Bully History

The American Bully, as it is now known, began development in the 1980s with the majority of the final behavioral and aesthetic product being completed in the 1990s. There is consensus that at least five other breeds were used to attain the more "bully" physical traits desired as well as the more diminutive size of some lines. The American Pit Bull Terrier was the foundation used to create the American Bully. The APBT has maintained a characteristic appearance and temperament for over a century. Within that span of time different strains of APBT emerged within the breed, each with different physical attributes. One particular APBT strain was crossbred to create developed a specific, stockier, physique that breeders originally misrepresented as purebred American Pit Bull Terriers. Eventually, enough breeders agreed that these dogs were disparate enough from American Pit Bull Terriers that it warranted them admitting that they were different breed altogether.

The bloodline of these mixed breeds were further influenced with further, openly acknowledged breeding to the American Bulldog, English Bulldog, and Olde English Bulldogge in order to fine tune desired physical characteristics and personality traits.

The breed was first recognized by its breed club, the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC), in 2004. This registry first acted as a means to document pedigrees and show the breed against its written standard. According to the ABKC the initial desire for this breed was to produce a dog with a lower prey drive and more of the "bully" traits and characteristics than the American Staffordshire Terrier. Mass and heavy bone was prioritized to ensure such a look, and due to this many of the dogs shown today display the wide front for which they were originally bred.