Bull Terrier?

Michiyo-Fir

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#1
Can you guys tell me about Bull Terriers? Recently I've found them to be the funniest looking and most adorable little things (through online photos). Never met one in real life though.

What are they like? Temperament? Biddable? DA? Average size? Everything you can think of!
 

NinaB

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#2
I've heard that they are stubborn, not very athletic, and have a great sense of humor! Nothing first hand though. I did some research way back and that's all I remember. They are cute!
 

crazedACD

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#3
Stubborn. Opinionated. Bold. Great sense of humor. Pretty good with humans. Prone to skin allergies. Likelihood of DA. One of the only breeds I've encountered multiple individuals with SEVERE DA/reactivity. But, I've met good ones too.
 

CatStina

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#5
I love them, they're on my maybe list for future dg! My aunt has had two, Roxy and Stella.

Roxy was absolutely bomb proof with people, I grew up with her and she was so sweet and goofy and never showed any aggression towards a person. She was, however, Dog Selective (DS) and didn't like every dog. She only had two major fights in her 16 years, though. One was with my other aunt's JRT, Spike. Spike ended up with a hole in his ear, which my cousin put earrings in for the rest of his life. The other was with a Dogo, he had a few scratches, but didn't need any stitches.

Stella is quite the opposite. She is not typical of the breed, however, because she was originally from a bad breeder and was in 3 other homes before my aunt got her. She LOVES other dogs, all other dogs, any other dog. Shares her home with a "maltipoo" who is DS and has never even growled at her. BUT, she is iffy with people. She's never bitten, but she has growled and even snapped at strangers before. She also has terrible allergies and compulsively chases her tail, to the point where her feet are swollen and cracked.

Both dogs are/were goofy clowns, love/d fetch and were/are a bit hard to train.

If you get one, you would definitely want to get one from a responsible breeder and meet the parents so you know how their personalities are.
 

CatStina

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#6
Roxy's personality was more typical of the breed. I can't find any pictures of her, but she was all white with one black eye.

Here's Stella and her ball:
 

chaospony

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#8
The only interactions I have had with them was at the dog park and someone in my neighborhood has one. I've met 5 in total and they were all ridiculously sweet and funny.
They all loved people and got along great with the dogs at the park.
Every single one of them looooooved running with my Afghan hounds. I've heard a few other sighthound people mention it too. It's the funniest thing because they are so tenacious that even if it takes them 6 times longer to get across the field they will finish that race. And the next race, and the one after that.

Those spinning handstand-zoomie things they do are so cute!
 

spiffy

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#12
A friend has one. Before she got the dog we decide to do some research on the breed. Bull terriers have a bulldog ancestry meaning they were once breed to be fighters. At one time, this breed was used in dog fighting. Dog fighting was banned and this breed has evolved into wonderful home companions. My friend's dog is sweet and playful though it has the tendency to manifest stubbornness and independence at times.
 
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#13
From what I have read on a few sites is that Bull Terriers are affectionate and love to snuggle and cuddle which is a good thing I also like the fact they love to talk and make funny noises. On the downside is that they can be destructive if not given a lot of physical exercise and mental stimulation. Prone to skin allergies and few other health problems. White bull terriers seem to have a lot of skin allergies and can sun burn easily because of their pink skin. If it were me I would probably own a fawn, tricolor or brindle bull terrier since I am not a big on white dogs with pink skin because of the skin issues.
 
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Pops2

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#14
Game lines existed in parts of the old British empire into the 1970s. Occasional exceptional individuals are still matched today. The last gamebred EBT match dog that i know of was in the late 70s. some excellent battle crosses were made off him that matched into the 1980s. They are still very much match dogs at heart. DA, SSA, & high prey drive are still VERY common.
 

Sweet72947

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#15
Be very selective where you get a bull terrier. I have known very sweet BT (the BT rescue brings out their dogs to almost every dog event in NoVA), but I have also known some unsound BT. I find BT to be just, weird. They are prone to OCD behaviors (spinning, chewing, licking, humping are a few). BT always just seem like they are buzzing under the surface.
 
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#16
I love them:) but will probably never have one lol. DA does tend to be high and they can be hard to read. Have reactions different from most other dogs and are fairly hair trigger. BUT, they are also loveable snuggable clowns that will keep you laughing. A BIG BIG dog in a pretty small (but very sturdy and strong) body.
 

Flyinsbt

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#17
Bull Terriers are generally clownish, nice dogs, though they do have the tendency towards OCD behaviors as mentioned. They can be dog aggressive, as can all the bull-and-terrier breeds. They are not biddable, far less so than the other bull-and-terriers, they are a challenge to train and tend to do what they want. They are also not very athletic, though they can be conditioned to being muscular, as mentioned, they aren't flexible. They tend to run around 70 pounds, so I wouldn't really call them "little" :lol-sign:. In agility, they tend to be methodical and frequently need to jump at the preferred heights, because their structure makes jumping hard for them.

There are also Miniature Bull Terriers, which are a more medium sized breed. Standard is 10-14" (though they can easily be bigger, ie; I know one who is 16 1/2", and an AKC Grand Champion), and the weight runs from low 20's to mid 30's. Otherwise, they are pretty much like the standard sized Bull Terriers, but the minis I know are actually better at agility. I think being smaller makes them less tank-like. This is a MiniBull named Zelda:



She weighs about 27 pounds, and is actually a pretty decent 16" jumping agility dog.
 
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#18
Their weight seems to vary a lot. Even though their average weigh is between 45 to 50 pounds. But I have seen a few on youtube that weigh around 60 pounds.
 
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#19
A friend of mine had one that sadly died of cancer when he was only 8. He was very good with pretty much all people or dogs, but cats he just loved. He would try to jam himself into the cat's "house", even though he was way too big just to be with them. He got attacked once by a Lab that was running loose and that was his only fight, and he came out on top. He was kind of stubborn, but not even close than my Lab/Doberman/Husky mix and about half as bad as my Pit/??? mix was.
 
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#20
Game lines existed in parts of the old British empire into the 1970s. Occasional exceptional individuals are still matched today. The last gamebred EBT match dog that i know of was in the late 70s. some excellent battle crosses were made off him that matched into the 1980s. They are still very much match dogs at heart. DA, SSA, & high prey drive are still VERY common.
There is still a kennel in Cali that has working BT bred for boar, coyote, ect as catch dogs. Along with Patterdale Terriers, Jagdterriers, Argentine Dogos, lurchers, and a Lacy.
 

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