went shopping there, and a bloke had an XL bully and a Husky off lead, and was talking to another person who had a kid in a pushchair.

He certainly didn't look like the kid of person who would be muzzling them. I was quite literally terrified.

So many people, on this thread and in real life, think that because they once petted an xlb and had a nice 3 minute chat with the owner, or once saw a cute one in the park whose owner said it was a gentle soul, or who spent an unexpected hour with a calm one once, thinking that this means they are a gentle type of dog and how sad this legislation is. Every single bully that has ever attacked a human or an animal, spent the vast majority of its life being calm and friendly and petted by strangers. It only needs to go into attack mode for 1 minute of its life to make it a highly dangerous, inappropriate pet. And they all have that capability, whether its been seen or not.

@Megifer

I guess it just isn't funny to some people that a dangerous dog you didn't know entered your house unexpectedly, whether it was called Barbara or Rover 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think anyone who assumes one friendly dog of a certain breed means they are all friendly and trustworthy is very naive tbh. I don't think pp's are saying one well trained and behaved XL = all well trained and behaved though? I'm certainly not.

I would be surprised though if that was correct - that every single XL that has attacked was calm and friendly etc. Certainly a lot of the reports I've read have usually had an undertone of the dog already being known to have a questionable history. So I do doubt its "every single bully".

Fwiw I'm glad something is being done but it is a shame all round that it had to reach this point. And so many in rescues will have to be pts after tomorrow. I feel for the workers and vets in the next few days, it must be very hard for them all.

I think they should be muzzled, leashed and very well trained. I’ve told this anecdote on MN before but when I was very underweight (6st) my boyfriend’s dog, a lovely, good-natured young dog who hadn’t had a huge amount of training, could knock me down just out of a show of friendliness and exuberance. He was never aggressive, never violent (especially with me, he did some rough play with boyfriend) but he outweighed me by at least two stone and if he’d had a bad bone in his body I wouldn’t have a face any more or an arm or whatever, take your pick. He’d just leap up to say hello and I’d be on the floor. Pitbull crossed with Rhodesian Ridgeback.
I am not really a dog lover but I spend a lot of time with horses. If you have a huge animal that can cause a lot of damage you are going to need to keep them under maximum restraint - you’d have a big nervy stallion with a chifney bit just to lead around for example, and horses are prey animals and don’t have any kind of hunting instinct or prey instinct like a dog. The loveliest horses can get scared and cause collateral and when you’re dealing with an animal actually designed to predate and bred to be big and lethal, all the more reason for precautions.

It wasn't dangerous and yes, appreciate it won't be funny to some🤷‍♀️

@Megifer

I'll leave it after this as clearly we won't agree but of course an XL bully is a dangerous dog when unexpected, without an owner, without any lead and in a new environment with unfamiliar people.

It's madness to say otherwise and I think in the circumstances (unexpected, no owner there, no lead, unknown surroundings, unfamiliar people) any XL bully owner would say the same.

"It wasn't perceived to be dangerous by me, a person who didn't know the dog at all, for the hour that it unexpectedly barged it's way into my house" is VERY VERY different to "it wasn't dangerous".

I do agree it's a funny name for such powerful, unpredictable and uncontrollable beast though.

The issue is not whether the dog is aggressive. I am sure no responsible owner would keep a dog in their home they felt was aggressive. The issue is that as a breed they can suddenly turn and when they do they can easily kill. Every single person whose xl bully has killed has said the same... was gentle, loved kids, wouldn't hurt a fly... until something went wrong. At least if a jack Russell tries to bite it can't rip your throat out

You know what, I'll agree I didn't know it wasn't dangerous in the first 10 mins, I did say I was a bit scared and wtf about it all because it was so surreal (although not as surreal as the time the neighbours cat had kittens in my towel drawer).

I've had dogs and been around dogs for 40+ years. Had all sorts, mutts, staffies, a rottie, a whippet and more. All different personalities but they all tend to have the same body language when it comes to them getting pissed off, or scared etc.

I didn't see any of that in this dog, and all I could think about was if I just kicked him back out would he get run over, more lost, would his owner find him, would I see a desperate post on FB asking if anyone had seen him and I'd just turfed him out. So yep, I didn't do that (although i did put a post on fb while deciding what to do next!) because id like to think if any of my dogs were in that situation someone wouldn't turn them away.

What if id have tried to get him out the house and he savaged me? Id be an idiot to have done that, so in any case I'm not sure what else I could have done except just go with it 🙃

I'd have shut it in the house, left and called the RSPCA or dog warden. You were very lucky that dog did not attack you, and I cannot wait for these hideous creatures to die out. Nobody is entitled to own what is essentially a wild animal and have them roaming the streets freely. Someone I know has just inherited a pocket bully (nothing to do with the ban) and I won't be visiting them while they have it. It's still a puppy and despite being a "pocket", it's the size of a small horse. I actually hope it falls into the XL definition.

What if id have tried to get him out the house and he savaged me? Id be an idiot to have done that, so in any case I'm not sure what else I could have done except just go with it

Shut him in a room and call the RSPCA / dog warden? Not 'go with it' by playing with and drying off an unknown dog you couldn't overpower if it had turned on you or got scared enough to lash out at you?

RSPCA and dog warden take hours and I certainly wasn't going to leave a strange dog in my house! Maybe I was lucky he wasn't a dangerous one, the dog was very lucky I happened to have the window open so he heard his owner (had to open it to let his farts escape).

Pocket bully's particularly cruel IMO they look like they struggle to breathe and walk.

Was I playing with it? Were you here??

Honestly this has got a bit daft now I just shared what I thought was a bit of a funny incident. I'm fine, Barbara was fine, the smell left eventually, the towel went in the bin, a rabid bat didn't fly in my open window and gnaw my eyes out....it was all fine. Jesus 🤣

@Ibex22 the one in our family is 7 and he’s still cute and lovely.

its dick head owners that ruin them.

For what it’s worth, I’d have done the same as you @Megifer.