Pit bull attack on golden retriever

Due to the increasing incidence of attacks by pit bull terriers and related breeds on other dogs and their owners, the UK decided to ban the ownership of American Bully XL dogs from February 1, 2024. The latest attack was caught on video and widely circulated online.

The owner of a golden retriever walks him on a leash past the front gate of someone's house. Suddenly, a pit bull dog appears in front of him and his dog. It is no larger in size than a retriever (about 25 kg), and maybe smaller, but the retriever fearfully hides behind its owner. The black pit bull immediately begins to attack, jumps and closes its jaws on the golden retriever's neck, trying to pull him onto the road.

Notice how two adult men are trying to restrain a fighting dog, how tightly it grabs the enemy’s throat and how difficult it is to pull it away. It took about a minute to deal with it.

The video was published on social networks by activists of the Bull Watch organization, which disseminates information about attacks by dogs of the XL bully breed (American bully variety XL).

“Dogs of this breed have a much larger jaw. Add to this 20-40 kg of weight and muscle, and you understand what makes the XL bully uniquely dangerous,” the video description reads.

Bully XL as a separate breed was registered relatively recently (in 2004). The breed was bred on the basis of American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers with the addition of bulldog blood. She has four varieties, XL is the largest. Height at withers: 51-57 cm, lifespan: 8-12 years, weight: 30-60 kg.

The reason for the large number of aggressive XL bullies in the UK is that several British breeders have concentrated on breeding aggressive individuals.

There have been 24 fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2020. The youngest victim, Elon Jace Ellis-Jones, was only 12 days old. Elon is one of seven children killed by a dog in the past three years. The oldest dog attack victim, Shirley Patrick, died at the age of 83. This year there have already been six cases of fatal attacks by XL bullies on people.

Next year, from February 1, a ban on keeping these dangerous dogs will come into force in the UK. It makes it a criminal offense to own a Bully XL unless you have an exemption from the ban. So far, more than 4,000 owners of such dogs have applied for an exemption from the ban.