KENAI
American Bulldog

The breeds · working

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian

American Bulldog.

UKC history: Bulldogs in England were working dogs that drove and caught cattle and guarded property, then were used in bull baiting; when that sport was outlawed the original type disappeared from Britain and was kept by working-class immigrants in the American South, where small farmers and ranchers used it as an all-around working dog. By the end of World War II the breed was almost extinct; John D. Johnson, a returning veteran, with Alan Scott and others, revived it, producing the Johnson (bully) type, bulkier with a larger head and shorter muzzle, and the Scott (standard) type, a sleeker performance dog. UKC characteristics: 'those which enable it to work as a hog and cattle catching dog, and a protector of personal property'; 'must be sufficiently powerful and agile to chase, catch, and bring down free-ranging livestock'; 'should be evaluated as a working dog'; honorable scars from field work are not penalized; recognized by the UKC January 1, 1999. AKC page: 'Historically, they were bred to be a utility dog used for working the farm.' Wikipedia: farm guardians, stock dogs and catch dogs; ranchers kept them to catch cattle and kill predatory wildlife that threatened farm property; added to the AKC Foundation Stock Service in November 2019..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
60–119LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 60 to 119 lb; breed bitches 60 to 119 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 20 to 28 in · bitches 20 to 28 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

Span covers UKC, AKC page and Wikipedia's breed-wide text range (28 in is the large-male end of that range).

Weight

dogs 60 to 119 lb · bitches 60 to 119 lb

Breed clubAKC

Span covers AKC and Wikipedia's breed-wide text range. No UKC weight.

Coat

UKC: short, close, soft to stiff, one inch or less; a coat longer than one inch, any feathering, or a wavy coat disqualifies; any color or pattern except solid black, solid blue, merle and tricolor (a full black mask is also unacceptable); less than 10 percent white markings is a serious fault. Wikipedia: short, generally smooth; predominantly white with patches of red, black or brindle historically, now many colors.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · UKC: coat short, close, soft to stiff, one inch or less; the muzzle is 25 to 35 percent of head length in bully types and 30 to 40 percent in standard types; any dog that exhibits difficulty breathing in the ring is disqualified. Wikipedia: short and generally smooth coat.

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2023

Derived from a short close coat (4). No source states a heat finding.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Life expectancy at birth

7.8 years (7.2 to 8.3)

MeasuredTeng K.T., 2022

UK VetCompass sample of 129 American Bulldogs; the row is the American Bulldog only, not the American Bully or the Bulldog. No Dogs Trust row for the breed.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC page bands: energy level 3 of 5, playfulness 2 of 5, trainability 4 of 5, barking level 1 of 5, affectionate with family 3 of 5, good with young children 3 of 5, good with other dogs 3 of 5, openness to strangers 2 of 5. UKC: a young American Bulldog is often standoffish with strangers, which judges should not penalize; by about 18 months the breed's normal confidence asserts itself.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are registry-page ratings, not minutes; no exercise_need_min row because no source prints a duration.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC page bands: coat grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding level 2 of 5 (bands the page prints as 0 are unscored). Wikipedia: coat needs little maintenance except a bath every few weeks; a light-to-moderate shedder; American Bulldogs 'are known to drool more than other breeds'.

Breed clubAKC

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

UKC history: Bulldogs in England were working dogs that drove and caught cattle and guarded property, then were used in bull baiting; when that sport was outlawed the original type disappeared from Britain and was kept by working-class immigrants in the American South, where small farmers and ranchers used it as an all-around working dog. By the end of World War II the breed was almost extinct; John D. Johnson, a returning veteran, with Alan Scott and others, revived it, producing the Johnson (bully) type, bulkier with a larger head and shorter muzzle, and the Scott (standard) type, a sleeker performance dog. UKC characteristics: 'those which enable it to work as a hog and cattle catching dog, and a protector of personal property'; 'must be sufficiently powerful and agile to chase, catch, and bring down free-ranging livestock'; 'should be evaluated as a working dog'; honorable scars from field work are not penalized; recognized by the UKC January 1, 1999. AKC page: 'Historically, they were bred to be a utility dog used for working the farm.' Wikipedia: farm guardians, stock dogs and catch dogs; ranchers kept them to catch cattle and kill predatory wildlife that threatened farm property; added to the AKC Foundation Stock Service in November 2019.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

UKC, AKC page and Wikipedia agree on a farm utility and catch dog. The AKC breed page group field was blank in the fetch; the AKC FSS listing comes from Wikipedia alone.

Primary game

UKC: 'hog and cattle catching dog'; the work is to chase, catch and bring down free-ranging livestock. Wikipedia: catching cattle and killing predatory wildlife that threatened farm property.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

UKC names hogs and cattle, not wild game. No source read describes American Bulldog hog hunting beyond this wording.

Also used on

UKC: protector of personal property, a fearless and steady guard dog, all-purpose working dog and loyal family companion. Wikipedia: farm guardians and stock dogs.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

Search pattern

UKC: the work described is catch work, to 'chase, catch, and bring down' livestock; the standard describes no search pattern, no cry on the line, and no pack or single work.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

No source read describes a voice or a search pattern.

Field trial standard

UKC: no hunting test is named; the standard says the breed should be evaluated as a working dog and that faults are penalized by how much they interfere with the dog's ability to work. AKC page: no hunting or working event named.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

No working-test or title program was found in any source read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

34.6% · 2,508 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 34.6% dysplastic (mild 20.7, moderate 11.4, severe 2.6), 61.0% normal

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented, so this likely understates the breed as a whole. Hips rank 24 in the OFA table. American Bulldog rows only; the American Bully, Bulldog and Olde English Bulldogge are separate OFA breeds.

Elbow dysplasia

19.9% · 787 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 19.9% abnormal (grade 1 14.4, grade 2 4.7, grade 3 0.9), 80.1% normal

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented, so this likely understates the breed as a whole. Elbows rank 22.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) has been identified in some American Bulldogs; the breed is predisposed to allergic skin disease, ichthyosis, solar dermatosis and squamous cell carcinoma; a review of patient records from over 600 US hospitals found the breed predisposed to juvenile-onset demodicosis (odds ratio 3.4). UKC: unilateral or bilateral deafness and difficulty breathing in the ring are disqualifications; a serious fault is less than 10 percent white markings.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia's veterinary claims cite studies that were not opened. No VetCompass or breed-club survey was read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 0; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 0; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 2; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 0; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 2; Adaptability Level 0.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Southern White, Old Southern White Bulldog, Hill Bulldog, Country Bulldog

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