American Bully, a breed that often gets confused for Pit Bull. Although they look similar in terms of features or build, they are actually vastly different from each other.
Pit Bull has been in existence since the 1800s, whilst American Bully is a relatively new breed. It’s a breed that exists by cross breeding the American Pit Bull Terrier, the Bulldog, and Staffordshire Terrier.
What makes American Bully interesting is not its distinction from the Pit Bull, but its own heritage. In fact, you can trace its old origins as far as the ancient Molosser Dogs.
For this reason, the Bullies come in diverse sizes, and understandably so! Currently, there are 5 different types of American Bully — only 4 types before — Standard, Classic, XL, Pocket, and the newly type, Extreme.
In this article, we’ll specifically explore the differences of American Bully vs Pocket Bully. Additionally, we’ll also share tips about the care of these adorable canine companions. Let’s find out!
American Bully vs Pocket Bully: The Differences
Historical Differences
As mentioned earlier, the American Bully is a breed that results from the cross breeding between American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier and Bulldogs.
It’s a comparatively new breed, developed between 1980 to 1990 in the United States. In addition, American Bully was only recognized as a breed in 2004 by its breed club — the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC).
Pocket Bully on the other hand, is a mix between American Bully and Patterdale Terrier. Even so, most of Pocket Bully’s traits come from the American Bully. Hence, they are also called the mini version of American Bully due to the strong similarity.
Since Pocket Bully first appeared a little over 20 years ago, their popularity has never stopped rising. All thanks to its cute mini stature and family-friendly traits, this designer dog has become one of the top choices for companion dogs.
Appearance
Pocket Bully’s physical outlook is pretty similar to the American Bully. The only noticeable difference is that Pocket Bully has a slightly wide head than the American Bully.
Otherwise, both have a chunky build, muscular, looks goofy, and very loveable. In other words, they don’t differ too much from each other.
Size
Pocket Bully may keep most features from the American Bully — highly muscular, with a firm and stiff body — but they are far from being identical.
The most obvious features that differentiate between these two breeds is the size and stature. In fact, the classification of Bullies are determined by their size.
A Pocket Bully usually has a height between 13 to 17 inches; and depending on the gender, they can weigh anything between 10 to 22 pounds.
For American Bully, a Standard Bully and a Classic Bully have the same height. Both have a height between 17 – 20 inches (male) and 16 – 19 inches (female). Despite sharing the same height, the latter are built with more well-defined jaws, look less muscular and thick.
XL Bully is the largest Bully’s type. An adult male XL Bully measures between 20 – 23 inches whilst the female is between 19 – 22 inches. XL Bully have similar muscular build as the Standard Bully, except that they are taller and with bigger body mass.
All in all, if you put a Pocket Bully next to an American Bully, the former will look completely like a miniature variant of the American Bully!
Temperament
One main reason why American Bullies are so popular is due to their fierce loyalty towards their owners. Moreover, they’re a great companion dog that are absolutely adorable around families, children, as well as other dogs.
In addition, American Bullies can be goofy too. It is highly probable that this trait came from the English and American Bulldogs, since both breeds are silly and goofy in nature.
Hence, when it comes to the temperament of American Bully vs Pocket Bully, there aren’t many differences. They technically come from the same family tree, which is why they will share many similar genetic traits.
However, in the case of Pocket Bully, they will also inherit some traits from the Patterdale Terrier. For this reason, you will notice that they have boundless energy levels.
Generally, they tend to be more energetic than the American Bully. Thus, it’s crucial to exercise more patience when interacting with a Pocket Bully.
With that being said, we do believe you can mold a dog’s behavior through proper training and experiences. Hence, it’s never alright to just rely and make judgment solely based on traits.
In other words, if you nurture your Pocket Bully well, chances are he/she won’t show any negative traits that people often associate them with.
Training
When it comes to the training of American Bullies or Pocket Bullies, the methods are pretty similar. And just like any dog breed, the training should start at an early age.
You can arrange their first commands training by session, with 5-10 minutes for each session. Also, Bullies love rewards-based commands. So don’t forget to reward them whenever they respond well to the command.
The only twist you need to add if you own a Pocket Bully is to increase the engagement. Pocket Bullies tend to be more energetic than the former and you will need these extra engagements to drain the high energy.
In terms of intelligence, both dog breeds are equally intelligent. Hence, you need to focus, stay calm and stern when you train them.
However, we encourage you to stimulate your Pocket Bully further. This is since they have the propensity to develop physically and mentally as opposed to the American Bully!
Exercises
Albeit American Bullies are not aggressive in nature, they are muscular built and full of energy. Therefore, you need to let them exercise at least an hour to channel the energy out.
Exercises such as daily walks at the park, or even running around the yard is good activity in draining their energy. Toys are also useful in keeping them entertained, especially if you only have small spaces or are busy.
The same rule applies to Pocket Bully. The only caveat is most probably you need more than just 1 hour daily to deplete the Pocket Bully high octane level.
If you find yourself wanting time, you can get intellectual dog toys for your Pocket Bully to play with. Or you can invest in treat dispensers where the dog needs to work harder in getting the treats.
Life Span And Health
Overall, the American Bully is a relatively healthy breed, despite being a designer dog. A healthy American Bully has an average life span of 8 to 13 years, while Pocket Bully ranges from 10 to 14 years.
However, every dog breed is prone to medical conditions due to their size or genetic reasons. Thus, bringing your Bullies for a regular check up is a must.
Also, since Bullies are brachycephalic, never overdo with their exercise regime, especially in hot weather. American Bullies have relatively short muzzles, which means the hot air inhale won’t properly cool down before entering their lungs. For this reason, they’re at risk of getting heat stroke.
Some common health conditions Bullies include:
- Hip Dysplasia
- Hypothyroidism
- Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Heart Disease
- Cataracts
- Dermatitis
- Cleft Palate or Lip
- Cerebellar Abiotrophy
- Ichthyosis
- Patellar Luxation
Cost Of American Bully vs Pocket Bully
Due to the rarity, the cost of Pocket Bully is more expensive than the American Bully.
Pocket Bully’s puppies can cost anything from $1,500 onwards, with an adult Pocket Bullies can fetch as much as $10,000. For the American Bullies, a puppy can sell from $1,000 while the adult can fetch anything from $4,000 onwards.
Of course, the exact price of each dog is highly dependent on its health, pre-existing medical conditions, coat color, as well as age.
Food Requirements
Normally, a dog’s diet is influenced by their size. Which is to say, since Pocket Bully is smaller, they don’t need as much food as the American Bully.
For example, a Pocket Bully only needs 2 cups of high quality dog food daily. However, for the latter, they require about 2-2.5 cups of dog food per day. Due to the difference in sizes, the Pocket Bully, it seems, does not need as much food as the American bully.
Of course, at the end of the day, their food intake is subjected to activities your canine goes through. If they have intensive training or exercises, then their food intakes will be higher to help build up the muscle mass that is needed!
