Dede Wilson, noted cookbook author and Bull Terrier fancier: You have to have a sense of humor to own a Bull terrier and appreciate their kind of personality. Bull Terriers are not known to be "biddable" the way Labs or Golden Retrievers are. Some people think this means they are not smart. This is far from the truth. They are so smart, in fact, that they are not just out to please you, the human. They understand commands quite readily, but then ponder the request and figure out whether it is to their advantage or not to follow through — that's smart if you ask me!

WOOF Patrol: Your family has been passionate about Bull Terriers for a long time.

D.W.: We’re a three-generation family of Bull Terrier owners. My dad made the arrangements for us to pick up our first bull terrier from Alaric kennels in New Jersey; I was nine years old. It was the first time my mother and I saw bull terriers in real life. Our first B.T. was named Lily, she was my best friend and got me hooked on this breed. And now my son Freeman is immersed in the breed.

W.P.: Freeman, like you, shows and adores Bull Terriers.

D.W.: He was 12 when he asked if he could learn how to handle and show our bull terriers which are co-owned by Marion Dussault of Winsor Bull Terriers in Somers, Connecticut. Freeman has a natural ability to connect with animals. Early on, his ringside charisma was apparent to judges. But more important was his seamless unconditional bond with the dog. In 2006, Freeman won his class at the Westminster Kennel Club Show. Click here for a feature story on Freeman.

Moses Acosta, Dede’s father, is affable and engaging and can be considered a two-legged Wikipedia on past and current history. Acosta’s bull terrier love affair began in Rome in 1945. At the time Moses, a young pilot, was a member of the Air Transport Command division of the United States Air Force. He was at the air force base on the day a distinguished and three-star decorated C-47 aircraft landed. The aircraft belonged to General Patton. "Ol' Blood and Guts" walked onto the tarmac followed by a white dog.

Seeing the General was impressive but Moses was particular awestruck by Patton’s bull terrier Willie, short for “William the Conqueror”. From that moment forward Moses made it his job to educate himself about the breed. He learned everything he could about their temperament, bloodlines and health issues.

Moses Acosta: There was something so compelling and appealing to me about that dog and its devotion
to Patton. I’d never seen a dog like that. It was white and magnificent. 20 years later after seeing Patton’s Willy I was in London and passed a bookstore. Bar Sinister was on the book cover (Bar Sinister is considered the thoroughbred stud of Bull Terriers). I contacted Miss Eva Weatherill of the famed Ormandy/Souperlative Kennel who was the top breeder of bull terriers - her dogs having bloodlines from both sides of Ch Ormandy/Souperlative Bar Sinister. I asked if I could come out and see her puppies and she agreed.

Eva picked me up at the train station, drove us to her kennel and showed me the dogs. I was in heaven. I told her that I’d like to buy one of her bull terriers. ‘We don’t sell our dogs to Americans anymore.’ She went on to explain that they didn’t like what was being done to the breed in the States. ‘We want to keep the integrity of the breed,” she explained. I was disappointed, though I understood.

I thanked her for her time and took the train back to London. The next day the phone rang. It was Eva. ‘Mr. Acosta, I noticed how disappointed you were that we couldn’t sell you one of our puppies. I did a little research and found a kennel in the States with bloodlines on both sides to Bar Sinister.’ I asked where it was located and she said, ‘Somewhere in a place called New Jersey.’

My wife Barbara found the kennel and when I returned home to Manhattan I called them. We were in luck because they had a litter that was ready to go. They had 3 males and 2 females. ‘Tell me about the females?’ She informed me that one female was larger than the other. I made the decision that Barbara’s first bull terrier should be a female. ‘I’ll take the large one.’

We drove out the next day. The breeder showed us the sire. It was big and throwing around a tire like it was nothing. Barbara was in shock. She had never seen a bull terrier and soon enough she was holding her first bull terrier pup. She kept petting the dog but she was in shock. We returned home with the smaller of the females. Other arrangements had been made for the larger one. We named her Lily. It was too late to make dinner so I told Barbara I’d get Chinese food from around the corner. I walked out the door and on 12th street and University Place I spotted a guy with a bull terrier. Talk about a coincidence. I went over to the man and said, ‘Mister is that a bull terrier?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. So I told him I just bought our first bull terrier. Then he turned to me and said: ‘Did you say you just bought a bull terrier?’ When I nodded, he offered a warning: ‘Mister you’re in big trouble. That son of bitch just ate my couch.’

Bull terriers are known to be faithful family members capable of deep and lasting love. They are willful, clownish and powerful dogs described by the American Kennel Club as: “strongly built, muscular, symmetrical and active, with a keen determined and intelligent expression, full of fire but of sweet disposition and amenable to discipline.” They were bred to be the Gentleman’s companion and they are. There’s a defining look to the breed that immediately attracted Acosta.

D.W.: Having a bull terrier never felt odd to me, though we’d often get frequent comments by passersby. ‘It looks like a pig’, was the most common. I liked having a dog that was so obviously different. This was pre-Spud and ‘Bullseye’ Target dog, so bull terrier sightings were much more rare than they are now. What I remember most about Lily was how smart she was.

W.P.: What would you most want people to know about the bull terrier breed?

D.W.: These are not dogs that are going to gaze upon you with adoration – you know, just waiting to please you. They’re smart but extremely willful. You have to be dedicated to their socialization and training or they will walk all over you. Let’s say you teach one not to sit on your favorite chair. Then one day while you are busy or on the phone he decides to jump on that chair and you let him get away with that — he’ll remember! He will put that knowledge to work and say, “Aha, Mom let me sit on the chair that once so I bet she’ll let me do it again.” If you open up the door a tiny bit, he will bust it open and use it to his advantage.

Bull Terriers are also a lot of dog in a medium body. My male is the same weight as my friend’s Lab, but my dog is much more concentrated in size. So if he’s in that ‘favorite’ chair, and you tell him to get down, he stares at you knowing full well what you want him to do, yet he doesn’t budge. When I try to move him, his 70 pounds feels like 100 and it’s practically impossible. So you grab his legs and start pulling him off the chair while he, the willful, stubborn BT that he is, just makes himself dead weight. Even as his head and chest are falling to the ground he might make a last minute save and right himself up, but more likely just to be stubborn and not give in he’s going to ride out the fall and go THUD to the ground. If you happen to crack the tiniest smile as this scene plays out and he catches that smile … that’s it. He’s got you! He knows part of you kind of liked this whole interaction, so maybe next time he won’t get off the chair again. This is an example of how they can be pains in the butt - SMART pains in the butt - and also why they are called the clowns of the dog world. It can be pretty funny if you appreciate this kind of humor. If you don’t, it will be horribly taxing. Personally this kind of behavior cracks me up and I love it. It brings a smile to my face on a daily basis. Life with a bull terrier is NEVER boring, that’s for sure.

W.P.: Do you find that while walking your bull terriers that some people are intimidated or hesitant to greet your dogs, even after you let them know that they are friendly?

D.W.: We get this all the time. People clutching their children, saying nasty things and what have you, even while my dog is walking pleasantly by my side, smiling and wagging his tail. These are strong dogs, and they are funny looking to many people. People are generally uncomfortable with things they don’t understand. You can just look at certain dogs and know they will be very huggy, kissy and welcoming. If I had never seen a BT and saw one for the first time as an adult, I’m not sure what I’d think! They have been a part of my life for so long I really can’t imagine it. I guess I would think they looked odd, but I know I’d be intrigued. I always make a point of telling people my dogs are friendly and they can pet them if they like. We also tell folks not to lean over them, bending from the waist. If your head and face are hovering over a BT, they will very likely want to jump up and lick it and accidentally konk you on the nose in the process. Their heads are like anvils. It’s not pleasant to experience a BT head butt and it happens if your not careful. These gestures are not aggressive but simply a 70-pound dog jumping up enthusiastically to kiss you. It’s like when you feed a horse – you better know how to do it.

W.P.: What have you learned from your bull terriers?

D.W.: It’s a cliché but they’ve taught me unconditional love. To have a living breathing creature that’s always willing and able to give love freely is quite amazing. It’s a gift to be on the receiving end and a lesson to witness their unconditional love time and time again. On any given day, even if our bull terrier, Hope, greeted me with kisses an hour before, there she is again for me with newness and a joyfulness that is humbling.

Winning Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club Show is prestigious. For a Bull Terrier to win the title was perhaps unthinkable since the breed, former fighting dogs as well as companion dogs, may have found themselves within the crosshairs of K-9 politics. Do you promote a breed that by many accounts is not best suited for first-time dog owners? A win at Westminster puts your breed on the map of desirability. This breed needs and demands a consistent approach to discipline.

D.W.: With Bull Terriers you have to establish the fact that you are the leader or they will fill that role in a heartbeat. When you decide you want a dog, any dog, be respectful of temperament and be sure to contact reputable breeders. Contacting the National Clubs, the parent clubs for each AKC-recognized breed, is another good idea when researching the breed best suited for you and your family. For Bull Terriers be sure to go to their website www.btca.com. And, when you make your breed choice take the time to observe a litter. There will be the bossy ones that step all over their littermates while others in the pack will be shy. Then there are the ones in the middle that are easy going. They like when you pick them up and are fine when you put them down. This is the kind of temperament I want and have in our Bull Terriers.