American Bully
![]() ![]() Unlike a true American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Bully hadn't been created for the fighting ring, although many of these dogs have been used for amateur level street fights by their ignorant and oftentimes criminal owners who believe them to be actual Pit Bulls, but the greatest blow the APBT breed has been dealt has been the promotion of these dogs which were commonly misrepresented as actual Pit Bull Terriers as good property guardians and protection dogs in the United States. With the massive popularity of what was the "alternative Pit Bull" type at the time, coupled with a long streak of indiscriminate breeding of these dogs who often ended up in the wrong hands, the incidence of attacks on humans with the APBT receiving the blame and its current media-fueled notoriety as a dangerous breed has also been steadily rising.
With the constantly increasing pressure on the promoters of the "new" Pit Bull by the lovers of the original APBT over the unjustified bad reputation being attached to what was once regarded as an ideal family pet, traditionally known to be harmless to humans and a bona fide American legend, as well as the growing difficulty of proving that these "alternative" strains hadn't been developed by crossing other breeds into the APBT, the breeders of the American Bully finally decided to "step away" from the APBT breed and establish a new breed out of their existing stock. Unfortunately, there is still a great number of owners and breeders who continue to maintain that their dogs are proper Pit Bull Terriers, whether their pedigrees are falsified or not. While the push for the separation of the American Bully from the APBT is most definitely a positive thing, many promoters of the new breed claim that no other breeds apart from the AmStaff and the APBT have been used for its creation.
The breed type isn't fully set yet, with some dogs resembling animals of the Olde English Bulldogge type and others being similar to smaller American Bulldogs and oversized Staffordshire Bull Terriers in appearance, but the breed Standard does exist and the future selection based on its points may bring a greater deal of uniformity for the American Bully. A handsome dog, this powerful breed tends to have muscular, stocky bodies, with short backs, broad heads and wide, short muzzles with reasonably loose lips and well-developed jaw muscles. The ears can be cropped or left natural, while the tail must remain unaltered. The nose may be black, blue, brown, liver or red, depending on the coat colour. The coat is short, smooth and flat, most commonly seen and sought after in blue, grey and red colours, but is accepted in any colouring. Average height for the modern American Bully is around 21 inches, but taller dogs can still be encountered. |