Type

The American Bulldog has many different looks. Making them a hard breed to identify at times. The newcomer to the breed will soon find that there are a bewildering array of bloodlines and types of American Bulldog.

The American Bulldog should not be confused with other breeds such as the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Stafford Terrier, Boxer, English Bulldog or any other breed. These breeds are the ones most mistaken ID for the American Bulldog. To see commonly mistaken breeds CLICK HERE

You can see a pictorial difference in these types below.
**Keep in mind that not all dogs in the type will look exactly like the dog pictured**
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Johnson/Bully Type
These larger bodied, heavier dogs can make excellent family companions and provide excellent protection around the house. These larger dogs also do very well in the weight pull competitions. These shorter muzzled undershot dogs are often most confused with Boxers or Mastiff Crosses, I am always asked " what kind of dog is that?"
American Pitbull Terrier, is a lot smaller and has the longer muzzle. And the English Bulldog that they know is a lot smaller and has a lot shorter muzzle.
Be aware that this types needs lots of socialization and proper training to become good canine citizens this type also tends to put on the pounds so make sure they get the proper amount of daily exercise and don't over feed.

100% Johnson

Johnson's Rebel Rouser 500
 

The 100% Johnson American Bulldog is a type that is breed exclusively from John D Johnson's stock. They are typically taller with a more slender body and a longer muzzle then the bully type and extreme type. Some people consider the 100% Johnson type is the only true type of American Bulldog. Most if not all of the classic/bully American Bulldogs today will go back to Johnson's original dogs. There are several breeders today that are producing 100% Johnson dogs. This type is primarily registered with the ARF; Mr. Johnson's preferred registry

In the 70s John D. Johnson bred two of his American Bulldog females (King's Lady Grace and Johnson's Sugar Doll) to English Bulldog West Champ's High Hopes. This created Johnson's Sugar Doll 3 and Bullmead's Queen who were both half English Bulldog.  The famous Johnson American Bulldog Johnson's Incredible Mean Machine was 30% English Bulldog and foundation stock for most Johnson American Bulldogs today. This has made the Johnson type American Bulldog somewhat less athletic and more bully in appearance. Weight for males can be 55 kg plus.  Mr. Johnson has branched away from the American Bulldog in 1998 to create the JDJ bulldog, which is a very tall dog with a "Standard type" body and a "Bully" head. Some claim this is now to be considered a different breed, registered with John D. Johnson

Bully Type

Ch Nielsen's I'll Knock You Out CGC
 

The bully type of American Bulldog has the widest range of looks. They are typically have a shorter muzzle are also not typically as tall or as leggy as the 100% Johnson dogs either. This type can be traced back to Mr. Johnson original stock. This is the most commonly seen classic/bully type American Bulldog. Most of the bully type dog still maintain the drive and athletic ability of a working dog while carrying the classic bully look. The bully type normally carries a little thicker bone then the 100% Johnson dogs.

Extreme Bully

Reda's D-Ball
 

The extreme type of American Bulldog is becoming more popular for its extravagated features. This type is shorter then the 100% Johnson and bully type. They typically have a shorter muzzle with an upturned nose and small nostrils. They carry thick bone and thick bodies. They tend to be less athletic and more heat sensitive then other types of dogs.  This type will most closely resemble and carry the traits of the English Bulldog and or Old English Bulldoggee.

Standard/Performance/Scott Type
In temperament these smaller framed dogs make excellent working dogs, such as Schutzhund, Personal Protection, Hog Catching, Weight pull and other physical work. Because we have breeders specifically breeding for "certain" jobs finding one with the same interest is suggested.
The Standard type is often confused by the public as a APBT (American Pit Bull Terrier). Because they have a longer muzzle, narrower head, smaller body. Even at shows, you hear comments like "That's the biggest Pit Bull I have ever seen", from spectators.

Be aware that most standard dogs are bred to work and thus they tend to have more drive then other types of dogs and if not properly trained and exercised they can be destructive.

Scott Type

Scott's Hero
 
 The Scott type looks like a large, coarse, leggy, white Pit Bull. They are lighter weight than the Johnson type and have a very muscular athletic look and their front legs are under their body, not thrown out to the sides. This makes the standard type American Bulldog very agile and structurally sound.  They have a very strong prey drive and can be dog aggressive, which is exactly what American Bulldogs needed 300 years ago to protect the farm from wolves and coyotes, and to do catch work.The Scott type has a closer underbite and longer muzzle. Weight generally from 27 to 45 kg. Well-known lines include Scott, Hines, Kerschner, Koura, Stover, and Williamson among others.
Performance Type

SGCh. Haakers Uno
 
The performance type is typically a stockier type of standard dog. They still carry the leaner appearance but have a thicker heavier body type and heavier muscle mass. The muzzle has a more boxy appearance and the head is a little wider then the Scott type. The Scott type and Performance type share everything else in common from drive to the type of work they can do.
Painter, Margentina

Margentina's Sargent Rock
 
In the late 1970s, Joe Painter, Margentina, Tappe and others developed a second performance strain of American Bulldogs that was unfortunately used in the dog fighting arena. They are of an even smaller size, 25 to 35 kg.  This American Bulldog line came from using inbred Johnson's Dick the Bruiser females that were small between 20 to 30 kg. They were bred to Larry Wrights Rounder and Alan Scott's Big Bucks. The Rounder dog came from G.L. Williamson's Big Joe and Tuck's Tiger Lady who was 50% Mac the Masher.
It is widely rumored that Margentina and Trap infused Pit Bull Terrier blood into the pure Joe Painter line. This was probably due to the color in these dogs.  However some of the dogs Joe Painter already had that color in them.
A couple of their more famous dogs were Painter's Zeke and Margentina's Sargent Rock. The Painter/Margentina strain was heavily inbred and had some problems, though through judicious outcrosses, the Painter strain has made valuable contributions to the breed as a whole.

Hybrid

The Hybrid type American Bulldog is attempt to pull the "best" of both worlds. These dogs are the result of crossing a Bully type American Bulldog to a Standard type American Bulldog. They are usually thicker the in the body then a Standard type and a longer muzzle and thiner head structure then a Bully type. For the most part Hybrid dogs are still all over the place as far as a certain look.

The reason we have this strain of bulldog is, folks wanted a larger working dog, to do Personal Protection, 
Schutzhund and other canine sport work, this meant they needed a dog large enough to hold a man down, yet had enough agility to jump well, move fast, and had plenty of drive to do the training.

 Hybrid - Bully Type

Boyd's High Jumpin Mikie
 

These are basically bulldogs whose blood-lines are a mixture of standard and bully types, with the goal being to distill the best features of both. Today most bulldogs are probably in this category. Some notable successful breeders of hybrid lines include Kyle Symmes (Sure-Grip), Matt Boyd and Greg Souza among many others. Hybrid dogs have excelled in competition in the States, especially Schutzhund and similar disciplines
Most Hybrids will fit into both categories; sharing traits from both types. 

Hybrid - Standard Type

Spades White Porsche

Old Southern White/White English Bulldog
 

Old Southern White

Joshua's Ol' Southern White
 

WARNING......
These dogs should not be confused with the American Bulldog.
After a lot of research and talking with other breeders these dogs are not American Bulldogs

They should not be registered as such but as an OSW or WEB. They should not be bred to American Bulldogs and registered as such. Buyer Beware.

One can still find dogs referred to as "White English" among countrymen that never have heard about Mr. Scott or Mr. Johnson.  This is a term for the original country bulldogs that are not descended from any of the modern lines, i.e. breeds strains with no infusion of blood from the common American Bulldog lines.
The reverse is in fact the truth; that is to say Old Southern Whites were the raw material that Scott, JDJ and others started out with when they got their foundation dogs.

Southern Whites are still used by country folk in the deep south, some of whom have probably never heard of Mr Scott or Mr Johnson or the term "American Bulldog".  Often their families have bred these "White English" for generations. A few breeders still use pure Southern White lines in their breeding programs and they can be a useful source of fresh genetic material for established bloodlines.

Carr's White English

Buddy Roe