Demands for American bulldogs to be banned in the UK have reached new levels following a spate of reported dog attacks.
Experts have been divided in the debate, which was sparked when Vauxhall grandmother Ann Dunn was viciously mauled to death by her son's three-year-old pet, Bronx. No criminal charges followed after the "one-in-a-million" nan died from her injuries on Monday October 3, 2022.
Animal charity PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals) called for a complete ban on the breed - but specialist dog trainers say education and training is the key.
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Lisa Lowe, a professional dog trainer accredited by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT), frequently trains American bulldogs and other large, powerful dogs at the Canine Quarter, Birkenhead.
She said: "I have no problem with the breed if they're trained properly. The trouble is people are buying them as status symbols.
"They see all these images of XL American bulldogs on Instagram and TikTok with their ears cut and they think it looks cool. But it's actually very sad.
"I think a lot of education needs to be done about getting puppies into puppy classes, working them around other people to socialise them. I encourage people with bull breeds to come to my classes even if I have to offer discounts to get them in. Bull breeds can be the most loving, affectionate dogs. My own Jack Russells are well-behaved, but not as cuddly as a bulldog. But right now, we're not seeing the numbers coming in."
Mrs Dunn, 65, is believed to have been savagely attacked after she tried to break up a fight between two of her son's American bulldogs at her St Brigid's Crescent home on October 3 last year. She suffered "catastrophic" injuries to her arms, legs and neck, including broken bones and bite marks "down to the bone".
In April, dog walker Ian Symes was attacked and killed by his friend's XL American bulldog, Kong, in a public park in Fareham, Hampshire. Later that month, a three-year-old boy from Rotheram had a lucky escape when he was bitten by his neighbour's XL bully.
PETA’s vice-president of programmes, Elisa Allen, said: "People must stop denying the irrefutable fact that most serious and fatal dog attacks are by “bully” breeds, deliberately created by humans to be easily provoked into fighting without being distracted or deterred from a kill.
"These dogs are bred to be strong-jawed and ultra-muscular, with a trigger that we do not yet understand. When dogs attack humans, it can certainly be because the dog has been tormented, over-disciplined, beaten, poorly socialised, isolated, or restricted in their movement by caging or chaining by a current or previous owner, but that isn’t always the case.
"'Bully' breeds have been selectively bred for over a century specifically to attack. Uncomfortable as it may be to face, the way to prevent more attacks is to stop allowing these types of dogs to be bred."
But Lisa said American bulldogs were just the latest in a long line of dog breeds being demonised due to the actions of irresponsible owners - with German shepherds facing a similar backlash in the 70s, and Rottweilers and dobermans in the 80s.
She said: "As a breed, I don't think they need to be banned if they're kept in the right conditions. Most dog attacks happen in the home, rarely on the streets against strangers, so I think the public is generally safe. It's the owners who are most at risk, and it's often because the dogs aren't trained, they're not walked enough, and they're not given enough to fulfill their needs.
"I think social media has a lot to do with it. Just like when 101 Dalmatians was released and everyone wanted a dalmatian, and when Finding Nemo was released everyone wanted a clownfish. People are easily influenced, and half the issue is people get these dogs because it looks tough, without doing any research, without knowing what the breed needs.
"They need firm training, puppy classes from an early age; they need to be socialised, to be controlled in a public place. Not only do we have to provide them with physical stimulation, they need mental stimulation. They're quite intelligent and catch on quickly."
According to the Americal Kennel Club, early socialisation and puppy training classes are vital in channeling the American Bulldog's energy. The breed requires "a firm but loving hand to establish and retain proper boundaries".
The American Bulldog is a descendant of the smaller, stouter English Bulldog, bred in the early 1700s to take down feral cattle and pigs on rural farms. As a result, they are very powerful, and can be aggressive due to their protective instincts.
Lisa said: "All dogs have a predatory motor pattern, and it stems from when dogs were wild animals, tracking and scenting animals, stalking, chasing and killing. You see it in working Jack Russells and other small terriers bred for keeping rats under control; they go back to being predators.
"Similarly, all bull breeds were bred for the purpose of exterminating something. Sometimes if you have an XL bully playing with a small fluffy puppy and that puppy cries or yelps, the bully may think it's prey, and instinct takes over."
But she added: "I don't think we need to ban the breed. Obviously, if a dog does attack and kill a human, that dog does need to be euthanised. It's not safe in a public place. But that can happen with many other breeds - German shepherds can do just as much damage as an XL bully. We need to think about the deed and not and not the breed when it comes to the dangerous dog act."
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