XL Bully Child Rule: Defra Guidance Ahead of 1 November

The government published new guidance for XL Bully owners this week, six weeks before a new legal condition starts, and it is more specific than many owners will expect. Two stories we have been following also moved: the Years dog food investigation has an update, and the deadline for the new rules on vet prices falls next Wednesday.

XL Bully owners: the child supervision rule starts on 1 November

From 1 November 2026, owners of banned breed dogs in England and Wales, including XL Bully types, must not leave a child under 12 in close contact with their dog in a private place, such as a home or garden, without appropriate adult supervision. It becomes a condition of the dog’s Certificate of Exemption, which matters because breaking a condition can mean the dog is no longer exempt from the ban and can be taken by the police. On 16 September Defra published guidance explaining what the rule means in practice.

The key definitions are tighter than “keep an eye on them”. Appropriate adult supervision means an adult aged 18 or over who is present, watching both the child and the dog, and able to separate them straight away. The guidance says supervision must be in person: cameras, baby monitors and video doorbells do not count. It asks owners to plan for the ordinary moments when supervision slips, such as cooking, answering the door, going to the bathroom, taking a phone call or looking after another child. When you cannot supervise, the child and dog should be kept apart in a way that stops physical contact: separate rooms with doors securely closed, secure stair gates or barriers the child cannot reach through, different floors, or a crate or pen the dog is already comfortable using. In a garden, it suggests using the space at different times or fencing off separate areas.

Two practical points. If you use a crate for this, the dog needs to see it as a safe space before 1 November, not be shut in one for the first time on the day; our guide to crate training applies to adult dogs too, and the dog crate size calculator helps with fit. And although the legal condition only covers banned breeds, the guidance itself says the same principles are worth applying to any dog around young children. If a sitter or relative looks after your dog while children are in the house, make sure they know the rules too. Our guide to pet sitting vs boarding covers the options if in-home care is hard to manage. Read the Defra guidance on GOV.UK and the wider XL Bully rules.

Years recall: still no confirmed cause

Years, the Nottingham fresh dog food brand that recalled its meals in August after reports of sudden dry eye in dogs, updated its recall page on 9 September. The company says its investigation is still focused on possible contamination within a portion of its buckwheat supply rather than buckwheat itself, that independent laboratory testing is ongoing, and that no definitive cause has been established. It has now confirmed that all its recipes, puppy, adult and senior, contained between 6.3% and 7.2% buckwheat, and that its Breed Health+ supplements contain none.

Subscriptions were paused for an initial six weeks from 19 August while recipes are reformulated with quinoa, a pause that runs to about the end of September. If your dog ate Years meals and you have noticed red, sore or sticky eyes, squinting or thick discharge, see your vet rather than waiting for the investigation to finish; dry eye is treatable, but it does damage if left. Our guide on how to find a good vet helps if you are not registered anywhere. Our earlier report sets out the recall dates and symptoms, and the latest is on Years’ recall page.

The vets price order is due by 23 September

The Competition and Markets Authority’s statutory deadline for putting its vet market remedies into force is Wednesday 23 September. As of 17 September its case page had last been updated on 20 August, when it published the Funding Order, which sets up a levy on veterinary businesses to pay for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ work on the reforms. The main Order, which contains the requirements pet owners will notice, such as published price lists, has not yet been made.

When it is, most requirements are expected to take effect in stages over the following months rather than on day one, so do not expect your practice’s website to change next week. Our report from August explains what the price lists will cover. The timetable is on the CMA case page.