Posted on 02/04/2024 5:12:21 PM PST by nickcarraway
A ban on American XL bully dogs came into effect Thursday in England and Wales after a spate of violent attacks. Owners now must apply for an exemption, which requires proof of neutering and liability insurance, if they want to keep their pets. All XL bullies must be muzzled and kept on a leash in public.
Before 2021, there were only about three fatal dog attacks per year in the U.K. Since 2021, however, there have been at least 23, many of which have involved American XL bullies, according to CBS News partner network BBC News.
"These dogs aren't cared for by the breeders — they just want money — so from the greed at the start (and) irresponsible ownership in the middle, we've got children dying," Emma Whitfield, whose 10-year-old son was killed by an American XL bully in 2021, said last September.
"My youngest son started comprehensive school last week, and he should have had his big brother showing him the ropes, but he's had to do it on his own. We're missing a massive piece of our family," Whitfield added.
What is an American XL bully?
An American bully is not identified by the U.K. Kennel Club as a specific dog breed. Rather, it is a type of bulldog that is the result of mixing several dog breeds, including Pit Bulls, American Bulldogs, and English Bulldogs.
The U.K. government published guidance to help identify the dogs in which it describes them as having "a muscular body and blocky head, suggesting great strength and power for [their] size."
Before the addition of American XL bullies, the selling, owning, breeding and abandoning of four other dog breeds was illegal in the U.K.: the Pit bull terrier, the Dogo Argentino, the Japanese Tosa and the Fila Brasileiro.
If someone has a dog that is one of these breeds, it can be taken by police, even if there have been no complaints against it.
Difficult to enforce
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to ban American Bully XLs in September 2023 after 52-year-old Ian Price was attacked and killed by two of the dogs. Members of the public attempted to help Price but were unable to get the dogs off of him.
Mark Hobrough, a police chief from the U.K.'s National Police Chiefs' Council, said the new ban would create "logistical challenges" for officers by sparking an increased demand for kennel space ahead of court rulings on whether dogs should be euthanized.
Over 35,000 dogs in the U.K. are already registered for American XL bully exemptions.
Nowhere in my post did I advocate instituting a ban on any breeds. But I stand 100% by the fact in what I did post.
And that includes the predilection of various breeds for violence.
Read the legislation.
It’s not a ban.
I’ll disagree. As a woman I’ve owned a few German Shepherds as did my sister.
I started at age 15 with a dominant female. (Dominant does NOT mean aggressive, people.). She was the best dog I have ever even heard of, but I had no illusions and luckily in the ‘80s we still had some serious dog-training classes with Koehler. I was 125 lbs but 5’10 in her lifetime.
Ended up with another one at age 32 or so, similar build but submissive. Got to about average 150 lbs myself for her, still trained her seriously via Koehler. Both dogs were about 60-90 lbs, depending on health status (never fat, just latter dog had lots of meds).
My sister started later in her life with them, getting oversized GS males of the German type. Sister was about 5’7”, being around 140 lbs with first set and older than I started. Dogs were about 110 lbs. good dogs, all of those 4 died with us. We didn’t have any trouble.
Number one key is getting puppies, and then proper attitude. Then conditioning and training.
It doesn’t matter, because “pit-Bull terrier” is a type, not a breed. Just as terrier itself is a type.
Greyhounds are types, spitzes are types, molossars, etc. in the case of PBT, many breeds fall under that, as do mutts who obviously include the physical type.
A few years back Mrs L nearly died due to a single bite on her finger from a 20 pound Jack Russell Terrier.
Infection set in and in less than 48 hours she was in the hospital getting intravenous antibiotics for over a week followed by some pretty tricky surgery to clean out the wound.
ANY dog can be dangerous.
L
I’m totally in favor of holding the owners accountable.
That has nothing to do with whether the article explained the XL Bully dog, which is not, it says, a REGISTERED breed, but is a mix of several known breeds. It appears that some breeders are trying to create a breed that could be registered (and increase their sale prices), which takes several canine generations.
That does not make the British “stupid”, as you claimed, given the astonishing number of such dogs—the article says “35,000 dogs in the U.K. already registered for American XL bully exemptions.”
Those 35,000 XLBs are now identifiable if they bite someone. The new law also means the authorities may go after breeders who have advertised such dogs and confiscate them before any more breeding goes on. Any future XLBs will be black market, but possibly idenifiable by DNA or ownership records.
The physical description in the text was to point out to the reading public that they may have one living near them, or that if they are bit by a dog of that description, they can investigate if the owner applied for an XL Bully exemption, which would increase the legal liability of the offending dogs’s owner.
I find it very easy. Most American slang isn’t exactly sophisticated.
Certainly not when compared to Cockney slang, Polari, and gobbledegook (per Carry On Regardless), which are intentionally baffling to the uninitiated.
As for modern slang, Roger’s Profanisaurus is your friend. Guess what “Sink the Bismarck” is.
The concept of excessively convoluted slang is brilliantly sent up in “Cockneys vs Zombies” where even the Cockneys need an explanation as to how “Trafalgars” is rhyming slang for “zombies”.
In EastEnders, Mo Harris (played by Gary Oldman’s sister) confused people by talking about her “Chalfonts”. Villages in Buckinghamshire.
One of them is Chalfont St Peter... But this is about the other Chalfont.
Chalfont St Giles.
Chalfonts, Giles; Farmer Giles; Piles. From the Latin for balls. Arse grapes. Haemorrhoids.
No, it does not.
Bostons actually we’re pit-bull terrier types. They bred out the nastiness. Frenchies are still Bulldogs, from which PBTs sprang along with extra tenacity from terriers, but again, the fight has been bred out of them.
Whatever type or breed we discuss, it is NOT akin to an inanimate object like a gun. Dogs are animals with minds of their own. Ability to perambulate on their own. All of which make them completely unlike guns or cars or any other manufactured or even plant object you want to bring up.
As far as you wife…infection? Not the same as being torn to pieces by a dog bent on destruction. Which is what they were bred for, and genetics matters.
I see I was correct in my assessment.
Infection can set in with any animal bite or any interaction with the environment resulting in scratches.
You cannot seriously compare infection to the mauling itself (loss of blood, etc). Sorry, absurd.
I think you misinterpreted some of my post. I was not suggesting that you were advocating Banning certain breeds. I was pointing out that a lot of people are.
“Frenchies are still Bulldogs, from which PBTs sprang along with extra tenacity from terriers, but again, the fight has been bred out of them.”
Incorrect. About two years ago we purchased a retired stud Frenchie. He went back to the breeder 8 months later after his third completely unprovoked attack on Mrs L. I wanted to have the animal destroyed but Mrs L insisted we return it to the breeder.
It’s a long story but suffice it to say there will be no more French Bulldogs in this house.
Ever.
L
Yes, and occasional Bull Terriers, also originally part of this subtype, also go berserk.
Your anecdote does not jibe with the rule.
Meanwhile the anecdotes of thousands about PBT subtypes, coupled with the facts they actually do try to kill people and others, not just plant a bite on them, goes denied.
If you don’t want a Frenchie that’s fine, but the defense of the indefensible…wow. People are more accurate when they say PBTs are like Moslems than like firearms.
Freepers obsessed with pits should be grateful there are not as many rotts in America as what the media call pit bull type dogs which by some estimates is 15-20%
Rotts are far more potent people killers
I’m on my sixth rottie cat age 66
You have to bluff them you are the all powerful alpha pack God from early in
A 125 pound plus uncut male Rott is formidable
If that’s not enough you can move on to cane corso or presas etc
Dogos seem tough too
I’ve owned pits and my issue was male pits almost always will hit another male dog who is not immediately submissive
But I didn’t find them guard oriented at all whereas my rotts have all been instinctively
My current Rommel is strictly family
And a few kids who has known for years
People not willing to put in the time to establish some level of control over territorial aggressive breeds shouldn’t have them
That said I’m grateful chihuahuas are tiny
God help us a 100 pound chihuahua
I love em though
I have a chorgi too but he’s a pup
Sweet dog and Rommel loves the company since his brother Patton got killed
I don’t mean this mean but I’ve found most bulldog variations dull
German Shepherds are the best.
I'll second that!
Very smart
Had two in my youth
I had a client that bred Standard Poodles and I helped him screen them for several genetic diseases. They had wonderful attitudes and I bought two of them and enjoy their companionship and intelligence as they can be used for anything from retrievers to guard dogs.
I didn't mention Dogos, Corsos, Presas, Akitas or Mastiffs as there aren't many of them but the ones I've seen were aggressive and difficult to handle. There are many breeds that should only be owned by responsible knowledgeable dog owners.
It started with the Omen
First ones I saw was 75 at the Ramada in Oxford
I loved em
Like Dobies many are poorly bred
I got mine from Serbia
Last three anyhow
My wife was apprehensive her being a Cocker spaniel herself
But now he sleeps with us and goes everywhere with me
All over America the chorgi too
I find I love dogs even more now as a geezer
I always recognize their presence depending on their mood
Dogs crave to be acknowledge by humans whom I think they simply view as other dogs who walk funny and have different skill sets
They stand there tail wagging waiting to at least be spoken to
You’d know better than me with your experience
I’ve never been bitten by a dog but a pit bull behind a fence tried once when we were smoke test surveying sewer lines in the hood in Jax summer 76
It was close call
I think we are on the same page. I am not for a lot of legislation types of things, government is already damned large enough.
If they put people in jail for life if their dog kills someone, I would have no problem with that.
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