The American Bulldog and American Bully breeds share a lot of similarities and are often confused for once another, but they are not the same dog breed.
It is important when you look at American Bully vs American Bulldog to understand what the differences are.
Of course, it does not help that the dog breeds have such similar names and similar appearances, but they are really not the same.
Both of these breeds are mistaken for the American Pitbull Terrier as well, which adds to the confusion with yet another similar dog breed name.
We have broken down what you need to know about the two breeds so that you can differentiate between them.
From their appearance and size to health issues, we have everything you need to know about the American Bully and American Bulldog. Here’s everything that you should know.
American Bully Vs American Bulldog: Breed History
American Bully
Looking at the American Bulldog vs American Bully history, the American Bully is a much newer breed than the American Bulldog. It is actually considered a designer breed.
The American Bully fins its origins in the United States during the 1980s. The goal of this dog was to create a version of the American Pitbull Terrier that is more family-friendly.
To succeed, breeders took the American Pitbull Terrier, the American Bulldog, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, English Bulldogs, the Olde English Bulldogges, and French Bulldogs and mixed them to invent the American Bully.
American Bulldog
When we look at the American Bulldog, the first thing to note is that the American Bulldog is the descendent of the Old English Bulldog.
The Old English Bulldog is also the ancestor of the modern English Bulldog, so the American Bulldog does share a common ancestor there.
During the 1600s, English immigrants to the American Colonies brought over the Old English Bulldog to protect their livestock, hunt, and guard their land.
They began breeding the dogs to be large and strong to handle the demands of the role, which resulted in the modern American Bulldog.
American Bully vs American Bulldog: Appearance & Size
American Bully
Looking at the size of the American Bully, they are not a tall dog breed. On average, they stand between 13 and 20 inches tall.
They are known to be stocky and thick. Weight-wise, they might be short, but they are heavy. The average weight of the American Bully is around 110 pounds.
You can get this breed in a variety of sizes, which are considered Pocket, XL, Classic, XXL, and Standard, so if you are worried about having a really heavy dog, you are not stuck with one. Also, since the breed is made up of other breeds, the size can vary quite a bit.
If the American Bully has more French Bulldog than Olde English Bulldogge, for example, the dog will be smaller in size.
You can easily see the muscles under the skin of the American Bully. The breed has a short, smooth coat as well and can come in a wide variety of colors.
The American Bully has a boxy head. If you compared an American Bully to his cousin the American Pitbull Terrier, you would see that the American Bully is an even more muscular version of the bully breed.
American Bulldog
The American Bulldog is a slightly larger breed than the American Bully. The American Bulldog stands between 19 and 26 inches in height and weigh about 120 pounds on average.
They are also thick and muscular, just like the American Bully is, though comparing the appearance of the American Bulldog vs the American Bully, you will see that he is less muscular and far more likely to become obesity if he is not fed appropriately and properly exercised.
The American Bulldog has a lot of shared traits with the English Bulldog, which means the breed has a lot of wrinkly skin.
Just like the American Bully, the American Bulldog can come in several different colors and has a short and smooth coat.
The most popular color choice is the white-fawn, red nose, and the striped. There is some popularity with the tricolour and the white mixes as well.
Even though the American Bulldog is an older and more consolidated breed, they still can have some variety in size, ranging from a smaller and easy-to-transport to a larger and heavier dog.
They are definitely wrinkly, and you should be able to tell the difference between the American Bully vs American Bulldog just by looking at them.
American Bully vs American Bulldog: Temperament & Personality
American Bully
The American Bully has an unfortunately aggressive appearance. The breed is not actually aggressive and the breeders have targeted these traits to ensure that they are not passed down to the next generations.
Even though the breed is not aggressive, they can be stubborn and they are incredibly strong. You will need to make sure that you have trained your American Bully well to prevent him from accidentally harming someone.
Fortunately, the American Bully is easy-going, happy, and has really nice manners. Since the goal to develop this breed was to create family-friendly dog, they were successful.
Additionally, the breed is really easy to train, so you should have a pretty good time with that.
When comparing which dog you should own between the American Bully vs American Bulldog, the Bully is much easier for less-experienced dog owners. They are also really loyal to their families and will love you forever.
American Bulldog
With the American Bulldog, you can expect to have an active and fun-loving breed. They can be tough and stubborn as well, which means that you need to train them early and thoroughly.
It will take a lot of patience. This is not a breed that is easy to train. The personality can also lean toward needy, meaning if left alone, they may act out.
Despite their stubbornness, the breed is not aggressive. In fact, any aggressive traits have been specifically bred out of the dog.
That said, this is not a beginner breed if you have never owned a dog before. You need to know how to train a dog and starting with one as strong and stubborn as the American Bulldog is a hard way to be successful.
While the American Bulldog may not be a family-centered breed, but they are still friendly and will defend their family severely once they are committed to you.
American Bully vs American Bulldog: Training & Exercise
American Bully
Comparing the American Bully vs American Bulldog as far as trainability and exercise goes, the American Bully is by far the easier dog to train.
In fact, the American Bully is easier than most dogs to train. They have such an easy-going personality that is combined with a high intelligence, making them ideal students. They learn tricks quickly and enthusiastically.
Socializing your American Bully will go a long way toward successful training. They are naturally loyal so if you can establish that socialization right off the bat, you will be setting your dog up for success.
If you have a puppy, it would be great to take him to socialization classes to learn how to behave around other dogs and humans, and get some experience with a trainer.
The breed is naturally athletic and muscular, so having a steady daily exercise routine will keep him feeling happy and healthy. The healthier you can keep your dog, the better longevity that your dog may get.
American Bulldog
If we compare the American Bully vs the American Bulldog as far as trainability goes, the American Bulldog is far more difficult to train.
They need a lot of physical exercise and activity. They are incredibly intelligent, but combined with their stubbornness, they are really difficult to train.
We suggest that you take your American Bulldog to a professional dog trainer to get your American Bulldog set on the right track.
If you have had a lot of experience training dogs yourself, you might be fine doing it yourself, but as the dogs are difficult to train, you might want backup.
A pro will work on a rewards-based system that can help you get your dog interested in the training and to be successful at it.
Since the breed is also prone to obesity and is high energy, you will want to thoroughly exercise your dog every day. They can be needy so destructive behaviour is also possible.
American Bully vs American Bulldog: Health Issues
American Bully
Since the breed is still relatively new, it is more difficult to say what kind of health issues have been bred into the dog or what health problems might develop.
Up until now, there have not been any consistent health problems that are linked specifically to the American Bully breed. It seems like health problems are all individual and not linked to the breed itself.
What we are able to deduce up until now is that the American Bully has a shorter lifespan than the American Bulldog.
They only live between 8 and 12 years on average, but this has a lot to do with the environmental factors and treatment.
American Bullies can be prone to obesity, which will drastically shorten their lifespan. Combined with the fear that people have when they look at their appearance, they are often not treated well.
American Bulldog
The American Bulldog has been around longer than the American Bully, so we can say what we know about the breed’s trends as far has health goes.
It has been shown that American Bulldogs are more prone to joint and spinal issues. This can include hip dysplasia.
The American Bulldog also has a higher tendency toward kidney and thyroid problems as well as obesity. It is incredibly important to keep your dog on a healthy diet and provide a lot of good exercise to prevent weight-related health problems.
Even with the known health issues, American Bulldogs can live long lives, living up to 14 to 16 years.
This number could even be longer than that depending on the dog, so when you adopt an American Bulldog, know that the chances are good that you will get to keep your dog for many years to come.
American Bully vs American Bulldog FAQ
Are American Bullies And Pitbulls The Same Dog?
So many of the bully breeds get linked together partly because of their name and partly because of their similar appearance.
The American Bully was started by mixing the American Pitbull Terrier with other bully breeds to create a new breed.
So while they are related, they are not actually the same dog breed. You will see breed similarities because they share some common background, but that does not mean they are the same.
Are American Bullies Or American Bulldogs Dangerous?
While there is a lot of fear associated with bully breeds, neither breed is dangerous. All dogs can snap if they are afraid or abused, but neither of these breeds will attack without provocation.
The American Bullies are in fact happy-go-lucky by nature and love children and humans in general. The American Bulldogs are not as fun-loving, but they are loyal and sweet dogs who are dedicated to their families.
Which Breed Is More Intelligent
If we need to compare intelligence between the American Bully vs the American Bulldog, both breeds are highly intelligent.
If we need to choose between the two, we would have to say that the American Bully is the more intelligent of the two.
This is based on the Bully’s ability to learn quickly and the fact that training is really easy with them. The American Bulldog is also intelligent, but more difficult to teach than the Bully is.
American Bulldog vs American BullyCost
Fortunately, both the American Bulldog and the American Bully are healthy breeds, so you should not incur a lot of medical charges.
The adoption process is likely to be the biggest bill that you ever face with these breeds as they can be expensive to adopt. They do have maintenance costs as far as food goes as they are big dogs and need a lot of dog food.
Which Breed Has A Longer Lifespan
As we mentioned above, the American Bully breed is still new enough that life expectancy has not been set in stone.
From what we know so far, the Bully’s live between 8 and 12 years while the Bulldog lives 14 to 16, so the American Bulldog has the longer lifespan.
This is based on averages, however, so your dog could live longer or shorter just depending on his individual genetics and habits.
Final Words
The key thing to know before adopting either an American Bully or an American Bulldog is that you are in this for the long-haul.
If you are going with the American Bulldog, you need to understand their stubborn personality and high intelligence. The American Bully is also stubborn, but is more likely to be a good family dog.
The other thing to understand is that bully breeds have a poor reputation, so you need to be prepared for that stigma and train him well to ensure his own safety. Regardless, either dog will make a wonderful addition to your life.