Bull Arab

This versatile working breed bearing a fairly misleading name comes from Australia, where it was developed as a superiour boar hunting dog by Mike Hodges and a few other enthusiasts. One of the most popular Aussie Pig Dogs, the Bull Arab is said to be a result of crossing English Bullterriers with English Pointers and English Greyhounds, but other breeds have also been suggested, such as the American Bulldogs and Pit Bull Terriers, as well as German Pointers and Arab Saluki Hounds, the latter apparently explaining the Bull Arab name. However, some claim that the original cross produced by Hodges was from an accidental breeding between his Bullterrier bitch and a neighbour's Dobermann named "Arab", but this hasn\'t been confirmed. Whatever the true origins of this Australian hunting breed may have been, the modern Bull Arab has been perfected by hog hunters who simply crossed various available proven working dogs following the "best to the best" principle, resulting in a versatile, tough and reliable hunter which has been receiving a great deal of attention outside of its homeland in recent years.

There is a great variety in appearance standards among Bull Arabs, due to the individual breeder\'s ideas of what a perfect dog should be. It is common to find dogs that are short, stocky and wide-headed, as well as taller dogs with leaner bodies and narrow heads. Regardless of type, Bull Arabs are tireless workers and impressive hunters. Some degree of dog-aggression is found in certain bloodlines, but most dogs are said to possess sound temperaments and agreeable personalities.

Their powerful bodies are well-muscled and have short smooth hair, always white with darker patches of various sizes, usually brown, black, brindle, fawn and yellow, although non-traditional colours such as black, liver and blue can sometimes be encountered, but their ancestry is questioned by the majority of breed fanciers. Average height is around 20 inches, but taller dogs exist.