Bull Terrier

Low Maintenance: Grooming the Bull Terrier is a cinch. Though the breed is naturally clean with little doggie odor, a bath every three months (or when he’s dirty) in a mild shampoo is a good idea. Brush his sleek coat with a natural bristle brush or rubber hound mitt once a week. Use coat conditioner/polish to brighten the sheen.

The Bull Terrier is the cavalier gladiator — a good-looking tough character. It is strongly built and muscular, longer than it is tall. Its muscle mass combined with its relatively low center of gravity make it difficult for opponents to knock it off its feet. Its distinctive head not only shows off its keen and determined expression, but also its great jaw strength. Its gait is smooth and easy. Its skin is tight, and its coat short, flat and harsh.

Exuberant, comical, playful, assertive and very mischievous describes the bull terrier. It is an imaginative breed that often sees things its own way and is stubborn to the end. It needs daily physical and mental exercise lest it exercise its powerful jaws on your home. For all its tough bravado, this is an extremely sweet-natured, affectionate and devoted breed. It can be aggressive with other dogs and small animals.

In the early 1800’s it was popular to cross Bulldogs with terriers, and by 1830 fighting between bulls and Bulldogs was a popular ‘sport’. Later they crossed the Bulldog with the Old English Terrier, mixed with some Spanish Pointer to increase its size, which produced the Bull Terrier breed. The ‘Bull’ in ‘Bull Terrier’ derives from the popular practice of ‘bull-baiting’. After dog fighting was abolished, Bull Terriers were bred with the Dalmatian to produce a white colored strain, then again with the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to reintroduce color. Both the white and colored types increased in popularity as pets, and both strains remain today. Famous Bull Terriers include the Target mascot ‘Bullseye’, Spuds MacKenzie, who was used in Bud Light commercials (and later discovered to be a female!), and Patsy Ann, a Bull Terrier from Juneau, Alaska famous for unfailingly predicting the impending arrival of ships to port.