An Illustrated Guide to the Standard - The Bulldog …

1 An Illustrated Guide to the StandardBULLDOG HISTORYA uthorities differ completely about the origin of the Bulldog . Theyeven have differing opinions as to the spelling of the name. Be itBondogge, Boldogge, Bandogge, the final spelling is are even those who dispute why he is called Bulldog . Is it theshape of the head or is it because of his use in the barbaric sports ofbull-baiting, bear baiting and dog fighting?Whatever the name or the origin, there is little doubt that centuriesago there was a canine resembling our present day Bulldog . ThisBulldog was lighter boned and higher on leg, but with the courage,tenacity, and determination that still exists today. Over the years otherbreeds have crossed with the Bulldog to give these traits to theirbreeds, perhaps the best known being the Greyhound.

2 After bull-baiting, bear-baiting and dog fighting were prohibited inEngland in 1835, a few dedicated fanciers worked diligently to breedout the aggressive, vicious tendencies and to modify the Bulldog tolook more like we see him today, shorter faced and heavier first Bulldog Standard in England was drafted in 1864 andadopted in 1875. The Bulldog Club of America was formed in 1890utilizing the English Standard . In 1896 a Standard was adopted by theBulldog Club of America. It was revised in 1914 to declare theDudley nose a disqualification. In 1976 the Dudley nosedisqualification was redefined as a brown or liver colored nose .The Standard was reformatted in 1990 with no changes in FOLLOWS FUNCTIONThe Bulldog , like all breeds bred to perform a specific task, is theresult of intense selective breeding necessary to produce theconformational structure essential for the successful performance ofits duties, in this case, the heinous sport of Bulldog s most unique physical characteristic, the undershot jaw,held a lockjaw on the bull s flesh, while the well laid back nosefacilitated the dog s breathing while retaining its grip.

3 Forehead andface wrinkles directed the bull s blood away from the nose and eyesof its adversary. The Bulldog s low-to-the-ground forefrontchallenged the bull s frontal attacks while the shortness of hocksprovided excellent stamina. The looseness of the skin of theBulldog s body often served as a deterrent to penetration of the bull physical structure of the Bulldog allowed him to perform hisduties with remarkable efficiency. He may very well be the mostextreme example of genetic manipulation in the entire canine STANDARDof theBULLDOGThe official Standard , as accepted by the Bulldog Club ofAmerica and approved by the American Kennel Club, istypeset in REGULAR TYPE. The clarifications are set inITALIC APPEARANCEThe perfect Bulldog must be of medium size and smooth coat;with heavy, thickset, low-swung body, massive short-facedhead, wide shoulders and sturdy limbs.

4 The generalappearance and attitude should suggest great stability, vigorand sturdy limbs and the suggestion of great stability, vigorand strength are as important to the present day s Bulldog asthey were to its disposition should be equable and kind, resolute andcourageous (not vicious or aggressive), and demeanor shouldbe pacific and dignified. These attributes should becountenanced by the expression and , PROPORTION, SYMMETRYSIZE The size for mature dogs is about 50 pounds; formature bitches about 40 The circumference of the skull in front of theears should measure at least the height of the dog at The points should be well distributed andbear good relation one to the other, no feature being in suchprominence from either excess or lack of quality that theanimal appears deformed or ill-proportioned.

5 Proportion and symmetry are of primary importance whenevaluating the overall OF SEX In comparison of specimens ofdifferent sex, due allowance should be made in favor of thebitches, which do not bear the characteristics of the breed tothe same degree of perfection and grandeur as do the bitch should have equal qualities, but an allowance shallbe made for the femininity that is characteristic of the & EYELIDS The eyes, seen from the front should besituated low down in the skull, as far from the ears as possible,and their corners should be in a straight line at right angleswith the stop. They should be quite in front of the head, aswide apart as possible, provided their outer corners are withinthe outline of the cheeks when viewed from the front.

6 Theyshould be quite round in form, of moderate size, neithersunken nor bulging, and in color should be very dark. The lidsshould cover the white of the eyeball, when the dog is lookingdirectly forward, and the lid should show no haw .The eyes should be round and dark. An imaginary horizontal linepassing through the four corners of the eyes should be at a rightangle with the stop and just rest on top of the EYESS lanted EyesDroopy EyesAlmond EyesEARS The ears should be set high in the head, the front inner edgeof each ear joining the outline of the skull at the top back corner ofskull, so as to place them as wide apart, and as high, and as far fromthe eyes as possible. In size they should be small and thin. The shapetermed rose ear is the most desirable.

7 The rose ear folds inward atits back lower edge, the upper front edge curving over, outward andbackward, showing part of the inside of the burr. (The ears should notbe carried erect or prick-eared or buttoned and should never becropped.)Correct Rose EarsWhen viewed from the front, top of ears should be level with topoutline of the skull with the burr partially exposed and the entirefront edge of the ear Ear Held BackEAR FAULTSHigh SetFly AwayButtonTulipPrickSKULL The skull should be very large, and in circumference, infront of the ears, should measure at least the height of the dog at theshoulders. Viewed from the front, it should appear very high from thecorner of the lower jaw to the apex of the skull, and also very broadand High from Corner of Broad and SquareLower Jaw to ApexViewed at the side, the head should appear very high, and very shortfrom the point of the nose to occiput.

8 The forehead should be flat (notrounded or domed), neither too prominent nor overhanging the a straight edge is placed against the head in the furrowbetween the eyes, it should touch the tip of the lower lip, tip of nose,and top of head. This is called the layback in Bulldogs andshould be about a 45 FAULTSI ncorrect LaybackNoseyDishfacedShort Headed-Lacking Thrust of JawDownfaced-Nose Below EyesFrog faced Jaw Too Short, Ears Too Close Narrow Skullor Too NarrowCHEEKS The cheeks should be well rounded, protrudingsideways and outward beyond the The temples or frontal bones should be very well defined,broad, square and high, causing a hollow or groove between the indentation, or stop, should be both broad and deep and extendup the middle of the forehead, dividing the head vertically, beingtraceable to the top of the in the skull, called the furrow extends from betweenthe eyes to the top of the & MUZZLE The face.

9 Measured from the front of thecheekbone to the tip of the nose, should be extremely short, themuzzle being very short, broad, turned upward and very deep fromthe corner of the eye to the corner of the very full and turned The nose should be large, broad and black, its tip set backdeeply between the eyes. The distance from bottom of stop, betweenthe eyes, to the tip of the nose should be as short as possible and notexceed the length from the tip of nose to the edge of underlip. Thenostrils should be wide, large and black, with a well-defined linebetween them. Any nose other than black is objectionable and abrown or liver-colored nose shall Nose Tip Set BackIncorrect Nose PerpendicularFront of nose slants back closely following contour of head, notperpendicular, with large, black, wide nostrils.

10 In the scale ofpoints, the nose has 6, more than any other The chops or flews should be thick, broad, pendant and verydeep, completely overhanging the lower jaw at each side. They jointhe underlip in front and almost or quite cover the teeth, which shouldbe scarcely noticeable, when the mouth is or FlewsBITE-JAWS The jaws should be massive, very broad, square and undershot , the lower jaw projecting considerably in front of theupper jaw and turning correct jaw, so eagerly sought after in the fancy, with theupward thrust, retaining the curve jaw should come out far enough to present an inverted U,rather than be covered by the flews and look like an inverted V. Awide jaw with good distance between the canine teeth adds to thedesired inverted U appearance of the jaw that sets the Bulldog apartfrom other HeadCorrectIncorrectTEETH The teeth should be large and strong, with the canine teethor tusks wide apart, and the six small teeth in front, between thecanines, in an even, level bottom teeth should be well in front of the top teeth andparallel.