Bull Arab - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Bull Arab is relatively young dog breed with its origin in 1970s in Australia. The man who is credited for developing this breed is Mike Hodgens who crossed together several dog breeds including Bull Terrier, English Greyhound and German Shorthaired Pointer. The Bull Arab was originally developed to catch feral pigs, which is their main utilization even today.
2) Types (mention lines: Klement, Anderson, Cauchi, Paulsen, Fortini, Warrego, Leonardi and Campbell, Paulsen)
Mike Hodgens stopped breeding Bull Arabs in 1980s and since than, different lines of this breed arose. Most of them can be located in two Australian states – Queensland and New South Wales. All the lines are similar together, but not identical. For example Gary Andersons line is known to have a small percentage of Mastiff, which gives the dog bigger size. And for example the Paulsen line is said to have a small percentage of Bloodhound, which should give the dog even better sense of smell. But all the dogs should have similar temperamental characteristics.
3) Hunters
So as you already know, these dogs were developed for hunt and they are great hunters. They are commonly known as Australian pig dogs, and indeed, majority of them is hunting feral pigs. But they were used to work with feral horses, scrub bulls or Australian Buffalos as well with great results. When they are hunting, their main weapon is their excellent sense of smell. When they catch a hot scent, they follow it and start catching the boar. They do not kill the pig, but rather hold and subdue it until the hunters arrival. BTW, it is said, that these dogs are able to locate feral pigs as far as 4–6 kilometres away by the smell. Majority of these dogs are still bred for work, rather than for companionship.
4) Versatility
Even though the main utilization of Bull Arab is hunting, this is a very versatile breed capable of working in many different fields as well. Their powerful nose makes them great adepts for tracking and search and rescue job. Their loyalty, alertness and big strength is a reason, why they can be trained to be extraordinary protectors and guard dogs. These dogs have also potential for being good police dogs and of course, with proper socialization and training, they make very good obedient, lively and loyal family companions.
5) Exercise
As you can probably imagine, these dogs have high energy and exercise needs. Especially if you have this dog as a companion and you are not using it for hunting, than you will have to provide the dog a lot of outdoor exercise, long walks, hikes, jogs, lots of playtime and regular fun training session. These dogs are really full of energy and you just must exercise them on daily basis, otherwise, they will find out some other way how to deal with the energy and you will probably not like it, because it can include excessive barking, digging or destruction.
6) Size
The Bull Arab is a muscular and strong, but also very athletic and agile symmetrical dog breed with average height between 24-27 inch, which is 60-68 cm and weight is usually between 30-50 kg, which is 66-110 pounds. Females tend to be slightly smaller than males.
7) Coat
The Bull Arab has a short and smooth coat, which gets little bit softer and denser during the winter, but it should never be too soft, long or fluffy. Most Bull Arabs have predominantly white coat witch patches of tan, black or brown. Some Bull Arabs are also brindle.
8) Companion
Well, the Bull Arab can be an amazing companion dog which is very loyal, playful and affectionate and that can even be good partner for older kids. But this is definitely not a dog for novices, because they need proper early training and socialization, so they do not become overprotective, agressive and territorial. This is a very strong dog, so they need strong leader who will show them some boundaries and that will train them with patience and consistency, firmly, but kindly. This breed has the same bad reputation as pit bulls and some other breeds and many people think about them that they are agressive and vicious, but just like with all dogs, this mostly due to the bad leadership and bad socialization and training. With the right owner, the Bull Arab is quite easily trainable and it is not a problematic at all.
9) Maintenance
The maintenance and grooming could not be much easier as with the Bull Arab. Regular weekly brushing is beneficial for the coat, as it will remove any dirt and dead hair from it, but even without any grooming, the coat will still look great. Just like with all dogs, you should regularly check the ears, eyes, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.
10) Rescue
If you are thinking about getting a Bull Arab as a companion dog, you can consider adopting one! Apparently there are many Bull Arabs and Bull Arab crosses all over the Australia which are waiting for rescue. You can check out Bull Arab Rescue website for more information. ​