Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Terrier Group · No. 86 in 2025

How to identify a Bull Terrier

The Bull Terrier is a muscular terrier, ranked No. 86 by the AKC in 2025. Its egg-shaped head is the giveaway: oval from the front and curving down to the nose, with no stop. Small, triangular eyes and small ears placed close together complete the look.

Photo of a Bull Terrier
Photo: Pixabay User TC-TORRES · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Bull Terrier standard.

  1. “Egg shaped” head: oval from the front and curving “gently downwards” from skull to nose
  2. Small, thin ears “placed close together”
  3. Small, dark, “triangular” eyes set high and close
  4. White (markings on the head allowed) or Colored, where brindle is preferred; short, low tail carried level

Tell them apart

Bull Terrier or Boxer?

Check the head. A Bull Terrier has an egg-shaped head that curves down to the nose with no stop, and small, triangular eyes. A Boxer has a distinct stop and a short, blunt muzzle under a black mask. A mostly white dog points to a Bull Terrier, since a Boxer’s white can’t cover more than a third of the coat.

Bull Terrier

Bull Terrier

  1. “Egg shaped” head: oval from the front and curving “gently downwards” from skull to nose
  2. Small, thin ears “placed close together”
  3. Small, dark, “triangular” eyes set high and close
  4. White (markings on the head allowed) or Colored, where brindle is preferred; short, low tail carried level
Boxer

Boxer

  1. “Broad, blunt muzzle” only ⅓ the length of the head, which the standard calls “the distinctive feature”
  2. Black mask on the muzzle; white may “replace part of” it and run up between the eyes
  3. Fawn or brindle only, with white markings covering no more than a third of the coat
  4. “Short, shiny” coat “lying smooth and tight”; square build, tail set high and carried up (docked for the show ring)

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