Felt heart broken today

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.. 

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 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.