# Got a Bully question



## Brutus0124 (Mar 22, 2011)

Is an american Bully's class determined only by his physical attributes or is he put in the same class that his parents were?
For example you have a pedigree of pocket am bullies. Two dogs mate and one of the pups exceeds the height considered for a pocket. Is he a pocket bully because that is what he comes from or would he go into the standard class? 
I'm not breeding or showing but this is just a hypothetical that come to mind last night.


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## davidfitness83 (Jul 7, 2009)

size determines class, also depending on how tight the pedigree the results may change.


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Well worded question. always wondered myself... Are those the only differences between pocket & standard? Size?


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## Brutus0124 (Mar 22, 2011)

I'm sure there are others. That is just from reading on the abkc website.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

the height determines what class they go in . Standar class would be 16-19" for females and males 17-20" at withers. pocket class would be females under 16" and males under 17". XL class is females over 19" and males over 20". And then youhave the extreme and classic which are based on the body mass and structure the dog has those looking leaner closer to the OG bullys are considered classic those with extreme mass and bone would obviously be extreme.
You can have 2 pockets parents and have a pup come out standard and vice versa so using the parents isnt a guideline to what class your dog would be in. { I believe up until a dog is a year old though they show as a standard , someone can correct me if im wrong on that one though}


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

http://www.gopitbull.com/bullies-101/34185-american-bully-kennel-club-standard-classes.html


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

Dogs are wicketed at the withers. What needs to be emphasized is 
*Height and weight should be in proportion of the body frame.*

Now if you have a 16 inch male who weighs 85lbs that dog is not proportioned. I would consider that dog to be a standard class dog on the small side.


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## Brutus0124 (Mar 22, 2011)

This will sound stupid but what are withers?


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

base of the neck right where the shoulders meet .


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)




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## Brutus0124 (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the diagram. I kind of figured it was in the area of shoulders. pitbullmam you have the answer for everything. Thanks


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## B-TownBullyz (Nov 14, 2010)

^^^^^^ yea she is jus full of it lol knowledge that is


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## 9361 (Jun 25, 2009)

So breeders selling "pocket's" really don't have any way to ensure that they will actually be that size? Breeders should work harder at establishing a standard and producing that standard. This is the problem of breeding for color and looks.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

Shes Got Heart said:


> So breeders selling "pocket's" really don't have any way to ensure that they will actually be that size? Breeders should work harder at establishing a standard and producing that standard. This is the problem of breeding for color and looks.


Theoretically yes two pockets should produce a pocket, but genetics are a crazy thing. It is not unheard of to breed a pocket to a standard or a standard to extreme. A lot of breeders add extreme class bullies to their breeding program to add bone to their smaller dogs, but still can keep the correctness; however, only a small percentage of bully breeders know what they are doing. If you have a 16 inch dog who is 85lbs that isn't necessarily the breeder's fault. A lot of owners put weight on their dogs to make them "bullier," and it is evident that most don't know bully doesn't mean fat. All puppies are shown as standard in the ABKC until the age of one since that is pretty much as tall as they will grow.


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