Across the globe, the bully breeds have seen a recent surge in popularity. These ‘bully breeds’ include over 50 terrier-type breeds. These terrier-type breeds include Staffordshire Terriers, Bull Terriers, Great Danes, and mixed bully breeds, which are called Pit Bulls. But where does such a complex and large come from?
While it’s hard to locate a single origin point for bully’s, we do know the major breeds are registered as early as the late 1800’s. English Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers are registered in 1886, 1893, and 1898, respectively. Furthermore, these breeds come from across the globe, as they can be found from the British Isles to the United Kingdom to the United States.
However, the bully breed has also seen continuous evolution and new breeds introduced. For instance, the Cane Corso was registered from Italy in 2010 and the Dogue de Bordeaux was registered from France in 2008. The Dogo Argentino from Cordoba was even registered as recently as 2020.
Despite their global popularity, bully’s are immensely popular in the U.S. In fact, the U.S. dog population is currently 20% bully’s, around 18 million dogs in total. And, with the expansion of the bully breed and the growing popularity in the U.S. bully’s are cementing themselves as America’s dog.