How ruthless breeders have developed a terrifying ten stone XXL Bully devil dog which experts say WILL kill
IT is the canine status symbol loved by celebrities including Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Geordie Shore’s Aaron Chalmers and rapper Drake.
But the American bully dog has a darker side — and is thought to be behind seven of the ten fatal attacks on people in Britain last year.
And as calls mount for the larger so-called XL type of the breed to be banned, The Sun can today reveal that rogue breeders are using the biggest, most muscular dogs to create a 10st monster version of the animal — dubbed the XXL — and are selling them online.
A Sun investigation found “XXL” dogs openly advertised on TikTok by UK sellers for more than £2,000 and the breed is sold on sites including Facebook, Gumtree and Instagram with no apparent checks.
Social media is full of videos with hashtags such as #protectiondog, #dogbite and #bullylair showing owners walking their dogs.
But experts say the Frankenstein XXL dogs are even more likely to attack than XLs because the exaggerated features of their breeding leave them in pain.
Dog behaviourist Stan Rawlinson, who advised the Government on legislating dangerous dogs, said: “These breeders are messing about with the DNA of this dog and turning it into a freak.
“There’s no such thing as an XXL as a breed — it’s people creating the biggest animals they can to make as much money as possible.
“It’s a status dog. Irresponsible owners want these huge dogs so they can walk down the street looking hard. They train them to strike, and this type of dog goes for the throat.
Incredible damage
“Genetically, this is a very, very reactive and aggressive dog. They can cause incredible damage to adults. There’s no reason to own a dog with this much power.”
The main two crosses for XLs are American bulldogs and pitbulls. The latter is banned in Britain under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Stan said: “I’ve never refused to work with any animal in 50-plus years but I won’t go near this one. That’s how dangerous it is.”
Mum Emma Whitfield had to identify her ten-year-old son Jack Lis by his shoe after he was mauled to death by an XL bully in a 2021 attack in Caerphilly, South Wales.
The owner of the 8st animal, called Beast, Brandon Hayden, then 19, was given four-and-a-half years at a young offenders’ institution after admitting being in charge of the out-of-control dog.
Jack’s mum Emma, 32, is campaigning for new laws on dog training, breeding and sales.
She is backed by Caerphilly’s Labour MP Wayne David, who last night voiced concern over the XXL bully.
He said: “It makes it all the more important that new laws and regulations are introduced as quickly as humanly possible, and that the regulations which are in place are enforced.”
XLs are not recognised by the main UK kennel clubs, which keep breed statistics, so there is no record of how many are in Britain.
London’s Met Police this week revealed it has seized 44 American bullies so far this year.
On Thursday an inquest into the death of dad-of-five Jonathan Hogg, 37, heard how he was mauled when a friend’s XL turned on him while he looked after it.
Jonathan, of Leigh, Greater Manchester, was rushed to hospital but suffered fatal arm, leg and head wounds.
A man and woman were arrested and bailed.
Police also raided two houses and seized 15 dogs — six fully grown and nine pups, also believed to be XL bullies.
Dog trainer Rob Metcalf, from One To One Training School in Edwinstowe, Notts, said: “The XL American bully is the new designer dog and some owners just want them to walk about looking tough.
“These are very strong, dominant dogs and need to be trained properly, but people are watching how-to guides on YouTube.
“I don’t blame the dogs, I blame idiot owners.”
Vanessa Waddon, of the Hope Rescue Centre in Llanharan, near Cardiff, said XXL bullies are more likely to attack because breeding exaggerated features leaves them in pain.
She said: “These people are breeding for wealth, not health.
“Oversized dogs can have poor spines, knee pain and may have to drag their legs behind them, as their bodies can’t take the weight.
“Pain makes a dog more likely to lash out, just like humans, yet a section of the bully community are competing with each other to get the dog with the most exaggerated features. It’s like a subculture.
“It means responsible owners are seeing their dogs demonised.”
Vanessa also blamed illegal breeders for the latest attacks, and said: “The dogs are being set up to fail from the moment they are born.
“They are being kept in outside cages, passed around illegal breeders and aren’t socialised in family environments.
“Any dog is capable of biting in the hands of this type of breeder and owner.”
Sean Main, who organises American bully shows across the UK, defended the breed, saying: “The Bully was bred to be a companion dog. This is 100 per cent about bad owners and not the dogs.
“When the dogs get sold at ten weeks old they are running about, wagging their tails, all happy.
“Put into the wrong hands they can attack but the outcome is the same for any dog, whatever breed.
“Only a small fraction of American bullies that end up in the wrong hands are nightmare dogs.”
GROWING TOLL OF VICTIMS
THE UK death toll from dog attacks is on the rise, with ten last year.
Just half a mile from where ten-year-old Jack Lis was mauled to death in Caerphilly in 2021, retired nurse Shirley Patrick, 83, died in an attack by an XL bully cross-breed in December 2022.
Toddler Bella-Rae Birch, 17 months, was killed by a bully at her home in St Helens, Merseyside, in March last year.
And dog walker Natasha Johnstone, 22, died from multiple bites to the neck while exercising eight dogs in Caterham, Surrey, in January this year.