Advice - neighbours XL bully dog

Suzycoll

Hi all

I have my relatives dog staying. I normally take him to the beach. I have not been well enough for a big walk, so took him to a green area in middle of my cul de sac. Just 10 mins throw ball for him and back to house.

Yesterday, a dog came out of nowhere at such a speed I didn't even see him coming. Went towards my dog, didn't bite but was aggressive.
Equally as quickly neighbour came running over, picked him up (no collar) and mutterd " dunno how he got out ". 
I then realised it came from neighbours house a few doors down. Took him back & didn't say a word.

Hears the quandry - I think it may be an XL bully ? I'm not an expert but certainly looked like one. As nothing really happened (except scared me & dog to death) I'm not sure if to do anything?

I'm very worried as guy has children in the house.

Also worried if I should have had my dog off lead throwing ball on green? 

I am aware I can report to crime stoppers anonymously but he will obvs know it's me !

Thoughts ? 

Emmia

I'd report.

If you don't, how would you feel if there was an "incident" at the house where someone is injured, (or worse).

elsien

He is obviously comfortable with his dog around his own children, and that is his decision to make. 

XL bully dogs who  were registered prior to the ban are legal to own but should be muzzled and on lead in public, but a lot of people mistake other  breeds for XL bullies, Particularly mastiff type dogs, where there are no such restrictions.
if it is XL and reported then potentially the dog could be seized and put down and the owner prosecuted. 

If it was me, and as there was no harm done, I would firstly check with my other neighbours whether this is a regular recurrence or a one off and then probably speak to the person about my concerns. I wouldn’t be reporting for what was probably  an accident. If the dog had wanted to hurt yours, it would have  done so I do wonder what you mean by saying it was aggressive?
 I get that it’s very scary for both you and your dog but to me this  is about proportionality. And not all XLs  are vicious thugs who will turn in an instant.

Your dog being off lead is a different issue and not really relevant,. 

Ayr_Rage

Leave well alone, nothing bad actually happened.

Emmia

elsien said:

He is obviously comfortable with his dog around his own children, and that is his decision to make. 

XL bully dogs should be muzzled and on lead in public, but a lot of people mistake other  breeds for XL bullies, Particularly mastiff type dogs, where there are no such restrictions.
if it is XL and reported then potentially the dog could be seized and put down and the owner prosecuted. 

If it was me, and as there was no harm done, I would firstly check with my relative whether this is a regular recurrence or a one off and then probably speak to the person about my concerns. I wouldn’t be reporting for what was probably  an accident. If the dog had wanted to hurt yours, it would have  done. I get that it’s very scary for both you and your dog but to me this  is about proportionality.

I think that's often the problem - people are comfortable with what may be a dangerous dog with their own children, until of course something happens.

Deaths and serious injuries are often reported with comments like "the dog had never acted like that before" "it's a total softie",  "I'd never have left children /elderly relatives with my dog otherwise"... 

Suzycoll

Emmia said:

I'd report.

If you don't, how would you feel if there was an "incident" at the house where someone is injured, (or worse).

Yes that's my main worry really

Thanks for advice 

elsien

it is legal to own one if properly registered. if the dog hadn’t escaped, the fact that it is in a house with children would be completely irrelevant. You saying it’s in the house with children is a major concern in your next actions, but that is allowed under the law. so you are worrying about something that is legal and is allowed. You may think it’s a poor  decision, but that doesn’t make a difference under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

if it is an XL, which it may may not be, the only concern is that it managed to get out, not who else lives in the house as far as the law is concerned. if the dog is not regularly escaping I would not want to see a family pet put down for no reason other than an owner who made one mistake. 

Talking to him to ensure it doesn’t happen again (once you’ve checked it is indeed an XL) would be the route I would go down. 

I am presuming that your neighbour is a responsible type has registered the dog. I don’t know if there’s a way of finding out if that is the case or not other than by reporting. if he’s a gang looking type on a dodgy  estate, my presumption may be different.

Suzycoll

elsien said:

He is obviously comfortable with his dog around his own children, and that is his decision to make. 

XL bully dogs should be muzzled and on lead in public, but a lot of people mistake other  breeds for XL bullies, Particularly mastiff type dogs, where there are no such restrictions.
if it is XL and reported then potentially the dog could be seized and put down and the owner prosecuted. 

If it was me, and as there was no harm done, I would firstly check with my other neighbours whether this is a regular recurrence or a one off and then probably speak to the person about my concerns. I wouldn’t be reporting for what was probably  an accident. If the dog had wanted to hurt yours, it would have  done so I do wonder what you mean by saying it was aggressive?
 I get that it’s very scary for both you and your dog but to me this  is about proportionality. And not all XLs  are vicious thugs who will turn in an instant.

Your dog being off lead is a different issue and not really relevant,. 

Thanks for your input

I have checked with one neighbour who didn't seem bothered! Said he didn't even know the guy had a dog ( neither did I ). As far as I am aware this dog has not been seen in the neighborhood before.

By aggressive I mean he growled at my dog & I believe he definitely would have attacked my dog if guy hadn't picked him up so quickly (no idea how he picked him up as he looked big & heavy).

It all happened so quickly. What makes me more suspicious is guy clearly didn't want to interact with me - clear he wanted to get back to his house as quickly as he could.

elsien

Because he knows his dog could be seized and he was probably panicking. If it was an XL.

Again if I were him, I would’ve come and apologised and explained and assured you it wouldn’t happen again. That’s why I’m suggesting you talk to him, to say if it does happen again, you will be reporting. Accidental escapes happen as a one off - they shouldn’t happen any more than that.

eastcorkram

As nobody seems to have known he has a dog, maybe it's not even his, and he was just looking after it for a few hours. 

ian1246

Report it. If its an XL bully a responsible owner will have registered it and no harm will be done.

If on the other hand its an XL Bully and unregistered, that means the owner has knowingly ignored the law and, when you factor in he's already lost control of the dog once (who's to say it won't get out again, this time savaging a dog or child), he would clearly be an individual with no personal responsibility or control of the dog who absolutely should not own a dangerous dog.

You could be saving lives by doing so.