English Bulldog Origins

The English bulldog is one of the most recognizable dogs today and is fear d for its rage and menacing personality. The bulldog is a heavy and muscular dog, with a wrinkled face and a pushed in nose. The origin of the English bulldog has been a matter of debate as historians cannot fully agree as to where the bulldog originated from. According to the first ever published book that specifically talks about dogs called the “book of dogs” (1576), there is no mention of the bulldog. This would suggest that by this time, the English bulldog was not as we know it today. Interestingly, descriptions for the “Mastive” and “Bandogge” closely resemble that of the bulldog, a fact that has lead most to believe that the bulldog might have originated as a crossbreed between the two.

English bulldogs earned their name from their early use for guarding, controlling and baiting bulls. The first time that bulldog was clearly distinguished from the mastiff was in 1631 in a letter written by an Englishman from San Sebastian in Spain to his friend in London. The letter in part asked that he be sent “a good Mastive dog a case of liquor and I bed you to get me some good bulldogs”. This suggests that by this time, the Mastive and the bulldog had become a separate breed. What has become apparent is that the English bulldog originated in England and later spread around the world. It was mostly transported in ships by migrating people, or sold by breeders to other countries. This gave forth to American bulldogs, French bulldogs and Spanish Bulldogs.

English bulldogs were also used for sport, particularly bull baiting which was a very popular sport at the time. It is this sport that leant its name to the dog. The dogs were also used for dog fighting, where people placed bets and gambled on the dogs. These original English bulldogs were extremely ferocious, courageous and virtually felt no pain. In 1835, dog fighting became illegal. It was soon after this that the bulldog seemingly lost its usefulness. This resulted in breeding of the dog in order to get rid of its ferocious characteristic. People migrating to the new world however saw the usefulness of the traditional English bulldogs and took them along on their voyage, resulting in what we know today as the ferocious American bulldog. In England, after several generations, bulldog breeding had been refined, making the English bulldog one of the finest specimens known today. This however meant that they lost most of the strength, stamina, intelligence, speed and viciousness that they originally had.

The original English bulldogs were known by those who had encountered them as the meanest toughest and most aggressive dogs ever seen. They were feared and served a number of tasks. They were famously used to corner and catch wild bulls, a task that was previously extremely risky. It was said that no matter how tough or wild the bull was, it could be taken down by just two bulldogs. This is testament to how strong the original English bulldog was.