American Bully (Low Risk Brachycephalic Breed)
This term includes all dogs described as
- American Bully Pit
- Bully Pit
- Bullypit
- Bully Pit Bull
- Bully Pitbull
- Exotic Bully
- Extreme Bully
- Extreme Pocket Bully
- Pocket Bully
- XL Bully
- XXL Bully
The American Bully is a relatively recent type bred primarily from the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Bulldogs. It is not a recognised pure breed dog and is bred and crossbred with varying results and some common health issues including brachycephalic respiratory syndrome can be seen in some of the shorter muzzled dogs.
Like many Bull Terrier and associated breeds the risk of BOAS is not just specifically related to the direct impact as for many this would be only mild if existent. However as these dogs are prone to stress or anxiety, including due to separation from their owner, interaction with other dogs or even through excitement BOAS can exacerbate the effect of any other existing health issue and limit the dogs intake of oxygen due to restricted airways or cause overheating even in otherwise cool conditions.
Like all the low risk Brachycephalic breeds as they age or if they are overweight they tend to be less tolerant of heat and in any situation where they do become stressed or anxious for any reason, even due to other unrelated health issues they may have more difficulty breathing which can exacerbate the problem.
We therefore do still have to ensure that owners are aware that we consider them to be a breed at risk during transport, that we will make transport decisions as best we can based on the information provided by the owners rather than requiring veterinary checks and that there are additional terms & conditions they need to be aware of and accept.
Like other issues with these dogs proper socialisation with both people and other animals is a major advantage including with respect to their health during transport.
Despite originally being bred in the 1980-1990’s to be a less aggressive companion dog than the Pit Bull Terrier, it has been announced that from 31/12/2023 it will be illegal to breed, sell or give away an XL Bully in the UK. This has come about because, despite being a very recent introduced breed, up to 70% of dog attacks and 50% of all deaths by dog attack between 2021 & 2023 in the UK have been caused by this breed. It is believed that this is exacerbated by the fact that over half the breeding dogs in the UK descend from one specific inbred dog (Killer Kimbo) in the US, that they are popular with the criminal element and that some dogs are being fed steroids to make them bigger and more aggressive.
As with all dogs, but more particularly with Bully type breeds predominantly from the US and which include foundation breeds bred for fighting it is important that dogs are well assessed before transport. During transport dogs will be housed adjacent to many other dogs and handled by a variety of people. Those that are not well socialised or show ANY signs of dog or human reactivity or aggression should not be transported on our standard Express services and may be better suited to a more personalised and planned service if possible.
