Everything You Need To Know About The Fastest Growing Dog Breed: The American Bully

BULLY KING Magazine
BULLY KING Magazine
6 min readMar 3, 2017

The Most Common Argument Online: “The American Bully is Not a real Pit Bull”

No kidding! One look, and you should be able to tell the difference between an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) and the much bulkier American Bully. If not, we’ll help you there.

The American Bully is the fastest growing breed in terms of popularity. Everyone seems to want to have their own bully these days. But, there is a ton of confusion as to what an American bully is.. Is it a pit bull? Is it a bulldog? Are they athletic? Are they aggressive? You’ve heard the term “exotic”, “micro”, shorty bull, “XL”, “XXL” and you’re thinking to yourself what does that even mean!?

American Bullies are thick, beautiful, impressive muscular dogs with a great disposition towards other dogs, people and children. When bred correctly, they are athletic and can really move. Obviously not in the same way a 45lb American Pit Bull Terrier can.. They carry a lot more muscle, and some of the gameness has been bred out. Which makes them perfect family companions.

So.. The American Bullies you’ve seen on line really caught your eye.. but there’s so many different types and names being thrown around, you have no clue where to start and you’re afraid to ask.. That’s ok, we’re here to help.

Understand the History

The American Bully breed was created around 1990 and gained recognition and establishment in 2004 with the inception of the A.B.K.C Registry. The United Kennel Club or UKC recognized the American Bully breed in 2013. There are other registries, but for the purposes of this article we will mention the main two- which are the ABKC and UKC.

According to the ABKC-The American Bully breed has been selectively bred to give America’s breed, the American Pit Bull Terrier, a new direction and outlet. Like with the American Staffordshire Terrier (which is also an offshoot of the American Pit Bull Terrier) all of the positive characteristics of the breed’s ancestry were kept. Including loyalty, stability with humans and children, along with their physical attributes. Traits of dog and human aggression have been bred out, as they have no future purpose for that trait.

According to the UKC- The American Bully breed was subtly influenced by the infusion of several other breeds, which include the American Bulldog, English Bulldog and Olde English Bulldogge. The American Bully was recognized by the UKC on July 15, 2013.What differentiates this breed from the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier, is it’s physical appearance. The American Bully carries much heavier bone structure and a “bullier” build. A reinvented breed was formed with the purpose of being the ultimate companion breed, and this breed is the “American Bully.”

The American Bully is a companion breed exhibiting confidence, a zest for life, along with an exuberant will to please and companionship with their family. This making the American Bully an excellent family companion.

Despite the American Bully’s fierce and powerful appearance their demeanor is gentle and great with kids. They are friendly with strangers, other dogs, and other animals. Human or dog aggression, extreme shyness or viciousness is very uncharacteristic of the American Bully and is highly undesirable.

BREED STANDARDS

It is important to note the ABKC got rid of the extreme class. So there are currently 4 Classes

POCKET

This is an amendment to the basic standard which a Pocket Bully is determined by its adult height. Males under 17″ and no less than 14″ at the withers. Females under 16″ and no less than 13″ at the withers.

Grand Champion Bully Market’s Thee Buss

STANDARD

The American Bully should give the impression of great strength for it’s size. It is a compact and medium/large size dog with a muscular body and blocky head. The American Bully should have the appearance of heavy bone structure with a bulky build and look.

BULLY KING Magazine Mascot Grand Champion El Toro Owned by Ivan Condor

CLASSIC

This is an amendment to the basic standard. A Classic Bully is determined by it’s body structure and build. Both sex dogs with lighter body frames and less overall body mass, but still exhibiting “bully” traits.

Grand Champion Castro Owned by Natan Leemon

XL BULLY

This is an amendment to the basic standard, determined by it’s adult height. Males over 20"-23" at the withers. Females over 19"-22" at the withers. It is important to note that the XL Bully variety is simply taller than the Standard American Bully. XL dogs share the same build, body type and breed type as the Standard American Bully.

XXL BULLY

This isn’t a real classification of American Bully. If a dog reaches the height and size of an XL, that’s it’s class. Please stop using this term.

EXOTIC BULLY

The American Bully in itself is a faily new breed — barely 25 years in the making and steming off from the bullier type American Pitbull Terriers, American Staffordshires and various types of bulldogs. The American Bully has a bullier, shorter, more compact, dense body than your average pit bull.

The exotic bully however, is a relatively new term for the somewhat “overdone” type of American Bullies. These American Bullies tend to favor more of the “Bull” side of the Pit Bull, often being mixed with smaller bulldogs. They often have exaggerated features and a plethora of issues.

If there was one dog that people could automatically associate with the term “Exotic Bully” it would hands down have to be the very controversial “TheBullyCampLine’s Mr. Miagi“. Mr. Miagi was produced by The Bully Camp Line Kennel in California and is arguably the single most controversial Exotic Bully in the American Bully World.

Although this style of dog isn’t our preference, and can be plagued by health issues from poor breeding, the purpose of this article is too educate, not promote or bash. If you prefer this style of dog find a breeder that tests for hips, elbows.

There are some well bred “exotics” out there, but they are few and far between. The problem is there are no current breed standards from any legitimate registries. Many have rushed into becoming “breeders” with no knowledge on how to breed properly. All in pursuit of the almighty dollar. This has resulted in some very unhealthy and deformed dogs with even shorter life spans.

It is our hope that this article helps to give some insight into this incredible breed. For More News, Articles & Features & Photos on the Best American Bullies visit our blog or stop by our website!

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