The Bull Arab is a type of dog developed in Australia for hunting

wild boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and

feral pigs A feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. The term feral pig has also been applied to wild boars, which can interbreed with domestic pigs. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback a ...

.''Tuskers Magazine''
"Intro to Australia and Bull Arabs"
Adam Mirfin, February 2013, p 26. The dog was bred from crossing dog types like Bull Terrier,

Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...

Mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful Dog type, type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short Coat (dog), coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephal ...

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

and

German Shorthaired Pointer The German Shorthaired Pointer or is a German breed of continental pointing dog of Braque type. It originated in the nineteenth century in what is now Germany. It is of medium size, and is an all-purpose gun dog suitable for hunting and retrie ...

. The result was a medium to large size, short-haired, muscular dog.

Temperament

The Bull Arab combines the desired characteristics of a

scent hound Canton_of_Bern.html" ;"title="Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Canton of Bern">Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of h ...

and a

catch dog A catch dog is a specially trained dog that is used to catch large animals in hunting, working livestock, and baiting. As hunters, catch dogs are contrasted with bay dogs who corner prey animals and alert their handler by howling, or baying. ...

. An Australian pig dog is used to locate pigs, pull them to the ground, and hold them by the ear. The breed is able to locate pigs as far as away by smell.

Animal welfare issues

According to shelters and animal welfare organizations, Bull Arab type dogs are bred irresponsibly, dumped often and are more difficult to rehome responsibly. Due to restrictions on rental housing agreements in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

that prohibit larger sized dog breeds, many large breeds of dogs including Bull Arabs are often abandoned in that state.

RSPCA Australia RSPCA Australia (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is an Australian peak organisation established in 1981 to promote animal welfare. Each state and territory of Australia has an RSPCA organisation that predates and is ...

also attributes this to a perceived rise in pig hunting, with hunters not desexing their animals, resulting in litters often being dumped.

Attack risk

Attacks on animals and humans have been attributed to Bull Arab type dogs. The

Mackay Regional Council The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimat ...

reports hunting dogs are not represented in greater numbers of dog bites than other dog breeds.''Daily Mercury''
"Mackay locals just as likely to be attacked by a Jack Russell"
20 March 2017. In a 2022 analysis of 682 dog bite related injuries who presented to Sydney Children's Hospital in New South Wales from 2010 to 2020, no bites were attributed to Bull Arabs, though Bull Arabs are not within the 20 most common breeds in New South Wales.

References

{{Australian dogs Dog breeds originating in Australia Hunting dogs

Temperament

Animal welfare issues

Attack risk

Further reading

See also

References