Appearance
The American Bulldog is a stocky and well built, strong-looking dog. Its coat is short and either white, white with patches, black and white brindle, fawn and white, fawn and white brindle or a combination of all of these. Some may even have what is called a blue patch. The color conformation is quite varied, but white must be somewhere in the coat for the dog to be confirmed in most ABD clubs.
The Johnson type is a larger dog with a shorter muzzle than the Scott type. However, many modern American Bulldogs are a combination of the two types. In general, American Bulldogs weigh between 60 and 125 pounds (27 to 57kg) and are 20 to 28 inches (52 to 70cm) at the withers. The American Bulldog is massive in comparison to both the French Bulldog and the British Bulldog due to the fact that the American Bulldog was never down bred to be a lap dog.
Confusion with other breeds
There are two distinct strains of American Bulldogs, Classic (Johnson) and Standard (Scott). The Standard strain is often mistaken for its cousin, the American Pit Bull Terrier, because of its appearance. The Standard American Bulldog does resemble the pit bull-type breeds on many points, such as being muscular dogs that can be all white or white with patches. However, the pit bull's head is in the shape of a wedge coming to a more rounded point at the muzzle, whereas an American Bulldog's head is box-shaped. The American Bulldog's ears are also typically uncropped, and its head is heavier and a little bulkier.