A County Durham XL bully owner has opened up about the process of legally registering her puppies after the government's ban on the dogs came into force, speaking of the difficulties she has faced in the registration process as well as how personal comments about the breed have affected her.
Barbara and Daniel Moody of Chilton, County Durham own two XL bully puppies; Blaze, who is 9 months old and Creed, 6 months old.
Her dogs, however, are now classed as being from a banned breed as of January 1 after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the new set of rules in October 2023 following a string of fatal attacks by the breed last year which included the death of a man in Shiney Row, Sunderland.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2023 described the dogs as a "danger to our communities" as then environment secretary Therese Coffey confirmed the ban was "quick and decisive action to protect the public from tragic dog attacks".
Owners of XL bullies must now abide by new laws listed on the government website which now prohibits the breed from being bred, sold, advertised, abandoned or exchanged.
All dogs classed as an XL bully breed must also wear muzzles in public, must be registered from February 1 where owners pay a £92 exemption fee for each dog, and any over 1 are to be neutered by June 30.
Owning an unregistered XL bully after February 1 will be considered illegal, resulting in an unlimited fine.
Dog owners like Barbara have now had to make sure they adhere to these new rules, undertaking the process of making their dogs legally safe.
"When the ban was announced in October, I was distraught", Barbara said.
"We immediately did muzzle training on zoom, and I got my liability insurance from Dogs Trust.
"The process has been hard. Training your dog to use a muzzle takes weeks - I believe this ban has been rushed."
Even before the ban officially came in, Barbara admitted she believed her dogs faced a "stigma".
She said: "There have been so many people online who have told me that I have a dangerous dog. I've had comments stating that they have been bred to be killers. All negative comments.
"When I lived in Aycliffe, I took the boys into the town centre and faced dirty looks, people were avoiding us like the plague. It's made me feel angry."
Having now gone through the process to legally register her dogs, Barbara says the process has not been easy and claims the government's guidance of what counts as an XL bully is not clear.
On the gov.uk website, details of what the government class as the XL bully breed are laid out in features from the dog's scissor bite teeth, heavily muscled body, height and forequarters to name a few.
The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) state the general impression of an XL bully is a "large dog with a muscular body and blocky head" which suggests "great strength and power for its size".
They also state an adult male in terms of height ranges from 20 inches, and 19 for adult females.
Barbara said: "To define an XL bully you have to go off their height, jowls and their bite, so to ban a dog you need to have a definition of a breed.
"XL bullies are of a mixed breed. The person who designed XL bullies said they were designed to be family companions.
"Unfortunately, they have got into the wrong hands. Backyard breeders have bred some to be fighting dogs."
She added: "There is a reason why everyone is in uproar - I think a dog is being banned that cannot be defined.
"At the end of the day the dogs are not to blame - it's the owners. The blame is being put on the wrong end of the lead."
In December 2023, Dr Samantha Gaines, dog welfare expert at the RSPCA, confirmed that the charity was taking an active stance against the ban.
She said: "We have long campaigned against breed-specific legislation, which bans dogs simply due to the way they look.
"This has failed to effectively protect the public and animal’s welfare and has seen countless dogs who have not shown aggression lose their lives.
"Already, there are anecdotal reports of dogs being surrendered or abandoned across the rescue sector – and we fear as the deadline for the XL bully dog looms, this problem is going to get worse.
Find out more about the XL bully ban here:
- What happens to American XL Bullies now? What the ban means
- XL Bully owners can register their dogs for exemption now
- XL bully dog owners warned about further restrictions
"There is a huge risk that rescue centres and the veterinary profession will not be able to cope with the demands put on them by this law.
"We urgently need more information and support from the UK Government so that we can help support owners and dogs affected by this ban."
Animal charity Dogs Trust and the government has provided extensive guidance and support to XL bully owners and has outlined deadlines for insurance, exemption and neutering here.
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