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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.
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