took our dogs to a well known beaty spot yester day where alot of dog walkers go (more socialisation for bullmastiff pup)things were going pretty good when these 2 young lads 12yrs at most came along with what looked like a bullmastiff noticing it didnt have a mask i asked what type of dog it was .bullmastiff x pitbull  8 yrs old was their reply with that they let it of the lead almost straight away it ran into the river trying to attack another dog(not in play)these lads then struggled to get it to come back to them to put it back on a lead.THIS DOG WAS BIG What on earth were the owners doing letting these children take out a powerfull breed of dog for a walk when they couldnt controll it i was so shocked what if it was a child being attacked.Who on earth would want to x a bullmastiff with a pit bull terrier surely thats asking for trouble.Im not saying that the dog was viciouse but it certainly was with other dogs.didnt stick around after that their was no way i was going to put children or my dogs at risk with this one.what started out as a nice day was ruined.

Hi there

Were you able to report this to the Police? I know some forces will respond to a dog acting aggresively

Lube

no i didnt report it to the police.maybe i should have ?
why cross these to breeds of dog?
hard mans dog ?
accidental mating ?
fighting machine ?
and then let two children out with it that is so iresponsible. it didnt look like it had been socialised properly or trained hence attacking the other dog luckily the other dog ran off to its owner.no harm done.
does anyone know if there is a law on something like this?

This makes me so cross because where I live we have all kinds of crossed breeds - mostly staffies, bull terriers, mastiffs, rotties etc - and its all look at me I've got a big vicious looking dog (no offence meant to these breeds). Then its the kids that get left to look after them and they can't control them, they're not on leads and I for one just avoid them at all costs.

I've a difficult dog myself but when one of these dogs run up and "start" I'm really scared as I know there will be a fight and I've been bitten in the past trying to stop it.  I would like to see some kind of legislation that says dogs on footpaths must be on a lead, no exceptions.  Sorry to everyone with very well behaved dogs but it would make life easier. 

CG

that sounds terrible i think that having a dog like that is really to suit peoples images at having an really agressive dog and it is seen as looking 'cool'
personally im not sure that this dog would have been bred for fighting it was maybe someone looking for a big powerfull dog that is agressive as if it had been a fighting dog surely no one would let this dog out of their site .
if you reprt this to the police the dog will almost surely be out to sleep and will lead an enquirey as to has a pit bull that has not been neutured or spayed in other words there could be more ofthese dogs around

i own a staffy and i have 3 kids i never let my kids walk her unless iam with them plus i always have her on the lead unless iam on the field and there is no one else about i do this i know what this breed can be like she is socialised but i do it for my own peace of mind plus she can get very boistreous especially with kids she jumps up and likes to lick but most people think staffys are vicious and think when she jumps ups she is going to savage someone its a shame people think like that but when they come across what you encounted iam not surprised they think like that and as for x the two dogs is just ridicoulos its thease type of people that give respectable owners of bull breeds the bad name

According to the DDA, in the UK pit bull terriers have to be neutered, microchipped, tatooed and muzzled in public. As far as the law is concerned anything crossed with a pit bull is a pit bull. The trouble is that most people back then when the DDA was first brought didn't actually know what a pit bull looked like and they probably wouldn't know now. The opinion seems to be that they are just like an oversize staffy and that just isn't true. If this dog is a pit bull cross and is only 8 years old then the fact that it was bred at all is illegal. Ohe yes and you are not allowed to rehome/sell a pit bull either, if you cannot keep it then it has to pts.

It is HIGHLY unlikely that this is a genuine pit x........

Its far more likely that it is a staffy type (wont be a kc reg staff, will be the 'council estate' type longer legged longer faced staff, the kind im surrounded by where i live) x bullmastiff.

Those who still have and breed genuine pitbulls in this country just do NOT breed them to any old dog, they are in it for the fighting and the money and breeding fancy crossbreeds means they are more likely to get caught and thus end of lucrative fighting stuff.

Nevertheless, an aggressive dog, in the care of minors is i believe an offence and personally, i would have reported it.

I believe that under 16, and thus not an adult, you cannot be held responsible for what the dog you have in your care does....... but the owners CAN BE.

Em

as you didnt see the dog you shouldnt speculate as to what the breed was, people immediately assuming it was a Staff is not helping owners or the breed at all. Maysea stated what she thought it was and that surely is enough. Please take care before blaming these awful dogs on Staffie genes!!

Coleystaff - a concerned staffie owner

hi all it looked like a bullmastiff but the lad said it was x with a pitbull not a staffie.i own a bullmastiff and i have owned a staff (great temperments):)

thanks Maysea for speaking up, its much appreciated! especially by me

my staffy isnt kc reg and i live in a council house but my staffy is pure staffy  and would probably in my opinion make an excellent show dog the only reason why she isnt kc is her mum was sold with  fake papers and her dad has an excellent kc but when they came to reg the pups the papers were fakes very good fakes but my staffy is just as good in teprement etc as any kc staff and i take my dog ownership very responsible

thats good to know Saffie, I wish there were more people who would speak out in favour. Ours has the most wonderful temperament and we take her everywhere, she is always getting stopped by people who comment on her nature and her looks

Fact is that all pit bulls were supposed to be neitered in 1990 so there shoudl be none younger than 15 or 16 years old :D

thanks Brainless didnt know that, I wonder if that policy worked

I accidently rescued a bullmastiff x pit bull about 6 months ago. rescuing wasn't by accident but I was told she was a staffy x and I guessed she was crossed with bullmastiff I later found out she is part bullmastiff part pit bull. I think its a shame though that every time I mention her breeding peoples sudden body language changes and they walk away straight away. The thing really is though that the owner HAS to be responsible, they have to have complete control over their dog the only stories you hear of vicious attacks is when they are left to roam the streets or the are left off the lead when the owner must know that they aren't safe.

My lovely girl is truly the most loveable dog in the world, I have never liked the pitbull breed but after owning one I found its not all of them that are vicious. I can rough her up in a play fight and she is more gentle than my parents labrador, a stranger walks in the gate the only time shes runs at them is when she has a ball in her mouth and she wants them to play with her, she snuggles up to our cat and just sits there and licks the poor guy for ages. NOT ALL PITBULLS ARE DANGEROUS. People just need to be more responsible.