IOEBA 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, American Bulldog, APBT and Mastiff.
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.
The IOEBA's detailed
breed standard is the best guide as to what the perfect Olde English
Bulldogge should look like according to the International Olde English
Bulldogge Association. It is recommended that it be used by today's Olde
breeders in an effort to maintain the high standards that the breeders
of the past and the IOEBA have set fourth.
