Two Kalispell brothers are riding the wave of popularity of a new dog breed recently recognized by the United Kennel Club: The American bully.

Joe and Mike Torres have been breeding the American bully for the past two years at their kennels north of Kalispell, and say the breed’s recognition by the United Kennel Club, the largest all-breed performance-dog registry in the world, has been good for business.

“They’re getting very popular,” Joe Torres said. He’s seeing global interest in the American bully in Asia, Europe and India.

The dog’s lineage is intimately tied to the pit bull.

The bully developed as a natural extension of the American pit bull terrier, a breed that has maintained a characteristic appearance and temperament for more than 100 years, according to the United Kennel Club.

“As with any longstanding breed, several distinct types have evolved from the parent breed, with one in particular — the American bully — taking on a specific build and structure unique enough to warrant it becoming a separate breed altogether,” the organization noted in a press release in mid-July when it announced the recognition of the American bully.

While the American bully’s foundation stock is “undeniably” the American pit bull terrier, the breed was developed by blending in stock from other bull breeds such as the American and English bulldogs.

Torres said the bully is a shorter, stockier breed than the pit bull, and its temperament is calm. The dogs don’t bark much at all, and can be trained for any number of tasks, from “being a lazy house dog” to herding livestock.

“I would imagine some of them could even be trained to hunt,” he said. “The UKC calls it a great family dog.”

The United Kennel Club said the American bully’s “presence is a picture of tremendous power and stamina that belies its kind and loyal temperament.”

The Torres brothers are raising standard and “pocket”-sized bullies, but have not gotten into breeding the extra-large or extreme varieties. Joe Torres takes their dogs to shows in Coeur d’ Alene, Portland and other places.

They sell their American bully dogs for $750 to $3,000, depending on the size and genetics. The smaller dogs command bigger prices.

The pups are ready for sale at about eight weeks. They’re weaned at six weeks and then fed goat’s milk, ground beef and puppy food, Joe said.

The breed has been about 20 years in the making, he said, but it took the recognition from the United Kennel Club to bring the bully to the forefront. Some of the brothers’ bully pups already are reserved for buyers.

“I post pictures of the dogs on Facebook, and there’s a lot of word of mouth,” he said. “Going to the dog shows helps, too.”

The Torreses grew up in Chicago, where “pit bulls had a bad rap because they were still used for fighting,” Joe acknowledged. But when he lived in California for a time, he helped raise a couple of litters of red-nose pit bulls and “found out how amazing pit bulls were.”

Joe worked as a seasonal employee in Glacier National Park in 2005 and decided he wanted to live in the Flathead Valley, so he relocated to Kalispell three years ago. His brother Mike, a glassblower by trade, followed him here. They started Big Sky Bully Pit Bulls in mid-2011.

For more information, contact Joe Torres at 890-4095.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.