MINIATURE BULL TERRIER

Top Miniature Bull Terrier breeder Fran Milteer of Internationally renowned VIP Mini-Bulls, shares her secrets to MBT health, type, genetics, and showing success.

My Mini-Bull Breeding Program

by Fran Milteer / VIP Miniature Bull Terriers

My love for showing dogs began when in my teens.  In 1977 Darlys Flaata became my first breeding  program mentor and I had great success with Group winning, Ch. Damata Nuclear Reactor. He was the "rock" upon which VIP Pomeranians was built. But then, I fell in love with the Miniature Bull Terrier!

Enter the Mini-Bull Terrier!

At the Mission Circuit in Southern California in 1992 I saw the newly AKC recognized Miniature Bull Terrier.  Over the years I watched the Mini-Bulls with interest as I continued in my Pom breeding program.

Then, in 1998 I married a great guy who had never been to a dog show. What an education he was about to get!

Larry had been fascinated with the Bull Terrier since the advent of Budweiser’s "Spuds MacKenzie" dog and that prompted us to start seriously looking at Miniature Bull Terriers.

* click to enlarge photos - click red "x" in small window to return to this page

(You can only enlarge one photo at a time)

I went to the San Diego shows where the Miniature Bull Terrier National Specialty was held.  It was there I met Barbara “BJ” Andrews, the author of "The Miniature Bull Terrier" and whose bloodlines I had watched over the years.  BJ agreed to sell me a male puppy. O'BJ Great Expectations VIP "Pip" became my soul mate and I was hooked on Mini-Bulls.

Pip was outstanding and picking up points until his mouth went off. That hurt him in the ring but he was such a great little dog, it made me determined to get good mouths in my Mini-Bull Terrier breeding program. Thank you Pip!

BJ sent Victoria's Secret O'BJ “Vicky" to replace my male.  Vicky, whose parents were imported from top English bloodlines, became our foundation for VIP Miniature Bull Terriers. She's pictured winning at Apple Valley in 2002.  Watching for the right male in a still-rare breed, I studied a striking young Mini-Bull male "Ch Kingsmere Moondoggie" (photo at right) and watched what he was producing out of bitches of different lines.  I noticed that no matter what bitch he was bred to, he produced good heads, which I felt was Vicky's weak point.  I knew I needed this dog's head in my breeding program.

VIP - The Miniature Bull Terrier Breeder!

With BJ’s blessing, Linda Lethin agreed to breed "Smudgie" to Vicky. He was already special, having sired 4 VHDK (Van Hildrekusen) Winners and he had won the Van Hildrekusen himself. He won BB at the MBT National Specialty and at the Westminster KC twice and yes, he is the (Miniature) Bull Terrier you see in the Target department store ads.

From that litter, I got 4 lovely bitches, one of which was Ch. VIP'S Pocket Change O'BJ. “Penny” was BOB at Ventura over top male specials and she did it from Bred By Exhibitor class!  She followed that by going WB at the Miniature Bull Terrier Club Of America National Specialty, and to climax her show career, she finished as BW at Palm Springs under Bull Terrier legend, breeder-judge Winkey Mackay-Smith to become one of our first VIP Miniature Bull Terrier Champions.

Vicky's litter was sired by Ch. Tecuya's Something to Talk About (Smudgie's son).  That breeding produced 4 bitches and 2 dogs.  All four girls are champions.  "Vicky" next produced a litter of six puppies sired by Ch. Tecuya's Something to Talk About. I'll tell you more about them in a minute because they have really turned out well.

I later bred Vicky to Ch. Tecuya's Talkin Tough, Smudgie's grandson, who I co own with Brenda Smith. "Danny" was a joy to show and he and I had a lot of fun. Turns out, he was only "talking" tough because he was as good-natured as all Miniature Bull Terriers should be. He's shown below-left in one of his favorite outfits.

My husband Larry is a classic car buff and loves motorcycles. "Danny" and Larry were the best of buddies and he became not only a star in the Miniature Bull Terrier show ring but also a real celebrity at the Harley dealership. His only problem with those big Harleys is that his short Mini-Bull legs weren't made for biking! Click the advert on the right and you'll see why one of the salesmen at Antelope Valley Harley Davidson quipped "Miniature Bull Terriers are just little "pigs" that never grow up to be Harley Hogs."

* click to enlarge photos - click red "x" in small window to return to this page

Then There Was a Miniature Bull Terrier Scandal!

From another breeding I got four lovely bitches! VIP's Simply Scandalous. "Scandal" took 3 group placements from the 9-12 months puppy class. That probably set a record for a Miniature Bull Terrier puppy!

Scandal is shown at left with Stephanie Salas, two beautiful youngsters doing their thing at 14 years and at 10 months.  Scandal won a Group II Puppy and Terrier Group III on the same day!

Scandal's litter sister Ch. VIP'S Indecent Proposal finished with 4 majors including 2 BOB over specials. VIP's In Touch With the Devil has a CGC and is a therapy dog who at one year old is also in training for Agility, Obedience and Earthdog.

My breeding program is founded on good temperaments, health, and sound confirmation with excellent bites. VIP Miniature Bull Terriers have become known for having excellent mouths in correct heads and any Mini-Bull breeder can tell you, that isn’t easy.

After all these years of breeding show dogs, I've found my niche as a Miniature Bull Terrier Breeder and I'm loving it.  See our 2016 bitch owned by Suzanne Hoesman (window will pop up, close to come back here)  And don't miss TheJudgesPlace.com educational feature on Judging The Mini-Bull Terrier

Update: Fran Milteer resides in CA and can be reached at 661-305-9405 or Fran.Milteer@yahoo.com

TheDogPlace.org EST 1998 © Sep 2008-1603176r   https://www.thedogplace.org/Breeds/Miniature-Bull-Terrier/Breeding_Milteer089.asp

CLICK TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFY FOR THE MY BREEDING PROGRAM FEATURE...

SSI

Privacy Policy   ~   Disclaimer