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Myspace Layouts The English Bulldog was bred in the early thirteenth century for bullfighting. This origin is responsible for the breed's name as well as for the dog's appearance. The short muzzle and wide lower jaw were needed for the dog to clamp itself to the bull's nose like a vise, and the nose had to be upturned so that the dog could still breathe while clinging to the bull.To the best of our knowledge the Bulldog had its origin in the British Isles, the name bull being applied because of the dog's use in connection with bull baiting. Exactly when this old English sport first started is hardly possible to say, but in "The Survey of Stanford" the following reference is made to its probable origin:"William Earl Warren, Lord of this town in the reign of King John (1209), standing upon the walls of his castle at Stamford, saw two bulls fighting for a cow in the castle meadow, 'til all the butcher's dogs pursued one of the town bulls, which maddened by the noise and multitude, ran through the town. This so pleased the Earl that he gave the castle meadow where the bulls combat began, for a common to the butchers of the town, after the first grass was mowed, on condition that they should find a mad bull' on a day six weeks before Christmas for the continuance of that sport for ever."Anyone who has read about the sport of bull baiting must have been conscious of its extreme cruelty. From this we can gather that the original Bulldog had to be a very ferocious animal. Beauty and symmetry of form were in no way desirable, the appearance of the dog counting for nothing. The extraordinary courage possessed by these dogs is hardly believable. Bred from a long line of fighting ancestors, they grew to be so savage, so courageous as to be almost insensitive to pain. Such was the Bulldog of British sporting days. Then came the year 1835, when dog fighting as a sport became illegal in England. To all intents and purposes, therefore, the English Bulldog had outlived its usefulness; his days were numbered. However, there were dog lovers who felt a deep disappointment at the passing of so fine a breed, so forthwith they set themselves the task of preserving it. Though ferocity was no longer necessary to be desirable they wished to retain all the dog's other splendid qualities. With this idea in mind, they proceeded to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and to preserve and accentuate the finer qualities. Scientific breeding brought results, so that within a few generations the English Bulldog became one of the finest physical specimens minus its original viciousness. Now he was regarded as a dog which anyone could exhibit with pride.This is the Bulldog we know today; a breed of dog of which we may be justly proud. At the same time we must express our gratitude to our British cousins who realized the value of the English Bull sufficiently to preserve him for posterity."
