9781422279304

In 1631, an Englishman named Prestwich Eaton, who was living in Spain, sent a letter to a friend in London asking him to send “A good Mastive dog, a case of liquor, and I beg you to get for me some good bulldoggs.” It’s the first written record we have that the smaller Bulldog was becoming distinct from the larger Mastiff.

In 1872, a British breeder and exhibitor writing under the name Idstone published a book titled The Dog , with Simple Directions for His Treatment , describing what he called the best dogs of the day. By then bull baiting was illegal, but he described what it had been like. He observed that although Bulldogs were small and low, when once they seized the bull’s throat “you might sooner cut them in pieces than make them let go their hold.” However, the sport of bull baiting came at a price. Many dogs were killed, “The bull tossing them up in the air like footballs.” End of an Era In 1835, the Humane Act of Parliament abolished public baiting of bulls and bears, and dog fighting. This signaled the end of the bull ring as a place of entertainment. Unfortunately, it was replaced by an undercover world of dog fighting. The dog pit required a smaller, faster, more agile dog, so Bulldogs were interbred with terriers to produce the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The Bulldog was no longer needed to bait bulls. But enthusiasts were determined that this loyal, affectionate, and distinctly British dog should not be lost.

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