Page 2 | XL bullies still for sale and walking unmuzzled

TheFormidableMrsC · 06/02/2024 15:55

I was at local supermarket recently. There was an enormous XL bully tied up outside. It wasn't muzzled. Neither was it doing anything but sitting there. However, its owner in the shop was talking to one of the counter staff saying she wasn't going to muzzle the dog as it was "stupid". The other lady was agreeing with her. They're just "gentle giants" according to her. With attitudes like that, there is no hope. As an aside, a friend who has one, who I now avoid because of it, has just broken her leg from being pulled over because she doesn't have the strength to control it. That is not responsible ownership.

Freddie289 · 06/02/2024 16:10

I just saw one with cropped ears so likely used for fighting, it was a massive weighty dog although not overly tall, no muzzle, on a chain being dragged around by some cretin shouting down his phone

Freddie289 · 06/02/2024 16:10

Forgot to add it was in a city centre so obviously the owner doesn't give a toss about the law or what anyone thinks

bunnygeek · 06/02/2024 16:12

TheFormidableMrsC · 06/02/2024 15:55

I was at local supermarket recently. There was an enormous XL bully tied up outside. It wasn't muzzled. Neither was it doing anything but sitting there. However, its owner in the shop was talking to one of the counter staff saying she wasn't going to muzzle the dog as it was "stupid". The other lady was agreeing with her. They're just "gentle giants" according to her. With attitudes like that, there is no hope. As an aside, a friend who has one, who I now avoid because of it, has just broken her leg from being pulled over because she doesn't have the strength to control it. That is not responsible ownership.

And that's the problem with breed bans. Demonizes thousands of dogs which really aren't dangerous with the right owners and right training.

Does absolutely nothing to address poor dog ownership or people over estimating the kind of dog they can handle.

TBH many other breeds can cause broken limbs by pulling their owners over, from a Spaniel or Labrador to a trip hazard tiny breed. I have to watch where my PomChi is at all times or she will trip me up.

lifeispainauchocolat · 06/02/2024 16:14

As an aside, a friend who has one, who I now avoid because of it, has just broken her leg from being pulled over because she doesn't have the strength to control it. That is not responsible ownership.

A friend of mine once broke her fingers when her spaniel suddenly tried to chase a bird. It really doesn't take much to break a bone if you fall at the wrong angle - it doesn't mean your dog is a danger or that you're an irresponsible owner.

bunnygeek · 06/02/2024 16:15

Freddie289 · 06/02/2024 16:10

I just saw one with cropped ears so likely used for fighting, it was a massive weighty dog although not overly tall, no muzzle, on a chain being dragged around by some cretin shouting down his phone

Cropped ears doesn't mean they've been used for fighting. American Bullys in their height were going for thousands, no one is spending that kind of fortune on a dog they're going to fight. Also, no one is taking a fighting dog out in public as they are going to be covered in obvious scars and be very reactive to any dog going by or person they don't know. The underworld of dog fighting are going to be using Pit type dogs anyway. Bullys may look all hench and muscly, but the really muscly ones can barely move faster than a waddle let alone fight.

The cropping of ears is purely for "status" and a whole different issue across several breeds.

Freddie289 · 06/02/2024 16:26

@bunnygeek those are good points, the dog definitely didn't have any scars from what I could see, she definitely looked intimidating with the cropped ears! I think it's a terrible practice, I'm in Northern Ireland and I think it is legal here
On another note I remember reading several months ago that these dogs are fetching thousands so breeding from them is incredibly lucrative, obviously they are banned now but I don't think that's going to deter those driven by profit rather than public safety and the welfare of the dogs

bunnygeek · 06/02/2024 16:34

Freddie289 · 06/02/2024 16:26

@bunnygeek those are good points, the dog definitely didn't have any scars from what I could see, she definitely looked intimidating with the cropped ears! I think it's a terrible practice, I'm in Northern Ireland and I think it is legal here
On another note I remember reading several months ago that these dogs are fetching thousands so breeding from them is incredibly lucrative, obviously they are banned now but I don't think that's going to deter those driven by profit rather than public safety and the welfare of the dogs

Breeding the XL Bullys are now banned. However, breeding standard, pocket and exotic Bullys are still perfectly legal and is what many breeders who bred XLs have probably moved onto, literally just gone down a size. They still sell those for thousands.

FYI ear cropping is also illegal in Northern Ireland as it is in the UK and across the EU. It's not illegal to import a dog with cropped ears however, so that's allowed a loophole for people to fake an imported dog and crop ears in a shed in the back garden with equipment you can easily buy online, it's a whole thing that vet and animal welfare organisations have been campaigning against.

ejsmith99 · 06/02/2024 17:11

"American Bullys in their height were going for thousands, no one is spending that kind of fortune on a dog they're going to fight."

People pay tens of thousands for dogs they are going to fight because it could earn them a lot of money if it wins. With evidence that OGC were breeding xls as an easier income source than drug dealing, it is highly likely that it was funding further violence. Honestly, the more you start digging the more depressing it gets

TheFormidableMrsC · 06/02/2024 17:31

lifeispainauchocolat · 06/02/2024 16:14

As an aside, a friend who has one, who I now avoid because of it, has just broken her leg from being pulled over because she doesn't have the strength to control it. That is not responsible ownership.

A friend of mine once broke her fingers when her spaniel suddenly tried to chase a bird. It really doesn't take much to break a bone if you fall at the wrong angle - it doesn't mean your dog is a danger or that you're an irresponsible owner.

The dog was dangerously reactive and went after another dog. She couldn't stop it, hence broken leg. That to me is dangerous 🤷🏻‍♀️

lifeispainauchocolat · 06/02/2024 17:57

TheFormidableMrsC · 06/02/2024 17:31

The dog was dangerously reactive and went after another dog. She couldn't stop it, hence broken leg. That to me is dangerous 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Well, fair enough, but you seemed to be implying that because the dog was strong enough to pull her over, it was dangerous.

I've been pulled on my arse by a tiny collie cross before - it really doesn't take much!

Igotjelly · 06/02/2024 18:10

Some of those links you’ve posted are frankly not XL bullies, they look more like American Bulldogs which are an entirely different breed of dog.

The fact is good dog owners with well behaved dogs don’t make the headlines and so the picture painted isn’t a true reflection of reality. I have a bull breed who I have exempted just in case, despite the fact he’s not an XL and I have his breed papers to prove it. Don’t want to risk some uninformed idiot reporting him for absolutely nothing.

KillyTumble07 · 07/02/2024 21:15

NoNoodles · 05/02/2024 10:20

Has anyone had any experience is reporting this? Saw yesterday a large bully dog walked unmuzzled in Bishop's Stortford and lunging at a couple walking another dog, young male owner had to use full force in restraining it as it stood up. Seen other bully dogs walked unmuzzled in Bishop's Stortford (e.g. Sworders Field) since the ban. How is it possible to report them if the owner is a complete stranger?

Also they are still being advertised for sale. I have tried reporting pets 4 homes ads to them in the past but been fobbed off. All the ads are hilarious: not xl bully, great with kids and my favourite this one "He is a cuddly baby who loves to think he is tiny and sit on you. "
https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds/sib-8or66-canelo-london/?pmg_source=all"

Just a casual search here: some claim excuses they are not xl bullies, some awaiting DNS tests. Some say they are reactive or fighting with other dogs. Does anyone ever control these sites? I know it is not a breed, but they would meet the guidance description https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-definition-of-an-xl-bully-dog/xl-bully-conformation-standard

I wish to God Pets4Homes would just be banned. And all online selling of live animals. P4H and Facebook are just a convenient dumping ground for shit or inexperienced breeders. Good breeders have waiting lists and health test site and dam.

oakleaffy · 08/02/2024 00:50

Igotjelly · 06/02/2024 18:10

Some of those links you’ve posted are frankly not XL bullies, they look more like American Bulldogs which are an entirely different breed of dog.

The fact is good dog owners with well behaved dogs don’t make the headlines and so the picture painted isn’t a true reflection of reality. I have a bull breed who I have exempted just in case, despite the fact he’s not an XL and I have his breed papers to prove it. Don’t want to risk some uninformed idiot reporting him for absolutely nothing.

They are large, powerful and aggressive dogs- and Xl bully owners always bleat “ That’s not an XL”
if it’s thick set and blocky headed and mauling, it’s bloody dangerous in a civilised society.
No one needs these fighting types.

oakleaffy · 08/02/2024 01:03

@KillyTumble07 Pets for Homes and other online sites are just dumps for horribly back yard bred and puppy farmed dogs and cats( and other animals)

The Govt should have banned these awful sites that allow poorly bred animals to be palmed
off on impulse buyers , by greeders who don’t vet potential homes thoroughly.

Farcebook is terrible for this as well.

I was on a breed site there ( soon came off) as despite the mods banning £itters for sale, people still tried it on by posting images of litters-

It’s terrible for animal welfare to be encouraging breeding by having these easy outlets

Oldsu · 08/02/2024 03:34

bunnygeek · 06/02/2024 13:39

The point is that so many people can't identify an XL and just lump all Bulldog or Mastiff types under the same category and the owners feel utterly exhausted and victimised. DEFRA have said that if your dog is clearly another breed you don't need to exempt them, they specifically said KC breed but some may argue something like a Cane Corso is also a defined breed and indeed they are still up for rehoming through rehoming charities who have stated they have spoken to experts who have said they do not class as an XL.

There's an enormous imported Cane Corso (he's cropped and docked) who I often see walking near me. He's impeccably behaved, even when my little tiny reactive dog shouts at him. I've only seen him react to other dogs once, and that was because there was a lady struggling with two large Spaniel/Setter types who were all over the shop screaming at every dog in the vicinity.

Basically, if you're not a Dog Legislation Officer whose been trained in identifying XL's, it's not your dog, and the dog is behaving itself, just keep on walking and don't stalk the poor owner whose got enough to deal with.

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@bunnygeek Totally agree with you a friend has a boxer/staffy cross he meets the height but nothing else however he looks more like a large staffy she has been reported numerous times as having an un muzzled XL by people who have no training and has been stopped by the police as well, she has taken to carrying a copy of the DEFRA standard report highlighting which descriptors do not apply to her dog, a copy of his DNA result, an email from the local DLO who has seen a picture and has confirmed he is not an Xl, she has the phone number of Weldon Law and other Dog Law specialists programmed into her phone and uses a body cam to record everything that might happen when walking him and she does that even when going to the shops.

Yes she could exempt him but by doing so she actually has to say he is an XL even if he is not, she would lose her home as her HA has banned all their tenants from having an XL and other banned breeds she would be giving the police power to enter her home and seize her dog as they would have been notified she has a banned breed why should she have to do that?

AthenaBasil · 17/10/2024 06:26

lifeispainauchocolat · 06/02/2024 17:57

Well, fair enough, but you seemed to be implying that because the dog was strong enough to pull her over, it was dangerous.

I've been pulled on my arse by a tiny collie cross before - it really doesn't take much!

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So you agree no one should own a dog they can’t restrain and hold back? I take it when you say you’ve been pulled over by a small collie it was because you were unbalanced and not ready for it to pull?

AthenaBasil · 17/10/2024 06:28

I really have no sympathy for people who choose to own big aggressive looking dogs. You must have known before you bought it that you get people who cross the road on sight of it , who get annoyed at its presence and who might mistake it for another breed.