I WANT ONE!

Hi guys,

I've been wanting a bull terrier for ages like YEARS!! LOL I have a staffy and I've looked up lots about bull terriers on the net and in books but i want to ask you guys cause you all have first hand experience

Is there a massive difference between the staff n ebt? (apart from looks)

Are they as stubborn as the net and books say? And if so how stubborn LOL like have they got selective hearing

And what are they like generally to live with?

THANKS

Caryll is the best to advise you on that as someone that's owned both but I think stupid , awkward, stubborn , clumsy and very loving are the phrases quite often used

awkward!

Obstinate!

They sound like a they would be a challenge

Oh and lazy I think too

_vic_k_ wrote:
Is there a massive difference between the staff n ebt? (apart from looks)

Yes. And no. Sort of........
They're definitely not as good with people (on the whole) as a stafford, but they're generally not untrustworthy. They're obviously a lot heavier & much, much clumsier. They won't walk around things, they walk through them!

_vic_k_ wrote:
Are they as stubborn as the net and books say? And if so how stubborn LOL like have they got selective hearing

The books don't tell the half of it! They don't have selective hearing, they have selective deafness! And thick as two short planks, although it's quite endearing.

_vic_k_ wrote: And what are they like generally to live with?

Hard work. They really aren't very bright, and the training can be like banging your head against a brick wall. Very clumsy & pushy, but also very cuddly (try having a 28kilo lump of muscle & gristle slumped on your lap!). Absolute clowns, though. All those who've already heard this one, skip forward to the next sentence - Dempsey is nearly 4 years old & we've had him since he was nearly 8 weeks but he still hasn't worked out that our garden gate opens inwards!

Very prone to weight gain, bloat & OCD and notorious chewers - they'll chew & swallow anything. Not just as pups, but right through their lives.

If you still want one, save up. Go to a good breeder who has had all the health checks done, because there are some serious hereditary problems in BTs. You'll pay a lot more than through places like gumtree etc (hate those places) or private ads, but you'll get a healthy dog. Dempsey was £900 & I'm pretty sure they'll be nearer the £1k mark now.

Changed your mind yet?

Sounds like my kinda dog I think it would be a fantastic pal for Mitch cause they sound just like how he is apart from the stubbornness I didn't know they were cuddly kind of dogs AMAZING!

So they never grow out the chewing stage we were really lucky with mitch he never chewed apart from one time when we tried leaving him out his cage and he destroyed our bed

I'd defo go to a really good breeder I'd really like to get into showing just as a hobby so i would be willing to pay ALOT

Health wise hows your baby dempsey? No problems or anything?

Thanks for all the info

_vic_k_ wrote:
I'd defo go to a really good breeder I'd really like to get into showing just as a hobby so i would be willing to pay ALOT

As with most dog showing, it's hit & miss. Dempsey won a few, but lost a lot! It's very cliquey - the top breeders tend to come out on top all the time. Maybe that's cause they keep the best dogs to themselves, but it's how it works out.

No breeder will tell you that you have a dog that'll win - there are loads of things that can change during the first 18 months. With Dempsey, his left ear never really firmed up & the ears themselves were a bit too big & too far apart, which is something you can't always see as a pup. Also, Bull Terrier jaws can be a problem. There are a lot of undershot dogs around, and dogs with 'tight' or 'instanding' canines (major fault) which is what happened to Dempsey. He had a perfect bite until about 15 months & then went tight. Go to a few shows & see if you can talk to some of the people there. Get yourself known! Phone breeders & ask advice (they like that!).

_vic_k_ wrote:
Health wise hows your baby dempsey? No problems or anything?

From a hereditary illness point of view, he's fine. No kidney problems, no heart prblems, no deafness (although deafness is rare in the coloureds). Physically strong & robust, although he has a few food intolerances - but that can happen with any dog. He did develop bloat, but I don't think it was breed related. He does have a tendency to OCD (most of them do) and we have to guard against uncontrolled repetitive behaviour.

No brain, though!

Hopefully i would get a puppy that would keep my house tidy with his OCD

Even if i didn't get a show puppy i wouldn't mind, i wanted to show mitch but he doesn't even compare to the show staffs i've seen.

I went to one dog show and seen the bull terriers there but all the owners looked very sour faced and walked away if you even looked there way
I'm hoping to spend a day down at crufts to see the EBT and Staffys so hopefully there more approachable down there

Oh and how are they with children??

I'm hitting with every questions i can think of sorry

I really must find the photo's of my boy "Baron" .. (before digital photography so need to find the pics and scan them in )

I also wanted an EBT for yrs before finally gettin one (all white, no markings) .. he was an absolute lunatic, and fairly sneaky

Andy wrote:I really must find the photo's of my boy "Baron" .. (before digital photography so need to find the pics and scan them in )

I also wanted an EBT for yrs before finally gettin one (all white, no markings) .. he was an absolute lunatic, and fairly sneaky

Get scanning then sir

janey wrote:

Andy wrote:I really must find the photo's of my boy "Baron" .. (before digital photography so need to find the pics and scan them in )

I also wanted an EBT for yrs before finally gettin one (all white, no markings) .. he was an absolute lunatic, and fairly sneaky

Get scanning then sir

I really want to, but have no idea where the pics are since we moved house ... we still have them somewhere deffo cus my daughter remembers showing them to a freind not long after we moved here apparently .. and they are also with the few paper photo's we have of Zac (our first staffy) with the kids when they were little

_vic_k_ wrote:I went to one dog show and seen the bull terriers there but all the owners looked very sour faced and walked away if you even looked there way

I'm afraid you'll get that with all shows & all breeds! What's best is to contact a couple of breeders & ask them which shows are worth going to & then ask if you could possibly say hello to them, and maybe they could give you a few pointers on the finer points of bullies!

_vic_k_ wrote:I'm hoping to spend a day down at crufts to see the EBT and Staffys so hopefully there more approachable down there

I'll be there on Terrier day this year (Thursday), so look for the short, fat old lady with her taller, slim & pretty daughter!

_vic_k_ wrote:Oh and how are they with children??

I'm hitting with every questions i can think of sorry

They're generally good with kids, but are a lot less gentle than staffords. They don't know their own weight/strength & tend to knock them over. Dempsey's not used to really young children so he gets waaaay too excited when he comes into contact with them - he 'spins' several times (which normally makes them laugh, which makes him do it more!), and if he's made to sit quietly & they stroke him he trembles!

Wow, it's great to see so many questions being asked before taking the plunge. We see so many people who get the dog first then start to ask questions, well done for doing the research first.

Sorry I cannot answer any of your question, I've never had an EBT and Rocky is our first Staffy, well Staffy cross.

Good luck on finding the right dog for you, I'm looking forward to lots of pics too.

Kathy wrote:Wow, it's great to see so many questions being asked before taking the plunge. We see so many people who get the dog first then start to ask questions, well done for doing the research first.

Sorry I cannot answer any of your question, I've never had an EBT and Rocky is our first Staffy, well Staffy cross.

Good luck on finding the right dog for you, I'm looking forward to lots of pics too.

I like to know what I'm letting myself in for before i get one just because i know people that get pups/dogs then a few months later get rid =( but I'm the kind of person even if my dog is the worst dog ever i couldn't bring myself to give them up once i have them that's it for life LOL

And Caryll I'll be looking out for you! Get some more bullie chat
Mitch is the same with kids he gets way to excited and jumps up at them and knocks them over but I've started to try calming him down n making him sit so they can stroke him but I he'll sit and his tail goes crazy LOL so any advice with kids please share

Now that I have an EBT cross on foster, my perception of them is changing.

My foster seems to have an on/off switch - either docile and tippy-toeing around the house, or in full funny mode.

Tippy-toe gets you a cuddly dog which likes lying on her back for belly rubs, and will throw random paws in the air for more, in between sleeping and eating.

Full funny gets you an hilarious dog which spins round and round the living room rug before flipping onto her back for belly rubs, throwing random paws in the air for more. Telling her to stop just gets her doing more. (Going to her dinner bowl and popping a handful of food into it gets her attention instantly, though).

Either way, she seems to revolve around searching out belly rubs.

I'm assuming it's because of their jaw attachment and skull shape, but whenever she's playing there is a large, tangible grin spread across her face.

Characteristic-wise, she takes a lot more training to get the basics in place than previous staffy fosters. And she hates the snow. I have to carry her from back door to a snow-free space I've cleared in the garden for a wee.

Otherwise, she just leaps up and down on the snow right outside the back door, never making any forward or sideways progress.

The thing I'm most in awe of is her incisor teeth - they're huge, like some pig/walrus hybrid from the prehistoric age.

Keith wrote:Now that I have an EBT cross on foster, my perception of them is changing.

My foster seems to have an on/off switch - either docile and tippy-toeing around the house, or in full funny mode.

Tippy-toe gets you a cuddly dog which likes lying on her back for belly rubs, and will throw random paws in the air for more, in between sleeping and eating.

Full funny gets you an hilarious dog which spins round and round the living room rug before flipping onto her back for belly rubs, throwing random paws in the air for more. Telling her to stop just gets her doing more. (Going to her dinner bowl and popping a handful of food into it gets her attention instantly, though).

Either way, she seems to revolve around searching out belly rubs.

I'm assuming it's because of their jaw attachment and skull shape, but whenever she's playing there is a large, tangible grin spread across her face.

Characteristic-wise, she takes a lot more training to get the basics in place than previous staffy fosters. And she hates the snow. I have to carry her from back door to a snow-free space I've cleared in the garden for a wee.

Otherwise, she just leaps up and down on the snow right outside the back door, never making any forward or sideways progress.

The thing I'm most in awe of is her incisor teeth - they're huge, like some pig/walrus hybrid from the prehistoric age.

Yep! That sounds just about right!

And yes, their incisors are big, as are (normally) their front paws!

Dave wrote:Oh and lazy I think too

My girlfriend's Dad has one along with a few other dogs and I've never see a sleepier dog in my life. I called round once and he was sleeping with his face down and bum in the air and stayed like that the entire time I was there.

Bearing in mind there was 4 puppies, 3 dogs and 5 people running around this is pretty unbelievable I think

Oh, I believe it!

I did a lot of research too before getting Tip. Its unfair to get any dog and then having to have them destroyed or abandoned because they not what you expect, and stupid and irresponsible.

People like that should be banned from owning any animals.

I'm lucky that Tip's breeder is open for questions etc. We even had a home check from him before we got her. She is my first BT and I think she isn't too thick.She house train as easily as all my shepherds did. We working on the bite issue but she wants to please (just seem to forget sometimes) and we consistend on it.

Wow Nicky, that was very responsible of the breeder to do a homecheck, we had one before we collected Rocky and he is from a rescue centre.

He is a super guy. He pointed me too the puppy classes we will be attending. And he is a dam good pilot too.