Temperament and Behavior• Visit www.akc.org for more information on the breed. Here's a breed profile from the Drs. Foster & Smith website. And another good assessment of the breed from your purebredpuppy.com
Diet
One of the best things you can do for your rescue bully’s health is switch to a raw diet.
Although many bullies live to a ripe old age, problem free, on pet store kibble, they are a lucky minority. Despite their macho good looks bull terriers, particularly white bull terriers, are a delicate breed, prone to skin infections, yeast infections and allergies. Very often rescue dogs come to us with compromised immune systems and other health issues because of stress and neglect in the early years. The best way to control these problems and promote good health is through species-appropriate feeding, commonly known either as a “raw diet” or the comically-acronymed “BARF” ( for “biologically appropriate raw food” or “bones and raw food”) diet.
Good books on the subject of “going raw” include: Ian Billinghurst’s “Give Your Dog a Bone” and “The BARF Diet: Raw Feeding for Dogs and Cats Using Evolutionary Principles;” Carina Macdonald’s “Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog;” Kmythy Schultze’s “Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats;” and Tom Lonsdale’s “Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health.” For beginners and anyone with reservations about raw feeding, we highly recommend Susan Johnson’s “Switching to Raw,” which is practical and easy-to-follow. For additional words of encouragement, read this article by Christie Keith from the February 7, 2007, San Francisco Gate newspaper.
There is also a Yahoo list devoted to bull terrier raw feeding: Raw4Bullies Yahoo List The folks on the list are incredibly knowledgeable and happy to help answer questions. [Yahoo Groups is a free service linking people with common interests. To join a group, you need only have a Yahoo ID. Click here for more info.]
Raw diets can seem overwhelming in the beginning; don’t let the sheer amount of information scare you away. You only need to keep a few rules in mind. (That’s where Sue Johnson’s book Switching to Raw excels.) In the short and the long haul, you will save money feeding raw: you can find everything you need at your local supermarket (shop the sales if you have a big freezer!) and reduce vet and medication bills over the life of your dog.
Speaking of vets, we are sorry to say that most veterinarians are skeptical of raw diets. Unfortunately nutrition training in veterinary schools is often limited to one course, and the syllabus and textbooks are often underwritten by the large pet food companies who, of course, want to promote their products. The best way to prove them wrong is to have a healthy, raw-fed bullie.
If you prefer, there are several brands of pre-made frozen raw foods in pet supply stores which, although pricey, many people find convenient. The most commonly found brands in our area are Prairie Raw by Nature’s Variety, Steve’s Real Food and Stella and Chewy’s.
Even if you’re not ready to “go raw,” there are other ways to better your dog’s diet. Home cooking for your bully is one option (the “bible” is Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats). Bear in mind that many home-cooked recipes (including Pitcairn’s) have lots of grain products which can aggravate skin conditions and allergies in bullies, who are often prone to those problems. And cooked diets require a few vitamin and mineral supplements, since nutrients are lost in cooking. Other diet alternatives can be found at www.volhard.com although, like Pitcairn’s, the Volhard diet may not be suitable for some bull terriers because it includes grains.
If you choose to feed canned food or kibble, we recommend Whole Dog Journal’s annual reviews of dry and wet dog food recommendations. Whole Dog Journal is a terrific resource.
Training• For bull terriers, with their willful personalities and sensitive psyches, basic obedience training is imperative. The bull terrier is a dog who thinks for himself. Therefore he needs to be persuaded, not forced, to "think inside the box" that you, as a human, present. For this reason, we advocate "positive" training methods. Old fashioned methods like choke collars, alpha rolls, and punishment-based protocols have been proven by veterinary behaviorists to be at best, inconsistent in their results and at worst, counter productive. For bull terriers, this is especially true.
Your dog can learn to respect you without the use of punishment. We encourage you to contact a trainer your area.
The Bull Terrier and children
Bull Terriers adore children. Keep in mind the breed is strong and can knock a child over; though they mean well, they can injure a child by simply playing. Therefore, we will not place a rescue dog in a household with very young children unless we know the dog has been surrendered by a loving home and raised with kids.
The Bull Terrier Internet Community•
To join a group, you need only have a Yahoo ID. Click here for more info.] Both new and experienced bully owners look to these sites for research, advice and support. If you want to know more about the breed, we suggest you join the "main list". Beware, though! Email traffic can be very heavy...we're a talkative bunch. There's also a bull terrier training list (focussing on positive training techniques), a raw for bullies raw feeding list and a list for discussion of neurological problems.
Deaf Bull Terriers • Some of the bullies that come into rescue are deaf. This hardly impairs their quality of life, but the means of communicating with deaf dogs has to shift from voice or clicker to signing and body language. For more info and resources, go to www.deafdogs.org. Another link of interest: "Cricket's Training Page."
DogAware www.dogaware.com Mary Straus’s excellent resource for canine nutrition. Among other things, be sure to check out her commercial dog food recommendations.
Marrow bone's are a excellent way to keep a bully busy while in their crate. You can purchase at any butcher or grocery store. Never give a bully rawhide bones.
Pit Bull Community and Bull breed group www.pitbull-chat.com Pit Bull Chat and links to all things Pit Bull, including rescues
