Exotic Bullies are a new breed that came into existence in 2008 and got registered for the first time in 2013. Despite being a recent breed, there is very little known about the origins of the Exotic Bully, and it gets harder to choose one if you are unaware of the breed.
You must know Exotic Bullies’ characteristics before choosing a puppy to bring home. But don’t worry; I am here to help you choose an Exotic Bully puppy.
How to Choose an Exotic Bully Puppy?
To choose an Exotic Bully puppy, you must know its height, its weight, its parents, its breeder, its pedigree, and do a DNA test for any genetic malformation.
After doing all that, contact the breeder to set up a meeting with the puppy and its parents. Ensure the breeder has all the documents ready and the puppy is vaccinated. Now that aside it is time to look at the dog.
If you have a color preference, you must ask the breeder beforehand to check if a Bully puppy is available in that color. You must know a few things about the Exotic Bully before choosing a puppy.
What You Need to Know Before Choosing an Exotic Bully?
You must be aware of the average height and appearance of the Exotic Bully and a few things, such as:
1. Use your Brain Too!
Don’t just go to a breeder and pick up the first puppy you see. You may already have something in mind and have decided on a breeder. But if you have not, you should take your steps appropriately because sometimes choosing based on just first sight can cause you many problems later.
2. Meet the Parents
The raw material that was used in making your puppy is going to be nearby. Set an appointment to meet the parents of the puppy. It would be best if you understood by now that you must look at the looks, health, and temperament.
If all of these checks out, then the next step is to examine what type of litter they have produced. When you meet the parents, you will also know how big your Exotic Bully puppy will turn out and what kind of temperament he will have.
3. Assess Health and Environment
The Exotic Bully puppy’s environment should be positive, including the yard they play in, the pen they spend most of their time in, and the overall atmosphere of the household they are being socialized in.
There shouldn’t be any smell or trash around the puppies’ living and playing areas. Even the bathroom area should be clean.
Instead of getting technical about any particular health issue here, you must get a general vibe that all the puppies in the litter are healthy and strong. The signs of a healthy Exotic Bully puppy include:
- Bright eyes and clean eyes without any discharge or marks
- A shiny short coat
- Clean teeth and nice healthy skin around the mouth and gums
- Healthy appetite
- The skin on the belly and genital area is healthy and free of any redness or inflammation
- The energy level is medium to high, and the puppy is engaged with their surroundings (also, remember that puppies nap a lot, so stick around a while to observe a high-energy period).
- The puppy isn’t scratching excessively.
- The puppy runs and walks comfortably (keeping in mind flopping around a little during play is normal for pups under 8 weeks of age)
- Legs and feet should be facing forward (look for excessively rotated legs while walking)
- Work with your vet about particular issues they might want to know about for your Exotic Bully breed.
4. Assess Behavioral Tendency
The behavioral assessment of any puppy primarily falls into the old “kindergarten” report card category of “plays nicely with others” (both dogs and humans).
Your assessment of the puppy you’re considering will be an abridged version of the 7-week puppy aptitude test that many breeders do. You can ask the breeder for their results and then do your assessment to double-check their findings.
Associations with Other Pups
Here is how the puppies should associate with each other:
- There should be a good give and take in the play sessions (does the puppy spend time climbing on top of another puppy and then, alternatively, spend some time being rolled over)
- Your Bully puppy shouldn’t overly dominate every other puppy.
- The puppy should understand the “I give up” yelp that litter mates give when something hurts or is too much for them.
- The puppy shouldn’t show signs of aggressive resource guarding among litter mates.
Associations with People
Here is how you can check if your puppy loves to interact with people:
Stand a few feet from the puppy, crouch down, and call the puppy making clucking sounds. Does the puppy come over to you? A puppy should like investigating you and interacting with people, balanced with a desire to go back and play with litter mates.
If a Bully puppy hides a lot or creeps into corners, many want to “save” that puppy by choosing them. The puppy’s reluctance to interact with you or the other puppies may be a big red flag for behavior issues later in life.
Don’t Make This Mistake
Many people fawningly say, “My puppy picked me!” They experience that when they first approach the puppy enclosure, one puppy comes charging up to the fence and leaps up to make contact at the top of the gate.
People sometimes see this as “love at first sight” when it demonstrates that the puppy, being the most dominant in the litter, is venturing out to see if you’re OK. I often hear this “puppy found me” storyline after a dog grows up and is more dominant and willful than the average litter.
So, be sure you’re assessing the behavioral characteristics accurately when visiting with the Exotic Bully you’re considering. Another thing to consider is if the Bully puppy is OK with being handled (this gives you an idea of how easy veterinary visits and grooming will be later).
To test this, pick the Exotic Bully up and cradle them like a baby(some people like cradling a puppy upside down to assess a willingness to be put in a vulnerable position).
While holding them, handle them gently and slightly restrict their movement if they wiggle around. Handle their face, paws, ears, tail, etc. A balanced puppy should accept a good amount of handling before protesting and communicating that they want to be put down.
Some Very Important Predispositions
Sight and Sound Startle Sensitivity
This trait (the ability to recover their nervous system after being overstimulated by sight or sound) may be the best predictor of having a solid and well-balanced dog.
Sight
In puppy aptitude tests, breeders often use an umbrella opening in front of a puppy’s face to startle a puppy visually.
It might be considered ‘bad form’ though, to walk into a pen of puppies and pop open an umbrella directly at them. You won’t be visiting very long if you try that technique.
I like to take off my jacket while playing with the puppy I am considering and shake it out once before them as I lay it down on a nearby chair.
You can use anything large; you want a large visual silhouette to move or appear in front of the puppy suddenly. All puppies will get startled, but you’re looking for the second response. These generally fall into three categories:
- The puppy gets scared and runs away.
- The puppy gets startled and attacks or barks.
- Puppy gets startled, settles, and then sniffs to investigate.
Sound
You want to do this same test with a brief loud noise too. You’re also looking at the same framework for this tough test. You want to see if the puppy:
- Startles and runs away
- Startles and acts aggressively
- Or startles and goes into investigation mode quickly
Resource Guarding
One of the “biggies” in behavioral traits is resource guarding. It’s a tough trait to train out of a dog. It can be done in many instances with hard work.
Still, many owners tell me that they are so surprised by the intensity of the aggressive display from their dog in these situations that even when they seem “better,” the thought of risking another snap or bite is frequently too much for many owners to put up with.
Let me be clear; many dogs will place their chin over a chew toy or put a paw on something they’re playing with to indicate that they don’t want you to take it. However, they approve and move on to something else once you remove the object.
That’s not what I mean by resource guarding. Resource-guarding behavior escalates fast and is intense.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Identify an Exotic Bully?
If you want to identify an Exotic Bully just by appearance, you must wait until the puppy is fully grown. An Exotic Bully has a large, out-of-proportion head with a muscular body that stands tall at 13 inches. They also have a wide muzzle that is 2 inches at maximum.
But to identify an Exotic Bully puppy, you must look at the parents or trust the breeder. Another option you can go for is DNA testing which will give you an exact idea and clear outlook of the puppy’s future health.
What Are the Standards for An Exotic Bully?
There are no exact standards set for an Exotic Bully. Whatever standards breeders have come up with are all unofficial because the breed is still developing.
According to these standards, an Exotic Bully must be no more than 13 inches, weigh between 30 to 50 pounds, and have a gigantic head disproportionate to the body and the muscles on the body be overgrown.
The Exotic Bully originated from mixing American Bully, American Bulldog, English Bulldog, and Short Bull.
Conclusion
You have to be careful when choosing an Exotic Bully because many scammers sell puppies from puppy mills. These types of puppies are genetically unsound and have many congenital diseases.
Sometimes it must be the correct breed, and you will waste money. So if you want to buy an Exotic puppy, go for a reputable breeder and ask around with previous customers. Good luck!
