With the brawn of a bulldog and the brains of a terrier, this much-maligned breed has the ability to rouse adulation or antipathy. Yet beneath the muscular frame of the bull terrier lies a stoic and kindly character, says Katy Birchall.
This article is a transcript from Country Life magazine (17th July, 2024)
By all accounts, the dog in the 1968 hit musical film Oliver! belonged to the wrong character. Say ‘bull terrier’ and many will immediately think of Bull’s-eye, the famously unfortunate companion to Oliver Reed’s sinister criminal Bill Sykes, a fierce, brutish dog as feared as his cruel, unforgiving master - but anyone who owns a bull terrier will tell you that this dog is no villainous sidekick.
Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes with Bull's Eye in "Oliver" (1968)
This is a breed with a big heart, a comical nature and an eye that holds a mischievous twinkle. Bull’s-eye would surely have been more at home with the film’s gentler interpretation of Fagin, charming his way around town and slyly picking a pocket or two - and nothing illustrates this better than Butch, the dog that played Bull’s-eye in the cinematic classic. ‘Butch was an old boy when he started filming Oliver!,’ recalls Cindy Sharville of her beloved family pet. ‘He was loving, clever and obedient, so long as treats were involved during breaks, he would carry his bowl up to anyone eating, scrounging for food. Reed loved him and would sit on the floor with Butch on his lap.’
Oliver Reed bonding with his co-star Butch
With its unique downfaced egg-shaped head, keen, bright eyes and muscular physique, this striking breed naturally catches the eye. David Mason’s first bull terrier Purdey made a splash in 2005, when she was photographed for The Sunday Times in a bespoke coat by Nutters of Savile Row, a brand then owned by Mr Mason. ‘Purdey was such a lovely dog and when we lost her, it really was like losing a member of the family,’ admits Mr Mason, founder of Mason & Sons, which champions and restores established British brands, such as Anthony Sinclair and Mr Fish. ‘It didn’t take us long to get our next one, Lulu. You’ll find that with bull terriers - once you’ve had one, you won’t want anything else.’
Purdey steals the limelight from David Mason in a Sunday Times photoshoot (2005)
Currently the owner of two-year-old Vesper, who cheerfully greets customers at the company’s headquarters in John Lennon’s former Marylebone home, Mr Mason concurs that the breed has become somewhat synonymous with Mason & Sons, thanks to his dogs taking a starring role in several campaigns. ‘They’re an important part of our life story - everything at Mason & Sons is British, including the dog,’ he laughs. ‘Bull terriers are an acquired taste. I think they’re beautiful, of course, but it’s their character that really has the appeal. They are notoriously stubborn and somehow always getting in trouble. They know right from wrong, but they can’t seem to help themselves. It can be maddening, but ultimately you love them for it.’
David Mason and Vesper at the Mason & Sons Marylebone HQ
The breed owes its origins to James Hinks, an animal dealer in Birmingham who developed a new strain of all-white ‘bull-and-terriers’ during the 1850s. Having kept and bred fighting dogs, Mr Hinks is believed to have crossed the bulldog, the now-extinct white English terrier and the dalmatian to produce his white ‘bull terrier’. Despite its ancestry, this dog was not bred with the fighting ring in mind - Hinks had set his sights on the show world, determined to establish a companion dog with a striking pure-white coat and a more refined appearance. As his son James Hinks Jnr later wrote, the bull terrier was to be ‘the old fighting dog civilised, with all of his rough edges smoothed down without being softened; alert, active, plucky, muscular and a real gentleman’.
James Hinks (1829-1878)
The conformation of the bull terrier has evolved through the years. Most notably, the head took on its distinctive long, domed ‘egg’ shape and the white coat gave way to colour as brindle, red and fawn were accepted in the breed standard. It has, however, retained its original characteristics: the strength and courage of its bulldog ancestry and the terrier’s wit and mischief. Perhaps most of all, it has stayed true to Hinks’s vision that it would become a companion dog - enthusiasts will tell you that the bull terrier’s purpose in life is to be right at your side.
Poet Ralph Hodgson and Mooster, right at his side (1912)
‘After her morning walk, Olive will sit under my car and wait for me there, so I have to take her with me wherever I’m going,’ reveals Fleur Worsley of her five-year-old bull terrier. ‘On the occasions I have to go to work without her, she hates it.’ A keen horsewoman, Mrs Worsley works for Oxford Polo, where, she admits, a bull terrier tends to stand out. ‘My colleagues have spaniels, labradors, lurchers and whippets. I park up, open the boot and out jumps my bull terrier - people can be horrified,’ she admits. ‘But give Olive 10 minutes or so and they’ll be fussing over her. Bull terriers have an unfair reputation. Our postman was scared of Olive at first, but they’re now best friends. My husband never wanted one, but he adores Olive - he takes her shooting with him. She happily sits next to him on the peg.’ It is the natural comedian in the bull terrier that has hooked Mrs Worsley for life: ‘I’ll never be without one. They are hilarious - every morning, we’re woken up by Olive dramatically yawning in the kitchen. My sister got me a fridge magnet that says “Life is much merrier when you live with a bull terrier” and, for me, that sums it up.’
Life is much merrier when you live with a bull terrier (1935)
Breeder and judge Elaine Clark concurs that the bull terrier has a knack for comic timing, as she once witnessed in the presence of The Princess Royal. ‘Many years ago at Crufts, Princess Anne walked into the bull-terrier ring holding a bouquet of flowers,’ she recalls. ‘She stopped to talk to the judge, who was standing with a handler and their bull terrier. The next thing we knew, the dog had jumped up and snatched Princess Anne’s flowers, scoffing the lot. Luckily, she burst out laughing (The Princess Royal has kept bull terriers for decades, which may explain her not minding the loss of the blooms). If you don’t have a sense of humour, the bull terrier is not the dog for you.’
The Princess Royal shares her love of the breed with granddaughter Mia Tindall.
Smitten with the breed since she got her first puppy 40 years ago, Mrs Clark owns six miniature bull terriers, a breed almost identical to its larger counterpart in every- thing but size - although, sadly, the miniature is currently on the Kennel Club (KC)’s vulnerable native breed list, with only 264 registrations in 2023. ‘Bull terriers and miniatures are great family dogs. They adore children and know when to be gentle with them,’ enthuses Mrs Clark. ‘They’re happy to go on long walks, but don’t necessarily need loads of exercise. What they do like is a lot of attention and they can’t be left at home for a long time.’
Standard and miniature bull terriers
Bill Lambert, the KC’s health, welfare and breeder services executive, grew up with bull terriers and, when it came to buying his own dog, there was no other breed. ‘My wife didn’t like the look of them at first, but that’s the wonderful thing about pedigree dogs - you need to go deeper than looks and the bull terrier is a great example,’ he says. ‘They don’t have universal appeal, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s their temperament - fun, stoic and kind - that makes them so special.’ The breed has its faults, Mr Lambert notes. The white bull terriers in particular can be prone to deafness - although this issue has lessened thanks to the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test, which many breeders now use - and the bull terrier’s stubborn nature can also make them difficult to train: ‘They are strong willed and haven’t got great recall, so you need to be on the lookout and prepared to put them on lead around other dogs - they are strong and muscular, so you have to be responsible.’ Working at the KC, Mr Lambert would be forgiven for being tempted by one of the many other dog breeds out there. ‘I love all dogs,’ he concludes. ‘The thing is, if I got another breed, that would only mean I’d have one less bull terrier - and, honestly nothing else quite matches up.’
Bull Terriers - nothing else quite matches up
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