Bulldog Breeds is a collective name for various breeds of dog of a particular type, also known as Bull Breeds.
Contents |
The sport of baiting animals has occurred since antiquity, most famously in the Roman Colosseum, a direct precursor to the modern Spanish bullfighting. In the post Roman era, baiting, per se, was most closely associated with the English, who pursued it with utmost earnestness. The pastime flourished, reaching the peak of its popularity during the sixteenth century.
The Bulldog is larger in size but the closest surviving relative of the Old English Bulldog, because they were not altered to as great an extent while in America as their European cousins. There are generally considered to be two types of American Bulldog, the Johnson type and the Scott type, named after the breeders who were influential in developing them, John D. Johnson and Allen Scott. These are more commonly known as Classic or Bully type and Standard or Performance type. The American Bulldog was first bred in the 1800's when the continental United States was first beginning to form.
Also known as the Altamaha Plantation Bulldog, the extremely rare breed has recently gained popularity as family protector. During the peak of the Antebellum period, rice plantations along the Altamaha River valley branches and Cathead Creek west of Darien accounted for the bulk of the rice being exported from Georgia.
The rice fields on these plantations, sometimes had yields of more than one million pounds of rice per year. Feral hogs and wild cattle could devastate young rice crops overnight. To work the feral hogs and wild cattle Planters introduced dogs, bred with a strong catch drive and large feet for a sure sense of balance in the lowland marshes. Described as devotional and large headed, the dogs all but disappeared. Word is they were predominantly white in color. The breed has recently been reestablished through the Animal Research Foundation. [1][2]
Australian Bulldogs were created by Australian breeders that were unhappy with the overall health and condition of the purebred Bulldog. The overall predominant breeds in the mixed breed bitches, aside from any British Bulldog blood, were boxer, mastiff and English bull terrier with smidgens of other breeds. Only male British Bulldogs were used to make the generational crossings at first. Using British Bulldog bitches was rejected because of their known whelping problems. The few mixed breed dogs used by the writer all had impeccable temperaments with adults and children alike. Other key non-British Bulldog male dogs used were Cash Donkey Tonk Eeyore and Kestels Tiger Boy. Later on other breeders introduced American Bulldog blood, of which the foremost would be Cauchi lines.
An attempt to recreate the older Bullenbeisser, recreated in the 1990s they are now a recognised Bulldog Breed.
An extinct dog that originated in Germany. It is also known as the German Bulldog.
The Bulldog of today has developed since the initial bull-baiting days, inasmuch as characteristics of the breed (such as the underbite, size of the head and width of shoulder) have been accentuated by selective breeding. The term "Bulldog" is the correct name for the breed, although they are often referred to as "English Bulldogs" or "British Bulldogs".
Bred from the bullenbieser and the old English bulldog, it was originally used for bull and bear baiting.
The Catahoula Bulldog was bred to be the perfect boar and bear dog. Catahoula Leopard dogs are very skilled at luring boars to a pen and escaping, but they are not heavy or strong enough to catch the hog directly. Breeders combined the best Catahoula Leopard dogs with strong, powerful American Bulldogs to create the Catahoula Bulldog.This dog was created by farmers AND hunters to be the perfect catch dog, farmworking dog and still be able to go home and be a family companion.
The Dorset Olde Tyme Bulldogge was created by Steve and Simone Barnett in the county of Dorset in the United Kingdom,The Barnett's have been developing the Dorset OTB known as DOTBs or Dorset's since the very early 1980s as a recreation of the Tudor Bulldogges bred in the early 15th to 16th century's for the barbaric sports of bull and bear baiting the spectacle of kings and queens. The blood lines utilised by the Barnett's for the original DOTB breed program were from pure bred British breeds i.e. Stafford,Mastiff and Bulldogs,these dogs were crossed to create the foundation gene pool.
The French Bulldog emerged as Bulldogs that were bred with Toy Bulldogs by the artistic community in Paris. They average 10 to 12 kg. Their physical appearance is characterized by naturally occurring 'bat ears' that are pointy and stick straight up. Their tails are naturally short, not cropped. Otherwise, their body shape is similar to that of a Bulldog.
The first historical traces of bull-baiting occur in the time of the regency of King John. Enraged steers, specially bred for their aggressive nature, were used to test the keenness of dogs. A collar around the bull's neck was fastened to a thick rope about three to five metres long, attached to a hook, then fastened to an embedded stake that turned, allowing the bull to watch its antagonizer.
The dog's goal in the attack was to pin and steadfastly hold onto the bull's nose, which is its most sensitive spot. If the dog gripped tightly, the bull became completely tractable. The practical purpose that pre-dated the sport was that the working "butcher's dogs" rendered the semi-wild cattle available to the butcher for slaughter without human injury. To avoid this attack, experienced fighting bulls lowered their heads as much as possible in the direction of the attacking dog, protecting their noses and meeting the attacker with only their horns, tossing the dog into the air. The dog reciprocated by staying low to the ground as it crept towards the bull. These tactics resulted in a specialized breed in the form of the now-extinct original Old English Bulldog. This breed was extremely compact, broad, and muscular. Modern oral history describes a particular characteristic of the breed as a lower jaw that projected considerably in front of the upper jaw, which made possible the strong, vice-like grip. This is highly doubtful since all modern working catch dogs have a level or reverse scissors bite. The story continues that the nose was deeply set, which allowed the dog to get enough air as it gripped the bull. A certain small amount of "layback" of the nose may possibly have been desirable, but a more important characteristic would have been a large nasal opening for airflow. The contemporary recreation of this breed of lore is called the Olde English Bulldogge.
The "Olde English Bulldogge" is a re-creation of the "Regency Period Bull Baiter", developed by David Leavitt of Coatsville, PA in the 1970s. The Olde English Bulldogge is a muscular, medium sized dog of great strength, stability and athleticism. It is well balanced and proportioned with no exaggerated features. It has the appearance of a dog capable of doing its original job of bull baiting. Excessive height would have been detrimental for the old working Bulldog as it had to “play low” to avoid the bull’s horns and fasten onto its nose. A heavyweight dog would also have been at a disadvantage as the bull’s nose would have been likely to rip sending the dog flying.
The Olde English Bulldogge breed is currently enrolled with the Canine Developmental Health and Performance Registry [3], organized by the United Kennel Club for new and rare breeds seeking full UKC acceptance.
The Toy Bulldog, also known as the Miniature Bulldog, was a breed of small Bulldog that averaged 40 pounds in weight. Many of them were pushed out of Britain during the mid to late 19th century, seen as a threat to the Bulldog, and were extinct by the early 20th century.
Brearley, Joan McDonald (1985). The Book of the Bulldog. Neptune, NJ: TFH Publications. ISBN 0-86622-027-5.
Jenkins, Robert; Ken Mollett (1997). The Story of the Real Bulldog. Neptune, NJ: TFH Publications. ISBN 0-7938-0491-4.
Semencic, Carl (August 1984). The World of Fighting Dogs. Neptune, NJ: TFH Publications. ISBN 0-8662-2656-7.