The American Bulldog is one of the underrated dog breeds in the canine world. People rarely talk about this amazing dog breed. One of the reasons might be that the American Bulldog breed is part of the American Pit Bull terrier umbrella term.
And as we know, Pitbulls have a bad reputation for being dangerous and aggressive. Of course, nothing of that is true. But the American Bulldog suffers from the same reputation as the American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, and American Pit Bull Terrier.
Today, however, we will talk about a different thing. Let’s take a look at the possible American Bulldog colors.
Quick History of the Breed
This might come as a surprise, but the history of the American Bulldog began in England. Back in England, bulldogs were working dog breed that drove and caught cattle. They also guarded the property of their masters. Old English Bulldog is the ancestor of the American Bulldog.
The original Bulldog, was preserved by working class immigrants. They brought their dogs to the American South. There, small farmers and ranchers utilized this dog and used it as an all-around working dog.
At the time World War II came, the breed was almost extinct. Then, Mr. John D. Johnson, a returning war veteran, set on a journey to resurrect this dog breed.
He and Alan Scott began to carefully breed American Bulldogs, keeping careful records and trying to maintain their working abilities.
Nowadays, a lot of people refer to the breed as Scott dogs due to the heritage of Alan Scott. Nowadays, many American Bulldog dogs have one of the original lines of bulldogs. The Johnson American Bulldog, on the other hand, is a bit bulkier and more looking like the American Bully. This dog is heavier in bone, with a larger head and a shorter muzzle.
While the American Kennel Club doesn’t recognize the breed, the United Kennel Club recognized the American Bulldog puppy in 1999.
General Appearance
When looking at the American Bulldog breed, you notice a powerful, athletic, strongly muscled, and well-boned dog. Their body is slightly longer than tall. Their head is large and broad, with a wide muzzle.
Their ears are small to medium in size. Speaking of American Bulldog colors, they are solid, white with colored patches, and brindle.
The most common color pattern is white American Bulldog. Let’s talk about the possible coat color options and patterns.
What are Standard American Bulldog Colors?
As we said before, the American Kennel Club doesn’t recognize the American Bulldog. As such, there is no standard set by the AKC. But the United Kennel Club does set a standard for this dog breed.
White American Bulldog
We have to mention that all American Bulldog colors have at least some amount of white. But the standard here for an American Bulldog puppy is a solid all-white coat. This might come as a surprise, but it is quite a common occurrence in this breed.
Pure white American Bulldogs get their color from extreme white spotting. They also have a white head, a quite common physical trait in the breed.
Some solid white American Bulldogs might have some ticking in their coat or look blotched from small dots.
White and Black American Bulldog
In this case, we have a white and black American Bulldog due to the dominant black pattern. These puppies might carry brindle or patterned coats. Yet, they are not able to express phaemolanin in their pattern.
If there was no white spotting from piebald and whitehead, this pattern would produce a solid black American Bulldog.
White and Brown American Bulldog
This might be the second most common coat color pattern in the breed. These dogs produce liver-colored instead of black eumelanin.
This dog will have a brown nose, brown lips, brown eye rims, and brown pigment on his paw pads and nails.
White and Brindle American Bulldog
Next on our list is the white and brindle American Bulldog. This puppy has a lot of white coat with some brindled patches.
It is another common coat color option. The brindle coloring ranges from moderate to very dense striping patterns.
White and Red American Bulldog
In other words, the sable-patterned dog, or the Sable American Bulldog. Some red dogs might have some amount of dark hair tips. Very few American Bulldog puppies have a recessive red.
Are there any Non-Standard American Bulldog Colors?
Let’s talk about some non-standard colors. They can happen in any dog breed. Often, these non-standard colors happen due to recessive alleles. That doesn’t mean your dog is not purebred. Yes, in some cases, it might be a sign of a mixed breed.
Recessive traits can be expressed in dogs that have inherited one copy from each of their parents. Yet, dogs with only one copy, will not express the trait but can pass it on for generations.
Breeders often try to deviate from the standard by purposefully crossbreeding and introducing new traits in the lineage. With that in mind, here are some non-standard American Bulldog puppy colors.
- Tricolor American Bulldog is when the dog carries the tan point allele to sable coat. By matting two carriers, puppies inherit the trait from both their parents, the result being black, tan, and white
- A black mask American Bulldog is regarded as a fault. Now, the fun part is that many American Bulldogs have this trait in their genotype, but they just cannot express it fully because their mostly white heads
- Blue Merle American Bulldog may look striking, but the color is not standard. It is a result of mixing a blue merle dog like a Blue Heeler with an American Bulldog
- We also have the Blue American Bulldog, where the blue pigment happens when you combine black pigment with two copies of color dilution at the D-locus. As a result, the black pigment turns to a charcoal gray or blue-gray
- We finish off with the lilac American Bulldog, a combination of brown pigment and eumelanin dilution. The popular color among bully breed owners is not a standard, but people love it. A lilac American Bulldog, or as some people say beige-looking, will have a taupe-colored nose and pale eyes with lilac eye rims, lips, and skin pigment
