What Is The Difference Between American Bully And American Pit Bull Terrier

What's the difference between American Pit Bull Terrier And American Bully?

APBT: Lean muscle, trim build, light frame, lighter weight, game/working breed. American Bully: Bulk muscle, massive build, heavy frame, heavier weight, companion/show breed.

What’s the difference between American Bully breed and American Pit Bull Terrier breed? The answer is more complicated than you might think!

The differences between the American Bully and American Pit Bull Terrier breeds vary depending on bloodline. There are different types of American Pit Bull Terriers, and there are different varieties of American Bullies. In both breeds there are traits that are common and some that are more common to certain bloodlines.

The American Bully breed is relatively new, and is a result of mixed breeding consisting mainly of American Kennel Club (AKC) American Staffordshire Terriers and other bull & terrier breeds. It is notable that American Pit Bull Terriers made up a smaller fraction of the foundation for the American Bully, and these were mainly show type dogs, not game type (fighting) dogs. Tracing American Bully heritage will most commonly lead you to American Staffordshire Terrier pedigrees.

The American Pit Bull Terrier breed was established more than 100 years ago, and United Kennel Club has maintained a breed standard for nearly as long.

Pedigree

One of the differences between the American Bully breed and the American Pit Bull Terrier breed is pedigree. The heritage for these two breeds followed similar paths until the mid-1990’s when names, such as Razors Edge and Gottiline, first began to appear in pedigrees. From that point, the American Bully, American Staffordshire Terrier, and American Pit Bull Terrier breeds basically have gone their separate ways, although many American Bullies are registered as American Pit Bull Terrier.

The American Bully was not an established, or officially recognized, breed until recently. Prior to official recognition, American Bully breeders primarily registered American Bullies as American Pit Bull Terrier breed with UKC, and many breeders continue to do so today. That doesn’t make them American Pit Bull Terriers. Those dogs are simply American Bullies that are now improperly designated.

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Dogs that descend from known American Bully lineage are considered to be American Bully breed. However, many American Bullies are still registered with United Kennel Club as American Pit Bull Terrier breed.

United Kennel Club has been lax regarding improper breed designation in the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. There are multiple breeds currently being registered with United Kennel Club as American Pit Bull Terrier breed. Because most of these improperly designated dogs will never see a UKC show ring, they will likely never be reassigned to their proper breed designation.

Question: If the American Bully descends from the American Pit Bull Terrier, what makes it any different?

Answer: The American Bully has a relatively recently mixed heritage. American Kennel Club (AKC) American Staffordshire Terriers were the primary foundation for the American Bully breed, along with show type American Pit Bull Terriers. There were very few game type American Pit Bull Terriers used to create the American Bully breed. Actually, the American Pit Bull Terrier makes up a smaller fraction of the original American Bully heritage than the American Staffordshire Terrier. Additionally, there are many dogs in the American Bully heritage that were registered under multiple registries as multiple breeds.

For example, one dog could be American Kennel Club registered American Staffordshire Terrier, United Kennel Club registered American Pit Bull Terrier, and American Bully Kennel Club registered American Bully. One dog, 3 different breeds.

There is no exact recipe for the American Bully breed. The American Bully really is a hodgepodge of Bull and Terrier, and [possibly] Mastiff breeds. The recipe can vary from one bloodline to another, as the American Bully is still being developed, although it is now an officially recognized breed, separate from the American Pit Bull Terrier. A foundation and breed standard has been established for the breed, and some lines are now breeding true, although there is still a lot of variation in the breed as a whole.

Phenotype

Physical appearance is one way to distinguish between the American Bully breed and the American Pit Bull Terrier breed, but due to the amount of variation in phenotype in the American Bully breed, physical appearance is not always a telltale indicator of which breed it is.

Because there is so much inconsistency in United Kennel Club’s American Pit Bull Terrier breed, as a whole, it is more accurate to compare differences between American Dog Breeder’s Association (ADBA) American Pit Bull Terrier breed and the American Bully breed. The ADBA American Pit Bull Terrier standard more closely represents the type of American Pit Bull Terrier that had traditionally been used for working/sport.

ADBA American Pit Bull Terrier. Source: pitbulltruth.org

ABKC XL American Bully Champion Beefcake

Disposition

The temperament and disposition for the American Bully should differ from the American Pit Bull Terrier. The American Bully should posses less spirit, or game, than the American Pit Bull Terrier. Although some aggression towards other dogs is common in the American Bully breed, aggressive behavior is uncharacteristic for the breed, is deemed undesirable, and can be a disqualifying factor in the show ring.

Most American Bully breeders want to distance themselves from The American Pit Bull Terrier type and disposition. Gameness and aggression are typically selected against in the American Bully breed.

Breed Standards

The breed standards for the American Bully breed are different from those of the American Pit Bull Terrier, and the breed standards for the American Bully breed vary from one registry to another.

Media Misrepresentation

Source: Facebook

For many years, the mainstream media, and Bully breeders alike, have misrepresented the American Bully breed as being American Pit Bull Terrier breed. This is one of the primary reasons the breeds are oftentimes confused. Bully breeders frequently mislabel their dogs with confusing names, such as “Bully Pit Bulls”. Mainstream media has the tendency to refer to any dog with an ear crop as a “Pit Bull”. To top it off, lawmakers and law enforcement agencies group the American Bully breed together with numerous other dog breeds, and mixed breeds, as being “Pit Bull type”. This blanket term is then used in breed specific legislation (BSL) to legally discriminate against a broad range of dog breeds, including the American Bully breed.