18/09/2023
I've been radio silent on here as this year has been a year of surgery and recovery for me but sometimes things come up that break a radio silence.
The XL bully ban is a topic that many dog lovers of all walks of life, professional trainers, vets, behaviourists, breeders etc have immediately blasted as cruel and unethical.
I don't agree. I think the ban is necessary at this stage to save the dogs that are already here.
Of course, if we are forced to cull all existing XL bullies that is unethical and cruel, 100%. Any life is precious but to put an end to breeding to prevent further population of XL bullies I agree with. Not because I hate the breed, because something has gone very, very wrong and the facts don't lie. These dogs can and have killed but so have many other breeds yet few if any have the same death toll as the very NEW XL bully.
Of course not every XL bully will kill a human, no-one is saying that but the sad truth is, humans got greedy and power hungry and have created a mix that is volatile and there are increasing numbers of life changing injuries and killings being reported.
It's genetics that make dogs look a certain way and that's how we type our dogs into a specific breed category on first looking at them. You can walk past a dog and have a good guess as what breed they are.
Their phenotype tells us what they are and how they are likely to behave because to look a certain way your genotype has to be a certain way..... they go hand in hand and most breeds now have long histories to look back on and see how they behaved so we can make educated assumptions on what we are likely to get if we bring home a certain breed.
BUT It's "nature" ( not so natural because we select the dogs now it's not natural selection) so this is never 100% there is always the odd one out.
However, we can say with some certainty that border collie will instinctively heard, a CKCS will be loveable and friendly, a German Shepherd will be protective, a husky will pull on lead.
Of course the environment a dog is raised in will affect them but to say it's the owners at fault and nothing to do with the breed is uneducated and blindsided.
XL bullies have been bred to look powerful, strong and intimidating. Of course it's a certain type of person buying a dog with those looks. Just the same as it a certain type of person that gets a cocker spaniel or a greyhound so it's easy to say it's the owners that are at fault but truthfully the issue is the breeding, the mix and the greed of breeders.
Something needed to change or the situation was only going to get worse.
Humans need to understand what they are doing when breeding, mixing breeds, like a fun experiment with no care for what the cons of that mix might be is selfish, unethical and cruel and sadly now many dogs will have to give up their freedom because of it.
Breeders need to be held accountable for every single dog they bring into this world for the life of that dog.
Many things need to change and not just in regards to the XL bully.
If you have a XL bully in your family, I pray you guide them safely through this storm.
Muzzle train them in preparation for the restricts they are likely to face because someone took it too far, neuter them to save their life, get them comfortable walking well on lead.
Do whatever you have to do to keep your XL bully alive.
But please know, this issue was caused by humans exploiting animals once more, a fight I think we will always have on our hands.
I have recommended different breeds be put to sleep because of aggression and safety concerns at my 1:2:1 consults, often to the shock of an owner but sometimes we have to accept the genetic just weren't right and the dog was not happy.
I never want to end a dogs life but sometimes it truly is the only ethical option.
A happy dog is what I fight for.
