American Bulldog E-Book

Abe Fishman

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Comprehensive Owner's Guide
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 237

Beschreibung

Once a well-kept secret in the United States, the American Bulldog is now one of the nation's most celebrated canine exports, establishing a devoted following around the globe. This Comprehensive Owner's Guide is dedicated to the American Bulldog, a breed that was once used as a ranch and farm dog but today excels as a companion and protection dog. Author Abe Fishman provides a controversial but wholly candid retelling of the breed's history and its re-creation in the United States. The history chapter is followed by a chapter devoted to the characteristics of this exceptional working breed, offering sound advice about which owners are best suited to this vigorous and active canine.New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a reputable breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with photographs of handsome adults and puppies. In all, there are over 135 full-color photographs in this useful and reliable volume. The author's advice on obedience training will help the reader better mold and train into the most well-mannered dog in the neighborhood. The extensive and lavishly illustrated chapter on healthcare provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, preventing and dealing with parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical dogs, breeders, or kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed. .

Leseprobe

Physical Characteristics of the American Bulldog

(from the National American Bulldog Association Standard)

Head: Rectangular when viewed from the side.

Eyes: Round to almond shaped, any color except blue.

Nose: Wide open nostrils, black.

Muzzle: Square, wide and deep.

Jaws: Should display great strength.

Bite: Scissors to one-quarter-inch undershot.

Skull: Flat and widest between the ears.

Neck: Muscular, slightly arched.

Shoulders: Very muscular, side sloping shoulder blades.

Chest: Deep brisket, wide but not too wide.

Height: 19 to 27 inches.

Back: Medium in length, sloping from rump to withers.

Hips: Very muscular.

Coat color: Any color except flat black or any blue.

Stifles: Should be well angled.

Weight: Any weight between 85 to 105 pounds for males; 65 to 90 pounds for females.

Contents

History of the American Bulldog

The author presents a theory here to counter popularly held beliefs about the American Bulldog’s true history. Learn about the early working dogs, breeds involved in the American Bulldog’s lineage and the divergence in type that occurred with the creation of distinct bloodlines. Find out how the breed was revived from near-extinction and what the future has in store for this striking and unique bully breed.

Characteristics of the American Bulldog

Are you the right owner for the American Bulldog? While he is known by many to be an affectionate, loyal and fun-loving companion, he is a large, very powerful dog that needs an owner to show him who is boss. Learn the pros and cons about the American Bulldog, including health concerns in the breed and what the breed requires from a good owner in order to be a well-adjusted, happy and well-behaved member of the family.

Breed Standard for the American Bulldog

Learn the requirements of a well-bred American Bulldog by studying and comparing the descriptions of the breed set forth in the breed standards of two major registries. Both show dogs and pets must possess key characteristics as outlined in the breed standard.

Your Puppy American Bulldog

Find out about how to locate a well-bred American Bulldog puppy. Discover which questions to ask the breeder and what to expect when visiting the litter. Prepare for your puppy-accessory shopping spree. Also discussed are home safety, the first trip to the vet, socialization and solving basic puppy problems.

Proper Care of Your American Bulldog

Cover the specifics of taking care of your American Bulldog every day: feeding for the puppy, adult and senior dog; grooming, including coat care, ears, eyes, nails and bathing; and exercise needs for your dog. Also discussed are the essentials of dog identification.

Training Your American Bulldog

Begin with the basics of training the puppy and adult dog. Learn the principles of house-training the American Bulldog, including the use of crates and basic scent instincts. Get started by introducing the pup to his collar and leash and progress to the basic commands. Find out about obedience classes and other activities.

Healthcare of Your American Bulldog

By Lowell Ackerman DVM, DACVDBecome your dog’s healthcare advocate and a well-educated canine keeper. Select a skilled and able veterinarian. Discuss pet insurance, vaccinations and infectious diseases, the neuter/spay decision and a sensible, effective plan for parasite control, including fleas, ticks and worms.

Your Senior American Bulldog

Know when to consider your American Bulldog a senior and what special needs he will have. Learn to recognize the signs of aging in terms of physical and behavioral traits and what your vet can do to optimize your dog’s golden years.

Behavior of Your American Bulldog

Analyze the canine mind to understand what makes your American Bulldog tick. The following potential problems are addressed: different types of aggression, separation anxiety, sex-related behaviors, digging, jumping up, barking, food-related problems and more.

KENNEL CLUB BOOKS®AMERICAN BULLDOGISBN 13: 978-1-59378-205-4

Copyright © 2005 • Kennel Club Books® • A Division of BowTie, Inc.40 Broad Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 • USACover Design Patented: US 6,435,559 B2 • Printed in China

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, scanner, microfilm, xerography or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

14 13 12 11 10        6 7 8 9 10

Photography by:

Paulette Braun, T.J. Calhoun, Alan and Sandy Carey, Wil de Veer, Isabelle Français, Bill Jonas, Nancy Liguori, Tam C. Nguyen and Nikki Sussman.

Illustrations by Renée Low and Patricia Peters.

The publisher wishes to thank all of the owners of the dogs featured in this book.

The American Bulldog’s ancestry can be traced to purely American origins; the breed evolved from other breeds in the United States.

THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN BULLDOG IN ITS HOMELAND

As we begin this chapter, it is important for you to fully understand how completely misunderstood this breed is in the US and throughout the rest of the world. You will be presented with the history of the American Bulldog breed here, and this history may differ from written histories you will come across elsewhere. If you would rather simplify matters and believe one formal “history,” then believe this one. If you find yourself becoming a real student of the breed, however, read them all and, when you have done that, ask yourself which written history makes the most sense. After all, any theory presented should be tested, and I certainly encourage you to test mine.

American Bulldogs are mostly white, often with striking patches of color.

In the United States, where the American Bulldog breed originated, many believe that the American Bulldog is a breed of British origin, brought to the United States by the ancestors of early settlers from England. The claim is that the American Bulldog is of pure English Bulldog stock and it exists today in the form in which it was brought to the United States centuries ago. Proponents of this theory totally ignore the fact that at the time the American Bulldog first appeared in the United States, no dog even remotely similar to this breed existed anywhere else in the world, or had ever existed anywhere else in the world, including in England. The theory is totally unsupportable and was begun by one American Bulldog breeder in the United States who, in my opinion, devised it for use as a selling strategy. After all, those who were interested in buying his dogs wanted to hear the history of his breed and, since he didn’t know the history of his breed, he made one up for popular consumption. It’s as simple as that.

FROMHUTCHINSON’S POPULAR AND ILLUSTRATED DOG ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Ch. Impresario, in 1903, was the leading pillar of the English Bulldog breed. He does not look very much like the modern American Bulldog.

The English Bulldog, which has incorrectly been reputed to be the ancestor of the American Bulldog. Although one may assume that the two breeds share a common heritage, the author’s theory refutes a similar ancestry.

If you are, or plan to become, a serious student of the American Bulldog breed, I think it is important that you research what I just told you. In order to test my theory, you will need to find pictures of early American Bulldogs and compare the dogs in those early pictures with known English Bulldogs of that time or earlier. Remember that this is an old breed and when I say that you will need to find early pictures, I don’t mean pictures from 1980. I mean pictures known to date to 1940 or earlier. You must realize that American Bulldogs of 1980 or thereabout were already being crossed to other breeds, including the Bullmastiff and English Bulldog, not to enhance the breed’s working ability but rather to make the pups more marketable to novice puppy purchasers. These puppy purchasers were not in the market for an authentic American Bulldog, but instead they were in search of a pet they could relate to as a “Bulldog.”

FROMHUTCHINSON’S POPULAR AND ILLUSTRATED DOG ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

In 1904, this English Bulldog, whose name was “Oak Leaf,” was considered the best of the breed. Could this dog have been an ancestor of the modern American Bulldog? Though some think so, it is not likely.

FROMHUTCHINSON’S POPULAR AND ILLUSTRATED DOG ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

The early English Bulldogs “Boomerang” and “Katerfelto” were born in 1893. This famous strain featured size (bulk), long skulls, good turn-up of underjaw and excellent layback. Drawn by F. T. Daws.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, shown here, was originally brought to America as a fighting dog. The American Pit Bull Terrier derived from this breed.

CANIS LUPUS

“Grandma, what big teeth you have!” The gray wolf, a familiar figure in fairy tales and legends, has had its reputation tarnished and its population pummeled over the centuries. Yet it is the descendants of this much-feared creature to which we open our homes and hearts. Our beloved dog, Canis domesticus, derives directly from the gray wolf, a highly social canine that lives in elaborately structured packs. In the wild, the gray wolf can range from 60 to 175 pounds, standing between 25 and 40 inches in height.

At this point, let’s assume that we know what the American Bulldog is not, as a result of having read what has already been said. The question remains as to what the American Bulldog is. If the American Bulldog is of purely American origin, it had to come from somewhere, and the question remains as to where the American Bulldog did come from. If the breed evolved in the United States, from what breed or breeds did it evolve? To get to the bottom of this question, we will need to know a little about two closely related breeds.

One breed that is very similar to the American Bulldog and that is also known to have evolved in the United States is the American Pit Bull Terrier. The American Pit Bull Terrier, more commonly known as the “Pit Bull,” is essentially the American expression of the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier. As immigrants from England and Ireland began to make America their home, some brought their little “Staffords” along with them. One of the primary uses for the Staffords brought to the United States was fighting in organized “game-dog” matches. Such game-dog matches involved the pitting of one fighting dog against another of the same breed, the same sex and the same size. For purposes of these matches, it didn’t make any difference what size the dogs involved were, as long as both dogs were of the same size. With Staffords, the dogs involved were small (in the 35-pound range).

The American Bulldog had to be larger than the Staffords in order to protect the herd and perform his other duties effectively.

The breed’s strength and impressive build are evident even in American Bulldog youngsters.

Once in the United States, however, a few influences became responsible for the gradual metamorphosis of the game-bred English and Irish Staffordshire dogs into the Pit Bull. One of these factors was simply personal choice and selective breeding. America was the land of plenty, and a dog owner in the US could afford to feed a slightly larger dog than could a coal miner living and working in Staffordshire, England. Additionally, other ideas came to mind about uses fit for such a tough, fast, agile and determined little dog. One of these uses was farm and ranch work.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was bred originally to be a fighting and catch dog. Although very strong and agile, it was still a bit smaller than the farmers wanted for catch work.

There is quite a range of height and weight in the American Bulldog breed. This dog is on the heavier, bulkier side.

A dog that was to be used for farm and ranch work had to be larger than the small fighting Staffords were. The reason for this is that among the farm dog’s duties was protecting the farmer’s livestock from free-running dogs. A dog that spends much of its time running free will often become aggressive toward valuable livestock, and farmers valued a tough dog that had the willingness and ability to attack and run off such “wild” dogs.

Although bred for working ability, not looks, the American Bulldog is quite an attractive breed.

It is possible that the primarily white coat of the American Bulldog originated in the early catch-dog breeds.

Another demand placed upon the farm and ranch dog was what is commonly known in the United States as “catch work.” Catch work is the securing and holding of “free-range” livestock that has grown to a size at which it must be brought to slaughter. Imagine the huge expanses of land available for use by early American farmers and ranchers. If a farmer or rancher who had a large parcel of land available to him wanted to raise hogs, for example, the least expensive method of raising the hogs was to “brand” the animals so that everyone would know to whom the hogs belonged, and then allow them to roam free. This worked well until the time came to collect a mature hog.

Once such livestock had spent its early life maturing into a wild animal, it was inclined to run from people and to attack those it could not run from. If a rancher was to catch and tie the free-range livestock, that farmer needed the assistance of a dog that could run down the livestock in question, grab the animal and hold it until the farmer or rancher could tie the livestock. Such work demanded a larger dog than the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and the animal that was to become the Pit Bull was developed to be a combination “larger fighting dog” and “catch dog.” It is probable that the increased size of the Pit Bull was the result of purely selective breeding as opposed to being the result of Staffords having been crossed to other breeds.

With the aforementioned in mind, imagine now that a farmer or rancher needed a catch dog and that the farmer or rancher had absolutely no interest in fighting dogs. Instead, he wanted a somewhat larger dog than the Pit Bull, because the Pit Bull, while suitable for use as a catch dog because of the breed’s tenacity, strength, agility and speed, was still rather small for the work at hand. What the farmer wanted was a Pit Bull in the 65- to 85-pound range, but at the time no such dog was known. These farmers indeed had “catch breeds” of their own and had been using these dogs for catch work for generations. Some of these hardworking catch breeds still exist in small numbers in rural areas of the United States. One fine example of a working catch breed is the Yellow Black Mouth Cur, made famous by the Disney movie Old Yeller. Another native American working catch breed is the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog, so called because it is native to the state of Louisiana, specifically the Catahoula Lake parishes of Louisiana, and because it is a spotted breed.

CARE AND TRAINING

The behavior and personality of your American Bulldog will reflect your care and training more than any breed characteristics or indications. Remember that these dogs require a purposeful existence, and plan your relationship around activities that serve this most basic and important need. All the good potential of the breed will necessarily follow.

Both the Cur dog and the “Cat” are larger dogs than the Pit Bull. If farmers and ranchers of old were interested in a working catch dog, it would have made no difference to them if their catch dog stock was pure Catahoula, pure Cur or mixed-bred Pit Bull. What was important was that, in the end, the catch dogs were hard, determined, agile, strong and large enough to catch a mature hog, yet small enough to maneuver about without getting injured or harmed by the livestock. A combination of Pit Bull and these larger indigenous catch dogs could have produced such a versatile working dog. This author believes that it is highly likely that such early cross-breeding produced the breed we now know as the American Bulldog.

A question arises when we ask why American Bulldogs are so commonly pure white in color. One possibility is that many old Staffords and later many Pit Bulls of old were white. These white pit dogs were used in early catch-dog breeding. Another possibility is that one of the early catch breeds used in the crosses was either all white or at least frequently seen in white. We do see that many Catahoula Leopard Dogs carry genes for white coat coloring, and it is possible that this is part of the reason that American Bulldogs were and still are white. It is interesting to note here that many Catahoulas have blue, or even “clear” or “glass” eyes. This is a rather “spooky” genetic anomaly common to Catahoulas. Similarly, blue eyes occur among American Bulldogs, too.

The Yellow Black Mouth Cur dog, which Walt Disney made famous in the movie Old Yeller. This is a scene from the movie showing the Cur dog and the young actor Tommy Kirk.

It is also possible that the white coat of the American Bulldog came from the use of early white Pit Bull genetic stock in the production of early working cross-bred catch dogs. If so, the white coat of the American Bulldog might well account for the white coloring we often see in the coat of the Catahoula Leopard Dog. We may never know for sure. In looking for evidence that such crosses were of interest to rural American agriculturists, however, we can point to similar crosses that are still being conducted today. One such cross is the Plott Hound (an American breed similar to the Catahoula) to the Pit Bull. The Plott-Hound-to-Pit-Bull cross is often conducted to produce a bear-hunting dog. It is known to produce a dog with the courage and tenacity to track and get in close to a bear, causing the dog to “tree” or “bay.” These dogs are also known to be smart enough to stay a safe distance from the bear to avoid getting themselves killed. Interestingly, the Catahoula is also known to be an effective bear dog for the same reasons and, in fact, in days gone by, the breed was referred to by some as the Catahoula Bear Dog.

Many Catahoulas have striking blue or even glassy clear eyes.

A pair of Catahoula Leopard Dogs. This breed may have featured heavily in the ancestry of the American Bulldog.

SEMENCIC’S THEORY

It should be noted that the theory of the breed’s history presented here was first developed and put forth by the American breed historian Dr. Carl Semencic. Semencic can also be credited with having popularized this breed at a time when it had become almost extinct in the United States and before it had been introduced to other parts of the world. It is the author’s opinion that Semencic’s theory makes more sense than any other being put forth, and it is offered here as the true history of the American Bulldog breed.

In any event, it is highly likely that the American Bulldog originated in rural America as a ranch and farm dog used for catch work and for protecting livestock from marauding packs of wild dogs. If so, it is likely that the kinds of crosses just described are the crosses that gave rise to the American Bulldog. Ideally, then, the American Bulldog would have been a hard, fast, working, tenacious, medium- to large-sized dog (65 to 85 pounds). From early photographs, we know that these dogs were always white. We also know that in order to be most effective at the task of catching wild free-range livestock, the level or scissors bite would have been preferable to the undershot bite. As expected, early photographs depict American Bulldogs with working scissors bites.

THE MORE RECENT HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BULLDOG

Readers who recognize the modern American Bulldog will undoubtedly have questions about the breed’s ancestry as set forth in this book. After all, the breed described is a smaller, more agile breed than the dogs we know as American Bulldogs today. The breed described here had a level bite, and many of today’s American Bulldogs are undershot. In fact, some of the written breed standards according to which these dogs are being shown and judged today describe vastly oversized, undershot dogs. Some of the dogs being shown are not even white in color. Why should this be the case if this book’s theory is true?

The Plott Hound, shown here, is often crossed with Pit Bulls to produce a bear-hunting dog. Pure-bred Plotts are very able hunters in their own right.

BACK FROM THE BRINK

In 1980, the American Bulldog breed was at the very door of extinction. You could literally count on one hand the number of breeders producing these dogs for use as working dogs. Every breeder producing American Bulldogs, then known as the American Pit Bulldog (divulging the breed’s fighting ancestry), lived in the American Southeast, in the states of Georgia, Alabama and the rest of the Deep South region. It is very likely that had nothing at all happened to popularize the breed, it would not have been long before the American Bulldog would have become extinct.

In order to understand how the American Bulldog breed evolved from the creature it once was to the creature we see today, we will need to understand the breed’s more recent history. When I refer to the breed’s recent history, I mean specifically the year 1978 to the present. Before 1978, the American Bulldog was a very homogeneous creature with regard to its genotype and its phenotype. It ranged in size from 60- to 65-pound females to males that reached a maximum of 85 pounds. The vast majority of these dogs were all white, and those that were not all white were mostly white. The bite was level. The overall body shape was much like that of the Pit Bull Terrier, but the breed did not display obvious terrier genetic influence. The tail of the breed tended to be thicker and more “feathered” than that of the Pit Bull.

The very late 1970s to about 1980 found the breed low in popularity. Few breeders had any interest in the American Bulldog. Only farmers and ranchers owned the breed at this time. The breed was completely unknown to the dog fancy at large. No articles had ever been written anywhere in the world about the breed and the only information in print at all were a few advertisements that appeared in a farmer’s (stockman’s) pulp paper journal published in a small Texas town. These advertised American Bulldogs were bred by farmers solely for sale to other farmers. They were cheap to buy and not really thought of as pure-bred dogs at all. They were strictly working dogs.

POPULARITY PROS AND CONS

The good news is that as a result of Dr. Carl Semencic’s writing about the breed, the American Bulldog was brought to the attention of American pure-bred fanciers nationwide. The bad news is that it was not long after the American pure-bred and rare-breed fanciers became aware of the breed that a demand for oversized Bulldogs was created by these novice breed fanciers. Many American Bulldog breeders, having never witnessed any demand for their dogs before, were more than happy to cross their Bulldogs with other breeds in order to create whatever dog it was that prospective puppy buyers wanted. After all, those who were calling for pups at this time were not asking for dogs that could actually work the ranch or the farm. They were asking for pups that would grow into dogs that would simply look the part of the “big tough Bulldog.” It was at this time that the bastardization of the American Bulldog breed began.

There were many reasons for the fall in the American Bulldog’s popularity. It was not as if these dogs had a long way to go in order to reach a condition of total nonexistence. They had always been rare and they were rapidly becoming totally obscure. Even more significant was the fact that the Pit Bull breed exploded in popularity throughout the US in the early 1980s. Not only did the Pit Bull suddenly become popular but the influx of novices getting involved with the Pit Bull created a great demand for larger Pit Bulls. Whereas once the American Bulldog was seen as being a Pit Bull-like dog, only larger, suddenly it was the same size as a larger Pit Bull (only not as hard and without the great fighting reputation). This gave rise to a situation in which general dog fanciers had no reason to become interested in American Bulldogs, and even stock-dog and working-dog men found the larger Pit Bull to be easier to come by and perfectly satisfactory for farm and ranch work.

The American Bulldog was not bred to be a guard dog, but his looks alone are usually enough to scare off a potential intruder.

A European-bred American Bulldog with very nice conformation. The popularity of the breed in the US made its way across the Atlantic.

Fortunately for the American Bulldog, the breed captured the interest of American pure-bred dog historian Dr. Carl Semencic. Semencic had begun to research the breed during the late 1970s, and, by the very early 1980s, he had begun to publish articles about it. He wrote the first article about the breed in the American show-dog magazine Dog World. He titled the article “Introducing the American Bulldog” and offered an in-depth review of the breed and its condition. In 1984, he authored the popular book The World of Fighting Dogs, which included the first chapter ever written about the American Bulldog breed.

MODERN LINES OF AMERICAN BULLDOGS

When the American rare-breed fancy discovered the American Bulldog in about 1982, there were three breeders who were best known for their involvement in the breed. Today we think of primarily two but sometimes all three of them as being the fathers of distinct “lines” of modern American Bulldogs. One of these men was Joe Painter of Chicago, Illinois. Painter was widely thought to have been interested in breeding primarily fighting dogs, and his American Bulldogs were generally thought to have been crosses between American Bulldogs and highly game-bred American Pit Bull Terriers from the Chicago area.

This dog possesses many typical breed characteristics: mostly white, black nose and impressive head.

The second of these men was Alan Scott of Alabama. Scott was a young man in 1982 and could not have been involved in Bulldogs for very long. At the time, the American Bulldogs he owned and produced were pure working-type Bulldogs of the type that had been around for many decades. Scott turned his interests away from American Bulldog breeding for a few years, and it was only during the mid-1990s that he returned to it, using the stock that was available to him then.

This dog’s undershot jaw is typical of many American Bulldogs today but would not have been functional for the early working catch dogs.

America in the 1980s saw the development of several distinct lines of American Bulldogs that greatly influenced the dogs we see today.

The third of these men was one John D. Johnson of the state of Georgia. Johnson’s Bulldogs had been essentially the same as Scott’s prior to the late 1970s. More than any other breeder then or since, Johnson responded to the novice puppy purchasers’ demands for oversized, “bully-looking” dogs. Seemingly overnight, “Johnson dogs” grew dramatically in size. Whereas in 1980 and before, Johnson’s big dogs weighed no more than 80 or 85 pounds, by 1985 Johnson was advertising Bulldogs that weighed as much as 135 pounds. The appearance of the dogs changed just as dramatically.

Although the “lines” of American Bulldog are relatively new, this is by no means a new breed.