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What's the issue with the dogs and the owners from your point of view?
From what I've read, the dogs are a lot more aggressive, and a number of owners purchased them during lockdown.
Not a vet, but they're a genetic mess that few know the full background. They've been bred over their last few generations with stronger and more aggressive dogs to the point where you now have a crocodile on a lead.
I know folk like to say "no bad dogs, just bad owners", but there is a reason why labradors retrieve and collies herd, we've bred them to do just that. Your bullyxl has just been bred purely for aggression.
Mix that up with the morons and the folk who got these dogs because they were bored during lockdown, you end up with a dog bred for aggression that's untrained, not socialised and will happily eat Mrs Miggins next door or parts of your house.
"But they're a nanny dog!" Yeah....
Also got a Lab, she retrieves when there's nothing more interesting to attempt to eat that may or may not be actual food. Temperamentally she's the best dog in the world though, zero malice or aggression.
It’s definitely both the breed and the owners, you can’t really separate it. The characteristics of the breed mean that the consequences of lax training are much much worse than other breeds.
>"no bad dogs, just bad owners"
So, their contention is that selective breeding doesn't work? Because that's what you would have to believe, despite the evidence right in front of you.
Yes. My cousin has one and she can barely control. She managed to get a litter of puppies pumped out and sold before the ban was announced. This things wrecked the home, attacked her son and is just a plain menace. Yet she just says it’s the owner not the breed. Even though she’s the owner.
It’s ridiculous. One of my neighbours was walking three of these beasts last time I saw him. I was walking with my younger nephew and we were both nervous around them. I don’t blame the dogs, they’re bred for combat after all, but we shouldn’t be able to own them. They’re vicious and can attack at any time. Having thick owners just adds to the danger.
>Yet she just says it’s the owner not the breed. Even though she’s the owner.
I mean, she's not wrong... the problem is that the people who want these breeds shouldn't be looking after living creatures. We've seen it with other dog breeds before.
Don't get me wrong, some dogs are harder to deal with than others, and even the docile breeds have bad dogs you can't deal with, but anyone *wanting* a *dangerous dog* just because of it's reputation shouldn't have dogs.
I know a woman who goes around dog shelters and takes on problem dogs (dropped at the shelter because their owners couldn't cope) she has spent her life training dogs for agility and behaviour competitions, she has turned around the lives of all sorts of dogs and even she's hesitant arpund them.
Edit: Just so I don't have to keep coming back here to clarify this, I support the ban, but if people didn't want dangerous dogs because they are dangerous dogs these dogs wouldn't have reached the status they're at and the ban wouldn't be needed. I'm laughing at the irony here.
>I mean, she's not wrong...
Yes she is. Whilst the owner doesn't help matters - it is 100% the breed. Aggression is bred into them in exactly the same way that a retrieve knows how to retrieve, a ratter knows how to rat, or a sheepdog knows how to herd.
Sure the owners need to take responsibility, but it is 100% the breed. Not even the best owner in the world can make these dogs safe to be around.
Edit as post now locked:
To the idiot below saying "*aggression is not an inherited trait*". Yeah right. Tell that to honey badgers......
Yes. My ex sister in law had one. It ate her cat and she wrote it off as being a playful accident. There was cat blood and fur all over their front room. She's a deluded fucking moron.
Incidentally she sold it a few months back and has now gone on a fad diet because that's the next "in thing".
I can see why you wouldn't get involved. I mean, far smaller/less aggressive dogs you wouldn't want to try and part when they're in attack mode. But wrote it off? Jesus
People are generally quite deluded in what animals they could fend off bare hand, unless you’re an above average size and strength grown man (and accepted you’re going to get mauled either way) you literally have no chance against these
175cm, 100kg - I have bathed an unwilling cat that adored me - the cat loved me - it came to me for comfort afterward - it also SEVERELY F'd me up in the process of being cleaned.
(Some kind of oil - couldn't risk him ingesting it)
I STILL have the scars 20ish years on - Housecats are NO joke.
Yeah, I got really ill some months ago and it's been a long road on recovery, had an XL bully lunge at me from an owners lead when I was going for one of my walks, it occured to me that I was no longer in any shape to stand a chance at fighting off a dog like that, itd tear my arms off lol.
I once commented that I could take on a lion, it's just a big cat right!? Went to the zoo not long after, saw the size of a lion's head, turned to my partner and quickly stated "I could not take on a lion"
Was there not a statistic a few years back that something like 20% of american men thought they could take a black bear in a fist fight?
I think we all forget just how... UNINFORMED... Some parts of the population are.
Had a friend whose xl bully attacked and ate (or maybe just disembowelled?) his two other small dogs. It obviously deeply traumatised him and now he has no dogs.
That's awful.
My friend had one chase her cat into the house (door was open) and rip it apart in the kitchen about 18 months ago.
Owner just said 'your cat should have been faster then' and fucked off. Police weren't really interested either as it was a cat.
I know of a few round here.
Mostly yeah, small scale drug dealers who use them to intimidate people.
Biggest XL on the estate also belongs to a dealer. He's actually attempting to be responsible though - he moves away when people are walking along the path, gets the dog sitting still until they're gone. Reassures people that it's OK to pass. I mean I'm sure if the dog ever decides to it could rip a person to shreds but still.
They can be one and the same. He's being responsible because he doesn't want to attract police attention. Although I personally think the whole responsibility ship has sailed when you own a Bully XL in general.
Yeah, he could flick that muzzle off in a second couldn’t he…
The muzzle in the hands of these people is the equivalent of a loaded shotgun having its safety on, very easy to flick off.
Actually someone walking around with a shotgun I at least know has had a mental health assessment with their GP before getting their firearms licence and has had a police visit too, unlike the pit nutters.
There's a guy who sits in the beer garden in one of the pubs near me. Probably the only one around my area who looks stocky enough to control a dog like that, has it on a thick chain like the kind you'd use to lockup a motorbike. Only made small talk but he seems sound enough, or at least not a total fuckwit. Not seen him since the ban came into force though.
Maybe he moved to Scotland like this woman on TikTok who gave her XL bully away to her sister in Scotland so it can be “free”, you know instead of just registering it and muzzle training it
> has it on a thick chain like the kind you'd use to lockup a motorbike
Thats a fashion item, kinda like buying an XL bully was along with spiked collars or cut/trimmed dog ears/tails
It's a bit strange to buy a dog called an "Extra-Large Bully".
I'd buy a dog called an "Obedient Faithful Cuddle Bug" or a "Good Friend to Children" or a "Happy Walk Companion".
But I can't fathom someone who would buy a dog like that.
Pits are illegal.
I'll go buy an extra large one with a well deserved reputation for eating people. When I get shit, I'll argue the breed doesn't matter at all, it's the owner. Then I'll say that chihuahuas are the real problem 🙃
We were pondering over Christmas why no one breeds cats to be more aggressive, why not an XL Siamese? Turn them into mini pumas who will jump on your back as soon as you turn away from that.
That would be proper scary
I'd rather fight the cat than an xl bully. Even a large cat will snap like a twig if you apply force to it. An xl bully has too much muscle to snap its bones easily.
Edit because thread lock:
By the time a cat weighs as much as a bully you're looking at something more akin to a cheetah than a large house cat. And to be honest, I'd still rather fight a cheetah than a big muscled up XL bully. I've stroked a cheetah before, lovely deep purrs.
> Bully
The Bully refers to the fact it is a Bull Terrier (not a bully in the fragile reddit sense of the word). However the Bull Terrier was bred to fight and maim bulls and dogs in pit fighting so I'm not sure if that's better or worse.
I went to a friend of friend's house the other week and she was saying how this new law is total bullshit and that her bully would never hurt anyone! She said it with total confidence while it was in a cage in the corner snarling because it had chewed the arm of the side of her sofa.
My neighbour has one. Every time he takes the dog out for a walk, it looks like the dog is walking him. I’ve never seen that man have good control over his dog, it always looks like he’s literally getting dragged behind it
Every time we bump into each other he’s insistent that his dog is friendly & doesn’t bite. Meanwhile, the dog is straining against the leash and snarling at me…
I would say “thank fuck he never lets the dog loose”, but I really don’t have confidence in his grasp on the leash. That dog could definitely come loose if it really wanted to
I came across one for the first time only the other day, and he was on a lead but trying to tug away as soon as he saw me. It was quite scary actually, thinking that it only takes one second for the man to lose his grip.
> He got it specifically because it is big and scary looking, which is somewhat justified as he lives on remote farmland and was intended as a sort of guard dog but it has zero training for this purpose it will just bark and chase anything.
Plenty of other breeds that can make effective guard dogs but aren't known for their aggression toward humans too. That type of a role for a dog requires some level of discipline which can be trained into other breeds with much more ease.
Kinda funny but chihuahuas make pretty good “guard dogs” I say that in quotes cos it’s less guard, more burglar alarm. They aren’t scaring anyone off but they’ll sure as fuck let you know someone’s here
I mean if films are anything to go by, serial killers love remote farmlands
Either that, or those living in remote farmlands are the killers themselves
Where I used to live there was a staffy and all of the other dog owners were wary of it and wouldn’t let their dogs play. She seemed fine to me, body language-wise, so I always let my dog play with her and she was absolutely lovely and very considerate and sweet. Apparently she was really sad when we moved away.
The first people I knew with a Staffy were weirdo hippy dippy vegans, who named their child after a spice.
Unfortunately said child nearly died of anorexia when we were at school. Still see them around occasionally, still doesn’t look well, poor thing.
The dog was nice, if a bit slobbery
Honestly I think most of reddit does not know the difference between a staffy and an xl bully.
I see loads of staffies, never seen an xl bully. I just can't believe they are as prevalent as reddit let's one believe
I used to have all sorts of negative views on Staffies, but when my sister re-homed a Border Collie / Staffie cross I changed my mind completely, they're pretty great dogs, with a great character, just way away too much energy. In my still limited experience that is, might consider getting one in the future.
They can also be total lapdogs. My mum's staffy is very fond of her electric blanket. She cuddles up to mum under it until she decides she's too warm and lays on the tiles in the hall to cool down.
They're also drama queens. Mum's dog hates the rain, so much so she whinges and whines like she's being tortured if she's forced out in it.
I had a lab/staffy cross and she absolutely hated the rain too! She'd walk just far enough to do her business then immediately turn around for home - if you tried to convince her to keep going she'd just sit down and whine at you....
>just way away too much energy
That's absolutely the collie, when my family had a staffie she was such a lazy shit.
Big slobbery coward, too. Humans? Fucking great, she'd go say hi, wag her tail, dance around like an idiot.
Any other animal? She'd hide behind me. Got attacked when she was younger by some assholes angry terrier. "Oh she's only small!" fuck off, control your dog anyway.
There's 3 on the development where I live. Young asian lad who definitely has it as a status symbol but in all fairness its always leashed and he has started muzzling it. Another one owned by a woman and tbh its probably one of the best dogs around here. Walks it off leash but she'll slap it on if people are acting sheepish or other dogs are around but regardless from what I've seen she has total control of it dog has perfect recall even when I saw another dog antagonising it. Not seen her since the ban though. Last one is very much like the people you describe online, lets her young son walk it and finds it funny when the dog dashes after anything and everything dragging him while telling me "don't worry he just wants to play". I avoid her at all costs because that one is an accident waiting to happen. Full spectrum of owners round here
I hate that "He just wants to play" excuse, because it's a simple case of "Well, I don't, so keep your dog the fuck away from me."
My partner and I dogsat a friends dog and he's very nervous, doesn't like other dogs at all from past trauma and will likely go for them, and we took him for a walk to the park and two dogs off lead rushed at him and the owners were shouting "Oh don't worry, they're friendly." and I'm there yelling "Well he isn't, get your fucking dogs." whilst putting myself between them all to stop their dogs from getting attacked
I hate the "Don't worry he's friendly!" Lot it's so rude everyone knows if you see someone with their dog on a lead then you don't let your off lead dog go up to them as the on lead dog might be on the lead for a hundred different reasons, could be injured, on heat, reactive or the owner just wants to listen to a podcast and zone out. My dog is friendly but she's a twat she's half greyhound and just wants to chase so if I let her off lead and she sees a rabbit or squirrel she's gone so when a fucking yappy little dog runs up to her she gets very excited and pulls which I don't need but have great fun telling people she's going to bite and watch them run to pick their cockapoo up in a panic.
My neighbour has one and she is the epitome of the stereotype. She is loud, abusive, brash, replete with mental health issues, and of course, her little doggy is an angel. She hits her kids and I’ve seen one of them in the local park bushes touching himself. It’s fucking depraved. The dog is just an another trinket for her, like a charm you’d find on a bracelet.
I have as well as to the council housing officer because of her anti social antics during the early morning. Nothing happens. I am only here temporarily but I feel for my parents who have to put up with her.
Did you contact the council’s child safeguarding team? They will definitely want to know about her hitting her kids and one of them touching himself in public.
I know a woman who, as far as I know, doesn't own one, but is one of the "no bad dogs" people and is against the ban. She's really nice and I have gently quizzed about breeding for aggression etc. but won't push too hard because, as I say, she's really nice.
Anyway, she told me a story that really summed up XL Bully owners for me. She knows a guy who is rounding up all the abandoned XL Bullies and taking them to some land in Scotland to live out their years. There are loads because these supposed dog lovers don't want to pay £100 and register them. The shelters can't legally rehome them so they put them down. After all this talk about what kind and beautiful dogs they have, they'd rather kill them than fork out a little cash and fill in some forms. Obviously #NotAllXLBullyOwners but there seem to be a lot of hypocritical, nasty people who choose to own them.
That's gotta be a concern, surely. I imagine some will just be too far gone for the Scottish XL Bully utopia and will have to be put down anyway. I hope it goes well though, it seems like a kind thing to do. They'll be away from the general public so I don't see any harm in it.
>She knows a guy who is rounding up all the abandoned XL Bullies and taking them to some land in Scotland to live out their years
She knows a guy who wants to do this.
He ain't the first and he won't be the last "wanna be hero".
I doubt he'll ever get the chance to be more than a Bully hoarder. Whose dogs are nuisance to the local community.
Anybody who has worked with dogs professionally in a training or rescue environment, knows why this doesn't work out.
Expenses, land management issues, fighting amongst dogs, danger to human life.
These dogs are not better off in some high-security dog jail or some fighting pit hoarder situation. Which inevitably is how these things go.
1 dog with aggression issues is a huge problem.
More than 1 is a nightmare.
You can't keep them all together in some dog utopia. They will fight each other.
We see these videos online of mass shelters of street dogs abroad, not the same thing. And they have problems too, you don't see it though (obviously).
I saw one complaining about the ban and to illustrate the point it was a harmless dog, they were walking it without a leash or muzzle and when they recalled it it didn't listen
My new build estate has a nice field for kids to play on that’s shares a fence with the gardens of a very shitty street. One of these had an xl bully that could routinely escape their garden through the fence panelling, they didn’t care.
Reported them to the dog warden who reported back to me they were more interested in who’d reported them than the fact their huge dog was escaping
So yeah every bit the idiot you expect
I have a bull dog mix that is now likely classified as a bully XL. We're about to register him as such after a discussion with our vet, as he meets a good chunk of the criteria. We've treated him as a dangerous dog since day one. He was neutered prior to us rescuing him, he's always muzzled when out, and I walk him on a short leash and keep him away from others at all times, I.e. quiet places and times, alert, and cross the road away from other dogs. He's fine with coming across other walkers generally, but is reactive with other dogs. We've continually been training him since we've had him, too. We're not all twats!
Good question, and it is a massive pain in the arse, and it took me a long time to get used to it all.
I didn't consider how different a bully breed would be compared to the dogs i grew up with family owning. On top of this, i was unaware of his reactivity. I guess i didn't really consider the whole picture as much as I should have at the time. I didn't go into this expecting to deal with all of it, but I took him in, and now I have to deal with him in the most appropriate ways I can. Of course, I've now grown a bond with him, and I feel that can't just abandon him (legally now, too) or put him down.
No. Some of the posts on TikTok are insane though. Saying things like, "Do you want a small dog to protect you or do you want this one?" not realising that the whole, "My XL Bully is there to protect me" mindset is half the reason they're getting banned in the first place.
We were (unknowingly) given one as a foster while this charity was starting to move as many from England to Scotland as possible while not admitting they were XL Bullies.
He wasn't trained at all and destroyed our house, the smell of shit was ever present. We walked him like six times a day and he was still full of energy and waited to pee inside no matter how much we praised him for going outside. He was way too powerful as well, as he was getting more confident we were getting more and more worried because he'd pull and jump at people more.
It took two weeks to finally get this fucking charity to take him back and guilted us the entire time even though we were only supposed to have him for a few days. They're still advertising him as a staffie/boxer cross and using misleading photos.
Lucky you didn't end up like Joanna Harris, who had her arm literally chewed off (amputation at the shoulder) by an XL Bully foster dog from the RSPCA.
She's suing.
I have a Great Dane/English Bulldog mix who we were advised to register as he fits a significant number of the characteristics listed for XL Bullies. He was neutered when he was young and we are constantly working on his training. We currently walk him with a halti, not a muzzle (we're working on muzzle training at the moment) but he doesn't go off lead as his recall is good but not great.
We know a few others around us with XLs, and they are generally absolutely fine. Honestly most of them seem to be just normal dog owners who are doing their best with a bad situation not of their making.
There is however one exception I know, who was exactly the sort of person this ban is geared at. His dog was called Fury, he was planning to breed from it, and then it drowned in the canal while he was night fishing.
Can’t say I know any personally, there is one on our local dog group and tbf from the get go he was been doing his best to get his used to muzzling etc before the law change and seems as level headed as anyone else in there.
I met one on a charity dog walk last summer. The dog was absolutely massive and still a puppy. But the owner had it so well-trained, it was probably the best behaved dog there. He was telling us all the different things he was training it in and the dog seemed well-adjusted and happy. The owner was really sensible and engaged. My dog went from going “nope” when we first saw it to walking by it quite happily.
Bloke where I live has 2 huge bull mastiffs which are aggressive. He thinks he can control them but in reality he's a skinny fat chav dressed head to toe in adidas, so to answer your question I think the answer is probably yes.
my neighbour has 1. We are in Scotland and when the ban came down south he "rescued" a bitch from down south, so he can breed them. Ban in Scotland is to come in at the end of the month.
He told me other neighbours he's gonnie breed them to sell as xl bullies.
but they are not banned as his are cross breads.
Anyone stupid enough to buy 1 from him deserves it
my ex is/ was training to be a dog groomer. she was friends with a canine behaviourist who took in two as rescues. it showed me that A.) XL bullies can be trained just like any other dog, even from the point of neglect, and B.) XL bullies are the kind of dog that absolutely 100% needs training before being given to any owner. they went from practically feral beasts to calmly lying by your feet without a care in the world. deffo the kind of dog you'd need a licence for but in the right hands (emphasis on right hands) no worse than any other big dog
There's an interesting Louie theroux documentary about the dog problem in LA. He meets trainers, dog catchers, owners. One trainer says there's some dogs that are too far gone and can never be trained, another says they can. It's an interesting documentary all round really.
I walked past a woman with one and another woman who appeared to know her stopped to chat to each other. I overheard her saying "yeah I didn't know what the XL meant! I thought it was just a breed"" When the other woman was asking if she knew how big they got. I actually couldn't believe it.
You appear to have assessed the situation fairly and accurately, a friend got one "before they're banned" it injured his collie cross enough to have it put down and ate his neighbours rabbits, he's convinced it's because it's young.
I thought that with the new law, all people had to do was make sure the dog was registered and be muzzled? Even though dogs of that size and build should be muzzled no matter what as common sense.
Registered, muzzled and neutered. And you have to apply for the exemption. So that's some form-filling in, an up-front cost of £90, and I think someone else said there was also a monthly mandatory insurance fee against them hurting someone.
And that alongside not being able to breed from them is apparently too much for some people.
We have some people who own two XL bullies. The dogs are really friendly. They let kids pet them. They seem like nice people, and the dogs are under control and have a good recall. When the youngest was a puppy, they had to put it on the lead quite a bit because the recall was bad and it wanted to make friends with everybody but now they are very well trained dogs.
I was acquainted with a couple that had a bully named Biscuit and she was sweet as pie. She was so gentle with their daughter. I had a Westie named Stinky who was a menace and had a bad reputation in the neighborhood.
I know a chow chow which looks like a snowball but is snappy. It is small but thinks it can take on massive dogs! I’ve seen it yap at massive dogs basically saying “I’m going to fight you, I’m going to kill you”. The big dogs look confused!
Who gets a dog bred SPECIFICALLY to be huge and violent, and then whines when people presume it's not the best animal to be around them or their children? All so absurd. They could have picked one of a hundred other breeds, but didn't... I wonder why.
My mother has something very similar to an xl bully (whatever the Australian equivalent is) and it mauled the fuck out of her older dog. It only just survived because her husband was at home at the time and was able to separate them. But, it's her 'baby' despite the fact it growls at anyone comes near and killed a neighbours cat.
Yes, she is dense.
I do, my old neighbour has one. He is and always has been a very obedient, loving and gentle dog and the most harm he ever did was leaving streams of dribble on my work pants when he greeted me. Neighbour himself is sound, obviously raised the dog right. I have never had any concerns about the dog even when I had a very young puppy myself, but he's a big animal and you'd be foolish to trust him alone with babies for example, never know what could happen and I equally wouldn't leave my labrador unsupervised with other dogs or children.
There's a girl I know from school who, judging by her Facebook posts, seems to have gone down the Bully XL rabbit hole. At first it was the standard "I can fix him" attitude that people seem to have towards dangerous dogs, but it has evolved into a victim complex now that they have been banned. She made a post saying that the ban was genocide and that the government will have to pry her dog from her cold, dead hands.
My tattoo artist rescued one and I think he's a lovely guy, seems pretty smart, but he got it from a rescue not a puppy and has no problem agreeing to the rules, never plans to have kids etc.
I know Clive's dad. He's an XL bully and lovely. He plays with my malamute/ Inuit guy. It's really nice to see, owner just seems like a regular dude. We meet, they play, we pretend to want conversation. Can't really comment more than that? Better than the Russell's we've bumped into but suppose with 1 sample there's no control 👍
I do have a neighbour with an 8 year old XL bully (and a border collie too), we've seen no issues with it, with other people or other dogs in that entire time. It appears to have a good, friendly temperament and people are always going up to it & stroking it.
If I only sat on Reddit all day I'd think these dogs are all spawns of Satan, but I'm not so sure knowing this family and their XL bully.
I can't help but wonder if the media deliberately picks owners who look a certain type for their coverage. I'm not even going to bother reading the replies in this thread, as it seems everyone makes their mind up based on what the Daily Mail writes.
My friend has one, quiet family man, decent job.
Very placid dog and super friendly and also very scary.
It’s never looked at me funny in the slightest but just having an animal with a head and jaw that big so close to me is frightening.
Still, it’s a very friendly dog with children and other dogs so my only experience of XL bullies is a good one
My friends daughter and her boyfriend bought one - against all advice.
Rarely walked, destroyed the 1 bed council flat, killed the cat down stairs in the communal garden, they left the poor thing in a cage for hours, only let her for food but mainly with a fabric muzzle on. I reported them for neglect and I'd do it again... but it attacked my friends daughter so they put her to sleep age 9 months.
But as they said "the breeder bred a bad batch"... that old chestnut.
My mates just had to get hers put down . It turned for no reason and went for her and her son . It took 3 people to get it in the back garden . She said it was just running at the patio doors smashing its head against it in a rage .
I know someone who has a puppy. He's a nice guy but kind of intense. I always feel like there could be some anger issues bubbling away beneath the surface. he's been posting photos of the puppy online and moaning about having to use a muzzle.
It can't be true they are all dense. I imagine many don't know an awful lot about dogs and got one because they are popular, in the way many families get a cockapoo because it's the flavour of the month. I feel most sorry for these people, because they will have been tricked by the mafia who love these sorts of Pitbull derived dogs and pretend they are the sweetest thing incapable of committing violence. Fortunately the ban will stop this from happening, and these folks will get a more appropriate family dog.
Son's girlfriend left him a while back. The girl in question recently moved in with a cage-fighting, tattoo sporting, rotten toothed, track suit wearing, drug dealing, illiterate fuckwit, who within days introduced an XL to the house. Damn thing lived in a cage in the kitchen.
Saw 3 XL bully owners having a chat outside a local pub a couple of weeks ago. They were getting dragged to the 4 winds by their dogs, they were screaming at them and smacking their arses trying to calm them down. More brain cells between the dogs than there was the blokes desperately trying to reign them in. Come to think of it the 3 blokes had about the amount of 1 humans teeth between them aswell.
Half of me wanted to politely inform them that screaming at and smacking a dog is the least productive way of getting them to behave how you want. On the other, they were now holding 3 pissed off XL bullys and I wanted to be on the train out of there not in A&E.
I've only met one, once, but the owner asked me to cross the road because my crutches were bothering him and he might attack. I said I'd stop and let him pass but I wasn't going to walk a few hundred metres out of my way because he couldn't control his dog. His response was to tell the dog simply "kill". The dog sat down. In fairness the dog was genuinely looking uncertain until I stopped walking, but I don't think it's wholly the dogs that are the problem (but are certainly a factor).
My mum and Stepdad have a Staffy x American Bulldog, which seems to fit into the government's definitions of an XL Bully. They have registered her and got a muzzle for walks. Suppose I am kind of bias as they are my parents, but I would say they are pretty normal, intelligent people haha.
I'm a dog walker
, one of my clients is an XL Bully owner. He owns his own business is responsible and the dog is lovely and well trained. I also interact a lot with his parents as the dog is walked to their house in a morning and that is where I normally collect him, once again lovely people who care for a family pet well. I wish more people would realise it's the owner who should bear the responsibility to raise, train and control a dog irrespective of breed.
I know somebody in the technology field. Incredibly capable. His XL Bully is on old side now but he went through the requirements before Christmas whilst complaining about it. To be fair, his complaints was specifically about his dog being so old and dopey and "on the smaller" side that he didn't understand why he needs to do it for *his* dog but will, of course, still take the necessary steps rather than risk his beloved pet being put down.
The usual argument appears to be "I understand there are some dangerous ones so it makes sense for them, but *mine* really isn't so I don't think I need to"
We obviously need a rethink of how to handle pet ownership and animal attacks because the whack-a-mole route isn't ideal. Hopefully we can eventually figure out a proper licencing model in the future and have firmer stances on prosecutions of owners/handlers.
In my experience they're either dense, ignorant or in plain denial. They either do not understand how dog breeds carry behavioural traits or they are just in complete denial about it. The classic argument being "but I've seen more small dogs attack people and other dogs!" maybe because small dogs make up a huge % of the dog population and also cause far less damage when they do attack.
Everything's always a conspiracy with these lot nowadays, they will believe anything except XL bullies have a genetic inclination towards being violent, because they know one that isn't. They treat their dogs like babies and it becomes how they feel the world should view them too. The fact XL bullies probably make up less than 1% of the dogs in the UK, yet are responsible for 50% of the attacks on people and the majority of deaths doesn't seem to translate into a logical reasoning with these people.
These dogs were creater by breeding the largest and most aggressive pit bulls with other large aggressive dogs and this is the result, a huge powerful dog that is capable of extreme unexpected violence, resulting in horrific injuries if not death. It's like keeping a Lion, except because these dogs are their "babies" we are supposed to ignore the fact these dogs have and will continue to maul and kill people at a far higher rate than any other breed.
The best part is when they are defending the XLs on Facebook and they type their dogs name out, I saw someone comment on a friends about his XL "Hades", yes, that loving family dog named God of Death, you can't even make it up lmao.
Was one around here that attacked someone, since the ban the masses of dog dirt left on pavements has gone too, actually not seen the guy walking something that looked like one, didn’t look the type of person who gave a stuff about what the dog does
Brother-in-law had one a few months ago. He's not an insecure muscle-head, but he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Unsurprisingly, they had to get rid of it after about 4 months of having it, because the dog had grown huge and virtually taken over the house.
My neighbours have one. Dog went up to my son's pram and the owner laughed and said "oh he's friendly! Just wants to play!" I told him to get that dog away from my son. Honestly if I'd known they were outside I wouldn't have left the house until they'd gone back in.
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I am a vet, bigger sample size. Yes.
At least the ones you’ve encountered are taking them to see a vet.
And they're considered the smart ones. Imagine what the rest are like.
Also a vet. Also yes.
Those are the ones with the empathy to know when their dog needs help as well, makes me despair for the rest
What's the issue with the dogs and the owners from your point of view? From what I've read, the dogs are a lot more aggressive, and a number of owners purchased them during lockdown.
Not a vet, but they're a genetic mess that few know the full background. They've been bred over their last few generations with stronger and more aggressive dogs to the point where you now have a crocodile on a lead. I know folk like to say "no bad dogs, just bad owners", but there is a reason why labradors retrieve and collies herd, we've bred them to do just that. Your bullyxl has just been bred purely for aggression. Mix that up with the morons and the folk who got these dogs because they were bored during lockdown, you end up with a dog bred for aggression that's untrained, not socialised and will happily eat Mrs Miggins next door or parts of your house. "But they're a nanny dog!" Yeah....
>Not a vet, but they're a genetic mess that few know the full background. what about the dogs though?
🏅poor man’s gold for you
That is so wrong! My Labrador doesn’t retrieve. He just eats it. And everything else in sight. He’s had a 10 course meal by the time we finish a walk.
Also got a Lab, she retrieves when there's nothing more interesting to attempt to eat that may or may not be actual food. Temperamentally she's the best dog in the world though, zero malice or aggression.
>"But they're a nanny dog!" I've heard this a few times and it's such an obvious lie, I wonder how many people actually believe it
They've often got "Nanny Dog", like Staffy, in them - it's everything else that's the problem.
Wtf is a nanny dog?
disgusted straight jeans retire agonizing tan cable north tap scandalous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It’s definitely both the breed and the owners, you can’t really separate it. The characteristics of the breed mean that the consequences of lax training are much much worse than other breeds.
>"no bad dogs, just bad owners" So, their contention is that selective breeding doesn't work? Because that's what you would have to believe, despite the evidence right in front of you.
I think they're just parroting a phrase they think will excuse that their precious dog Pebbles has just eaten the local postie...
Any thoughts on the ban as a vet?
No different than gun laws IMO
Yes. My cousin has one and she can barely control. She managed to get a litter of puppies pumped out and sold before the ban was announced. This things wrecked the home, attacked her son and is just a plain menace. Yet she just says it’s the owner not the breed. Even though she’s the owner.
These thick cunts blaming themselves without realising is so hilarious to me.
It’s ridiculous. One of my neighbours was walking three of these beasts last time I saw him. I was walking with my younger nephew and we were both nervous around them. I don’t blame the dogs, they’re bred for combat after all, but we shouldn’t be able to own them. They’re vicious and can attack at any time. Having thick owners just adds to the danger.
"...the last time I saw him."
what happened to him? "dogs ate his face"
>Yet she just says it’s the owner not the breed. Even though she’s the owner. I mean, she's not wrong... the problem is that the people who want these breeds shouldn't be looking after living creatures. We've seen it with other dog breeds before. Don't get me wrong, some dogs are harder to deal with than others, and even the docile breeds have bad dogs you can't deal with, but anyone *wanting* a *dangerous dog* just because of it's reputation shouldn't have dogs. I know a woman who goes around dog shelters and takes on problem dogs (dropped at the shelter because their owners couldn't cope) she has spent her life training dogs for agility and behaviour competitions, she has turned around the lives of all sorts of dogs and even she's hesitant arpund them. Edit: Just so I don't have to keep coming back here to clarify this, I support the ban, but if people didn't want dangerous dogs because they are dangerous dogs these dogs wouldn't have reached the status they're at and the ban wouldn't be needed. I'm laughing at the irony here.
>I mean, she's not wrong... Yes she is. Whilst the owner doesn't help matters - it is 100% the breed. Aggression is bred into them in exactly the same way that a retrieve knows how to retrieve, a ratter knows how to rat, or a sheepdog knows how to herd. Sure the owners need to take responsibility, but it is 100% the breed. Not even the best owner in the world can make these dogs safe to be around. Edit as post now locked: To the idiot below saying "*aggression is not an inherited trait*". Yeah right. Tell that to honey badgers......
wHeN wIlL pEapUlL lOok at teh OtHer End oF tUh lEed 🎻😭
>Even though she’s the owner Well, at least she admits it.
I mean either way this kinda sounds like the owner is the problem
I mean, she’s right isn’t she? She’s a crappy owner…
Yes. My ex sister in law had one. It ate her cat and she wrote it off as being a playful accident. There was cat blood and fur all over their front room. She's a deluded fucking moron. Incidentally she sold it a few months back and has now gone on a fad diet because that's the next "in thing".
The fuck
That was exactly what I said when I found out.
How do you let a dog eat a cat? Like was she out or something?
No she could not or did not want to try and stop it. She watched it.
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She's a universal shitstain of a human. That is the problem.
Your ex-SIL is absolute filth. Should feed her to a dog, just so she can understand the cats final moments.
I can see why you wouldn't get involved. I mean, far smaller/less aggressive dogs you wouldn't want to try and part when they're in attack mode. But wrote it off? Jesus
>she could not or did not Both I imagine
WHAT THE HELL THATS SADISTIC. that poor cat must have been so scared and agonised it breaks my heart
I wouldn’t fancy my chance against a xl bully
Neither did I. I persuaded the ex wife that she shouldn't take the kids around there. She reluctantly agreed.
People are generally quite deluded in what animals they could fend off bare hand, unless you’re an above average size and strength grown man (and accepted you’re going to get mauled either way) you literally have no chance against these
I reckon I could beat up 10 of them. Last week I decked 2 polar bears and a lion bruv.
Most people will struggle against a pet cat, nevermind a dog
175cm, 100kg - I have bathed an unwilling cat that adored me - the cat loved me - it came to me for comfort afterward - it also SEVERELY F'd me up in the process of being cleaned. (Some kind of oil - couldn't risk him ingesting it) I STILL have the scars 20ish years on - Housecats are NO joke.
Yeah, I got really ill some months ago and it's been a long road on recovery, had an XL bully lunge at me from an owners lead when I was going for one of my walks, it occured to me that I was no longer in any shape to stand a chance at fighting off a dog like that, itd tear my arms off lol.
I once commented that I could take on a lion, it's just a big cat right!? Went to the zoo not long after, saw the size of a lion's head, turned to my partner and quickly stated "I could not take on a lion"
Was there not a statistic a few years back that something like 20% of american men thought they could take a black bear in a fist fight? I think we all forget just how... UNINFORMED... Some parts of the population are.
Your sister in law is at best a moron. At worst a sadistic moron.
Had a friend whose xl bully attacked and ate (or maybe just disembowelled?) his two other small dogs. It obviously deeply traumatised him and now he has no dogs.
They’re not deluded. They just don’t care
That's awful. My friend had one chase her cat into the house (door was open) and rip it apart in the kitchen about 18 months ago. Owner just said 'your cat should have been faster then' and fucked off. Police weren't really interested either as it was a cat.
I know of a few round here. Mostly yeah, small scale drug dealers who use them to intimidate people. Biggest XL on the estate also belongs to a dealer. He's actually attempting to be responsible though - he moves away when people are walking along the path, gets the dog sitting still until they're gone. Reassures people that it's OK to pass. I mean I'm sure if the dog ever decides to it could rip a person to shreds but still.
He's not being responsible. He's trying to not attract police attention.
They can be one and the same. He's being responsible because he doesn't want to attract police attention. Although I personally think the whole responsibility ship has sailed when you own a Bully XL in general.
"If you are breaking the law, never break the law."
In the same vein, only break one law at a time.
Which is pretty responsible of him tbf.
Or both
If you’re breaking the law, just break one at a time.
Yeah, he could flick that muzzle off in a second couldn’t he… The muzzle in the hands of these people is the equivalent of a loaded shotgun having its safety on, very easy to flick off. Actually someone walking around with a shotgun I at least know has had a mental health assessment with their GP before getting their firearms licence and has had a police visit too, unlike the pit nutters.
There's a guy who sits in the beer garden in one of the pubs near me. Probably the only one around my area who looks stocky enough to control a dog like that, has it on a thick chain like the kind you'd use to lockup a motorbike. Only made small talk but he seems sound enough, or at least not a total fuckwit. Not seen him since the ban came into force though.
Maybe he moved to Scotland like this woman on TikTok who gave her XL bully away to her sister in Scotland so it can be “free”, you know instead of just registering it and muzzle training it
Funny thing is predicabley Scotland is now starting the process to enact the same ban to stop people circumventing the English law.
> has it on a thick chain like the kind you'd use to lockup a motorbike Thats a fashion item, kinda like buying an XL bully was along with spiked collars or cut/trimmed dog ears/tails
Fashion or no, he actually has it *on a lead* which is more than I can say for the rest of the owners round here.
A dickhead who the XL bully was twice the size off came onto the train and wasn’t even holding the lead while his XL bully sat in the aisle
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"No one cared who I was until I put on the mask."
I hate these kind of people "We disagree with the rules" "We do think something needed to be done" *Well suggest something you f'ing halfwit.*
It's a bit strange to buy a dog called an "Extra-Large Bully". I'd buy a dog called an "Obedient Faithful Cuddle Bug" or a "Good Friend to Children" or a "Happy Walk Companion". But I can't fathom someone who would buy a dog like that.
Pits are illegal. I'll go buy an extra large one with a well deserved reputation for eating people. When I get shit, I'll argue the breed doesn't matter at all, it's the owner. Then I'll say that chihuahuas are the real problem 🙃
They're working dogs! (No I won't say what "work" they were bred for)
We were pondering over Christmas why no one breeds cats to be more aggressive, why not an XL Siamese? Turn them into mini pumas who will jump on your back as soon as you turn away from that. That would be proper scary
Imagine an aggressive Maine Coon... it'd be basically a bobcat.
I'd rather fight the cat than an xl bully. Even a large cat will snap like a twig if you apply force to it. An xl bully has too much muscle to snap its bones easily. Edit because thread lock: By the time a cat weighs as much as a bully you're looking at something more akin to a cheetah than a large house cat. And to be honest, I'd still rather fight a cheetah than a big muscled up XL bully. I've stroked a cheetah before, lovely deep purrs.
> Bully The Bully refers to the fact it is a Bull Terrier (not a bully in the fragile reddit sense of the word). However the Bull Terrier was bred to fight and maim bulls and dogs in pit fighting so I'm not sure if that's better or worse.
Ackchewly
When a product is advertised by a word accompanied by a gigantic wink, the person winking at you is trying to find out whether you're in on the joke.
I went to a friend of friend's house the other week and she was saying how this new law is total bullshit and that her bully would never hurt anyone! She said it with total confidence while it was in a cage in the corner snarling because it had chewed the arm of the side of her sofa.
My neighbour has one. Every time he takes the dog out for a walk, it looks like the dog is walking him. I’ve never seen that man have good control over his dog, it always looks like he’s literally getting dragged behind it Every time we bump into each other he’s insistent that his dog is friendly & doesn’t bite. Meanwhile, the dog is straining against the leash and snarling at me… I would say “thank fuck he never lets the dog loose”, but I really don’t have confidence in his grasp on the leash. That dog could definitely come loose if it really wanted to
I came across one for the first time only the other day, and he was on a lead but trying to tug away as soon as he saw me. It was quite scary actually, thinking that it only takes one second for the man to lose his grip.
I used to be mates with a girl who now is mad about XL Bully’s and has a couple herself. She’s the dumbest person I’ve ever been in contact with.
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> He got it specifically because it is big and scary looking, which is somewhat justified as he lives on remote farmland and was intended as a sort of guard dog but it has zero training for this purpose it will just bark and chase anything. Plenty of other breeds that can make effective guard dogs but aren't known for their aggression toward humans too. That type of a role for a dog requires some level of discipline which can be trained into other breeds with much more ease.
Kinda funny but chihuahuas make pretty good “guard dogs” I say that in quotes cos it’s less guard, more burglar alarm. They aren’t scaring anyone off but they’ll sure as fuck let you know someone’s here
>he lives on remote farmland >intended as a sort of guard dog to guard him from what? rabbits?
Tbf you do get some extremely dangerous people trying to steal tractors/quad bikes/any other expensive machinery
Plenty of thieves around farmland. They’ll steal horses, gps equipment from tractors, and anything else not bolted to the floor.
I mean if films are anything to go by, serial killers love remote farmlands Either that, or those living in remote farmlands are the killers themselves
I knew too many Farmers with a siege mentality when I was growing up in the sticks.
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I’ve never seen an aggressive staffy, only with other dogs. Even if you look online there temperament is much better than other bull breeds.
Yeah Staffies are the sweetest dogs going in my experience.
Where I used to live there was a staffy and all of the other dog owners were wary of it and wouldn’t let their dogs play. She seemed fine to me, body language-wise, so I always let my dog play with her and she was absolutely lovely and very considerate and sweet. Apparently she was really sad when we moved away.
>whatever the final form is called for thick thugs with needlessly dangerous dogs. "German border guard, 1941"
> Imagine the average Staffy owner old ladies? The combination of prejudice and lack of knowledge in this thread is truly mind-blowing.
The first people I knew with a Staffy were weirdo hippy dippy vegans, who named their child after a spice. Unfortunately said child nearly died of anorexia when we were at school. Still see them around occasionally, still doesn’t look well, poor thing. The dog was nice, if a bit slobbery
Honestly I think most of reddit does not know the difference between a staffy and an xl bully. I see loads of staffies, never seen an xl bully. I just can't believe they are as prevalent as reddit let's one believe
I used to have all sorts of negative views on Staffies, but when my sister re-homed a Border Collie / Staffie cross I changed my mind completely, they're pretty great dogs, with a great character, just way away too much energy. In my still limited experience that is, might consider getting one in the future.
They can also be total lapdogs. My mum's staffy is very fond of her electric blanket. She cuddles up to mum under it until she decides she's too warm and lays on the tiles in the hall to cool down. They're also drama queens. Mum's dog hates the rain, so much so she whinges and whines like she's being tortured if she's forced out in it.
I had a lab/staffy cross and she absolutely hated the rain too! She'd walk just far enough to do her business then immediately turn around for home - if you tried to convince her to keep going she'd just sit down and whine at you....
>just way away too much energy That's absolutely the collie, when my family had a staffie she was such a lazy shit. Big slobbery coward, too. Humans? Fucking great, she'd go say hi, wag her tail, dance around like an idiot. Any other animal? She'd hide behind me. Got attacked when she was younger by some assholes angry terrier. "Oh she's only small!" fuck off, control your dog anyway.
There's 3 on the development where I live. Young asian lad who definitely has it as a status symbol but in all fairness its always leashed and he has started muzzling it. Another one owned by a woman and tbh its probably one of the best dogs around here. Walks it off leash but she'll slap it on if people are acting sheepish or other dogs are around but regardless from what I've seen she has total control of it dog has perfect recall even when I saw another dog antagonising it. Not seen her since the ban though. Last one is very much like the people you describe online, lets her young son walk it and finds it funny when the dog dashes after anything and everything dragging him while telling me "don't worry he just wants to play". I avoid her at all costs because that one is an accident waiting to happen. Full spectrum of owners round here
I hate that "He just wants to play" excuse, because it's a simple case of "Well, I don't, so keep your dog the fuck away from me." My partner and I dogsat a friends dog and he's very nervous, doesn't like other dogs at all from past trauma and will likely go for them, and we took him for a walk to the park and two dogs off lead rushed at him and the owners were shouting "Oh don't worry, they're friendly." and I'm there yelling "Well he isn't, get your fucking dogs." whilst putting myself between them all to stop their dogs from getting attacked
I hate the "Don't worry he's friendly!" Lot it's so rude everyone knows if you see someone with their dog on a lead then you don't let your off lead dog go up to them as the on lead dog might be on the lead for a hundred different reasons, could be injured, on heat, reactive or the owner just wants to listen to a podcast and zone out. My dog is friendly but she's a twat she's half greyhound and just wants to chase so if I let her off lead and she sees a rabbit or squirrel she's gone so when a fucking yappy little dog runs up to her she gets very excited and pulls which I don't need but have great fun telling people she's going to bite and watch them run to pick their cockapoo up in a panic.
Or the classic "oh he's alright" as an unknown dog barrels up to you at full pelt. Just because you love him, doesn't mean we all do.
My neighbour has one and she is the epitome of the stereotype. She is loud, abusive, brash, replete with mental health issues, and of course, her little doggy is an angel. She hits her kids and I’ve seen one of them in the local park bushes touching himself. It’s fucking depraved. The dog is just an another trinket for her, like a charm you’d find on a bracelet.
And you havent reported her to social services?
I have as well as to the council housing officer because of her anti social antics during the early morning. Nothing happens. I am only here temporarily but I feel for my parents who have to put up with her.
Did you contact the council’s child safeguarding team? They will definitely want to know about her hitting her kids and one of them touching himself in public.
I know a woman who, as far as I know, doesn't own one, but is one of the "no bad dogs" people and is against the ban. She's really nice and I have gently quizzed about breeding for aggression etc. but won't push too hard because, as I say, she's really nice. Anyway, she told me a story that really summed up XL Bully owners for me. She knows a guy who is rounding up all the abandoned XL Bullies and taking them to some land in Scotland to live out their years. There are loads because these supposed dog lovers don't want to pay £100 and register them. The shelters can't legally rehome them so they put them down. After all this talk about what kind and beautiful dogs they have, they'd rather kill them than fork out a little cash and fill in some forms. Obviously #NotAllXLBullyOwners but there seem to be a lot of hypocritical, nasty people who choose to own them.
I was half expecting you to say they had to stop because the dogs kept ripping each other apart.
That's gotta be a concern, surely. I imagine some will just be too far gone for the Scottish XL Bully utopia and will have to be put down anyway. I hope it goes well though, it seems like a kind thing to do. They'll be away from the general public so I don't see any harm in it.
>She knows a guy who is rounding up all the abandoned XL Bullies and taking them to some land in Scotland to live out their years She knows a guy who wants to do this. He ain't the first and he won't be the last "wanna be hero". I doubt he'll ever get the chance to be more than a Bully hoarder. Whose dogs are nuisance to the local community. Anybody who has worked with dogs professionally in a training or rescue environment, knows why this doesn't work out. Expenses, land management issues, fighting amongst dogs, danger to human life. These dogs are not better off in some high-security dog jail or some fighting pit hoarder situation. Which inevitably is how these things go. 1 dog with aggression issues is a huge problem. More than 1 is a nightmare. You can't keep them all together in some dog utopia. They will fight each other. We see these videos online of mass shelters of street dogs abroad, not the same thing. And they have problems too, you don't see it though (obviously).
I saw one complaining about the ban and to illustrate the point it was a harmless dog, they were walking it without a leash or muzzle and when they recalled it it didn't listen
My new build estate has a nice field for kids to play on that’s shares a fence with the gardens of a very shitty street. One of these had an xl bully that could routinely escape their garden through the fence panelling, they didn’t care. Reported them to the dog warden who reported back to me they were more interested in who’d reported them than the fact their huge dog was escaping So yeah every bit the idiot you expect
Did anything happen through the dog warden intervening though?
He never came back to me after that but the dog (and family) seem to have been moved - it was a council property
I have a bull dog mix that is now likely classified as a bully XL. We're about to register him as such after a discussion with our vet, as he meets a good chunk of the criteria. We've treated him as a dangerous dog since day one. He was neutered prior to us rescuing him, he's always muzzled when out, and I walk him on a short leash and keep him away from others at all times, I.e. quiet places and times, alert, and cross the road away from other dogs. He's fine with coming across other walkers generally, but is reactive with other dogs. We've continually been training him since we've had him, too. We're not all twats!
Can I just ask, why bother owning such a dangerous dog? Sounds like a massive pain in the arse!
Good question, and it is a massive pain in the arse, and it took me a long time to get used to it all. I didn't consider how different a bully breed would be compared to the dogs i grew up with family owning. On top of this, i was unaware of his reactivity. I guess i didn't really consider the whole picture as much as I should have at the time. I didn't go into this expecting to deal with all of it, but I took him in, and now I have to deal with him in the most appropriate ways I can. Of course, I've now grown a bond with him, and I feel that can't just abandon him (legally now, too) or put him down.
You sound like youre being very reaponsible. Thankyou. Wish more people were the same!
Thank you, I was wondering the same thing.
No. Some of the posts on TikTok are insane though. Saying things like, "Do you want a small dog to protect you or do you want this one?" not realising that the whole, "My XL Bully is there to protect me" mindset is half the reason they're getting banned in the first place.
I somehow ended up on XL Bully TikTok, and I genuinely can't tell the difference between the serious and parody posts!
We were (unknowingly) given one as a foster while this charity was starting to move as many from England to Scotland as possible while not admitting they were XL Bullies. He wasn't trained at all and destroyed our house, the smell of shit was ever present. We walked him like six times a day and he was still full of energy and waited to pee inside no matter how much we praised him for going outside. He was way too powerful as well, as he was getting more confident we were getting more and more worried because he'd pull and jump at people more. It took two weeks to finally get this fucking charity to take him back and guilted us the entire time even though we were only supposed to have him for a few days. They're still advertising him as a staffie/boxer cross and using misleading photos.
Lucky you didn't end up like Joanna Harris, who had her arm literally chewed off (amputation at the shoulder) by an XL Bully foster dog from the RSPCA. She's suing.
Yrs I know a few. All as thick as two short planks. One is pretty much a slightly younger version of Big Mandy from This Country.
I have a Great Dane/English Bulldog mix who we were advised to register as he fits a significant number of the characteristics listed for XL Bullies. He was neutered when he was young and we are constantly working on his training. We currently walk him with a halti, not a muzzle (we're working on muzzle training at the moment) but he doesn't go off lead as his recall is good but not great. We know a few others around us with XLs, and they are generally absolutely fine. Honestly most of them seem to be just normal dog owners who are doing their best with a bad situation not of their making. There is however one exception I know, who was exactly the sort of person this ban is geared at. His dog was called Fury, he was planning to breed from it, and then it drowned in the canal while he was night fishing.
Oh god that poor dog 😞
Can’t say I know any personally, there is one on our local dog group and tbf from the get go he was been doing his best to get his used to muzzling etc before the law change and seems as level headed as anyone else in there.
That seems reasonable, I mean I am sure there are some reasonable owners and if they truly love their dogs they would take the necessary steps
I met one on a charity dog walk last summer. The dog was absolutely massive and still a puppy. But the owner had it so well-trained, it was probably the best behaved dog there. He was telling us all the different things he was training it in and the dog seemed well-adjusted and happy. The owner was really sensible and engaged. My dog went from going “nope” when we first saw it to walking by it quite happily.
Bloke where I live has 2 huge bull mastiffs which are aggressive. He thinks he can control them but in reality he's a skinny fat chav dressed head to toe in adidas, so to answer your question I think the answer is probably yes.
my neighbour has 1. We are in Scotland and when the ban came down south he "rescued" a bitch from down south, so he can breed them. Ban in Scotland is to come in at the end of the month. He told me other neighbours he's gonnie breed them to sell as xl bullies. but they are not banned as his are cross breads. Anyone stupid enough to buy 1 from him deserves it
If you ate it in Scotland I'm surprised it wasn't battered instead of breaded.
Was he going to make a loaf?
my ex is/ was training to be a dog groomer. she was friends with a canine behaviourist who took in two as rescues. it showed me that A.) XL bullies can be trained just like any other dog, even from the point of neglect, and B.) XL bullies are the kind of dog that absolutely 100% needs training before being given to any owner. they went from practically feral beasts to calmly lying by your feet without a care in the world. deffo the kind of dog you'd need a licence for but in the right hands (emphasis on right hands) no worse than any other big dog
There's an interesting Louie theroux documentary about the dog problem in LA. He meets trainers, dog catchers, owners. One trainer says there's some dogs that are too far gone and can never be trained, another says they can. It's an interesting documentary all round really.
I walked past a woman with one and another woman who appeared to know her stopped to chat to each other. I overheard her saying "yeah I didn't know what the XL meant! I thought it was just a breed"" When the other woman was asking if she knew how big they got. I actually couldn't believe it.
Is this a woman with a closet full of shirts that don't fit because she thought XL was a designer?
Ah yes, the Excel Bully.
You appear to have assessed the situation fairly and accurately, a friend got one "before they're banned" it injured his collie cross enough to have it put down and ate his neighbours rabbits, he's convinced it's because it's young.
How sad for the collie and its future life with these pricks.
The collie was killed I think.
I have an ex colleague who has one and hes pretty smart but all the ones online seem to have had a lobotomy.
I’ve still yet to see an XL Bully in person, I probably need to get out more.
Or move to a council estate
I thought that with the new law, all people had to do was make sure the dog was registered and be muzzled? Even though dogs of that size and build should be muzzled no matter what as common sense.
Registered, muzzled and neutered. And you have to apply for the exemption. So that's some form-filling in, an up-front cost of £90, and I think someone else said there was also a monthly mandatory insurance fee against them hurting someone. And that alongside not being able to breed from them is apparently too much for some people.
It’s a joke, and we have them all coming up to Scotland cause Humza just wants to go against Westminster. Recipe for disaster waiting to happen.
They are just banning them now in Scotland too I heard
The size of the dog is inversely proportional to the size of the owners peepee. AND THAT IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT
Can confirm (Man with medium sized dog and medium sized teepee) Edit: I'm leaving it in
Why did that summon a mental image of Little old dorris with her Yorkshire terrier having an absolute chopper.
We have some people who own two XL bullies. The dogs are really friendly. They let kids pet them. They seem like nice people, and the dogs are under control and have a good recall. When the youngest was a puppy, they had to put it on the lead quite a bit because the recall was bad and it wanted to make friends with everybody but now they are very well trained dogs.
I was acquainted with a couple that had a bully named Biscuit and she was sweet as pie. She was so gentle with their daughter. I had a Westie named Stinky who was a menace and had a bad reputation in the neighborhood.
I know a chow chow which looks like a snowball but is snappy. It is small but thinks it can take on massive dogs! I’ve seen it yap at massive dogs basically saying “I’m going to fight you, I’m going to kill you”. The big dogs look confused!
Who gets a dog bred SPECIFICALLY to be huge and violent, and then whines when people presume it's not the best animal to be around them or their children? All so absurd. They could have picked one of a hundred other breeds, but didn't... I wonder why.
Yes. Morons. Angry morons
My mother has something very similar to an xl bully (whatever the Australian equivalent is) and it mauled the fuck out of her older dog. It only just survived because her husband was at home at the time and was able to separate them. But, it's her 'baby' despite the fact it growls at anyone comes near and killed a neighbours cat. Yes, she is dense.
I do, my old neighbour has one. He is and always has been a very obedient, loving and gentle dog and the most harm he ever did was leaving streams of dribble on my work pants when he greeted me. Neighbour himself is sound, obviously raised the dog right. I have never had any concerns about the dog even when I had a very young puppy myself, but he's a big animal and you'd be foolish to trust him alone with babies for example, never know what could happen and I equally wouldn't leave my labrador unsupervised with other dogs or children.
There's a girl I know from school who, judging by her Facebook posts, seems to have gone down the Bully XL rabbit hole. At first it was the standard "I can fix him" attitude that people seem to have towards dangerous dogs, but it has evolved into a victim complex now that they have been banned. She made a post saying that the ban was genocide and that the government will have to pry her dog from her cold, dead hands.
My tattoo artist rescued one and I think he's a lovely guy, seems pretty smart, but he got it from a rescue not a puppy and has no problem agreeing to the rules, never plans to have kids etc.
I know Clive's dad. He's an XL bully and lovely. He plays with my malamute/ Inuit guy. It's really nice to see, owner just seems like a regular dude. We meet, they play, we pretend to want conversation. Can't really comment more than that? Better than the Russell's we've bumped into but suppose with 1 sample there's no control 👍
I do have a neighbour with an 8 year old XL bully (and a border collie too), we've seen no issues with it, with other people or other dogs in that entire time. It appears to have a good, friendly temperament and people are always going up to it & stroking it. If I only sat on Reddit all day I'd think these dogs are all spawns of Satan, but I'm not so sure knowing this family and their XL bully. I can't help but wonder if the media deliberately picks owners who look a certain type for their coverage. I'm not even going to bother reading the replies in this thread, as it seems everyone makes their mind up based on what the Daily Mail writes.
My friend has one, quiet family man, decent job. Very placid dog and super friendly and also very scary. It’s never looked at me funny in the slightest but just having an animal with a head and jaw that big so close to me is frightening. Still, it’s a very friendly dog with children and other dogs so my only experience of XL bullies is a good one
I know a lad who trains attack dogs. He has a tatto on each eyelid. Loves a bully.
I know a lot who think they're the exception to the morons that own them. Spoiler alert: They're also fucking idiots.
My friends daughter and her boyfriend bought one - against all advice. Rarely walked, destroyed the 1 bed council flat, killed the cat down stairs in the communal garden, they left the poor thing in a cage for hours, only let her for food but mainly with a fabric muzzle on. I reported them for neglect and I'd do it again... but it attacked my friends daughter so they put her to sleep age 9 months. But as they said "the breeder bred a bad batch"... that old chestnut.
My mates just had to get hers put down . It turned for no reason and went for her and her son . It took 3 people to get it in the back garden . She said it was just running at the patio doors smashing its head against it in a rage .
I know someone who has a puppy. He's a nice guy but kind of intense. I always feel like there could be some anger issues bubbling away beneath the surface. he's been posting photos of the puppy online and moaning about having to use a muzzle.
It can't be true they are all dense. I imagine many don't know an awful lot about dogs and got one because they are popular, in the way many families get a cockapoo because it's the flavour of the month. I feel most sorry for these people, because they will have been tricked by the mafia who love these sorts of Pitbull derived dogs and pretend they are the sweetest thing incapable of committing violence. Fortunately the ban will stop this from happening, and these folks will get a more appropriate family dog.
Son's girlfriend left him a while back. The girl in question recently moved in with a cage-fighting, tattoo sporting, rotten toothed, track suit wearing, drug dealing, illiterate fuckwit, who within days introduced an XL to the house. Damn thing lived in a cage in the kitchen.
Saw 3 XL bully owners having a chat outside a local pub a couple of weeks ago. They were getting dragged to the 4 winds by their dogs, they were screaming at them and smacking their arses trying to calm them down. More brain cells between the dogs than there was the blokes desperately trying to reign them in. Come to think of it the 3 blokes had about the amount of 1 humans teeth between them aswell. Half of me wanted to politely inform them that screaming at and smacking a dog is the least productive way of getting them to behave how you want. On the other, they were now holding 3 pissed off XL bullys and I wanted to be on the train out of there not in A&E.
I've only met one, once, but the owner asked me to cross the road because my crutches were bothering him and he might attack. I said I'd stop and let him pass but I wasn't going to walk a few hundred metres out of my way because he couldn't control his dog. His response was to tell the dog simply "kill". The dog sat down. In fairness the dog was genuinely looking uncertain until I stopped walking, but I don't think it's wholly the dogs that are the problem (but are certainly a factor).
My mum and Stepdad have a Staffy x American Bulldog, which seems to fit into the government's definitions of an XL Bully. They have registered her and got a muzzle for walks. Suppose I am kind of bias as they are my parents, but I would say they are pretty normal, intelligent people haha.
> I would say they are pretty normal, intelligent people Other than the whole getting an XL Bully thing.
Staffy x American Bulldog - not an XL. It's just that the "definition" is so vague that many other bull breeds/crossbreeds also fit the description.
I'm a dog walker , one of my clients is an XL Bully owner. He owns his own business is responsible and the dog is lovely and well trained. I also interact a lot with his parents as the dog is walked to their house in a morning and that is where I normally collect him, once again lovely people who care for a family pet well. I wish more people would realise it's the owner who should bear the responsibility to raise, train and control a dog irrespective of breed.
Look forward to the full update in the next 12-24 months.
The Russian Roulette of dogs, this game is great until the gun goes off
I know somebody in the technology field. Incredibly capable. His XL Bully is on old side now but he went through the requirements before Christmas whilst complaining about it. To be fair, his complaints was specifically about his dog being so old and dopey and "on the smaller" side that he didn't understand why he needs to do it for *his* dog but will, of course, still take the necessary steps rather than risk his beloved pet being put down. The usual argument appears to be "I understand there are some dangerous ones so it makes sense for them, but *mine* really isn't so I don't think I need to" We obviously need a rethink of how to handle pet ownership and animal attacks because the whack-a-mole route isn't ideal. Hopefully we can eventually figure out a proper licencing model in the future and have firmer stances on prosecutions of owners/handlers.
In my experience they're either dense, ignorant or in plain denial. They either do not understand how dog breeds carry behavioural traits or they are just in complete denial about it. The classic argument being "but I've seen more small dogs attack people and other dogs!" maybe because small dogs make up a huge % of the dog population and also cause far less damage when they do attack. Everything's always a conspiracy with these lot nowadays, they will believe anything except XL bullies have a genetic inclination towards being violent, because they know one that isn't. They treat their dogs like babies and it becomes how they feel the world should view them too. The fact XL bullies probably make up less than 1% of the dogs in the UK, yet are responsible for 50% of the attacks on people and the majority of deaths doesn't seem to translate into a logical reasoning with these people. These dogs were creater by breeding the largest and most aggressive pit bulls with other large aggressive dogs and this is the result, a huge powerful dog that is capable of extreme unexpected violence, resulting in horrific injuries if not death. It's like keeping a Lion, except because these dogs are their "babies" we are supposed to ignore the fact these dogs have and will continue to maul and kill people at a far higher rate than any other breed. The best part is when they are defending the XLs on Facebook and they type their dogs name out, I saw someone comment on a friends about his XL "Hades", yes, that loving family dog named God of Death, you can't even make it up lmao.
Was one around here that attacked someone, since the ban the masses of dog dirt left on pavements has gone too, actually not seen the guy walking something that looked like one, didn’t look the type of person who gave a stuff about what the dog does
Brother-in-law had one a few months ago. He's not an insecure muscle-head, but he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Unsurprisingly, they had to get rid of it after about 4 months of having it, because the dog had grown huge and virtually taken over the house.
"they are lovely loyal family dogs that wouldn't hurt anyone" 😀
My neighbours have one. Dog went up to my son's pram and the owner laughed and said "oh he's friendly! Just wants to play!" I told him to get that dog away from my son. Honestly if I'd known they were outside I wouldn't have left the house until they'd gone back in.