XL Bully Ban – 1 year on

31 de diciembre, 2024
por Bev Kirk

On the 31^st December 2023, the XL Bully was added to the list of banned breeds of dog in England and Wales.

XL Bully guardians had until 31^st January 2024 to register their dog and get certificate of exemption for them. It is now a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog without a Certificate of Exemption, as well as to sell, abandon, giveaway and breed XL Bullies. All XL Bullies must be on a lead and muzzled in public places, including highways.

Other stipulations of the Exemption include:

The dog must remain at the registered address. It can be kept at a different address for up to 30 days of a 12 month period.

DEFRA must be notified if the registered keeper changes address.

Have third party liability insurance.

The dog is neutered and micropchipped.

According to an update published by DEFRA in February 2024, there had been over 55,000 XL Bullies registered.

Scotland followed suit in February 2024 and XL Bully guardians had until 31^st July 2024 to register their dogs for a Certificate of Exemption.

Finally, Ireland also decided to add the XL Bully to their list of banned breeds from 1^st October 2024, giving guardians until 01^st February 2025 to register their dogs for a Certificate of Exemption.

When we heard about the XL Bully Ban, we already had a design for a wide/short shaped muzzle that was aimed at pit bull type dogs (a type already banned here in the UK), knowing that these dogs had to wear a muzzle in public and knowing that aside from fantastic custom made muzzles, there was nothing ‘off-the shelf’ and readily available to buy that offered the dogs enough pant space – despite Defra’s recommendation of ‘using a muzzle that does not inhibit the dog from panting, breathing or drinking’.

We were actually planning to produce a range for small dogs but realised we quickly needed to re-visit this design and get it off the ground! A huge problem was that the market was lacking in suitable muzzles for these dogs who were about to banned. A vast majority of ‘off-the-shelf’ muzzles were too small and impeded the welfare of dogs by not offering enough room to pant, eat and drink.

This was a completely new style of muzzle and unlike anything else available, so the design took several months of planning, with multiple prototypes tried on a variety of dogs. As soon as we heard about the XL Bully ban, we knew this was going to be a vital piece of equipment for thousands of dogs in the country, so we worked incredibly hard to finalise the design and begin production.

Size Harry arrived in December 2024

We had just a couple of weeks to assemble (by hand!) and ship as many as possible before the ban came into force on December 31^st.

Since then, the size Harry has continued to be one of our most popular muzzles, with thousands sold since December 2023 in the UK and worldwide. We are incredibly proud that we have been able to produce a muzzle for dogs who have no other safe and comfortable option.

These dogs need to wear a muzzle at all times in public places, including in the car, therefore it is more important than ever that they can safely pant to regulate their body temperature, take treats, drink water and safely vomit if needed. The bright colours of our muzzles has also helped to break down the stigma and negative public perception seen aimed at muzzled dogs and these particular breeds of dogs too.

We recognised that not all XL Bully dogs would fit in the size Harry – so we developed a larger size called Mitzy. This size accommodates the chunkiest of Bully heads and ensures that they can be a comfortable when muzzled.

The effectiveness of banning XL Bully dogs to reduce the number of serious and fatal dog attacks is clearly questionable - but how has the ban impacted XL Bullies and their guardians? We spoke to three Muzzle Movement customers and guardians of XL Bullies to see how the ban had impacted them and their dogs.

Hannah sadly lost her beloved Rottweiler, Mya, early in the year and decided to offer a loving home to an XL Bully in need. She adopted Hippo in December 2023, just in time to save him before the ban. Hannah said:

“Day to day in the home the ban has had very little impact in reality, but the main impact has been wearing his muzzle both in a public place but also in the car which many people don't realise.
We have to be careful about taking Hippo on holiday with us or holidaying ourselves as he only allowed a maximum of 30 days away from his registered address. We also have to be careful about where we take him in general as many dog training facilities, businesses and off-lead exercise fields have restrictions and don't allow XL bullies in due to insurance restrictions.
I would say a nice positive is we have had many people approach us or see us out and about and see what a sweet boy Hippo is and that he is nothing like what the media/governments has portrayed him to be.”

Suzzie adopted Freddie as a puppy from a rescue organisation. She said:

“The ban has consumed my bully's life. There's not a second where his behaviour doesn't get judged, whether we are out and about on a walk, or just at home! If he barks at anything we are so conscious that the neighbours could literally just call him in and he would be seized.
But I would say there's a hugeeee positive to the ban, it has meant I have had to strengthen the bond I have with my dog. He’s had a lot more attention than I would say my other dogs have had and this ban has been around for most of my bully's life. So really he doesn’t know much different. I was already muzzle training my dog before the ban was even spoken about on the news. Because I have other dogs in my household too who also wear muzzles just not because of the way they look! So a muzzle was always going to feature in my dogs life but not to the extent we have to now with following the regulations to stay safe.”

Here at The Muzzle Movement, we know that muzzled dogs can still live fulfilled lives – but a lot of guardians only had a matter of weeks to get their dogs used to wearing a muzzle. Many struggled (understandably) and some dogs were even unable to be walked due to not being muzzle trained or fully comfortable wearing their muzzle. We received so many emails from guardians all over the country who found that their dogs were much more comfortable in The Muzzle Movement muzzles compared to smaller, less appropriate muzzles that they had tried previously. Once a dog is not feeling restricted and is comfortable, muzzle training can become so much easier.

We asked Hannah how Hippo had taken to muzzle training and how he finds being muzzled now.

“Due to the lack of XL bully sized muzzles available on the market we struggled with Hippo initially. His muzzle was too long and hardly provided him with any pant room which meant that throughout the whole of spring/summer 2024 we had to be very careful about walking him, in even mildly warm weather, and often had to do activities in the home/garden instead.

Since getting his Muzzle Movement Muzzle we made sure to introduce it with lots of treats and training so that he is able to voluntarily have the muzzle put on and he has taken to it so well, comfortable walking in it for longer periods of time, and is loving the pant room and in particular the treat hole!”

Suzzie was well prepared and had been pro-active in her approach to muzzle training. She already had a Beagle who needed to be muzzled and saw the benefit of putting work into muzzle training early. She said:

“I was training my bully since he was 9 weeks old when I picked him up from the rescue centre. I find it a fantastic training activity and from training my other dogs to wear muzzles I knew that it would be easier training from a little puppy than starting later on, and good job I did because the ban came in so quick and we weren't sure about my bully fitting type, he was pretty much ready for the ban when it came.

Although by the time the ban came in, we were finding it increasingly hard to find muzzles that actually fit his squishy chops. My dog loves his muzzle, and so do I. And I think that helped. We spent every day muzzle training up to the ban, and we still do! I think my bully sees his muzzle and knows he's going to go somewhere fantastic and be with his humans and have a great time.

He has some sad days where his muzzle has been rubbing on his nose and caused some sores, but we have found that the new padded nose band has help to protect his sensitive skin. But that’s the reality of HAVING to wear a muzzle literally THE WHOLE TIME you are out of the house even if you don’t see a single other person or animal, and then even sometimes in the house. It’s a lot. But we do love our accessories now, that's the way we look at it, it just means we must think outside the box to get the most out of him whilst he's muzzled.”

The XL Bully ban has been difficult to come to terms with for a lot of people. We have personally fitted well over 100 XL Bullies here at The Muzzle Movement unit, as well as fitting more at events. Every. Single. Dog has been the sweetest, loveliest nature and many had tough starts or had come from difficult situations via rescue. We have been blown away by how their guardians have done everything in their power to make sure their dog is as happy and comfortable as possible whilst following the regulations. We have had guardians travel hundreds of miles to find a more suitable muzzle and to ensure they have the right fit for their dog. What amazing, dedicated people - your dogs are lucky to have you!

On that note, we asked Hannah and Suzzie what the BEST things about their XL Bullies are.

About Hippo, Hannah said:

“EVERYTHING! He is such a kind, cuddly boy with so much love to give!
We never planned on having an XL bully until the ban came into place and Hippo needed a home before the end of the year, but after having Hippo we would 100% have another XL bully in the future if the law ever allowed it!”

About Freddie, Suzzie said:

“The best thing about my boy is how happy he is all the time. He takes everything in his stride, such a confident boy with a lot of love he wants to give.”