Can An American Bully Be a Hunting Dog?

American Bullies are very popular despite being a relatively new breed. They’re mostly raised as companion dogs. However, many owners wonder whether these dogs can be hunting dogs.

Can an American Bully be a hunting dog? An American Bully can be a hunting dog; however, it wouldn’t be the best choice for the job. Even though American Bullies are athletic enough to chase other animals around, they don’t have a high prey drive which is the main requirement for hunting dogs.

Keep reading to learn more about whether American Bullies can be hunting dogs and how to train your American Bully to be a good hunting dog.

What Is A Prey Drive?

A prey drive is the dog’s tendency to track, hunt, and chase its prey. It’s a natural instinct that’s present in all dogs, and it comes from their wolf ancestors.

Some dogs might have a higher prey drive than others which makes them more suitable to be professional hunting dogs. If a dog has a strong prey drive, you will notice that it constantly watches smaller animals and tries to track or chase them.

However, keep in mind that having a high prey drive doesn’t mean that the dogs will be aggressive or dangerous to humans because they don’t see humans as prey. As long as you train them well, there is nothing to worry about.

Do American Bullies Have a High Prey Drive?

In general, all dog breeds have a prey drive because it’s one of their natural instincts. However, there are some breeds that have higher prey drives than others, and the higher the prey drive of the breed, the more suitable it is to be a hunting dog.

When it comes to American Bullies, they do not have a high prey drive like many other dog breeds. That’s mainly due to their breeding, as Bullies are mostly bred to be companion dogs.

American Bullies come from American Pit Bull Terries and various kinds of Bulldogs. They inherited some traits from their ancestors, such as having strong muscular builds and high energy levels. However, they don’t have the same high prey drive that their ancestors do.

You can learn more about the different types of American Bully and their origin here.

Can An American Bully Be a Hunting Dog?

Even if an American Bully doesn’t have a high prey drive, it can still be a hunting dog as long as you train it. However, keep in mind that even with training, American Bullies might not be the best at hunting as it’s just not in their nature.

With that being said, it’s easier to train a dog that already has a high prey drive to start with than it is to train one with weak or no prey drive at all, so, for example, training a Pitbull to be a hunting dog is going to be easier than training an American bully to be one.

How to Train Your American Bully to Be a Good Hunting Dog?

Training a dog to be a hunting dog doesn’t require a special technique as the dog mainly relies on its instincts.

However, since the hunting instincts in American Bullies aren’t strong, you will need to take certain steps to ensure that your American Bully will be a good hunting dog.

So, here’s what you need to do to train your American Bully to be a good hunting dog:

Teaching the Basic commands

You need to teach the dog the basic commands such as “sit,” “stay,” “come,” and “down.” Once your dog masters those commands, you can teach it some commands related to hunting, such as advanced commands or tricks like “fetch” or “leave it.”

It’s very important not to skip over the basic commands and to start the training process as early as possible. You can still train an adult dog to be hunting, but it will be far more complicated and time-consuming.

Socialization

Socialization is important in training Amerian Bullies to be hunting dogs as it will help them adapt to being in unfamiliar environments.

It’s recommended to take your American Bully on walks in different places where it will be exposed to a wide variety of scents and sounds and where it can also interact with other animals.

Leash Training

Teaching American Bullies to walk properly on a leash without pulling roughly will help improve their ability to hunt or track as you will have more control over their movement.

Just make sure that the collar and leash you choose for your dog are comfortable so that they will respond better to the training.

Playing Fetching and Tracking Games

Playing fetching and tracking games will help strengthen the dog’s prey drive and improve its scent recognition skills and also its tracking skills.

It’s easy to play those games both indoors and outdoors; however, it’s better to play outdoors so the dog can get used to the hunting environment.

You can simply toss a ball or a toy in any direction, then command your dog to retrieve it for you. You can also hide the ball or toy in different locations and create a scent trail that your dog can track until it reaches the hiding location.

Let Your Dog Explore The Hunting Area

Being in a new environment can be scary for your American Bully, so you need to introduce it to the area where you’re hunting and let it explore freely until it gets used to it.

Make sure that your dog is always on a leash when you’re in the hunting area to keep it safe and prevent it from running away. Also, make sure to comfort your dog if it gets scared and reward it with treats if it displays a good behavior

Can An American Bully Be a Hunting Dog?

What Is A Prey Drive?