British Bulldog

Size
Medium (11kg - 27kg)
Exercise
20 min/day
Training
Puppy school only
Size of home
Some outdoor space
Time at home
Mostly home
Grooming
Weekly
Barking preference
Watchdog barking
Personality
Very affectionate

Breeder List

Breeder - Mrs Donna Whillock (Bumbullb)

donna.whillock22@gmail.com
See Details
Breeder - Ms Tracy Klaack (KLICKLAACK)

tracy.klaack@bigpond.com
See Details

History

During the early reigns of the English Kings (1154 to as late as 1778) bull and bear baiting was a sport supported by the upper classes. Queen Elizabeth 1 organised special spectacles for visiting ambassadors and it is said she was personally very fond of this form of entertainment. When bull-baiting ceased to be as fashionable the British Bulldog fell into the hands of the lower classes and continued its barbarous cruelty. These blood sports were outlawed in the 19th Century.

‘The breed continued to be promoted by Bill George in the mid 1800s along with other enthusiasts, who began developing and improving them by crossing Old English Bulldogs with Pugs. The result was a much friendlier and less aggressive character that made for a loyal companion and great choice as a family pet.’

The shorter faced and squatter dog we see today came about in the mid 1800s and the breed first appeared in the show ring in 1860. The Bulldog Standard (the first dog standard published) was drawn up in 1875 in England by a group of fanciers determined to ensure that the purity of this native breed was not diluted or amended and that the breed retained the characteristics required for its perceived function.

Appearance

The British Bulldog’s build is low in stature, compact and heavily built, short coupled and active with a broad, powerful front and stout muscular limbs.

The breed is proud and noble, if somewhat delightfully ‘grumpy’ looking in character. They are a smooth coated dog that boast being thick set, broad and compact, standing low to the ground. The large face and head of this breed is its defining physical trait, together with their very pronounced undershot jaw, with canine teeth pointing upwards, making the British Bulldog one of the most recognised dogs in the world.

Average Weight: Males 25 kg, Females 23 kg

Temperament

The British Bulldog is considered a national treasure in the UK and is known worldwide as the personification of determination and courage. This impression, coupled with his strength and activity, should be conveyed in the dog’s temperament.

'The British Bulldog is among one of the most popular choices of family pets, due to their delightfully kind and loving natures. They are especially good and tolerant around children of all ages, although they can get a little protective of them. The British Bulldog is a comical character, yet they can be extremely dignified too, which are just two of the traits that make the breed so endearing to owners the world over.'

Health

The average life expectancy of the British Bulldog is between 8-10 years, although some dogs have been known to live longer, especially when properly cared for and fed an appropriate, good quality diet to suit their ages.

There are some myths about the health of the British Bulldog. The most common problems seen would be with the eyes: cherry eye (bulging extra tissue showing from the conjunctiva); entropion (inward rolling eye lids), ectropion (loose lower eyelids) and ectopic cilia (extra eye lashes along the lids), which can all cause irritation to the cornea and may require surgery. These conditions, if left unattended can result in dry eye, which requires ongoing daily treatment.

Most British Bulldog puppies are born via caesarian section, due to the large heads that puppies have, and also due to narrow hindquarters, which makes it hard for dams to give birth naturally. As a brachycephalic breed, some Bulldogs have long soft palates and can experience breathing difficulties. Some may require surgery. Care should be taken with these dogs in the heat.

Suitability

"The Bulldog is renowned for being extremely tolerant and good around children of all ages. However, because they are such heavy dogs, it’s never a good idea to leave toddlers and Bulldogs together unsupervised. They can become very protective over family and children, which means you need to keep an eye on things when other people are about.

If well socialised as puppies, British Bulldogs generally accept being around other animals and family pets, although it’s always a good idea to keep a watchful eye on things when they meet other animals for the first time."

British Bulldogs are known to be intelligent dogs, but with this said they have a bit of a stubborn streak and they are not that easy to train. However, in the right hands and with the correct amount of consistent training, starting when dogs are still young, the breed responds well to voice commands. British Bulldogs are very sociable and love to be around their family as much as possible. They do not respond well to being left on their own for long periods.

Grooming

As a general rule the breed is easy to look after because they have nice, short coats. This means a weekly brush will not only keep their skin and coats in good condition, but it will help keep any shed hair under control.

"The folds on a British Bulldog’s face, which are known as “ropes” need to be checked and cleaned daily, otherwise moisture and debris can collect in them, leading to infections. This is best done with a damp, not wet, cloth before towelling dry. Some have very tightly curled tails and these need to be regularly checked, cleaned and an ointment applied if necessary. Bulldogs don’t need to be bathed more than three times a year. Over bathing can result in an imbalance of the naturals oils found in their coat and skin, which could lead to an irritation and skin allergies."

Exercise

As with every dog, British Bulldogs need to be given regular daily exercise, but you have to be careful how much exercise these dogs are given during the hotter summer months. This breed does require special attention during hot weather due to them being a brachycephalic breed. British Bulldogs have short noses, which makes it harder to regulate their core body temperature in the heat. Some individuals may suffer from Brachycephalic Airways Syndrome and should NOT be exercised in the hot weather. They must be left in a well ventilated, shaded area and kept cool and quiet with plenty of access to water. They should be checked often and left undisturbed on hot days. Cool mats and shallow wading pools can be useful in hot weather.

The breed do have a tendency to put on weight all too easily and will happily become couch potatoes if they are allowed. This is especially true of older more mature dogs. In short, it’s really important to keep a watchful eye on a dog’s weight and to ensure they are given enough regular daily exercise to burn off their calorie intake.

Words: The British Bulldog Club of NSW

Sources: 1-4: pets4homes.co.uk

Image: Shutterstock.com

In Conclusion

Now you know a little about the British Bulldog, you may think that this is the dog for you. Before you make a decision, please make contact with the breed club or your State controlling body for purebred dogs. They will be able to give you information about available puppies and also suggest dog shows where you can see the breed and speak to breeders. In this way you will gain a better perspective of the British Bulldog and its needs, and whether this breed would suit your lifestyle.

Official breed standard as recognized by Dogs NSW (Last Updated: 02 Apr 2020)

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A breed standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament, and appearance of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function with soundness essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be mindful of features which could be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed.

General Appearance

In forming a judgement on any specimen of the breed, the general appearance, which is the first impression the dog makes as a whole on the eye of the judge, should be first considered. Secondly should be noticed is its size, shape and make, or rather its proportions in the relation they bear to each other. No point should be so much in excess of the others as to destroy the general symmetry, or make the dog appear deformed, or interfere with its powers of motion, etc. Thirdly, its style, carriage, gait, temper and its several points should be considered separately in detail, due allowance being made for the bitch, which is not as grand or as well developed as the dog.The general appearance of the Bulldog is that of a smooth-coated thickset dog, rather low in stature, but broad, powerful and compact. The head is fairly large in proportion to the dog’s size. The face is relatively short. The muzzle broad, blunt and moderately inclined upwards. The body short and well knit, the limbs stout and muscular. The hindquarters high and strong but rather lightly made in comparison with its heavily made foreparts. The dog should convey an impression of determination, strength and activity, similar to that suggested by the appearance of a thick-set Ayrshire bull.Dogs showing respiratory distress highly undesirable.

Characteristics

(See under General Appearance and Gait/Movement)

Temperament

Should convey an impression of determination.

Physical Standards

Head and Skull	The skull relatively large in circumference. Viewed from the front it should appear high from the corner of the lower jaw to the apex of the skull, and also broad and square. The cheeks should be well rounded and extend sideways beyond the eyes.Viewed from the side the head should appear very high, and moderately short from its back to the point of nose. The forehead should be flat, neither prominent nor overhanging the face; the skin upon it and about the head slightly loose and finely wrinkled without excess, neither prominent nor overhanging face. From the “stop” a furrow should extend up to the middle of the skull, being traceable to the apex. The face measured from the front of the cheek bone to the nose should relatively short and its skin may be slightly wrinkled. The muzzle should be short, broad, turned upwards and deep from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth. The nose should be large, broad and black, and under no circumstances should it be liver coloured, red or brown; The distance between the inner corner of the eye (or from the centre of the stop between the eyes) to the extreme tip of the nose should not be less than the length of the tip of the nose to the edge of the under lip. The nostrils should be large, wide, open and black, with a well-defined vertical straight line between them. The flews, called the “chop” should be thick, broad, pendant, and deep, covering the lower jaws at the sides They should join the underlip in front and quite cover the teeth. The jaws should be broad, strong and square, the lower jaw should project slightly in front of the upper with moderate turn up.Over the nose wrinkle, if present, whole or broken, must never adversely affect or obscure eyes or nose. Pinched nostrils and heavy over nose roll are unacceptable and should be heavily penalised.Viewed from the front, the various properties of the face must be equally balanced on either side of an imaginary line down the centre of the face.
Eyes	The eyes seen from the front, should be situated low down in the skull, well away from the ears. The eyes and “stop” should be in the same straight line, which should be at right angles to the furrow. They should be wide apart, provided their outer corners are within the outlines of the cheeks. They should be quite round in shape, of moderate size, neither sunken nor prominent, and the colour should be very dark – almost, if not quite, black – showing no white when looking directly forward. Free from obvious eye problems.
Ears	The ears should be set high on the head - i.e. the front inner edge of each ear should (as viewed from the front) join the outline of the skull at the top corner of such outline, so as to place them as wide apart, and as high and as far from the eyes as possible. In size, they should be small and thin, the shape termed "rose ear" is correct, and folds inwards at its back, the upper or front edge curving over outwards and backwards, showing part of the inside of the burr.
Mouth	The jaw should be broad and square and have the six small front teeth between the canines in an even row. The canine teeth or tusks wide apart. The teeth should not be seen when the mouth is closed. The teeth should be large and strong. When viewed from the front, the underjaw should be centrally under the upper jaw to which it should also be parallel.
Neck	Moderate in length thick, deep and strong. It should be well arched at the back, with some loose, skin about the throat, forming a slight dewlap on each side.
Forequarters	The shoulders should be broad, sloping and deep, very powerful and muscular, and giving the appearance of having been "tacked on" to the body. The brisket should be capacious, round and deep from the top of the shoulders to the lowest part where it joins the chest and be well let down between forelegs. It should be large in diameter and round behind the forelegs (not flat-sided, the ribs being well rounded). The forelegs should be very stout and strong, set wide apart, thick, muscular and straight, with well-developed forearms, presenting a rather bowed outline, but the bones of the legs should be large and straight, not bandy or curved. They should be short in proportion to the hind-legs, but not so short as to make the back appear long, or detract from the dog's activity, and so cripple him. The elbows should be low and stand well away from the ribs. The pasterns should be short, straight and strong.
Body	The chest should be wide, prominent, and deep, The body should be well ribbed up behind, with the belly tucked up and not pendulous. The back should be short and strong, broad at the shoulders. There should be a slight fall to the back close behind the shoulders (its lowest part), whence the spine should rise to the loins (the top of which should be higher than the top of the shoulders), thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming a slight arch - a distinctive characteristic of the breed - termed "roach back".
Hindquarters	The legs should be large and muscular, and slightly longer in proportion than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins. The hocks should be slightly bent and well let down, so as to be long and muscular from the loins to the point of the hock. The lower part of the leg should be short, straight and strong. The stifles should be round and turned slightly outwards away from the body. The hocks are thereby made to approach each other, and the hind feet to turn outwards.
Feet	The hind feet, like the forefeet, should be round and compact, with the toes well split up and the knuckles prominent. The forefeet should be straight and turn very slightly outward, of medium size and moderately round. The toes compact and thick, being well split up, making the knuckles prominent and high.
Tail	The tail, termed the "stern", should be set on low, jut out rather straight, then turn downwards. It should be round, smooth and devoid of fringe or coarse hair. It should be moderate in length - rather short than long - thick at the root and tapering quickly to a fine point. It should have a downward carriage (not having a decided curve at the end), and the dog should not be able to raise it over its back. Lack of tail inverted, or extremely tight tails are undesirable.
Gait/Movement	From its formation the dog has a peculiar heavy and constrained gait, appearing to walk with short, quick steps on the tips of its toes, its hindfeet not being lifted high, but appearing to skim the ground, and running with the right shoulder rather advanced, similar to the manner of horse in cantering.
Coat	Should be fine in texture, short, close and smooth (hard only from the shortness and closeness, not wiry).
Colour	The colour should be whole or smut (that is, a whole colour with a black mask or muzzle). The only colours (which should be brilliant and pure of their sort) are whole colours - viz., brindles, reds, with their varieties, fawns, fallows etc., white and also pied (i.e. a combination of white with any other of the foregoing colours). Dudley, black and black with tan are extremely undesirable colours.
Size	The most desirable weight for the Bulldog is:Dogs: 25 kgs (55 lbs)Bitches: 23 kgs (50 lbs)

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.