A woman from Barnoldswick has received “sly comments” from members of the public, who have mistaken her dog for an XL Bully since the controversial breed was banned.

Morgan-Rachael Lomas has only had her dog Poppy, an alapaha blue blood bulldog, for a matter of weeks but says she feels judged by some passers-by, with some even calling her “dangerous”.

She has posted a plea to Facebook, asking local people to stop confusing her pet for the banned breed. The post has received hundreds of comments and reactions.

Morgan-Rachael said: “Several people have made comments on her appearance, claiming she’s an XL Bully and that’s she is too big and unpredictable.

“Some have said she shouldn’t be near other dogs.”

Morgan-Rachael said an “angry” man came up to her and her two-year-old pup, saying that “she is definitely an XL Bully because she’s dangerous to everyone”.

According to Morgan-Rachael, some avoid Poppy completely by crossing the road.

She said: “Other people tend to avoid her completely, crossing roads and making sly comments.

“I don’t feel apprehensive to walk her because I know she’s not a bad dog. It’s everyone else I feel apprehensive about because they will try provoke her to make a point. People act frightened of her for no good reason.

“They back off from us even when she’s just sat down minding her own business.”

As of February 1, owning an XL Bully dog without a certificate of exemption is a criminal offence.

Breeding, selling or abandoning the dogs also became illegal as of December 31.

The dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.

Just days after the ban came into force, a grandmother in Essex was mauled to death by two XL Bullies.

Morgan-Rachael thinks the ban is “ridiculous”.

She said: “People think that just because they are big they are automatically dangerous [which is not always the case].”

The government website has listed the specific measurements for a dog to be classes as an XL Bully. Some have criticised the specification for being too broad.

It also states there are other established breeds that may meet some of the characteristics of the XL Bully breed type. These are not within scope of the ban. 

A suspected XL Bully breed type does not need to fit the physical description perfectly. If a dog meets the minimum height measurements and a substantial number of these characteristics, it could be considered an XL Bully breed type.

The ban was introduced after a rise in dog attacks over recent years.

People with dangerously out of control dogs can be jailed for 14 years and banned from owning animals, and their pets can be put down.