Bull Terrier

Despite its fiery personality and bad (and incorrect) reputation as an aggressive dog, this terrier is very attached to members of its social group and constantly needs attention from them. The Bull Terrier is forever seeking strokes and other signs of affection from its loved-ones, even strangers.

The Bull Terrier adores spending time and playing with members of its social group. Its abundant energy levels require physical and mental stimulation on a daily basis, which playtime can help to fulfill. 

However, make sure that your dog is taught self-control at a very young age, so that playtime can be brought to a halt without the animal getting frustrated.

Terriers definitely aren’t known for their calmness, and the Bull Terrier is far from the exception to this rule. A real ball of energy, it’s necessary to dedicate a lot of time and effort to this dog to keep it happy.

This sturdy pup can cooperate, but prefers to avoid having to obey commands. This in itself is a remarkable sign of intelligence, even if this particular example doesn’t benefit the owner.

While this dog wasn’t initially bred to hunt, it is still fairly skilled in this area. However, it still isn’t suited to being trained as a hunting dog.

This muscular dog can sometimes try to scare people off, especially strangers, but most of the time is affectionate towards everyone. The Bull Terrier’s abundant energy means that it can often jump up at new people - people can find this a bit frightening, but it is usually a friendly greeting rather than a sign of aggression.

This pup is a real family dog - it does not value autonomy. Bull Terriers will never appreciate alone time, instead wanting to spend the most amount of time possible with members of their social group.

For these reasons, Bull Terriers can rapidly become overly attached to their owners. It is therefore important that the Bull Terrier puppy is trained to get used to separation and distance from its owners, in order to avoid the development of separation anxiety in its adult life.

This terrier is far from an introvert; it therefore requires the constant presence of its owners to feel reassured. The Bull Terrier should never be isolated, and should instead always be included in family life.

Training Bull Terriers can be tricky as they’re naturally quite stubborn. Their unwavering energy also means that it can prove hard for them to concentrate. Training sessions should therefore be short, but regularly repeated until they obey the command.

Your Bull Terrier should receive basic training as young as possible to avoid picking up bad habits.

You will need a firm hand to train this dog while being careful not to show aggression, so as not to elicit the temper of this fighting dog. Kindness, patience, coherence and regularity are the keys to successfully training a Bull Terrier.

This dog is anything but discrete. Bull Terriers know how to remind people that they’re there, in order to stay the centre of attention. If they don’t get the outcome they want, they can resort to barking to get the attention they craves.

While they’re utterly devoted to their social group, they are capable of running away in an attempt to exert their excess energy if they don’t receive the daily stimulation they need.

If your Bull Terrier does run away, it is important to note that it’s probably in a very fragile emotional state, since the idea of being alone is its worst nightmare.

If a Bull Terrier spends too much time alone, isn’t stimulated enough, finds itself bored, or is anxious at the idea of being left alone, it might become destructive as a means to moderate its frustration.

The greedy nature of this dog can definitely be advantageous as a motivation during training. However, make sure he doesn’t over-eat.

This terrier is a great guard dog - even though it can be friendly towards strangers, a Bull Terrier will most certainly know the difference between friends and foes.

While it’s a misconception, the sheer fact that many people are afraid of the Bull Terrier makes it an effective guard dog, without it even having to do anything.

Urban life in a flat can work for this dog, but only if it is walked at least twice a day, for an hour at a time. 

An indoorsy life doesn’t bother Bull Terriers, as long as their owners are frequently in the house too. 

The same goes for a house with a garden - if a Bull Terrier spends his days alone, even in a garden, it will quickly become very unhappy.

The Bull Terrier is a muscular dog that needs a huge amount of exercise to maintain its powerful stature and use up its excess energy. 

A Bull Terrier should be walked multiple times a day, whether it lives in a flat, house, town or countryside. Quick walks around the block or ventures into the garden won’t be enough to keep it satisfied.

Bull Terriers are very well suited to many sports (agility, flyball, nose work, etc.) that can simultaneously strengthen their training, their bond with their owner, and also satisfy their needs for stimulation.

The Bull Terrier’s medium size allows it to accompany its owners on trips under certain circumstances. 

However, the common misconception that this dog is dangerous and violent doesn’t always make it so easy. 

Early training and socialisation is necessary to make sure outings and travels run as smoothly as possible.

Cohabitation with a feline can prove very difficult for this dog. However, it is possible, as long as your dog has been around the cat from a very young age.

Even if a Bull Terrier manages to get on well with the cat it lives with, it may still hunt other cats that it would see as prey.

Like all terriers, the English Bull Terrier can be very aggressive towards other dogs. However, modern breeding processes have softened this negative characteristic. 

Consequently, if well socialised, the Bull Terrier can befriend any animal. However, it will always retain a slight aggressive quality towards other dogs, especially those of the same sex and breed.

Moreover, cohabitation can often cause many problems, since this dog can be quite exclusive in nature and naturally likes to be the centre of attention. Therefore, conflicts between two males of similar temperaments can easily occur. 

This pet’s unstoppable energy can also make for unpredictable encounters with other dogs - its enthusiasm isn’t always very well received. Therefore, it’s important to find your Bull Terrier playmates that are balanced, tolerant and patient.

This dog loves children, to the point where it can get carried away. Bull Terriers’ excessive excitement can make living with children, especially those that are very young, slightly challenging.

However, with early training and strict rules, this dog’s excitement can be subdued. 

Make sure you don’t leave a Bull Terrier unattended while playing with children, as it doesn’t always know its own strength.

The fiery temperament of this dog makes it quite incompatible with inactive people. A Bull Terrier requires a dynamic and active master to be completely fulfilled.

This square-nosed dog is truly unique, there isn’t another breed like it in the world. This can be appealing to many people, but a dog’s physical characteristics alone should not drive the choice of breed you adopt. 

First-time owners are likely to rapidly fall behind in terms of the energy and attention this demanding dog requires. It will need an experienced owner who is aware of the breed’s temperament to properly look after it.