Felt heart broken today

In the UK dog licences were abolished in 1987, a big mistake. The licensing system helped unlicensed dogs, mostly with less desirable owners, to be identified. With modern microchipping, it would have given the possibility of greater control over dog ownership.  The confiscation of unlicensed dogs before they attack someone would be possible and the licence fee could be used to fund dog wardens and mandatory dog training courses.

I Sperg said:

But yeah, some people should not be allowed to live with animals

It's a pity it's only seen as a problem when such people have larger animals

Some people should not. 

I'm not sure it is just larger breeds that can cause a problem, in fact, but yes, that's the perception.

It's true that dogs, including the Bully, can be trained well and may pose little threat to humans.

But unfortunately, many people want them just because they're attack dogs. They're a status symbol, of a sort.

As for the law punishing dogs, it should, it does sometimes, but the resources just aren't there now. After my dog was attacked by an Alsatian cross, no collar, no lead, owner unrepentant, the police told me it was a civil matter - most likely because they didn't want the bother of getting involved. It was only because I knew the law and insisted that any action was taken. The dog now has a harness and muzzle when out, but no collar, which it should.

The Bully xl is an inherently aggressive breed, which is why there are restrictions placed on ownership in many countries.

You're right, many are probably lovely dogs with good training. All the same, there were about 600 dog attacks on humans during the last 3 years, so that's one every few days, and not counting those which aren't reported, doubtless more.

The Bully xl is responsible for 50% of deaths by dog attack in the UK - not all children, but so what- which is a significant percentage and presumably why owners are being asked to muzzle them in public. 

As has already been suggested here, it's not a big deal. 

I get that people bleat if the pesky authorities say they can't do what they want all the time, but tbh, a bit of social responsibility wouldn't be a bad thing. 

I've always disliked Dogs, my parents had Alsations, and they are inclined to get "bitey" at the drop of a hat, and frankly they aren't very nice to live with.

So to find myself in my mid fifties confronted by a new friends 2 xl bullys was a bit of a big ask...

The one frankly was old and disinterested in being aggressive or even, interested in me, but the other one...

...Ended up parking herself on me when I visited and really, really liked an ear rub. She was utterly lovely, like a huge cat in personality. I could not believe how utterly charming and gentle she was...

Eventually they died, having harmed no one, and my friend got himself a new "killer dog" pup.

At first it was all that I didn't like, noisy interfering and semi aggressive, but it hasn't taken my friend long to "educate" him. 

He still goes bonkers when I walk in, but it really is a welcome, and he's almost got the hang of leaving me mostly alone afterwards..

I know it's horrible that ANY child should be savaged by such an animal, but I'd like to see some figures that show how many of such dogs there are and what percentage of them attack humans, just in case we should be concentrating our efforts and legal resources on more statistically likely threats to our children?

We already have laws to punish dog owners who's dogs attack people, just as we have laws to punish people who attack people. I didn't see aggressive people being muzzled preventatively...

About 1500 children however go properly missing per year I read the other day, (and I briefly checked the data with our .gov website) which appears to me to be a far more pressing problem than the occasional dog incident.

And big dangerous animals CAN be well behaved and gentle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKwKysk5rEw

But yeah, some people should not be allowed to live with animals

It's a pity it's only seen as a problem when such people have larger animals.. 

Ditto what Pegg said.
Be proud of yourself for those 17 days.

MM, 17 days is a real achievement, it's tough to quit. 

Next time it'll be longer, you'll get there, if you still want to

Oh Pegg i lost it on the 17th Day.
I let myself down, i really struggled.
I could not realistly keep it up.
Thank you for your support, i just leftt myself down again.

It can, but unfortunately they're so powerful it's just too much of a risk. And the people who are the least likely to train them out of aggressive behaviour are also the most likely to be drawn to big and threatening breeds. 

In an ideal world you could filter out the bad owners and keep them in the hands of people who'd raise them well, but that's not really doable. Muzzling and neutering is just the least bad option. 

Lol!

But in seriousness- 

Owners are responsible for their dogs (though you'd never guess!) And should have them under control. If everyone did that, accidents would rarely happen. 

As for breeds inclined to aggression, I wonder why people want them really. I mean, I know, but it's stupid.

MM, I hope your post-Christmas quitting is still on!

Pegg, you and me need to sit down and have a serious talk !
lol.
Love your sense of Humour.

The Reality of the Return of the, Vile, Cameron into the Cabinet. He's a walking minefield. Labour's biggest asset.

All to pay for perpetual War. And the migrants who come, as a result.

There's nought but a whisker between threads and shreds. 

And they rhyme!

But yeah, me too. 

Sorry... SHREDS...

In all fairness, i would rather see an xl puppy wearing a muzzle than ripping a child to threads.

I do understand to a point as a dog owner myself but to see an innocent puppy with a muzzle on was horrible. My dog she a 12 year old Dalmatian who is deaf she was born deaf had a horrific start in life almost got put to sleep luckily was saved and I adopted her. Beautiful dog loves everyone no aggression whatsoever. But used to try to bite people when startled I trained her out of it and I believe that with pit bulls and bully XLs the same can be done. 

It's really not a huge deal. My dog wears a muzzle for different reasons (he struggles with self control and people are animals who throw their chicken bones on the pavement) and if he sees it as a terrible cruelty to have it on, he doesn't show it. So the negative side isn't big. 

And on the other side, countless people and other dogs are saved being killed or maimed. It's a fact that serious dog attacks have increased dramatically in the last few years and it's also a fact that bullies have been responsible for a huge percentage of those, especially when you consider how few of them there are. My dog got beaten up by another dog who was thankfully wearing a muzzle (so he was limited to punching him, and he was still hurt by that); if that dog wasn't muzzled he wouldn't have survived.