Owners of the bulldog breed are familiarising their pets with muzzles ahead of a potential ban.
Maddie Bell-Ashe said owners already noticed that others were wary of their unmuzzled dogs"I've always been a massive muzzle advocate," she says.
"There's a massive stigma attached to it; they're already scared that people are going to think they're aggressive and now if they're having to muzzle their dog, they're worried about that even further," she says. "It's the small minority who are bringing them up in regards to protection, but if a dog's got the correct training and the correct owners, they won't be causing those bites."Josie Shanahan says her assistance dog, Mars, stopped her from being a house-bound recluse
Mars is trained to recognise issues before his owner does, including when her blood sugar levels drop or her heart rate increases due to anxiety."It's a minority of the breed and their actions are now causing the majority of the breed to be judged - and I don't think that's fair.""He loves his job and he wouldn't have the same life without it.
"I'm here purely and simply to protect my dog," says Loretta Carson, who took on her 50kg XL bully 18 months ago."I got cancer, so for five months I was at home," she says."It got me up twice a day to walk her - she's my world."
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