"Bull Terriers" Topic

Does anyone own a Bull Terrier or know someone who does? Are they nice dogs? They are the breed that was used in the "Spuds Mckenzie" Bud Lite adds in the 80's and now the dog on the Target commercials.

Are they good with kids? Lots of health problems? I've seen a few and love the look of them. I also have been researching them on line and at the book store. But if anyone has one I would love to hear your take on this breed. Thanks.

A good place to get some information about a specific breed is the American Kennel Club website. You can find descriptions about each breed of dog. If they are anything like the American Bull Terriers I have owned they should be good dogs.

Tom

Animal Planet has info on lots of dog breeds. Here's the entry on bull terriers:

link

This is what they say about temperament:

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.

Another recommendation is to find owners in your area. Many owners will be happy to talk about their experiences and let you interact with their dog. Sometimes nothing beats "hands-on" experience.

My brother had two bull terriers.

First a bitch, then her grand son.
The first one eat itself to death, as it had stated eating a plasic boxs, and the plastic cut up her intestens.

The other one is alive a happy, it's extremly needy, it needs petting and atention all the time. if not it will start to cry

There's one at the dog run I visit and it's a really sweet family dog. She's not that old, maybe 3-4, but doesn't seem to need that much exercise. She gets walked every day but I'm not sure how much free running she gets. I have a Frenchie and they are amazing family dogs, but heat and humidity is their kryptonite. They also can't swim.

We had one named Track years ago. He was laid back, looked like Spuds but had a black ear and a black eye. He was way dumber than the average dog, but very lovable. Never had a problem with him. He was a rescue dog.

We have a new one now. Tinkerbell (I did not name her)is about 4 months old and 25 pounds of pure energized naughty. She plays VERY hard and has no impulse control what so ever. She uses her teeth too much but is getting a little better. She has put holes in two pairs of my jeans, and several pairs of my daughters pants and wifes pants. She tore the shoe laces on a pair of my work boots. She stalks and chases our two rat dogs and they run from her in terror. I am REALLY praying she calms down because she is driving me nuts. We have to closely monitor when my 6 year old daughter plays with her because Tink will knock her down in a heart beat. Way worse than any other dog I've had. The breeder we got her from:

bulliesbygod.com

had originally sent us a 6 month old female. It really wanted to KILL the rat dogs, and in the process of breaking up a dog fight took a chunk out of my palm. We traded it in for Tinkerbell who was 8 weeks old at the time. We have had a dog behavior specialist go through a bunch of classes with Tink, and they seemed to have helped some, but it is still a little demon.

Jake

Speak to a veterinarian. Explain what you are looking for and any important issues (children, your working hours etc). They will give the best independent advice.

Please, please, please do not buy through a pet shop. Meet with the breeder direct, check the environment the puppies are in and the health of the mother. Most pedigree dogs are prone to certain health problems. The responsible breeders will ensure the health of the pets and they never sell through shops.

Personally I prefer a mutt. Ideally a one or two year old rehomed through a pound. Yes they aren't as cute as a purebred pup, but they are usually past the difficult 'teenage' years and you know what you are getting personality and size-wise.

Here is sTinkerbell's website:

link

Ain't it cute?

My Frenchie was similarly crazy to Jake's when we got her. Like bull terriers she's also 25 pounds of pure muscle and didn't know her own strength when she was young. We dropped her off at dog day care a couple of times a week for a couple of months and her behavior changed dramatically. It's amazing what dogs can learn just being around other dogs. She's still pretty rambunctious but knows her own strength and has never bitten anyone even though our neighborhood kids punch, drag and pound on her with wild abandon.

BTW – You can see Crumpet by clicking on my name.

We have rescue cats, but I think dogs are much trickier and if/when we have dogs again it will be purebreds. Any animal and be ruined or taught properly, but dogs size makes their variablility more important. I had a mutt when my wife and I married, he was a one human dog and reluctantly accepted my wife, but never really accepted my daughter.

We had huskies for years and they were fantastic for our situation, my wife was at home with young kids. I would go for a decent sized dog – harder for little kids to hurt them – which makes a bite from a snap less likely. I would definitely get a breed that matches your situation.

We have rescue dogs, all mixed breeds. Lovely-tempered animals, if we haven't trained and disciplined them as well as we should have. All the dogs I've had through my life have been mixed breeds, usually rescues.

My inclination would be a dog from the pound rather than a purebred, unless you're wanting to show it, or are after a specific working dog. But that's just inverse snobbery on my part.

Wow, I posted this at 4:30 am Friday half asleep and forgot about it until this morning! What a response! I've admired these dogs from a far, petting a few in the past and wondered if a Terrier breed was right for me.

I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback that is almost 12 years old. She can hardly stand by herself and I'm carrying her downstairs to do her business. Her name is Xena and she is my 1st dog. I don't know how I could of lived without a dog after I got her. She has had her fair share of health problems, too many to list. Watching her waste away over the last 2 years of degenerative myopathy, I worry about the breed and having to go through this again. We think she has a few weeks left.

It may seem cold talking about looking for another dog, but I don't see one in our immediate future, more likely in 6 months to a year, and I want to research this well and understand we may need to get on a breeders list and have to wait awhile.

My girlfriend's view is that now that she has been laid off she will be able to spend all the time we need to train a puppy and can't bare to be without a dog for long. Her family used to breed Dobbies but said it would be hard to rent with this breed and I agree. I feel lucky to have had my dog for so long, the estimated life span I was told was about 8 to 10 years, so we were blessed with almost 2 more years extra.

We talked about getting an adult dog from the pound but we have a 16 year old cat that would only be able to handle a puppy. I don't want him to spend the last year or two of his life hiding under the bed. We lost our other cat to kidney failure early this year, and now found out this little guy is in stage 2 renal failure. This will not be a good year for our pets. Thank you all for your help, and I will be back at the AKC web site doing research.