The English Bulldog

When it comes to bull baiting most people will think of the Boxer, one of the most famous bull fighters, but did you know that the Bulldog was also used to fight the ferocious bulls?

The animal that we know today as the English bulldog is so much different then the original breed, "the real thing" as it would be; it is said that the English bulldog did not originate in England at all but in Asia, better yet, the English Bulldog is the direct descendant of the Asiatic mastiff, this dog was brought over to England and that is where the real breeding and development took place.

Today the English Bulldog has a reputation for being a good dog, a gentle dog, a dog that you won’t have too much trouble with in terms of aggression; back in the 13th century they had no such reputation, these were dogs that were born and bred for a single purpose, to bring down that bull. The English bulldog was quite a ferocious animal, extremely aggressive and dangerous, but despite all this he was a popular dog and he is found in several historical works…..even in Shakespeare’s King Henry VI.

Because of the cruelty of the sport, Bull baiting it was outlawed in England in 1835. When we look at most dog breeds that have outlived their usefulness, there is a drastic decline in their numbers, some breeds even became extinct. With the Bulldog this was not the case; when bull baiting became outlawed, the breeders decided to make a breed that was not quite so aggressive.

The bulldog was crossed with the pug and the result was a shorter, stockier animal that was much less aggressive and a much more gentle dog, with careful breeding, over the years, they have managed to produce a dog that has quite a history but a totally different temperament then his ancestors.

The bull dog should be a dog that is in perfect proportion not giving the impression of being deformed and so on, his hind legs should be no longer then the front legs there should be plenty on wrinkles on his face, the bull dog should have round eyes set far apart from each other and also a good distance from his ears which should be short and curved back like the rose.

Many different colors are admitted in the show ring, brindle being the preferred color, followed by white, fawn, piebald and so on; the one color that is really going to be frowned upon is black, although you can still enter the show, black is definitely not a winning color.

When looking for a puppy to buy, always look for a good breeder that has a good reputation in his area, even if it means looking in another town or county; believe me, the little extra money you will pay for a pure bred animal will be worth it!

Pure bred animals bought from breeders with good reputations usually came with all their vaccines and with vet checks, these puppies are almost always well socialized (saving you a lot of time and trouble with training) and their breeders should be people that try come as close as possible to the breed standard.

When you buy from puppy mills, you don’t know anything about the puppy’s history, his health or his temperament and socialization, puppy mills almost never hold any regard for how close their puppies come to the breed standard, and in other words you don’t know what you are getting. If you are going to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a bulldog puppy you might as well make sure that you are getting something that wont die on you in the next few years.

The English Bulldog is a nice animal that does very well with children, pets and almost everything in between, this is an animal that does not particularly like to exercise and that makes him great for apartment living, of course there is a downside to this because it can also lead to him being overweight if you are not careful. The English bulldog requires minimal grooming, the one thing that needs to be done daily is to take a damp cloth and clean in between his wrinkles.