9781422278413

For centuries bull baiting was a national pastime in Britain, and crowds of spectators would watch the spectacle of a Bulldog be- ing pitched against a tethered bull. But by the late 1700s, the faster “sport” of dog fighting became even more popular, requiring a more agile dog. Bulldogs were crossed with lightweight, feisty terriers to make the bull-and-terrier breeds used for fighting and ratting. An- other group of breeders developed a smaller, lighter toy Bulldog; this dog weighed around 12 to 25 pounds (6 to 11 kg) and had either upright or rose ears (the rose ear folds back at the midway point). The smaller Bulldogs grew in popularity, and became a favor-

ite among working-class families. The lace makers of Nottingham seemed to have a particular affection for the new breed. When the Industrial Revolution in England closed down many small craft shops, these families migrated to Normandy in France, and they took their dogs with them. The popularity of these lit-

tle dogs spread from Normandy to Paris, where they began to be called Bouledogues Français. They were favorites of

tradesmen, and in several of his paintings, Toulouse Lautrec includ- ed Bouboule, a Frenchie owned by Madame Palmyre, owner of the restaurant La Souris. They also eventually became beloved among the Parisian streetwalkers—and in a very French twist, among the fashionable ladies as well. As demand grew in the 1880s, trade in these little Bulldogs, which were not so popular in England, increased rapidly, and they became scarce in England while they flourished in France. The French de- veloped a more uniform look to the breed. The Bouledogue Français had a compact body and straight legs, but without the extreme un- derjaw of the English Bulldog. Some had the erect bat ears, while

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