Bull Dog

The dog to be chosen should be physically strong and show pronounced muscular development. If these requirements are present and the dog is in no sense a contradiction of the good qualities of its progenitors, but a justification of its pedigree, care and good treatment will do the rest. It is to be remembered, however, that a Bulldog may be improved by judicious exercise. When at exercise, or taking a walk with his owner, the young dog should always be held by a leash. He will invariably pull vigorously against this restraint, but such action is beneficial, as it tends to develop the muscles of the shoulders and front of the body.

When taking up the Bulldog fancy, nine out of every ten novices choose to purchase a male. The contrary course should be adopted. The female is an equally good companion in the house or on the road; she is not less affectionate and faithful; and when the inevitable desire to attempt to reproduce the species is reached the beginner has the means at once available.

It is always difficult for the uninitiated to select what is likely to be a good dog from the nest. In choosing a puppy care should be taken to ensure it has plenty of bone in its limbs, and these should be fairly short and wide; the nostrils should be large and the face as short as possible.

The chop should be thick and heavily wrinkled and the mouth square. There should be a distinct indent in the upper jaw, where the bone will eventually curve, whilst the lower jaw should show signs of curvature and protrude slightly in front of the upper jaw. The teeth from canine to canine, including the six front teeth, should be in a straight line.

See that the ears are very small and thin, and the eyes set well apart. The puppy having these properties, together with a domed, peaked, or "cocoanut" shaped skull, is the one which, in nine cases out of ten, will eventually make the best headed dog of the litter.

The breeding of Bulldogs requires unlimited patience, as success is very difficult to attain. The breeder who can rear five out of every ten puppies born may be considered fortunate. It is frequently found in what appears to be a healthy lot of puppies that some of them begin to whine and whimper towards the end of the first day, and in such cases the writer's experience is that there will be a speedy burial.

Bull Dog (7)             Bull Dog (9)

Go back to Bull Dog Home Page