Dog owners: Who has an English Bull Terrier?

[John Alighieri]

Been thinking about getting a Mini English Bull Terrier for a while now. I'd be interested to hear from some owners

[Sam Sales]

My brother has one and so does my mother. They are a great breed, quite lively and active, very loyal etc.
On the downside, you need to be ver careful of the breeders. Check the parents etc because some of them are fucking horrible. Also typically white ones (especially with black patch on eye like on oliver twist) suffer with more health issues than tri colours etc, mostly due to inbreeding and shit like that. :-)

[John Alighieri]

I found one dude that takes it really seriously. All his puppies are tested for the common diseases bull terriers get and you have to write him an essay on why he should give you one of his puppies. He also mentions that if you can't take care of his dog anymore he will take it back!
His dogs are all price winners and shit so I'm guessing the dude knows what he's talking about lol

My ex flatmate had a chihuahua we went to pick him up together, I've been "uncle John" since day one but she moved overseas and it has been killing me since not having him around
He used to fit in my hand when we got him and he was around for a year before they went to Australia.

Eddie has met Rupert, he knows how much of a fun and loving little dog Rupert is. It sucks not having my friend around anymore

[Jon. A]

Thats shit mate i feel for you

[Sam Sales]

I found one dude that takes it really seriously. All his puppies are tested for the common diseases bull terriers get and you have to write him an essay on why he should give you one of his puppies. He also mentions that if you can't take care of his dog anymore he will take it back!
His dogs are all price winners and shit so I'm guessing the dude knows what he's talking about lol

My ex flatmate had a chihuahua we went to pick him up together, I've been "uncle John" since day one but she moved overseas and it has been killing me since not having him around
He used to fit in my hand when we got him and he was around for a year before they went to Australia.

Eddie has met Rupert, he knows how much of a fun and loving little dog Rupert is. It sucks not having my friend around anymore

Yes that sucks bro. Those little dogs have so much character once they 'warm up' to you. Good luck with your next hound, whatever that may be. :-)

[Chris Garry]

Have owned Bull Terriers for 10 yrs.

In fact the Bull Terrier was developed just a few miles away from where I grew up and still live, in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Currently have a 3 yr old male rescue we adopted, had 'Rudeboy' 2 yrs now.

To me they are a great breed. But they are not really a dog for most people who just want a pet. You should definitely only get one if you have owned dogs before as they are notoriously hard to own for novice owners.

When most people ask me about getting a Bull Terrier I recommend getting a Staffy - much more likely to successfully fit into a family environment.

As with any breed it is important not to generalise too much, as within each breed the dog itself's temperament, behaviour etc can differ dramatically from one dog to the next.

As for the Mini Bulls they actually share identical characteristics as the standards do, only being physically smaller of course. But there is no difference in temperament or health or anything else, unlike with other breeds that have standards and then deformed mini and toy versions where they have been genetically mutated.

In fact true ethical breeders of Mini Bulls put smaller standard dogs back into the mix every few generations to avoid these complications and keep their line in type with the characteristics of the standard.

As for their health I have always found them to be as solid a breed as any. And stats will back this up too.
Its a common misconception that because of how extreme the Bull Terrier looks that it is poorly bred, overly bred, and has all kinds of genetic defects.

Their hip scores are very good for a Bull breed and their life expectency is about 12 yrs, which is also good for a breed of its type. They are not without their health problems though and are known to suffer from mild epilespy, skin problems, and deafness - though I believe the latter 2 are a problem with pure white dogs not coloured dogs.

They are generally healthy dogs providing they are not the offspring of two white parents.
This should never happen with an ethical breeder and can only produce pure white dogs, whereas matings between white and coloured or coloured only dogs produce dogs of all colours including pure whites.

There are two types of standard Bull Terriers if you are into the whole show thing scene - personally could not think of anything less relevant, but anyway, the two catergories are white and coloured. White Bull Terries have pure white bodies and can have any colour head markings. Colours must be less than half white and more than half their coat must be black, brindle, fawn, red - there are no blue Bull Terriers.

As for the patch on the eye being a precursor to any health problems sorry but that is simply untrue.
All white Bull Terriers should have another colour in their genes and this normally presents itself as a marking on its head.
Sometimes this is a large patch on the eye, sometimes it is a tiny fleck hidden inside the ear, vitually unnoticable.
The health thing, as far as I am aware, is purely down to the white dogs suffering from lack of pigment, which is normally only a problem when mating two pure white dogs together which produces dogs that lack pigment. Whether these could have head markings I am not sure, but a white dog with a head marking is potentially as healthy as pure white dog and a brindle or fawn etc.. wow I rambled.

They also do shit Like this

[John Alighieri]

Thanks Chris

That's some killer info

I want a mini bull terrier because I don't have a huge backyard so last thing I want is the poor thing to be stuck in a small place.
I work from home and when I have to go to work I can take the dog with me it's a pretty chilled place and I run the gym so once again the dog can come around lol.

I live next to a bunch of parks and with Rupert we used to go play everyday.
I def want to go to puppy school and doing more training. I've got the time for it and nothing worse than an unruly dog!

Rupert knows all the tricks in the book and we are able to walk with him without a leash on and he would listen well most of the time... Unless cats are involved and then he's just on a mission which could be somewhat dangerous...

I grew up with dogs and having Rupert brought back some good memories! I think I could handle a mini bull terrier

[Chris Garry]

Go for it John, you gonna give the dog a good home mate, do it.

[Sam Sales]

Have owned Bull Terriers for 10 yrs.

In fact the Bull Terrier was developed just a few miles away from where I grew up and still live, in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Currently have a 3 yr old male rescue we adopted, had 'Rudeboy' 2 yrs now.

To me they are a great breed. But they are not really a dog for most people who just want a pet. You should definitely only get one if you have owned dogs before as they are notoriously hard to own for novice owners.

When most people ask me about getting a Bull Terrier I recommend getting a Staffy - much more likely to successfully fit into a family environment.

As with any breed it is important not to generalise too much, as within each breed the dog itself's temperament, behaviour etc can differ dramatically from one dog to the next.

As for the Mini Bulls they actually share identical characteristics as the standards do, only being physically smaller of course. But there is no difference in temperament or health or anything else, unlike with other breeds that have standards and then deformed mini and toy versions where they have been genetically mutated.

In fact true ethical breeders of Mini Bulls put smaller standard dogs back into the mix every few generations to avoid these complications and keep their line in type with the characteristics of the standard.

As for their health I have always found them to be as solid a breed as any. And stats will back this up too.
Its a common misconception that because of how extreme the Bull Terrier looks that it is poorly bred, overly bred, and has all kinds of genetic defects.

Their hip scores are very good for a Bull breed and their life expectency is about 12 yrs, which is also good for a breed of its type. They are not without their health problems though and are known to suffer from mild epilespy, skin problems, and deafness - though I believe the latter 2 are a problem with pure white dogs not coloured dogs.

They are generally healthy dogs providing they are not the offspring of two white parents.
This should never happen with an ethical breeder and can only produce pure white dogs, whereas matings between white and coloured or coloured only dogs produce dogs of all colours including pure whites.

There are two types of standard Bull Terriers if you are into the whole show thing scene - personally could not think of anything less relevant, but anyway, the two catergories are white and coloured. White Bull Terries have pure white bodies and can have any colour head markings. Colours must be less than half white and more than half their coat must be black, brindle, fawn, red - there are no blue Bull Terriers.

As for the patch on the eye being a precursor to any health problems sorry but that is simply untrue.
All white Bull Terriers should have another colour in their genes and this normally presents itself as a marking on its head.
Sometimes this is a large patch on the eye, sometimes it is a tiny fleck hidden inside the ear, vitually unnoticable.
The health thing, as far as I am aware, is purely down to the white dogs suffering from lack of pigment, which is normally only a problem when mating two pure white dogs together which produces dogs that lack pigment. Whether these could have head markings I am not sure, but a white dog with a head marking is potentially as healthy as pure white dog and a brindle or fawn etc.. wow I rambled.

They also do shit Like this

Just to be clear bro, i wasn't saying that if a bully had the patch it was 100% a fuck up. Merely making the same point as you was about 'some' unethical breeders. Once they start breeding for specific genetic traits problems become inevitable. Especially when often the gene pool is tiny. Happens too much unfortunately. :-(

[Chris Garry]

Yeah lucky they are such a hardy breed and can handle these fools nonsensical breeding programmes. Defo happens too much.