Are bulldogs actually bulldogs ? Controversial

... but what is a bulldog really? Not being funny here, there are now so many varieties now its hard to Keep up! The top two dogs are lovely, well cared for dogs - altho what is that round the neck of the un-coated dog? Looks uncomfortable?

As for the dogs in second photo some resemble staffies & others mixes? They look very sorry for themselves - i dont mean to be rude, just observing.

We used to have a neighbour who had a toy poodle, they lived next door to a guest house & periodically had large furry rodents visiting. That "poodle" was an expert at catching, tossing in the air & snapping the rats neck on catching it when she caught it again

I really dont think you can generalise where dogs are concerned:?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_Bulldog

These are thought to be the original bull dogs.

But bulls dogs were called that because of what they did rather than how they were bred. If they could catch and hold the bull then they were bull dogs.

Most dogs don't do what they used to do but hopefully most will look like they can.

No SmokeyBear I haven't done that but I'm guessing you have!!

When the British pit dogs (that later became our SBT an their APBT) went over to the states so did the original bulldogs of the UK, they were used in the foundations of the American Bulldog along with other breeds depending on what job the breeder was going to be using it for, some claim to still have pure Old Southern White -OSW or White English Bulldogs - WEB as they're known today with no modern AB influence.

Now I don't as nobody else knows if they really go straight back to the bulldogs of england but it was only 120 years ago so it could be possible.

Here's a few sites with more info



http://www.joshuakennels.com/orig.htm

http://whiteknightabs.com/index.html

That answers one question now for the other.

Can you tell me what the difference is in time between:

Hunter catching up with wounded pig whilst it is being held by a dog and

Hunter catching up with wounded pig when no dog is holding it there?

Sometimes dogs remain with the pig and bay "totverbellen" so that the hunter follows the sound.

So if you could explain to me how one method is quicker than the other and more humane for the pig, I would like to understand it before I tackle some other points.

My mountain dogs don't live up a mountain. Maybe I should call them 'town dogs' The term bulldog is used to describe the original role. Odd that you think they are undeserving of the name.

That's true, they look nothing like the Bulldog,

they all look very pit/AB type to me.

Shame about their skin problems.....

I`m very much pro hunting with dogs... the bloodlust comment was directed towards those who pit their dog against a very large aggressive animal, as with the pics you have posted, it seems more to do with "fighting" than hunting!

tbh, the ambulls i saw in the usa were very nice to see in the flesh but not so good a hog dog as the blue lacy`s, curs or the dogo`s perhaps bulldog is the wrong breed description for them?. i we`re in texas for a while and saw many a hunt taking place on relatives ranch, the damage the wild boar do to crops and land/proporty is devestating so sadly they need controlling!
nothing bloodthirsty about the hunt, the dogs are sent in to flush the animal out then others are sent in to pin/hold it until someone can get in there with their rifle! never actually saw blood coming from any animal until they we`re shot dogs can sustain broken teeth though so have to be retired as hogdogs if this happens!
ambulls aren`t actually used that much at all from what i saw folks seems to be fond of their curs, lacy`s and dogo`s!

Funny they look to different folk, when i zoomed in on the dogs in second photo, they look more staffy about the head to me. They just dont look happy to me

I am anti blood sports as well

It's irrelevant what bull breeds they're made up from, but what they are is proper bulldogs earning the right to be called one!!

But if you must know the top two are Standard AB's and the bottom 4 are AB x Pit, no skin issues just dirty and run down after a hard days work.

Dooley there is plenty of AB's working as hogdogs, Curs and Dogo's are easier to use though as neither one is a lone strike/catch dog, Dogo's are usually used in 2's or 3's as running catch dogs and curs could only catch a huge boar in multiples too..infact from what I can make out the most common catch dogs are pitbulls due to their accessability and general adaptability to anything most dogs would crumble under.


Also there is no agenda to this thread I just knew it would start a good possibly heated debate.

All you are doing is exposing illeagally bred dogs ie Am Bulldog x Pitbull - all supposing they were bred in the UK!

Heaven forbid but how do you know a Eng bulldog x Am Bulldog couldnt work. You are not using a purebred dog in those crosses!

Like I'd post pics of dogs that hunt pigs in the UK on here, those dogs are in America!!

It possibly could work a little, but in the woods with high temp and humidity I'd say the dog would possibly die just looking for a pig due to not being able to breathe!! They are that far removed from what they were intended...90% of Ab's are to big due to breeding for size and apparent "bulldog" looks to make great catchdogs, most AB catch dogs are 60 to 80 lbs and are bulit like big pitbulls.

Also there's no such thing as a pure bred dog, except maybe the wolf!!

I just pulled this off a british bulldog thread on here!!

Posted by Nicci L

Care is different to other breeds yes.

Bums wiped after number twos to prevent sores forming underneath tails & faces must be wiped daily ( I used to use simple wet wipes - obviously non scented) and then sudocrem wiped in between folds & wrinkles. Vaseline also wiped on nose to stop the skin cracking.

Posted by Anne-Marie

Ohh a bully - looking forward to seeing pics

I agree with Nicci's post about keeping the folds of skin clean and using vaseline on the nose (we do this daily for Lola).

I would also advise care regarding exercise, especially in hot/warm weather. Bull breeds are Brachycephalic (short head, short muzzle) and can overheat easily in warmer weather. I would exercise your Bully in the cooler parts of the day only - we do this with Lola (our French Bulldog)


What would be the point in using a dog like his in a purpose bred cross for hunting, and especially a wild boar in extreme temp/humidity.

The aim of breeding dogs is to improve what you have allready by breeding great, tested and healthy dogs, not using a dog that if it were human would need a full time carer and it's own medicine cupboard.

curs weren`t used as catch dogs, i never said they we`re, the curs are used to chase the boar down, then the dogo that was with the group got sent in to pin/hold the boar down, dogo`s are perfectly capable of pinning/holding a boar down, saw it with my own eyes;-)

I take it that you canot tell me the difference, which is fine as of course there IS none.

So that leaves us with the ethics of dogs holding a pig with its teeth until the hunter catches up with it and kills it does it not?

Why do you think that the pig hunters in the US prefer to use this method rather than the one used in the UK and Europe?

this dog looks in no danger of needing any kind of medicine cupboard! who said `real` bulldogs can`t work?

This is a subject that interests me greatly. I've read a lot of history books on bulldog/fighting/mastiff breeds, but this article sums things up nicely (in my opinion):

http://www.workingpitbull.com/history.htm

In brief, the modern KC Bulldog is a result of crossing old bulldogs and pugs and has no characteristic of a true bulldog (as do most recreations). Secondly, the true old bulldog is a pitbull, in phenotype and pedigree.

Fraid English Bulldogs are one of those breeds that makes me wince. I've only seen two regularly and both had been bred to a conformation that did them no favours. Both struggled with breathing issues and both couldn't break out of a fast waddle. Wrinkles on one had to make it difficult for him to see. Possibly both were badly bred...

But.

Just reading the Bulldogrescue health page I can't be convinced nature intended them that way.

Good post/video!