English Bull terrier
Height: Approx 45cm
Weight: Approx 33kg
Average Price: £500-800
Living with 2 English Bull Terriers by member Lauraj85
I currently have 2 English bull terriers, A Dog - Rolo - 2.5yrs - Tri-coloured - Neutered
A Bitch - Fluff - 1.5yrs - White with dark brindle ears - Spayed
My male is an absolutely brilliant dog, listens intently and loves to do tricks to please, really easy to train and is very well mannered.
Right the fun part. My bitch fully lives up to the bull terrier reputation!! She is clever and learnt all her tricks quickly like Rolo, however she will not perform just for the sake of it like Rolo, she needs to either be in the mood for it or have something (usually food) to pursuade her to do anything!
She is very head strong and does what she wants in her own sweet time usually, she's VERY talkative and likes to answer back and protest ALOT! She is also an attention seeker and will do things that she knows are naughty to gain attention (whilst doing naughty things she'll keep having sneaky glances at us to see if we're paying attention, if not she usually starts talking whilst doing things!)
I know there's alot of misconceptions with bullies so I'll go through the main ones and my experiences with them...
Health problems
Ok so this one is apparent in ours (both pedigree) They both have had skin conditions, our Male had problems as a pup but grew out of them, our female (white) has had reocurrent skin complaints and often comes out in hives and sores.
Because of the short hair and round noses/bare bellys they both ware suncream in the summer-waterproof factor 50! Also our male has temprature regulation problems....In summer he quickly overheats, one time so bad that he jumped in the paddling pool to cool off and caused himself circulatory shock and had to go on a drip for 3 days! and he cant keep warm in the cold even with a coat on he cant have more than an hour out as he gets chills easily, Fluff on the other hand is hard as nails and none of it affects her so it's luck of the draw I guess!
Natural born fighters
This may be what the breed was origionaly used for HOWEVER you can not get my two to fight - they play fight each other but it's never serious and how ever much we play & rile them up they have never tried to bite or fight us!
They are a "mouthy" breed
Ok so yes as a puppy both Rolo & Fluff mouthed us alot, but I'd say no more than a usuall puppy. Fluff did continue mouthing for a long while though, I'd say up until about 10 months old and unfortunately prefered skin to toys :( She still ocasionaly mouths now but stops herself as soon as she realises what she's doing!
They are stubborn
Yes and No! Rolo has never defied us in his life and does everything you ask of him, Fluff is stubborn & head strong to an extent, but knows when you really mean something and will respond....eventually!
They are not good family dogs
WRONG!!! I have a 6month old son and both my bullies adore him, they always calm down whenever he is near them and accept that when he grabs their faces, toys, tails etc that they have to just patiently wait until he decides to let go. I did have worries about Fluff and the baby as she is a storm in a teacup and rarely lets up, yet she will just sit next to him and let him grab her fur without so much as a flinch! Both dogs are very loyal and trust worthy whilst out on a walk, they go off lead alot and we've never had a problem with recall etc.
They can get possesive
This one I agree with, my female has never shown any signs of it HOWEVER my male has, at the same time that we got Fluff, my husband went away to Iraq (RAF) and I had fallen pregnant and Rolo picked up on this and became very protective of his garden, house & me! This was when we decided to get him neutered to see if it helped - It didn't! However we have since moved RAF bases and since the move he has been fine again, we have since found out that our old postman smacked Rolo over the nose whilst walking past our gate one day and now wonder whether this was the stem of it!
Overall
I would definately recomend this breed to anyone, but with a few conditions.......
* They can need alot of effort to train them as they get easily distracted, but are inteligent so it does come easy when they comply!
* The health problems that EBT's can incur if the breeding is too interbred can be costly. Always check the bloodlines before buying.
* They forget themselves whilst playing (mad bullie runs) so could potentialy hurt a child through barging although it would never be intentional!
* Females get fat easily and need to have a well monitored diet. Our male has twice the ammount as of female yet she's a barrell and he's a skinny still!
* They are comedians by nature and do lots of silly & strange things to keep you entertained
* They need interaction, they get bored easily wich leads to mischeief!! :)
* They are good guardians. Ours wouldn't say boo to a goose, yet every person who doesn't know them who comes to our door is intimidated by them (and their waggily tails LMAO!) I know full well they'd do nothing but they are a very scary looking deterent!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bKJGZLDOFMA
Laura, Rolo & Fluff!