Origin And Evolution Of The Bulldog

Bulldogs come from the family of Mastiffs, which is responsible for its stocky build and wide head. These Mastiffs were known for its aggression and ferocity. Although their roots came be traced from Asia, historical records show that the Mastiffs were brought to Europe before the Bulldog breed came about. This was early in the thirteenth century when their prime use for human beings was to ward off or fight against bulls. This is the reason for their coined name. This breed is actually mentioned in notable pieces of history. It was even mentioned by Shakespeare in his work “King Henry VI.”

For some time, animal contests were held for the bull and the bulldog. This activity was called “bull baiting.” It is difficult to trace when and where exactly this activity came about and how it developed. This activity was quite cruel both to the dogs and the bulls. It is sometimes difficult to think of the kind of entertainment this brought its audience. In these contest, bulldogs were expected to take down the bull by clinging its jaws to the bull. This is how the bulldog’s lower jaw developed to have an extreme under bite. While it snaps its jaws to the bull it was fighting, it needed some air to breathe especially as it was expected to cling to its “prey” for quite some time.

Soon enough, bull-baiting activities were banned in England. When this happened, the bulldog breeding declined because bull baiting was actually its only use. Too few wanted to keep the breed. However, there were those who felt certain affection for the bulldog and decided to keep breeding them. Some were shipped to other continents, mostly in North America. Here, bulldogs were bred with other types of dogs. In fact, that was how the American Boxer came about. In other European countries where the bulldog was exported to, other mixed breed also came about. Bulldogs came from Germany where the earlier types of bulldogs were bred with Pugs. With this mix, breeders were able to create short but stocky dogs now growing in popularity as family pets.

Because of this extremely colorful history, there is no doubt as to why the Bulldog carries a sense of pride with itself. Although it is an extremely affectionate and loyal pet today, it still has that sense of courage and ferocity in its nature. Although it is far from displaying these traits so violently now, Bulldogs show a part of their true nature as they guard their families by warding off strangers or unfamiliar animals. Even just the presence of the Bulldog now may intimidate many people who are somewhat unfamiliar with its gentle traits. For this reason, pet owners who keep Bulldogs should be thankful for those who decided to keep the breed alive and make them prosper even as they lost their use for bull baiting. True enough, their decision to keep the breed continue to make many families happy with this well evolved animal.