Bull Terrier

Bull Terriers are usually friendly, very active, intelligent, and strong. Dog sports such as retrieving, flyball, agility, weight pull, tracking, rally and traditional obedience as sport provide physical and mental stimulation while increasing the dog's bond with its family.

Bull Terriers have been known to bond well with people by being service dogs in search and rescue and in animal-assisted therapy. Bull Terriers have been in television shows and movies with children and have a reputation for being good with them. It is important to remember that, as with all dogs, extremely close supervision is needed to prevent accidental injury to the child or dog and avoid the dog's subsequently developing fear-based defensive aggression.

Bull Terrier History:

In the 1830’s, bull fighting enthusiasts wanted a dog that would perform better in the fights, breeders started working on developing the Bull Terrier. Their main goal was to develop dogs that would be more agile in their attacks. To start with they began by crossing the Old English Bulldog and the Old English Terrier with some Spanish Pointer thrown into the mix. The resulting breed did not perform as well as the bull fighting enthusiasts had hoped it would. As a result, the Bull Terrier’s popularity as a bull fighter decreased, but their popularity as a pet for the elite members of society increased.

An all-white Bull Terrier was developed in the 1850’s and people immediately took a liking to the breed. Over the years, people have tried adding Dalmatian, Greyhound, Foxhound and Whippet into the Bull Terrier bloodline. They have proven to be exceptional guard dogs and are extremely popular in both the United States and Europe. In 1887 the Bull Terrier Club was developed in England and in 1895 the breed received American Kennel Club recognition.