First heat
If you’ve got a little female puppy at home, first heat might catch you off guard, so it’s not a bad idea to make some preparations ahead.
How to keep your “little bull” busy? With sports for bull terriers, not even you are going to get bored
Recently, my friend has bought a puppy of a Staffordshire bull terrier. It didn’t take long for her to find out, how much energy is hidden in this tiny bitch. And not even several hours long walks weren’t enough to tire her. And that’s precisely what led her to bull sports which focus on strength, endurance and determination – such a typical characteristic of bull breeds.
I questioned her for a bit, so that I could learn more about bull terrier sports, as they seemed incredibly interesting from her narration.
“Bulls” are very versatile and easily motivated and they are happy to engage in any activity. I first met with these breeds when I attended the last years’ II. Record Bull Meeting. It took place within the World Animal Day and its aim – among other things – was to overcome the previous record in the number of dogs. The record from 2014 was 330 dogs. Last year, 394 dog participants from the bull breeds were successfully registered and this way, the record in the database of the Museum of Records and Curiosities has been rewritten.
The whole event allegedly took place in a relaxed spirit, my friend got to know many owners of “little bulls”. This way, she also came to these sports and today, she can’t praise it enough. The dog vents out her energy, besides, in a way that is entertaining for her, and where she has the opportunity to really use all her assets. There are many disciplines of sports for bull terriers indeed. Usually, they focus on weight pulling, high jump or hang time (biting into a bait): just on those things in which the “bull” breeds excel. I am going to shortly introduce you at least to the following ones:
Wall Climbing
A vertical wall fitted with corrugated rubber is used, alongside a pulley to mount the bait on a rope onto. Dog has the task of running up the wall as high as they can and then stay hanging onto the bait for the determined period of time. The average jumps are up to 2 or 3 meters high.
Monkey Track
This is a 150-200 metres long track with 10 obstacles. Similar to agility, the goal of the dog handler is to lead the dog on a leash as fast as possible to the finish line, if possible then without any mistakes. However, contrary to agility, the obstacles are built more with the physical strength of the dog in mind.
High Jump
The bait is mounted on a rope onto a special construction with a pulley. The dog is supposed to jump as high as they can and then hold onto the bait for a determined amount of time – within several seconds. A regular high jump is around 1.5 to 2 metres. Mostly American pit bull terrier excels at this discipline.
Weight Pull Sprint
The dog has a load bound to the harness – a tire, with which they have to cover 50 metres on a flat surface as fast as possible. While the bitches run with the load of four kilograms, the dogs with loads of up to seven kg.
Weight Pulling
Here, in comparison to the weight pull sprint, it is not as much about speed, as it is about strength. The competition takes place on a special track and the dog in a special harness has to manage to pull a load as heavy as possible for the distance of 4 to 6 metres in a determined period of time. The best ones can pull up to a one hundredfold of their body weight!
With this list, I wanted to introduce you to a wide range of sports for bull terriers, but it definitely doesn’t end here :-). If you would be more interested, I recommend you to take a look, for example, at the website of Club of Staffordshire bull terriers.
Have you ever tried any of these disciplines? Which one is your pet’s favourite?
Related articles
Dogs at work
Domestic dog is the oldest domesticated animal and it has provided accompaniment to humans for 14 thousand years at the minimum. During this time, it underwent numerous changes and a long development. All the dog breeds of today are a result of human...
How to tame a chinchilla? Guard yourself with patience
With their appearance, the chinchillas just attract cuddling. They look a bit like plush toys and their eyes like beads give them a friendly and a kind-hearted look. But don’t let yourself be fooled! These rodents are definitely no phlegmatic pets with...
Dogs and horses
I am not much of a horse person, but from time to time, I like to go horse riding. Usually, I leave my fuzzy friends at home. The presence of horses upsets them. When I was getting my dog fellows, I didn’t think about the fact that not all the breeds...
Dogs may be more similar to humans than we had thought
Like master, like dog. You have probably heard before from someone that your dog fits you very well or maybe even, that you look alike. At least to me, it happens very often. However, that dogs sometimes tend to behave like people and they resemble us...
Why do dogs dig?
If you take pride in your nicely groomed garden and your dog belongs to the category of the so-called diggers, it probably doesn’t make you very happy. However, frantic digging in earth doesn’t please not even us, who wink at a few holes in the grass....
How to train calling with a whistle?
Calling a dog is without any doubt one of the most important commands that the dog should reliably master at any situation. Most often, we call the dog using the command “come”, but we can also emphasise it with a whistle. It pays off mainly in...
Five myths about dogs
I have always thought, that I know my four-legged fellows to their last hair, but there’s always something that manages to surprise me and there’s always a lot to learn from them. Some of the myths are so deep-rooted, that one doesn’t even fall upon...
How do the dogs and cats hear?
Simply put: much better, than us, humans. And cats even hear much better than dogs. But from experience, I can say, that it also depends on what and whom they want to listen to. How is it with dogs?
How to unteach your dog to beg?
Does your dog beg for food at the table? Do they beg even from strangers when you’re at a restaurant? Then you should know, that you are one-hundredth percent guilty of this yourself. If a dog learns to beg for human food, it is an educational mistake....
Dog Puzzles
When the weather is lovely rather for ducks than dogs for a longer period of time and long walks don’t come into question, my fluffy friends are getting get bored at home and start with their shenanigans. I always try to think of a home activity to...
How to keep your “little bull” busy? With sports for bull terriers, not even you are going to get bored
Recently, my friend has bought a puppy of a Staffordshire bull terrier. It didn’t take long for her to find out, how much energy is hidden in this tiny bitch. And not even several hours long walks weren’t enough to tire her. And that’s precisely what...