American Bulldog

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Introduction to the breed:

There are two main types of American Bull dog. The Scott type and the Johnson. The Scott American Bulldog is more athletic looking with a longer nose. The Johnson American Bulldog are more stocky, broad and muscular with a shorter snout.

Keywords:

Loving, loyal, slobbery, softies

Colours: Traditionally all white, or white with brindle, red or black patches. They usually have a black nose and brown eyes. Their coats are very short and shed moderately throughout the year. The hair is a pain to get out of your clothes! you will also find them everywhere!

Traits: 

• They are affectionate and very loving towards their family and friends

• Can be aloof with strangers, although some love everybody

• Loyal

• Powerful dogs who generally love to play tug (although Jude does not, and on the rare occasion he does want to play, he surrenders before the game has really started!)

• Intelligent

• Most owners would say stubborn, however I do not believe that dogs are being stubborn. In my opinion, when we perceive our dogs as stubborn, we just haven't successfully persuaded them to do what we want. They aren't being stubborn on purpose, its a failing in communication between us and our dogs. Jude very much knows his own mind, and often people who care for him (including myself in the past) have said he's been stubborn when walking and won't go the way we want, but actually over time, our communication has improved and I don't really have an issue with that anymore.

• Protective and potentially territorial.

• Chewers! These dogs are intelligent and can get bored easily. if they do not have appropriate mental stimulation, they will chew. We spent a long time teaching Jude what was his and what wasn't. He knows he can rip up boxes that are given to him. He will absolutely never rip up a box that hasn't been given to him. We adopted him at 20 weeks old, and the only casualty we've had, is one pair of Greg's sunglasses. We also give Jude appropriate things for him to enjoy chewing. 

Exercise: The internet will tell you that they are a high energy breed and need over 1 hour, and multiple times a day. I tend to disagree slightly. Jude will happily sleep in until 11am if he could. In fact getting him out of bed before 8am is laughable. This can be difficult in the summer. In general, Jude will have 2 main walks a day, each lasting approximately an hour. He does not run around like a headless chicken for the whole hour. jude enjoys to sniff, so a lot of time is spent standing still and smelling every single tree we walk passed. He also loves finding a hill, sitting at the top and rolling his ball down. He does however, love a good run around and its a joy to watch him because sometimes he's in a lot of pain and doesn't want to do anything. We make the most of all his good days. We spend a couple of hours each day traing, playing games and doing home enrichment. This is broken up throughout the day and done in small bursts of time. On average in the winter, Jude will sleep from about 12-4:30. He'll then settle down about 7:30/8pm and get up when we make him. He sleeps a lot! 

Health: Like all breeds, American Bulldogs are prone to some health conditions. The Johnson type tend to have much shorted noses so can be more likely to encounter the same issues as the other brachycephalic dogs. For now i'll just list the conditions associated with Judes type, the Scott type

• skin/ear infections

• obesity

• allergies

• eye problems like cherry eye and Entropian

• hypothyroidism

• elbow and hip dysplasia

• torn ACL's

Life expectancy: 10-12 years

Weight: 30-50 kilos

Heat: Jude does not cope well in the heat! We will notice Jude starting to struggle a little when it's about 18 degrees. We use a cool bandana, will walk in shady places, take him swimming, and shorten our walks. Equally, he struggles in the cold. He wears a coat or jumper in the winter. He also sleeps on a heat mat in the winter.

Training: Contrary to popular belief, American bulldogs do not respond well to a heavy hand or the "Alpha" theory. They respond best to force free, positive re-enforcement training, however they are very intelligent so their training must start early and be consistent. As said earlier, they can be perceived as stubborn, we will never back down on what we are asking Jude, but if he does not do what we are asking of him, we will look at how we are communicating to him. It is usually a failing on our behalf, not his.

Why you will never have another breed again: Jude is the most loving dog I have ever known. His cuddles and affection every day make any bad days bearable. He's funny and quirky. His love of rolling himself down a hill like a kid, or rolling his ball down a hill and playing what we call "human fetch" is hilarious. He has incredible facial expressions, and his want to please us when we are playing or training is amazing. He can go from being a couch potato, to throwing himself into "rollover" with all the energy in the world to please us. I also feel very safe walking him at night. Jude is very protective of me at night and I know for sure that nobody would stand a chance attacking me when I have Jude by my side.

Down sides: Jude through no fault of his own is very fearful of the world. A common characteristic that you will see on an internet search is that American Bulldogs are confident. Some may be, but not all are. Jude has a naturally cautious and anxious personality. Unfortunately due to the circumstances of his birth and early puppy life, he missed out on crucial socialisation. He has also been plagued by multiple health issues which have meant him experiencing many traumatic vet visits, operations and an illness that causes chronic pain. Judes fear and anxiety can manifest as reactivity towards some dogs and some people. If Jude was a small dog, this might be easier to manage. I could pick him up if needed, he may not be judged so easily and the potential for a reaction to escalate and cause harm would be much smaller. Unfortunately, Jude is a big boy, his barks and growls are louder, his presence is bigger and his breed already has a bad reputation so any minor reaction from him is often judged and people will always blame him first when often he has done nothing wrong. This can make owning this breed challenging, we have had to adapt our life quite a lot for him. However, the wins we get, the people and dogs he accepts and the challenges he overcomes give us the best feeling in the world. There's honestly no better feeling in the world.

Good choice for a first time dog owner? possibly not as they are very strong dogs and wilful and a more experienced person with this breed is probably more advisable…

Comparisons: Jude is often mistaken for a boxer. We've also had people ask us if he's a pittbull (he looks nothing like a pittbull), American bully, or a big Staffie. 

Costs:

Jude eats a kilo of raw food a day…

You will need insurance!

Food intolerances and allergies are very common. And the vets bills are very high with the health issues.

More on Health Costs:

Now time to talk about the potentially more serious considerations when choosing an American Bulldog. Their health…

Click to learn more on Dog Body Language to help communicate with our dogs and read how they communicate with each other

Sadly like many big breeds they can fall victim of a few health complications. Elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, torn ACL’s, cherry eye, thyroid problems, obesity and allergies/skin sensitivities.

Jude unfortunately suffers with both elbow and hip dysplasia which has caused arthritis. The consequences of these, are obviously pain, behavioural issues related to constant pain, having to completely adapt you lifestyle to help your dogs comfort, and lots and lots of expenses. Big expenses!!

Jude has cost us approximately £12-15k in vet fees, weekly hydrotherapy, £96 a month in pain relief, expensive supplements and that’s not including the money we’ve spent on behavioural/trainers input to help us support Jude in muzzle training for his surgery, and helping us loose lead train him perfectly for when he could only exercise for 10mins at a time post surgery. Luckily we have Jude insured, but our insurance is now £115 a month and will be going up.

Clementina Bailey-Jones

Missy

This is Missy she is a XL Bully cross American bull dog. She weighs 41kg and she is as soppy as they come, has lots of dribble and is very lazy around the house. She is not a good guard dog she will lick you to death despite what they say about the breed… Holly Ware

Chief

Major

Meet Major

Major has helped us so much and other people in his his 4 years so far, too much to go into so much detail so I thought I’d list it…..

- Hospital visits

- Helping autistic children

- Befriending a 99 year old neighbour who wouldn’t accept help or let people in and helping her to get to know us so we could help her in her last year.

- helping me when I’m in pain with gentle hugs

- helping his daddy when he’s having diabetic lows (even with no training!) by alerting him and keeping him awake

- teaching children, adults and elderly people not to be scared of big breeds or dogs

The list is endless and I wish I could tell all the amazing stories I have from our boy….we are so proud of him.

He’s got a few health issues which he’s had from birth -

- he has skin and allergy issues which means he doesn’t have chicken, beef and wheat.

- ear problems with a lot of infections and inflammation

- tummy issues and digestive problems so he can fart a lot 😬

But he’s never let that get him down.

Even though they are a big breed they get cold easily as they are short haired so he loves a jumper, coat and blankets.

They take up a lot of space and love being close to their loved ones so bed and sofa space is limited 🙈😂

and also short hair means dog hair everywhere.

They are intelligent and learn well - our boy in particular will do anything for a treat or some affection ❤️

And our boy is quite lazy - he’s often been known to turn around on a walk, or stubbornly sit/lay in protest 🙈 or not go out to start with!

And talking of stubbornness he can be a cheeky boy if he wants to tease daddy or mummy at night and not let us into bed 😂😬🙈 he’s certainly a big funny character for a big boy 😂

I can honestly say that our boy is the best thing that ever happened to us and me and Terry Dennis wouldn’t change a thing 😍

We can’t imagine our lives or bungalow without him ❤️🐶

Charlie and Terry Dennis

Fergie

Delilah

Lulu

Kulu

Meet Kulu, who is our female American bulldog x, she is coming up 11 months old and is crossed with an English bulldog. Unlike the size of a full American, she currently weighs 26kg. She was part of an unplanned litter where the owner of her mother (American bulldog) and the owner of her dad (English bulldog) thought they would be safe in a barn together whilst the family were out for a meal.

She is an absolute joy, clever, boisterous and loves to play. She has just finished her first season and hoping to have her done in due course as she shares her home with a male Jack Russel who is 10 but still intact.

So many good points about her breed, the negatives include people being very wary. Crossing the street to avoid us, and some negative comments about her breed. However like many others she just wants to say hello to everyone and is so soft and gentle with everyone she encounters. 💙

Benn Jackson

American Bulldogs from our Dog Friendly Dorset group

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