Olde English Bulldogge History
The Olde English Bulldogge originated in England
between 1600 and 1700. These were the early ancestors to many of the Bull
breeds that exist today including the English Bulldog and the American Bulldog.
They were bred to participate in blood sports like bull baiting. This so
called sport became quite popular in England through out the middle of the 18th
Century. Bull baiting primarily consisted of staking out a bull and
allowing several Bulldogges to attack it. A dog of great courage and
agility was needed for bull baiting. This dog was of medium size; larger dogs
were considered to be the result of mastiff crosses.
Around 1835, laws were
passed in England prohibiting bull baiting and the Olde English Bulldogges main
purpose of existence vanished. Within a decade the numbers of bulldogs
declined drastically almost to extinction. Dog show fanciers eventually
decided to reconstruct the breed, but wanted to tone down the aggressive
temperament of the original Olde English Bulldogge. They crossed the
remnants of the existing stock with the pug and over the years that followed
they developed the modern English Bulldog. Unfortunately though, this
modern dog is wrought with all kinds of genetic health problems.
The modern Olde
English Bulldogge is a reconstruction of the original Olde Bulldogge of the 17th
and 18th century. Various genetic crosses have been used in carefully and
thoughtfully planned breeding programs to obtain this goal. The foundation
of most of today's Olde English Bulldogges can be traced to English Bulldog,
several bull breeds, and several Mastiff breeds.
These
dogs were used very selectively in various combinations to obtain the
desired physical and mental traits of the original Olde English Bulldogge.
The result has been a good looking Bulldogge of great athletic ability that is
much healthier and physically fit without most or all of the problems that
plague today's modern English Bulldogs. The goal of all Olde English
Bulldogge breeders should be to produce genetically healthier Bulldogges that
are free breathers, free breeders, and free whelpers.