How I lost my Hungarian Vizsla, Leo, to the Dangerous Dogs Act

Not everyone welcomed Rishi Sunak’s announcement last week that he would ban the XL Bully under the Dangerous Dogs Act. This American crossbreed is responsible for nearly half the deaths caused by dogs in the UK between 2021 and 2023 and hit the headlines recently after a video emerged of one attacking an 11-year-old girl, as well as several men, in Birmingham. Yet the Dog Control Coalition said outlawing them wouldn’t stop the attacks.

‘For 32 years, the Dangerous Dogs Act has focused on banning types of dog and yet has coincided with an increase in dog bites, and the recent deaths show this approach isn’t working,’ said a spokeswoman.

That struck me as odd, because while the Act does indeed ban certain breeds, it also created a criminal offence whereby owners can be prosecuted for failing to keep their dogs under proper control. I know this because my wife was cautioned under the Dangerous Dogs Act after our Hungarian Vizsla bit an Ocado delivery man seven years ago.

Keeping a large hunting dog in a terraced house in Acton was a bad idea to begin with

Leo was always a handful. Keeping a large hunting dog in a terraced house in Acton was a bad idea to begin with, but Leo was high maintenance even by the standards of the breed. He required at least two hours of exercise a day, otherwise he’d treat the house like his personal adventure playground, leaping from one item of furniture to another. No matter how many hours Caroline spent trying to train him, he was convinced that any item of food left unattended for more than ten seconds was fair game, even if it was in the middle of the kitchen table. Letting him off the lead in Acton Park in the summer was a complete no-no because of all the food laid out on picnic blankets, waiting to be hoovered up.