Out of the Blue Kennels

 What is Bully?

Bully is a term used to describe a certain type of Pitbull. Bully Pitbulls also refered to as American Bully were started by one kennel, Razors Edge and soon after by everybody else most notably Greyline/Gottiline. The Amercan Bully is usually a compact stocky type with a large brick shaped head with heavy bone and muscle.

Before Razor's Edge and the American Bully their were AKC/UKC Amstaffs and UKC/ADBA American Pitbull Terrier. The Amstaff which started from American Pitbull Terrier lines were and are still bred for the way they look for the show ring and have less of a blood thirst as does some ADBA American Pit Bull Terriers. ADBA Pits are normally bred for working or game dog traits. The work that ADBA dogs do is bloodsport dog fighting which is incredibly cruel and rightfully illegal. The Amstaff which is genericly a type of pitbull was established to reduce public scrutiny of the pitbull. The companionship and asthetic traits the pitbull posess were stressed in the new Amstaff type. Many ADBA Game bred Pitbulls may be very good fighters but they are (not all) in incredably bad physical condition.

When Dave Wilson founded Razors Edge Kennels He started with game dogs and eventually bred them back to Amstaffs to develop a much higher quality animal. I have personally spoken with Dave Wilson and he assured me the only dogs used to develop Razors Edge dogs is the Amstaff and Pit Bull Terrier. Razors Edge Kennel's website explians it wonderfully. http://www.razorsedgeinc.com/

Why anybody would want game dogs now is hard to understand unless it'sused to fight than what's the point. My dogs have just as much drive as any ABPT I've owned or started out with.

So how did the American Bully happen?

These are examples of ADBA game bred APBT                    Examples of Amstaffs         

Examples of American Bullies                                        Examples of Staffordshire Bull Terriers

The first is a very sad part of the pitbulls history. These dogs are usually bred to be very aggressive and are kept in a constant dehydrated starved look. This is done to ensure indurance during fighting. The next is the Amstaff. The Amstaff was bred to look as beautiful as it is and are never fought. The happy side of the Pitbull legacy. Next is the American Bully type of Pitbull. Bred to have more of the bullier side of the breed come out. Bullies are never used for fighting. Last is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier from England. The Staffy is key to what a pit should be. The Staffy is the original anscestor of all pitbulls. Originally used for Pit fighting they are stocky large headed dogs that posess all the same good characteristics as its descendents. The American Bully looks very much like the original Pitbull type the Staffy. The American Bully is usually bigger and has much more pronounced features than the Staffy, Amstaff, or Game Pit. Some are over done and push to hard for bully features ( too fat or pushed in muzzle) and forget the good 50/50 bulldog/terrier mix. This is not the standard but to each his or her own. 

The most common anscestors to bully dogs are these three, but not soley.

      Throwin Knuckles                       Cairo                              Gotti

Since these carfully selected dogs American Bully breeders have been again carfully selecting desired traits through generations to acheive what we have today, The American Bully.  

 Out Of The Blue Kennels "Magnum"

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Quality Pit Bull 

Searching around the internet you will encounter all sorts websites offering pitbulls. Most of the pitbull kennels you will find will advertise that they breed for size temperment or color. Many sites will tell you how big their dogs heads are and how much they weigh. All these aspects are good ways of knowing what type of pitbull you want to find. The thing to keep in mind though is quality. There are big dogs with big heads out there but that doesn't mean they are quality.

When selecting a pitbull proportions and shapes of the dog is a good place to start. An example would be a dog that may be the color you desire and the big head you want but that doesn't have the chest and the tail is too long. Quality should be over all not just 1 or 2 features. Below is how I select my dogs in order of importance to me. These are only my expert opinions.

TEMPERMENT 

Temperment is the first thing above all other things to consider about any breed of dog. It is not enjoyable to have to deal with a dog that is too hyper, aggressive or cowardly. The temperment of the dogs parents along with proper socialization, nutrition, exercize and training is the best way to ensure a balanced and friendly dog. Highly confident dogs like the pitbull still have a strong genetic componant to their temperment. If the pitbulls pedigree comes from non-working show dogs bred for the show ring and not the fighting pit you will tend to have a less aggressive dog. Another genetic componant is the actually the color of the dog. All the dogs color pigment are based on two colors, yellow and black. The gene that controls what coat color the dog has also can help determine it's temperment. Now just because your dog is red or yellow doesn't nessicarily mean it will have temperment problems but it does mean that yes it could. This could help explain why fighting dogs are very very rarly blue. Many other factors contribute to temperment and the color of the animal should not be how it is judged for temperment. A dog is your best friend first no matter what it looks like.    

HEAD 

 The head tells it all in a breed. Many dog breeds have very simular bodies but it's the head you look at first to determine a breed. I always look at the head of the dog second. Not the size of the head but the shape. The head may be very very big but does it have the right shape? Heads are very deceiving. The more flat and wide the head is the bigger it appears from the top but it may look thin from the profile. A good balance of width and highth is disered. Just because a dog has a huge 25 26 inch head does not always mean it's the best looking pit you can get. The head also should have distinguished jaws and forehead to keep the breeds look consistant. Eyes should not be big or droopy and the jowles under the mouth and throat should not be too loose. The muzzle is an important part to consider. Too long or short a muzzle and the dog will drift away from the standard. Also check for a good scissor bite. Never believe what anybody tells you about how many inches around their dogs heads are unless they can show you with measuring tape. Every dogs head will look some what different but staying close to the standards are the key to a quality head piece.

BODY    

 The body of a Pit Bull is a little more loose than than a head should be. I prefer two types of bodies. One is short like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short back and a good muscular rear end that is proportionate to the ribs and chest. The chest should be broad and muscular. Shoulders as well. The neck should be packed with muscle and no where should the dog have loose hanging skin. The entire body whether lean or stocky should be ripping with muscle. Because Pit Bulls are the cross of athletic terriers and powerful bulldogs they display both physical traits of their ancestry. Some Pits look much more lean with less size and bone mass like a terrier while other appear more stocky or bully. A 50/50 cross of the two types is the quality I desire. Soldier is the best example of this I have seen.

SIZE

 The size of a Pit Bull depends on two things height and weight. The height of a Pit Bull is due to geneticly selected dogs that have short legs and broad chest. A short or bullier style of Pit Bull should be short but still athleticly functional. The weight of a Pit Bull should be in proportioned to how much muscle it has and. Because some Pit Bulls can be very muscular their weight may be way over the average of 30 to 60 lbs. If a Pit Bull is reaching the 100 pounds mark or more it does not mean it is a cross breed it usually is just how its bred. An examble of this is my Tank. Tank is around 65 lbs. Tank has had at least two puppies with differnent females no bigger than him that have all reached the 100 pound mark. These pups where throw backs to several big Pit Bulls in Tanks pedigree.

COLOR

 Color really is a matter of opinion. The color of a dog really has nothing to do with the quality. The only genetic factor that could come to play a role in how a dogs behavior would turn out is that the same gene that determines the color of the coat also helps determine temperment. Red dogs usually being a little more high strung but by no means is this always true. There is no color or pattern besides merel (I don't care either way) that is frowned upon by many Pit Bull enthusiets. I have run across people that would never own a blue dog or others that would never own a red nose dog. This has to do with the old debate about blue dogs not coming from game blood lines and others not wanting red nose because they're simply not blues. This debate is a real amatuer one. If you look at almost any Pit Bulls Pedegree you will find all types of colors including reds, fawns, brindles, blacks, blues and many others in thes same pedigree.

What ever you think is a good looking color is the right answer.