Should We Ban The XL Bully?

My thoughts on the UK’s proposed ban on XL Bullies

Following a string of dog attacks in the UK, Rishi Sunak has announced his intent to ban the XL Bully by the end of the year. As a professional in the Dog Training and Behaviour space and having worked with many XL Bullies over the years, I wanted to set out my thoughts on the matter. Before we get into it, I just wanted to start by saying that my heart truly goes out to the people who have been affected by these dog attacks and their families. 

So what exactly has sparked this conversation?

In the last two years, the UK has seen an increase in both fatal and non fatal dog attacks including a recent string of attacks that involved suspected XL bullies. According to the group Bully Watch UK, 43% of attacks this year have been caused by Bully type breeds. 

While it’s extremely upsetting to hear, it’s important to keep a couple of things in mind. Firstly, the UK does not currently recognise the XL Bully as a breed legally, due to the fact that they are difficult to define based on their varying characteristics from dog to dog.  Following that, lots of these reports are of Bully “types” which can include a larger group of breeds and naturally if you lump breeds together, it will skew the statistics to seem like a higher percentage than it is. 

Humans are also notoriously bad at recognising the breeds in mix breed dogs, so again there are likely dogs being included in these reports that are genetically very different to what’s considered to be an XL Bully. All of this considered, the statistics are not likely to be a true representation of the issue at hand. 

Is banning XL Bullies the solution? 

We are currently 30 years on from the pitbull ban and as we can see, dog attacks have not reduced, which to me suggests a clear failure of the dangerous dogs act. 

The problem with banning a breed like this, is that for those who do use them as a status symbol, they will likely just switch to another breed, and we’ll have the same issues in different dogs. It’s also putting a whole population of friendly, well behaved dogs at risk, not to mention the trauma of facing the loss of your beloved pet. 

I also believe that banning breeds is just a bandaid for a much larger issue and fails to acknowledge the root causes of these issues. 

So what are the issues that need addressing?

The biggest and most obvious issue to me is breeding. Not just for Bullies but for all breeds. Without regulation, we are at high risk of creating a population of unhealthy and unstable dogs, which is always going to pose a risk to public safety, regardless of breed. Especially when these breeders don’t care who their dogs go to. 

While we’d love to believe that “it’s all in how you raise them”, genetics do play a huge role in behaviour and it should be the responsibility of breeders to make sure that we are not breeding potentially dangerous or unhealthy animals. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with an aggressive dog and have asked, “what was your dog’s mum like”, and the response is, “oh she had to be separated because she was aggressive”. We should not be breeding aggressive individuals of any breed, as there is a likelihood that the puppies will have the same characteristics.

Which leads me onto my next issue - owner education. 

As it stands, anyone can decide to wake up one day and purchase a dog with absolutely no knowledge of how to raise or train one. 

Education on raising a dog is not only not mandatory, it’s also not easily accessible. With Dog Training being totally unregulated, the information available is often at best questionable and at worst extremely harmful. I’ve dedicated the best part of 5 years to learning the most up to date science of behaviour and training, yet there are still those who would oppose my methods in the name of traditional and outdated techniques. This means that raising a well balanced dog is extremely difficult for the average person. 

Even the prime minister’s statement of “this is not a handful of badly trained dogs” shows to me, a huge lack of understanding on what training is.  Training is not just about teaching “sit” “stay” “down” etc. it’s knowing how to socialise, build confidence and raise a well rounded, friendly dog. 

Another huge issue for me, is a lack of understanding on current laws and what responsibilities fall to dog owners. 

With the population of dogs rising, it’s becoming increasingly important to be aware of other dogs you come into contact with. Our pets are now coming into contact with more dogs than ever before and this leaves much more room for potential problems. 

I often come across people who have no desire to take responsibility for their animals and allow them to actively harass other dogs and people. Dog bites to humans can often happen as a result of dog to dog conflict, so acknowledging this as a problem is so important.

It’s also crucial for dog owners to understand breeding practices and know what they’re looking for when purchasing a dog. Unfortunately puppies are not a “clean slate” and buying from a puppy mill is not rescuing. By purchasing dogs from unethical or even just slacking breeders, you’re funding an industry that is creating these problems.

We also cannot deny the impact of the cost of living crisis. 

These dogs fetch a high price and when people are worried about putting food on the table, it’s easy to see how breeding these dogs could become an attractive idea. 

The other problem with high prices, is that they often encourage bad breeding practices. You have to wonder what the motivation is for breeding a £5k - £10k dog. I’m sure it’s not always going to be for the love and preservation of the breed. 

What are my concerns with the ban? 

Outside of technical issues with the ban, my main concern falls for those who face losing their animals. My dogs (not Bully breeds) are my children and even the idea of losing them is heartbreaking. 

Lots of Bullies I’ve worked are well rounded happy and loving family pets, and I worry for those dogs and their families. Even with registrations and muzzle/leash orders, these dogs become exposed to a much higher risk of being confiscated by police. This not only has a negative impact on the dogs themselves but also the humans involved. We cannot underestimate the trauma of facing the loss of your dog. 

I also worry for the dogs that will get caught in the crossfire. As I mentioned early, we as humans, are really bad at recognising breed mixes and without a formal breed standard in the UK, how could we be sure we are looking at a bully as opposed to a mastiff or staffy mix. 

Considerations for Bullies themselves

Despite that fact that I do not support the ban, I do think we need to acknowledge that these are powerful dogs. 

I so often hear people describing XL Bullies as “nanny dogs” and I think this can be extremely misleading. I’m sure there are many Bullies that are dopey family dogs, however labelling them as such misleads people into thinking that every member of the breed will be like that. This can then lead to a lack of due diligence when choosing both the breed and an individual dog. Lots of these dogs are bred to have a high prey drive and without knowing how to manage that, you could really struggle. 

Bullies, like any large dog, need training and we cannot deny that as powerful dogs, aggression issues are likely to be more consequential compared to the same issues in small dog. 

I hear the argument all the time “I’ve seen more aggressive chihuahuas” however a chihuahua is never going to cause the same damage as a 40kg - 50kg Bully. Acknowledging the strength and power of your dog is a part of responsible dog ownership. 

We also need to be respectful of victims

Understandably, this is an emotional and polarising topic, however, we do need to consider the victims in these circumstances. Commenting “not all bullies” or “it’s the people not the dogs” on the pages of the people who have been attacked or have lost family members is extremely insensitive and is not the way to get your point heard. Remember that real human lives have been affected by these attacks and we cannot negate the trauma and loss that these people face. 

In summary, I don’t believe that banning the XL Bully will help and if anything it’s likely to cause more issues than it solves. 

I think the focus from the government needs to be on tightening restrictions for both breeding practices and dog ownership. 

I am genuinely heartbroken for both the people who now face the loss of family members as well as the people who have been injured or killed in the recent attacks.