The Miniature Bull Terrier

The Miniature Bull Terrier is essentially a smaller version of the Bull Terrier. The mini accepts training well, yet is full of fire and courage. He has a sense of humor and natural ebullience, and is known for his clownish antics. This dog is an active dynamo whose good nature and stable temperament make for a great companion.

Shoulder height is about 14 inches and weight is about 18 to 24 pounds.

Miniature Bull Terrier beginnings date back to the early 19th century when the Bulldog and the now extinct White English Terrier were interbred to produce the "Bull and Terrier" later known as the Bull Terrier. The official offshoot of the breed was a rather small dog that was crossed again, this time with the Spanish Pointer to increase the size.

Possessed of such a heritage, it is a small wonder that the earliest specimens came in a wide range of sizes. There were toys that weighed from 4 to 7 pounds, and medium sized ones from 15 to 16 pounds, as well as the more usual sort resembling the full-sized Bull Terrier of today. The small dog came in various colors; some black-patched, a few blue and others pure white. The tiny white ones were known for awhile as Coverwood Terriers after England’s kennel of that name.

The Toys were exhibited abroad up to about 1914 but they elicited scant response from the fanciers because their type was poor. Dogs of medium or miniature size fared better since particularly in eyes and foreface they more closely approximated the type desired. This is exactly what the fanciers have been aiming for, namely a down-faced smaller dog weighing around 16 pounds and identical in make and shape and every single feature as the full sized Bull Terrier.

The miniature Bull Terrier became eligible to be shown in the miscellaneous class in 1963, and was accepted as a breed in 1991.

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