Is the American Bulldog a List Dog or a Fighting Dog?

Not every dog ​​is automatically a cuddly monster. In fact, many dog ​​breeds are considered the opposite – fighting dogs.

What about the American Bulldog? Is the American Bulldog a list dog and attack dog?

And if so, what exactly does that mean for you as the owner? You can find out all of this in the following guide.

Is the American Bulldog a List Dog or a Fighting Dog?

Clear answer: Yes – even if you often stumble across different information – the American Bulldog is considered a list dog in some German federal states.

This is independent of the fact that neither the FCI nor German umbrella organizations have so far recognized the American Bulldog as an independent breed.

But what exactly characterizes a fighting or list dog? Let’s take a closer look at the definition.

In fact, attack dog is the same as list dog – at least from a legal point of view. The term fighting dog was common, especially in the 19th century.

Dog fights were held here as a popular amusement and sport. The breeds that competed against each other were therefore fighting dogs.

Among these was the American Bulldog, which not least because of this has the reputation of being a fighting dog.

Today, list dogs are mostly spoken of. By this is meant that such a dog appears on a breed list.

This in turn lists the dog breeds that are considered potentially dangerous.

A breed list can already make a dog a list dog if it appears here in a single federal state.

This also applies to Austrian and Swiss federal states.

In which states is the American Bulldog considered a list dog or a fighting dog?

Now let’s take a look at the federal states in which the American Bulldog classified as a list or attack dog becomes.

Federal Statelist/fighting dogcategoryBaden-Wuerttembergno-BavariaYes 2Berlinno-Brandenburgno-Bremenno-Hamburgno-HessejaHessen does not subdivide into further categoriesMecklenburg-Western Pomeraniano-Lower Saxonyno-North Rhine-WestphaliaYes 2Rhineland-Palatinateno-Saarlandno-Saxonyno-Saxony-Anhaltno-Schleswig Holsteinno-Thuringiano-

Almost all federal states distinguish list dogs in two categories, 1 and 2.

There are no categories in Berlin, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

If a dog is assigned to category 2, like the American Bulldog in some federal states, the assumed dangerousness can be refuted by an expert opinion – the so-called character test.

In Lower Saxony and Thuringia, on the other hand, there are no breed lists and therefore no categories.

Here these were abolished or are the result of a legal loophole that was classified as illegal.

Dogs classified as Category 1 are considered inherently dangerous. Keeping such a breed can only be done with official permission.

But why list dog at all? Since 2001 there has been a law to combat dangerous dogs in Germany.

This not only affects the keeping of the affected dog breeds, but also their import into Germany. This is already forbidden.

Why? Shortly before this law was passed, there had been repeated attacks on people in Germany by dogs that came from abroad.

The fact that this behavior was more related to the previous life of the dogs and the associated «attitude» seemed to be irrelevant here.

To make things a little more complicated, there is also a so-called breed-specific dog law, which each federal state creates individually.

This in turn is then subordinate to another federal law.

And by the time you’ve fought your way through this jungle of paragraphs, you and your dog will probably be old and grey.

However, as the owner of a potentially dangerous dog, you have to deal with and follow many regulations and restrictions.

Now let’s look at what’s in store for you with owning a list dog.

How does being classified as a list dog or attack dog affect owning an American Bulldog?

Since the American Bulldog is considered a category 2 list dog at most – and only in 3 federal states – you only need an assessment, the character test.

This confirms to the responsible community/authority that your American Bulldog is not prone to aggressive or dangerous behavior.

If your American Bulldog fails this test, you need an official permit as the dog’s owner.

This is then associated with restrictions for your American Bulldog, such as wearing a muzzle. The fact that the leash is also mandatory is almost self-explanatory.

You may also need to take out dog liability insurance. The municipality responsible for you will tell you whether this is the case.

As the owner, you may also show some documents, including a proficiency test.

In addition, you must be of legal age and personally suitable for keeping and training an American Bulldog.

Do you live with an American Bulldog and if so, in which state? We’d love for you to tell your story in our comments!