Bull Terrier Breed Standard

Terrier Group

White

The Bull Terrier must be strongly built, muscular, symmetrical and active,

with a keen determined and intelligent expression, full of fire but of

sweet disposition and amenable to discipline.

Head

Should be long, strong and deep right to the end of the muzzle, but not

coarse. Full face it should be oval in outline and be filled completely up

giving the impression of fullness with a surface devoid of hollows or

indentations, i.e., egg shaped. In profile it should curve gently

downwards from the top of the skull to the tip of the nose. The forehead

should be flat across from ear to ear. The distance from the tip of the

nose to the eyes should be perceptibly greater than that from the eyes

to the top of the skull. The underjaw should be deep and well defined

.

Lips

Should be clean and tight.

Teeth

Should meet in either a level or in a scissors bite. In the scissors bite the

upper teeth should fit in front of and closely against the lower teeth, and

they should be sound, strong and perfectly regular.

Ears

Should be small, thin and placed close together. They should be capable

of being held stiffly erect, when they should point upwards.

Eyes

Should be well sunken and as dark as possible, with a piercing glint and

they should be small, triangular and obliquely placed; set near together

and high up on the dog's head. Blue eyes are a disqualification.

Nose

Should be black, with well-developed nostrils bent downward at the tip.

Neck

Should be very muscular, long, arched and clean, tapering from the

shoulders to the head and it should be free from loose skin.

Chest

Should be broad when viewed from in front, and there should be great

depth from withers to brisket, so that the latter is nearer the ground than

the belly.

Body

Should be well rounded with marked spring of rib, the back should be

short and strong. The back ribs deep. Slightly arched over the loin. The

shoulders should be strong and muscular but without heaviness. The

shoulder blades should be wide and flat and there should be a very

pronounced backward slope from the bottom edge of the blade to the

top edge. Behind the shoulders there should be no slackness or dip at

the withers. The underline from the brisket to the belly should form a

graceful upward curve.

Legs

Should be big boned but not to the point of coarseness; the forelegs

should be of moderate length, perfectly straight, and the dog must stand

firmly upon them. The elbows must turn neither in nor out, and the

pasterns should be strong and upright. The hind legs should be parallel

viewed from behind. The thighs very muscular with hocks well let

down. Hind pasterns short and upright. The stifle joint should be well

bent with a well-developed second thigh.

Feet

Round and compact with well-arched toes like a cat.

Tail

Should be short, set on low, fine, and ideally should be carried

horizontally. It should be thick where it joins the body, and should ta

per to a fine point.

Coat

Should be short, flat, harsh to the touch and with a fine gloss. The dog's

skin should fit tightly.

Color

Is white though markings on the head are permissible. Any markings

elsewhere on the coat are to be severely faulted. Skin pigmentation is

not to be penalized.

Movement

The dog shall move smoothly, covering the ground with free, easy

strides, fore and hind legs should move parallel each to each when

viewed from in front or behind. The forelegs reaching out well and the

hind legs moving smoothly at the hip and flexing well at the stifle and

hock. The dog should move compactly and in one piece but with a

typical jaunty air that suggests agility and power.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points shall be considered a fault and

the seriousness of the fault shall be in exact proportion to its degree, i.e.

a very crooked front is a very bad fault; a rather crooked front is a

rather bad fault; and a slightly crooked front is a slight fault.

Disqualification

Blue eyes.

Colored

The Standard for the Colored Variety is the same as for the White

except for the sub head "Color" which reads: Color. Any color other

than white, or any color with white markings. Other things being equal,

the preferred color is brindle. A dog which is predominantly white shall

be disqualified.

Disqualifications

Blue eyes.

Any dog which is predominantly white.