|
AB History
Like for many other dog breeds with an unwritten history, the American Bulldog's exact origin is a matter of conjecture. As far as the American Bulldog's origins are concerned the three dominant theories are the following:
According to the first one, the American Bulldog was brought over to America by the colonist, where they were primarily used as farm guards, stock dogs gathering cattle and as pack dogs to hunt or tree bears. It is, according to this theory, the "original" English Bulldog which has survived unchanged in remote rural communities, just as was when it was still a working breed rather than the present-day English Bulldog.
According to the second theory, the American Bulldog is a made-up breed concocted from a mixture of other breeds. The third one consist of a combination of theories (1) and (2) . Basically, the "original" English Bulldog was an ancestor of today's American Bulldog but he has been much modified through the year by selective breeding and judicious outcrosses. We should remember at this point that many of the bull breeds we know today are ultimately descended from the "original" English Bulldog: this includes Bullmastiffs, Staffordshires, English Bull Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers among others. All of these were selectively bred to create very different dogs each suited to his individual purpose.
The advocates of the first theory believe the American Bulldog is the pure embodiment of the "original" English Bulldog as it looked when the early settlers from the British Isles and Europe came to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. This idea was popularized by a couple of breeders, probably as a marketing ploy to sell their dogs. Others have eagerly swallowed the story, enabling its passage from myth to modern legend to widely-perceived truth.
Records do exist which show that many bulldogs and bull terriers were exported to America and many contemporary British paintings and sculptures show bulldogs which look similar to American Bulldogs, and many people point to these as evidence to support this belief.
The white coloring predominant in today's American Bulldogs was also the base color of most of the English Bulldogs of that time, which could suggest a very strong link.
However, it seems highly unlikely that the original English Bulldog could possibly have survived unchanged in America for hundreds of years; through the generations he would have been interbred and shaped by his environment and the needs of his masters. The theory does have a certain romantic attraction to it however, so it is easy to understand its continuing popularity.
The advocates of the second theory believe the American Bulldog was created from a blend of various types of dog, which of course is true for every breed. More important is to know exactly where the foundation dogs of these breeding programs, hence, the third theory option.
The third theory, and probably the one closest to the truth, is that the American Bulldog is descended from a selectively-bred blend of bulldogs and bull Terriers. Immigrants from the British Isles, Spain and Northern Europe brought their prized bulldogs and bull terriers with them on their voyage to the New World, where they would certainly have proved their worth in many ways. The dogs provided welcome protection in a sometimes hostile land and also were invaluable to the livestock farmer whose cattle and pigs roamed unfenced over wide areas; this made the livestock hard for the farmer to catch when required, and so the "catch dog," came into being. The selective breeding that had created a dog with the strength, tenacity, courage and longing to seize a bull at a biating or engage in some other form of animal combat now made him the free-range livestock farmer's best friend. In his new role the bulldog could seize a cow or pig and hold him firm until his handlers joined him to tie or slaughter the animal. In addition those same abilities made him a most formidable tool for hunting wild game, a scenario the American Bulldog continues to excel in today in parts of the United States. His major role however was a general watchdog and companion more than anything else, which continues to be the breed's forte.
Pedigrees or other records were not kept, these were not show dogs so there was no need. Natural selection governed the development of the bulldog in America in those times, and as working dogs in harsh world poor performing dogs either died in action or would be culled by their owners. Breedings would be decided purely on a dog's abilities. If you had a good bitch and wanted a litter, and you knew someone who had a good proven dog, then a tie might be arranged to create another generation of working bulldogs, some of which may have been sold to provide a little extra cash in those tough times.
Many breeding experiments would undoubtedly have been tried over many decades that have elapsed since those first bulldogs and bull terriers landed in America, some successful and some probably less so. For example, some hound blood was likely crossed to help enhance the breeds hunting/tracking/baying abilities. Higher proportions of terrier blood would have added tenacity and quickness to some strains too. An extra dose of modern "sour-mug," English Bulldog blood has apparently been added by at least one well known breeder in fairly recent history to increase the "bulliness," of his lines. A couple of mystery ingredients have probably been added too at some points back in the past. This old recipe probably holds true for all lines/types of American bulldogs with only the proportions of ingredients varying. However, the American Bulldog is now certainly far enough away from its "root-breeds" to unquestionably be regarded a true breed in its own right, and a fine and versatile one too.
It was first registered in 1970 as American Pit Bulldog with the NKC, but later renamed to the American Bulldog to avoid confusion with the American Pit Bull Terrier.
The principle architects of today's American Bulldog are Allen Scott and John D. Johnson. Before they renamed the breed to "American Bulldog" the dogs were known by a variety of different names: Southern White, Hill Bulldog, Country Bulldog, White Bulldog, White English Bulldog, English White, and commonly just "Bulldog".
As well as having varying names according to region, they also had local bloodline variations in appearance and size and also differences according to the tasks intended of them by their breeders and this is part of the reason why the American Bulldog breed conformation standards laid down by the registries allow for such a wide variation in type.
Initially Scott And Johnson had similar dogs and they freely bred and traded dogs with each other. Johnson's "Dick the Bruiser" and Scott's "Mac the Masher" were foundation dogs. These two dogs were Old Southern Whites. Alan Scott and John D. Johnson scoured the mountains and valleys of those Southern states looking for bulldogs and buying up those that they liked and they began a breeding program together.
Later on they had a falling out and JDJ began to develop and refine his trademark heavier-built style of American Bulldog. From the breeding programs of these two men, two distinct strains have emerged, commonly called the Johnson type or Bully/Classic class and the Scott type or Standard/Performance class.
The main registries have subdivided the breed standard into these two distinct phenotypes, but these distinct types, having diverged and having been diluted, it is now more appropriate to talk about five types of American Bulldogs.
|
|