Talk:Bull Terrier/Archive 1

Latest comment: 3 years ago by Eridian314 in topic Health section
Archive 1

Dogs and Bitches

"The Bull Terrier is one of several breeds in which the dog (male) and bitch (female) must have distinctly different appearances."

Is it just size differences between the dogs and bitches, or something more distinctive? could it be put in the article to help clerify? Tekana 17:58, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Good question, Tekana. In some dog breeds, the standard specifies that the male and female have differing appearances, sometimes it is written as distinctly 'feminine' or 'masculine' or words to that effect; so no, it is not just size. See Best of Breed. (I'll try to remember to look up the standard and clarify; if anyone else cares to in the meantime, be my guest!) Quill 07:35, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

about the meal

Is that real? A homemade meal of rice and pasta and vegetables? Hell, I don't eat that well regularly. That can't be real. Furthermore, who makes their own dog food anyway? Doesn't the bagged stuff provide all the proper nutrients or whatever? 207.224.125.243 11:13, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Sense of Humor?

My question pertains to why this article is written as if by a member of the Victorian gentry. The question is: Why is this article written as if by a 19th century aristocrat?

My question would be like why would the comment that 'Bull Terriers have a great sense of humour' in a factual encyclopedia? --BrandonR 20:00, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Agreed- removing; put it back when you come up with a source though of course. Thedoorhinge 02:29, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

General comments on the quality of this article

The "History" section of this article does not concur with anything I have ever read about the breed, and I believe it is inaccurate. (for example no mention of Dalmatian or White English Terrier in the lineage)


I have made comments above about the suitablilty with children; the article is expressing an individual opinion on this subject and does not concur with the general advice on the subject.

The full breed name (i.e. English Bull Terrier) is never even mentioned.

Whilst there is a link to the article for minis, I think they should at least be mentioned in this article because the category into which any example falls is determined by the height. It is therefore possible for a full sized pair to parent a mini. Indeed some breeding examples are categorised as suitable for breeding in both categories (whilst most fall into one category or the other).

The health problems section is not as extensive as it could be. A good resource can be found here: http://www.thebullterrier.com/btgendis.shtml

Additionally many (particularly minis) suffer from luxating lenses of the eye, which untreated can result in Blindness.

I can understand the removal of the sense of humor reference, but I think it is fair to say that owners may get this impression as a consequence of their desire for persistent and close human contact and involvement.


At least one book I have read on the subject mentions four sub-categories within the breed, which are not mentioned here: the bull, the terrier, the dalmation and the middle-of-the-road. The categories effectively describes attributes such as stance, muscularity, neck length head size and so on. (I will post a reference when I can find the book again).

Myredroom 16:35, 14 February 2007 (UTC)


Regarding a sense of humor reference, Own one and you will see. Too many people are making silly points without ever owning a bully.


again an anonymous edit!! The sense of humour refenerence is contentious not because it is not true, but because it is not verifiable or scientifically proven - anecdotal. Many owners of many breeds will say the same about their dog - but a sample of one is a bit small. Myredroom 10:50, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Please only put Famous Bull terriers down. Not because the owner is famous.

Pete The Pup

He was a dual-registered Amstaff/APBT, not a Bull Terrier. I just thought I'd point that out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RiotMonday (talkcontribs) 21:51, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Willie

How could anyone make up a list of famous Bull Terriers and not include Willie, General George S. Patton's dog? And I'm throwing in Abraxas Aaran, the Bull Terrier who played Willie in the 1970 movie for good measure!

69.72.2.71 01:33, 9 November 2007 (UTC)


Albi

Can someone please help me? I have a 10 month old pure breed bull terrier, but my boy is very bord and he eats everything. How can I keep him busy before my husband kills him?

PLEASE HELP ME WITH ANY GUIDELINE. e-mail me at aprinsloo@twpmatomo.co.za

Thank you, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.25.163.178 (talk) 09:32, 6 October 2008 (UTC)


hes growing stronger teeth you MUST buy lots of strong toys thick tug ropes balls you need to be careful as they can chew though walls as like my staff did in my kitchen play at least 2 hours a day mostly with the tug rope as he will enjoy your company more and more it is also good for strength competitions between you and your dog as they love to show there strength ... good luck bullboy91 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bullboy91 (talkcontribs) 16:18, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Albi Again

I would like to know how i can get my bull terier boy to gain weight? Please keep in mind that I live in SA so what ever you suggest I must be able to find here. I would like to keep him healthy, though, but i would like him to pick up some weight and get big.

Please do not hesistate to e-mail me on aprinsloo@twpmatomo.co.za. I would like to know what idees there are.

It would be much appreciated!

Thanks guys!

For your first question - exercise & chew toys are the way to go. You don't want to overdue it this young (2 hours is too much in a sitting) because they'll "play" hard & long enough to hurt themselves if you encourage it. As the owner, you need to gauge how much they can take until they're older. The English Bull Terriers I've owned really liked two product called the "Indestructible Frisbee" - one was a dense rubber, the other was like a thick plastic. NOTE: Do not use a regular Frisbee - your English Bull Terrier will go through it like butter, and could choke on the pieces. I also used to wrap towels around my arm, and let my bigger one grab on and pull me around (would literally drag me), it was great fun. They have tremendous jaw strength, be advised they can injure you even when they have no hostile intent. Puppies need to learn their strength. Again, where you come in.
Putting on weight depends on how you use the dog and its surroundings. Un-neutered Males fed a high protein diet and poorly socialized can be aggressive (true of any dog breed). Most dog food manufactures make products both for dog size "Small, Medium, and Large" but also life stage "Puppy, Adult, and Senior." Growing dogs need lots of protein, fat, and carbs, consider augmenting puppy-chow with pieces of meat as part of your training routine - rewards for correct behavior. This breed needs to be trained to prevent destruction. Remember, dogs have no innate understanding of human rules like "Don't eat the furniture, pee outside, stay off the couch." They have to be trained.
Last thing: they tend to be kind of sensitive emotionally. They are very loyal; as such they just want to make their family happy. Saying, "No." in a stern voice is often enough, and a loud, "NO! Bad Dog!" for serious offenses. Spanking them or being physical doesn't help, they're far too stubborn. They'll see it as a test of wills and likely continue the activity out of spite. Treat them like a member of the family, and they are fantastic pets. Cheers,--Legomancer (talk) 20:08, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Legomancer for the great advice! i will surely try this at home! i appreciate your reply!

This is not the place for this kind of discussion. The Wiki talk is for talking about the Wiki article, rather than bullies in general. There should be some kind of bull terrier forum out there that will serve you both more comprehensively and more quickly. A quick Google search yielded
Warrickball (talk) 20:05, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Albi Reply: i had no idea where to find a place where i could ask questions and seeing that my dogs are like my children i just wanted to know what would be the best advice. sorry if you did not like my questions "Warrickball" next time don't read it!



Picture

I find the second image - of a white show-class bully - more useful for illustrating the breed. The white coat gives a strong contrast, so the dogs shape (including the head) is more clear. I feel it should be promoted to the infobox. I'm tempted to go change it myself, but suspect someone changed it with a sound reason first. Warrickball (talk) 20:05, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Needs some reliable sources or needs to be changed

The lead states that the Bull Terrier "is often lumped in as a Pit Bull and is subject in some jurisdictions to Breed Specific Legislation." I have doubts that this is accurate. No references are cited in the article for this. Although many breeds are named in the Pit bull article as types of pit bulls, the Bull Terrier is not mentioned. In the Breed-specific legislation article, it is only mentioned once, in discussing German legislation (the source for which is an English summary).

Unless there are some reliable sources for the statement that the Bull Terrier "is often lumped in as a Pit Bull," it should be removed. Similarly, unless more than one jurisdiction can be cited for the legislation, that statement too should be changed or dropped entirely. Ecphora (talk) 03:14, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

About the article

Um. 1. Pictures. Specifically, the eyes, a close-up; and showing the appearance difference between genders. 2. In general, given the (inevitable) comparison with American Pit Bulls, some treatment of the different breeding should appear in the History section; and the fighting/companion dog bit needs clarification. 3. This breed is international -- maybe an Oz section?

This article is what I would place in the "Start" class -- most of the info is there, it needs building, but it also needs to be made interesting -- it's lacking that "human" touch. I would remove the, er, "order" "Also, be sure to check ears, eyes, nose and mouth every day for signs of infection." as being very depressing and possibly POV. Much of the Temperament and Health sections are generic to all dogs -- this should be mentioned, but kept in. Should that be "kept in but qualified"? Whatever.

They are lovely dogs. I know a couple of them quite well, unfortunately they are the White variety and suffer badly from sunburn. Australians would do well to change to the Coloured variety, as even a Tan skin will better handle our summer skies. See if some genetic background to Bully colours can be found (see Australian Kelpie *Genetic basis of Kelpie coat colours).

Hope this helps! Gordon | Talk, 12:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it's just me, but there's something strange about the way this article is written. I mean, the information is all there, but it just doesn't really sound encyclopedic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hansihippi (talkcontribs) 01:54, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Fighting Breed?

This article is included in the List of Fighting Breeds "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_fighting_breeds" and yet at the end of the second paragraph it states: "Bull terriers are not a dog fighting breed." What gives? Have updated site, the original English Bull Terrier was a pit dog designed to fight.

Bull Terriers were used as fighting dogs SirIsaacBrock 09:42, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

But the article contradicts itself on this part doesn't it? First it says that they were bred as fighting dogs, followed by the statement in parentheses where it states that this is a misconception. 14:50, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Have updated site, the original English Bull Terrier was a pit dog designed to fight. staffordshire bull terriers were made to fight bulls and bears the english was not it is harder for them to fight due to the shape of there head and less muscle than a staff yet ppl still try and they can still do a lot of damage —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.140.79.205 (talk) 19:01, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Actually no. English Bull Terriers have never been used as fighting dogs. It was one of the breeds of dog that that the bull and terrier was bred out of. 62.6.163.133 (talk) 23:52, 2 December 2009 (UTC)


Contradiction

There seems to be a contradiction in this article. "they were originally bred as fighting dogs therefore they will react if challenged but they will not normally make the first move.(It is a misconception that they were bred for fighting. Dog fighting was common at the time, but they were bred to be companions. Also they were bred for comformation to create a dog that was pleasing to the eye.)

I'm just wondering which one it is.Could someone tell me?Serenaacw 00:27, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Bull Terriers were bred as a pit dog, that would not turn on its owner after the fight.

Bull terriers were bred from the Bull and Terrier, which was bred off a fight dog in the 1850s. Bull Terriers themselves are very docile. However, if attacked by another dog they will react and due to their phyical strength cause harm to the other dog. This is very rare though as the breed is one of the most docile of the terriers. I grew up with one from the age of 1-6 and even though to be hounest I was terrible to that dog (ear and tail pulling and bothering) the BT never showed any aggression. 62.6.163.133 (talk) 00:03, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

Purring

"A little known fact regarding Bull Terriers is their ability to "purr" like a cat. Unlike a cat though, the noise is believed to be produced in the nose and not the throat. It does however, produce the same noise, to a louder degree than a domestic cat."

At best this sounds anecdotal to me, and at worst an urban myth. I have certainly never encountered a purring bullie (and I have encountered many). I suggest this addition is removed. Myredroom (talk) 16:29, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

On further reflection I have removed this as it is pub talk (and anonymous). Myredroom (talk) 08:56, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
The determined annymous contirbuter keeps restoring this. If you are so determined why are you adding annoymously?Myredroom (talk) 14:12, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Bull Terriers do make noices that often sound like growling but deffinately not purring, and deffinately created in the throat. 62.6.163.133 (talk) 00:05, 3 December 2009 (UTC) Bull Terriers that I have got do a lot more than purr. They make big cat noises, that are scary to hear. Dogs far bigger than them have run away quick

Health

Bull Terriers often suffer from kidney failure which is a weakness in the breed, however on this page there is no meantion of it. 62.6.163.133 (talk) 00:14, 3 December 2009 (UTC)


Temperament

This section has become complete garbage, which often contradicts information in other sections. No wonder Wikipedia is falling out of preferences as an information source. Me, I'm not going to waste any of my valuable time struggling against the less-than-well-educated people who make these less-than-useful edits. 122.200.166.162 (talk) 07:40, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Adjustments

I'm making a few changes on this article. It's way too biased and uncredible. If you don't like my changes then fix it yourself; this article is almost pathetic. Sounds like a dog breeder wrote it while making a sales pitch. Briar On Fire 02:19, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

Pit?

I think it is not a pit bull terrier? Am I right? Should that be mentioned? Rursus dixit. (mbork3!) 17:15, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Hink's Bull Terrier image

 
Hinks' Bull Terrier

This image was just uploaded for the Gull Terr article. Gmip (talk) 23:28, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Video

Bull Terrier saves human SirIsaacBrock 09:42, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

Video

The Bull Terrier was commonly put in a ring proceeded by the dumping of about 100 rats into the ring whence the number of rats killed in a minute were counted. That was the "sport" of Bull Terriers, not fighting. 24.56.148.156 (talk) 16:35, 29 February 2012 (UTC)smittyjo8

ATTS Temperament

This should be removed, the temperament test uses breed specific standards so the results are kind of useless. For example during the test if a stranger approaches and a golden retriever pulls at the leash or avoids it will fail whereas a pitbull would pass. A bull terrier may have a lovely temperament but the ATTS results are rather misleading regardless. 173.178.10.142 (talk) 04:55, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Apparentely Nobody on this Wiki owns a Bull Terrier. Sense of Humour? Very Obvious and easy to explain.

Bull Terriers pan for camera's, absolutely love to have hilarious things done to them and it is so obvious that they enjoy the attention of the laughter surrounding such incidents. Their eyes get tiny, shiny, and a huge smirk is illustrative of their sense of humour. Put any kind of suit on the dog, whether it be a Batman suit, a clown suit, or a suit of fine apparel, and the dog will instantly kmow it's entertaining and smirk and display the clearest signs of "I'm enjoying the fun" as one could possibly imagine. The description of the English Bull Terrier's sense of humour is inherent in thier personalities and it would be shameful to leave it out. 24.56.148.156 (talk) 16:50, 29 February 2012 (UTC)smittyjo8


More like "Apparently Some Dog Owners don't understand the words ANECDOTE and BIAS." Encyclopedias are not the place for evidence from one's own personal experience... and given you've provided no sources of legitimate information, that is exactly what one can assume this is. Also, your language here is indicative of a larger problem with the temperament section; that it reads like a grade-schooler's project based on their cat Muffins. When you say the dog gets a "smirk", and "knows it's entertaining", that is anthropomorphizing. Even if it is true, it's UNVERIFIABLE. Nor is it necessarily true across the breed, even if it were verifiable -- which again, it's not. Talking about a breed's temperament is one thing, talking as if we "know" what a dog "knows" is another. I know I'm responding to a year old comment, but seriously.... the language in the temperament section of the article is just embarrassing. 99.245.2.216 (talk) 05:03, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Neutral Point of View Tag/Issues

I have tagged this article as being inconsistent with wikipedia's NPOV policy. There are many statements made here which are obviously biased, such as descriptions of the dog using adjectives such as "positive" "fun" "comical". The article is riddled with contradictions. More serious is the large number of references that are not verifiable, such as statements that the dog is good or positive in some way having a reference that is simply a link to a pro-bull-terrier website. In fact around 38 of the 47 references listed are links to innappropriate magazine or blog-style websites promoting the breed.

This article needs to be rewritten from scratch to remove misinformation. I don't know enough about dogs to do it, but it would be great if someone could. 60.240.245.54 (talk) 16:46, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

THANK YOU. I agree, and I wish I knew more about dogs myself so I could fix it up a bit. I cringed as I read through the temperament section, and when I looked at the "sources" I actually laughed. The piece I found most offensive is temperament, specifically the paragraph beginning "The Bull Terrier is a fun, comical, people-loving dog". I wish one of my former Prof's could get their red pens on this article, it would probably be "comical".
(1) Care should be taken with descriptive words, as many are subjective or have a biased connotation. "Fun" and "comical" are the owner's experiences with the dog, not a description of the dog's temperament. Words like "fun-loving" and "fearless" on their own imply you can actually ascertain from the dog whether it "enjoys fun" (vague to begin with) or experiences fear. "Scrappy" is both informal language, and means "aggressive, inclined to fight" -- contrary to other assertions in the section. Courageous could work, if there were a context given as to WHY they are considered "courageous". "Active" is the only word in that line that is observable, quantifiable over the breed, and not tainted by bias.
(2) Author's tone is rampant through this section -- "positively dangerous" ("dangerous" is sufficient), "people of a delicate nature" (vague), "a firm hand", and "run riot" (informal turns of phrase) spring to mind first.
(3) Some people have a tendency to anthropomorphize, which is probably the reason for the previously mentioned terrible descriptive words -- but also contributes to my favourite unnecessary statement, which is that bull terriers injure people "never though through malicious intent, but rather through their exuberance". Animals are GENERALLY accepted not to have malicious intent when they attack, let alone when they accidentally harm a person. There are some alpha-dominance acts in animals we may see as malicious, and there are some animals with a violent temperament... but again, maliciousness is a HUMAN concept. 99.245.2.216 (talk) 06:21, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Ask any owner of one

Yes it's antidotal, but I've lived around dogs all my life, and have had intimate knowledge of at least 20 different breeds, including a "abused rescue," Bull Terrier I owned myself for over 12 years! And yes, of all the dogs I've ever known, they seem to be the only ones that I've ever known to actually "get," human laughter, make a specific issue of "responding," to it, and to allot of degrees seem to like to "encourage," it. Pull a joke on a Bull Terrier, and you'll have a excited, wagging, thrilled, responsive dog, that for all intense & purposes will be trying to encourage you to do it again. They do something that makes you laugh at them, they'll seem to love nothing more than to do it over again. Only dog I ever owned or known for that matter, that made me laugh as much as he did, and seemed to actually love doing it... if that's not a sense of humor, I don't know what is.

And as for their "viscousness or aggressive," behaviors, that should be addressed towards the people that own & train them, not the breed itself. Once I socialized my dog (who had obviously been abused, and trained to be aggressive, well into adulthood), he became the sweetest, most obedient & mellowest dog I'd ever owned!

I also worked for a major metropolitan newspaper during the 80's when we had all the media hype about "The Pit Bull Breeds," attacking humans, and making the news all the time. We did a national survey of all the major "humane shelters & dog enforcement agencies," around the country, and compiled a list of recorded dogs, biting, humans, incidents, and the "bull Breeds," actually came out as number eight on the list. Well under Black Labs, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinchers, and other breeds. And given the fact that the "Bull Breeds," where more likely to be owned & trained (aggressively), by macho types, that wanted "aggressive," dogs during that period, I personally find the hype about the "Bull Breeds," being the more aggressive & dangerous dogs to be way over rated. Anyone with a brain & the right temperament, can teach anyone of "bull breed," dogs to be just as nice & even tempered as any other dog breed out there... so lets not overate their aggressiveness, that's a human problem, not a breed problem! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.243.56.53 (talk) 17:00, 8 April 2012 (UTC)

Your statement began with "yes, it's (anecdotal)" -- PERIOD. An anecdote is an anecdote... and while anecdotes shouldn't be discounted off-hand in a day-to-day situation, they have no place in an encyclopedia. For starters, your description of the response to "pulling a joke" on a bull terrier could be attributed to at least a handful of non-Bull Terrier dogs I've known personally -- and who's to say my anecdote outweighs yours, or vice versa? This is why anecdote isn't allowed -- so Wikipedia isn't FULL of articles of people merely debating back and forth based on their own, personal, heavily biased experience. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.245.2.216 (talk) 06:32, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Oliver Twist?

The article currently states that Sikes in Oliver Twist had a bull terrier named Bullseye. I searched the text of Oliver Twist on Project Gutenberg and found nothing for "bull terrier" or "bull and terrier" or "Bullseye". 1838 seems very early for a reference to a bull terrier. Am I missing something or is this wrong? Ecphora (talk) 02:35, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

I traced this to an edit on April 25, 2009. Previously, the article stated that there was a bull terrier in the movie Oliver!, not the 1838 book. That seems much more likely, so I'm restoring that statement. Ecphora (talk) 15:38, 10 October 2010 (UTC)
The article on Wikipedia for Bill Sikes states that he "owns a bull terrier named Bull's Eye, whom he beats until the dog needs stitches." The drawing of Sikes includes the dog. I notice the statement even about the movie is gone, so I'll leave it out, but worth noting that it was true. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.245.2.216 (talk) 06:39, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

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Should Spunky be included?

According to this nerdist.com article, Spunky, a dog from a 1993 Nickelodeon show is considered to be a Bull Terrier (Miniature). Can someone add this into the "in popular culture" section? 97.96.29.159 (talk) 03:07, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

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Semi-protected edit request on 23 January 2019

Change the main picture of the Bull Terrier to this photo --> https://i.imgur.com/4sFIexVr.jpg NSG Mercury (talk) 17:49, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

  Not done Existing photo is much better quality and there is no evidence of permission for using the linked meme photo. Waggie (talk) 18:00, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

Blogs and self-published sites are not Reliable sources

Mollosser World (moloss.com) and Bulldoginformation.com are not reliable sources. Please see WP:RSSELF, "Anyone can create a personal web page or publish their own book and claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published sources are largely not acceptable."

Mollosser World (moloss.com) is a now-defunct website. There's no way to tell if it was a blog or a self-published website or what. I wouldn't use even an archived version of a page in that website.

Bulldoginformation.com is a self-published website by a single person of unknown experience/knowledge heavily salted with her own affiliate links to Amazon.com. Thus, the history of Bull Terrier as mentioned on her site is not a reliable source. [1]

Note: The AKC heavily modified their website and now a lot of citations from Wikipedia to akc.org no longer point to information supporting text in Wikipedia articles.

Nomopbs (talk) 12:29, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

Also not RS are molossermania.com and ringsurf.com. Nomopbs (talk) 12:59, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

The AKC references can probably be salvaged with archive.org if you don't feel like poking around their current site for links. It might be better to use that anyways for permanence. I agree that most individual breeder websites are likely not reliable for historical information purposes, as they often have a financial motive to inflate claims. The AKC has published several books over the years, including this one (which might be a little out of date - might be something more recent if you were to look for longer), that would probably be better sources for breed history. PearlSt82 (talk) 16:32, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

Dangerous Breed?

Bulldogs are dangerous. Many poeple, like my friend Maria, have been bitten severely and had to go to the hospital as a result....dangerous indeed. The article doesn't seem to talk much about the potential violent nature of bull terriers. They are prone to bouts of extreme violence, especially with other larger dogs. There are frequent instances in the news of bull terriers mauling people, much more then I see in other legal breeds.

In fact the breed has been banned in germany German customs

Unsigned message response. This issue is much larger than simply one breed of dog, any dog can be violent. Frequent instances maybe - you'd need to back that up with a citation.

Maybe you should try looking for an article other than this one to choose - the "media scares" and folklore about a whole range of breeds (and the derivative cross breeds) as being endemically violent is as intriguing as the threat. Joanna Bourke's "Fear a Cultural History" would be a good start on that issue. However all that said, some strains of some dogs have been recognised as having problematic behaviours, but bullies arent the only breed with that issue! SatuSuro 01:08, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Following up on this try Dog attack and breed-specific legislation neither of which are comprehensive articles, but nevertheless a start on this issue SatuSuro
I believe the German law banning Bull Terriers was rescinded. Bull Terriers were never used to fight, but used to bait bulls in bull fighting, that is to get bulls to chase them when the matadore was in trouble.

According to Dog Bite Law the Pit Bull type (which includes the 3 main bull terrier breeds) is responsible to the most fatalities of any breed yet according to the American Kennel Club They're the the 62nd most popular breed. Although they're not statistics from the same date range it's indicative that this is a significantly high risk breed.Dwightlathan77 (talk) 19:13, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Dogbitelaw references surveys based on media reports which have been proven inaccurate by lawyers and various governments. Most experts dismiss their credibility. http://www.scribd.com/doc/35396356/Dog-Attack-Deaths-and-Maimings-A-Critique-September-1982-December-22-2009 Dwightlathan77 (talk) 19:13, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
Again another unsigned message from 172.207.174.32 - please consider joining wikipedia, or at least signing with 4 tildes SatuSuro 22:47, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

I am a fervent lover of this breed. However I think that the potential for violence of the breed IS entirely relevant to this article. Whilst there is a lot of folklore and media hype associated with such things, it is an INDISPUTABLE FACT that this breed has been classified as a dangerous dog in both Italy and Germany. Mention should be made of this in the article irrespective of the wrongs or rights of these actions in these countries. The subject also warrants mention because the breed is thought to be particularly susceptible to a neurological condition called sudden onset aggression (SOA) and is the subject of at least one study in the US. see http://critterweb.com/btneuro/ .

In fact that article states that SOA is a rare condition and "the majority of suspected cases turn
out to be due to some other 'normal' canine behavior"; nowhere does the article suggest that bullies
are "particularly susceptible" to it - it's rare.
In fact, three of the four references under the heading 'More information' are articles about SOA in
Springer spaniels; if anything, it is that breed, not bull terriers, that would appear to be
"particularly susceptible" to the condition. I looked around a bit, and could find nothing that
warrants the claim with respect to bullies - the critterweb.com article is no help. Cordially,
mike_blackstock —Preceding undated comment was added at 19:01, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


As regards suitability with children, I think this article is downright irresponsible. Whilst this breed is one of the most loving and human centric you could find, other characteristics make them one of the LESS suitable breeds to have around children. These other characteristics include:

extremey strong,
one of the most powerful canine jaws,
extraordinarily dangerous teeth,
highly maneuverable,
notoriously headstrong, determined and difficult to train for recall,
intolerance to teasing,
reaction to being challenged.

I have NEVER seen a recommendation for households with small children. Indeed they are recommended only for adults with much experience of dogs or of BTs.

Ask a vet

I'd like to know where you got your information, because it seems like it is comprised of an amalgamation of fear-based articles written by people who hate bully breeds. Their bite psi strength is only about 235 when the average bite psi is 230 to 260. Some dogs go up to 799, so when you say they have "one of the most powerful canine jaws" it is quite false. Here's one of my sources, where are yours? https://www.insidedogsworld.com/dog-bite-explained-top-20-dogs-with-the-strongest-bite-force/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mermaidbebop (talkcontribs) 02:13, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Anyone who owns a bully will know the make a good pet with young children around. BUT with all dogs you need to keep an eye on the child and dog.

The above line is not mine and is anonymous. The author is probably referring to their own experience. My experience with the breed is that they are unusually intolerant to teasing, even if there may be individuals that can tolerate it Myredroom 10:45, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

I have reverted my original comments to how they were originally entered. An annonymous editor has responded (confusingly) to all my points (probably) with their own opinions experiences. This is very poor wiki eticate. Myredroom (talk) 17:51, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

None of this should detract from their INTENSELY loving nature; they just need to be in the right hands.

Myredroom 15:55, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Is there any reason that the breed's notoriety for fatal attacks is left out of this? I thought this was supposed to be a factual encyclopedia entry - not a puff piece written by admirers of the dog? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.145.93.128 (talk) 19:11, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

I agree with the above user. By not even mentioning the pit bull's reputation for violence, the article clearly violates NPV. If you want, mention the reputation and then cite evidence debunking it. But leaving it out altogether is stacking the deck, FoxNews-style. 76.90.232.8 (talk) 06:23, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

The pit bull and the bull terrier are not the same breed of dog. I assume it would have been left out for this reason. It would be fox news style to suggest that they are one in the same. The fact is they are a powerful dog that require supervision no different to any other of similar stature. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.236.63.143 (talk) 22:59, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

One Grammar Error, Other Bull Terriers, and a Title

I have just joined, so please be kind with any criticism of this post.

I noticed that this line: "(Although Blue and liver highly undesirable)" is missing a verb. I assume "are".

Also, I want to ask how famous a Bull Terrier has to be to get included on the list. For example there is a famous greeting card character named Maxine. She seems to have a white Bull Terrier. The character Monica in the well-known web comic Wapsi Square also has a white Bull Terrier named Dietzel. And of course Target stores has had a white Bull Terrier in its marketing campaigns for quite some time.

Finally, I originally looked for the search term "English Bull Terrier" and that was in no way connected to this article. Given that it's the breed's proper name, I think it should be linked.

As I said, I am new. Also, I am not ready to delve in just yet - it's a little intimidating. Because of that, feel free to use anything I've said here as a possible change/addition to this article.

Signed and dated for archive purposes only. William Harris talk  11:35, 24 September 2019 (UTC)

Needs to be more balanced

It is quite clear that this article has been written by Bull Terrier lovers.

Please, let's stick to facts and not quote sources such as the "Bull Terrier Lovers Blog" when it comes to issues such as whether they are dangerous animals or not.

Signed and dated for archive purposes only. William Harris talk  11:35, 24 September 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 June 2020

2A00:A040:195:63E1:406A:5B15:630E:5AF2 (talk) 09:37, 14 June 2020 (UTC)

Health section

It seems to be written like a guide. Idk how to rewrite it. Eridian314 (talk) 19:30, 24 March 2021 (UTC)