American Bully

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The American Bully is a new type of dog established in the mid-1990s through breeding between American Pit Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Terriers.,^[1] as well as Bulldog, and other breeds which have not been disclosed.^[2] The American Bully is only recognized by various private registry breed clubs.

Breed standard

According to the American Bully Kennel Club the American bully has a well-defined, powerful appearance with straight, muscular legs. The head is medium-length and broad with a well-defined stop and high-set ears, which may be natural or cropped. The neck is thick and strong, tapering from the shoulders to the base of the skull, with no loose skin. Jaws should be square and well-defined, with an even or scissor bite, and the tail should be undocked and of a medium length with only a slight curl. Curly or corkscrew tails are considered to be a fault.

The coat is smooth, short, and hard. Any color or combination is acceptable. Any aggression towards humans is disqualifying.^[3]

Temperament

According to American Bully breeders, gameness and dog-aggression have been bred out.^[1] The genetic inheritance of aggression is complex and poorly understood.^[4] Study of the heredity of canine temperament has demonstrated that temperament heritability scores may be as low as 0.15,^[5] as currently living bullies are as few as 6 generations away from the oldest foundation animal, The Late Showtime,^[6][7] under ideal circumstances in which only completely non-aggressive an animals were bred, it would be statistically and scientifically impossible to 'breed out' aggression or game-ness within this timeframe. Under ideal circumstances in which breeding only occurred for the purpose of the reduction of aggression, the observed levels of pitbull aggression^[8] could be reduced by only reduced by approximately 62.5% within 6 generations.

Despite breeder claims of aggression in American Bullies being bred out recent media reports have implicated American Bullies both in chasing pedestrians,^[9] as well as an attack on a child.^[10]

Breed Standard, Development and Animal Cruelty

United Canine Association breed standards for the American Bully dictate that "The head is large and of medium length, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop, short foreface and high set ears.".^[11] In addition the American Bully Kennel Club includes an "Extreme" conformation category for dogs with "dogs with heavier body frames and more overall body mass".^[12]

According to the Pitbull advocacy group Pitt Bull Rescue Central the American bully is a "conformationally exaggerated dog with emphasis on extremes: wide, short, jowly and slow-moving. They are not as athletic as their bully breed relatives and may suffer from crippling health problems as they age like English Bulldogs and other breeds bred for a certain look. ".^[1] The health problem resulting from the confirmation of the English Bulldog have received a great deal of attention and a report titled “Pedigree Dog Breeding in the U.K.: A Major Welfare Concern?” determined that the “There is little doubt that the anatomy of the English bulldog has considerable capacity to cause suffering. . . . Many would question whether the breed’s quality of life is so compromised that its breeding should be banned.”.^[13]

Both inbreeding and breeding for extreme traits has been repeatedly determined to be detrimental to the health and welfare of dogs.^[13] Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society has gone as far as to state that though it is not a "more obvious" for of animal cruelty “Inbreeding and other reckless breeding practices may not be as bloody as dogfighting or as painful to look at as puppy mills, but they may ultimately cause even more harm to the well-being of dogs,”.^[13]

Recognition

The American Bully is recognized by various private registry kennel clubs:

USA

• American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC)^[14]
• United Bully Kennel Club (UBKC)
• Bully Breed Kennel Club (BBKC)^[15]
• United Canine Association (UCA)

EUROPE

• European Bully Kennel Club (EBKC)^[16]

References