view raw text
BULLDOG POPULAR IN BRUTAL SPORT How OnoTimo Savage Brute Derived Its Name and Later Became a Favorite The first bulldogs It appears were bred from the English mastiff and by process of systematic se ¬ lection in breeding a smaller and more active dog than the mastiff was evolved a writer in the New York Herald says The smaller dog was found to be better suited for sport than the heavier and slower mastiff The bullbaiting dog without a doubt required an inordinate amount of gameness gamenessThe The principle of bullbaiting was extremely sim ¬ ple A collar was fastened around the bulls neck iml by this the animal was attached by a rone to the stake The rope varied from nine to fifteen feet in length and therefore allowed the bull but little movement The audience was accommo ¬ dated in a circle or ring ringThe The bulldogs duty was to grasp the bulls nose and when he had succeeded in obtaining a grip lie was required to maintain bis bold despite the efforts of the larger animal to dislodge him The bull awaited the attack with lowered horns which the dog sought to evade by crouching as low as he could while he crawled toward the head of his opponent opponentSometimes Sometimes the bull managed to get his horns under or into the dog which was then thrown high into the air Writers state that dogs had been tossed up to a height of thirty to forty feet The dog if he survived would retire hurt On the other hand once the dog which was trained to grip only the nose obtained a hold his adversary would have little chance of shaking him off The bull would whirl the dog in the air and struggle frantically to wrench his nose free from the terrible grip When from sheer exhaustion the dog dropped clnar of the bull a fresh dog was sent into the ring ringBULL BULL BAITING A BRITISH SPOET SPOETHullbaiting Hullbaiting at times ranked as the national pisthno of Kngland and countless scores of dogs met llifir death to provide a diversion for the British public Even royalty favored the sport although during the last hundred years of its exis ¬ tence patrons of the bull ring comprised exclusively the lower classes The bravery of the bulldog cultivated during centuries of active service in the bull ring naturally became deeply inherited Owing to the dogs occupation and surroundings he ac ¬ quired a savagencss of disposition which promoted one authority as recently as fifty years ago when bullbaiting which had long been made illegal was long since over to state that the bulldog had sin intractable temper and that he would turn mi his master if offended as readily as on a stranger strangerWith With the advent of the dog show era commenc ¬ ing about sixty years ago and the abolition of bullbaiting a change was gradually wrought not only in the bulldogs shape but also in his dispo ¬ sition The kinder treatment amounting almost to coddling nowadays bestowed upon the bulldog has caused the elimination of the oldtime savage ness He now occupies of place in the front rank of the dog world and he is championed by the fair sex among whom there are many who figure as loading exhibitors in all parts of the world Still amid nil the glamour and fuss incidental to being every ones favorite sometimes a gleam of the old time love of a combat will show itself when another dog throws down the gauntlet He will not wan ¬ tonly provoke a conflict but when his honor is at stake he displays an aggressiveness truly amazing amazingBULLDOG BULLDOG BOUSED TO ANGER ANGERGenerally Generally the bulldog is slow to start main ¬ taining an outward semblance of selfcomposure His features are placid but he is watching every move of his antagonist When the battle begins the brainstorm bursts and in a few moments if the bulldogs adversary docs not decamp the broad blunt jaws close on his victim with a snap like a spring trap Then it is that the meaning of the term death grip is well exemplified It is a strange fact that although eighty years have lapsed since bull baiting held sway the bulldog retain his disposition to maintain his hold of a foe till cither choked into semiconsciousness or extraordinary force is employed to open his jaws Lighted matches applied to the nose and other more or less barbarous methods are tried to induce the bulldog to let go but frequently he will endure much pain without a wince An effective way of causing the bulldog to capitulate is that of throw ¬ ing him with his victim into water waterThe The bulldog unlike the majority of dogs seldom barks in fact owing to the construction of his throat his attempts at barking are more like a burlesque of the real thing He wades into a fight without any vocal warning and the only sound he in its is liis heavy breathing His courage is as ¬ tonishing and the largeness of his opponent never acts as a deterrent when hostilities are imminent Still as lie is not a quarrelsome dog he rarely in ¬ dulges in street brawls and as he is exceedingly good natured it takes a lot to rouse him himINDICATIONS INDICATIONS OF GOOD BIRTH BIRTHThe The modern bulldog is undoubtedly a different looking animal from his bull fighting ancestors Tin most conspicuous improvements introduced by th presentday fancy are largeness of head width of chest heaviness of bone and more typical tail tailAs As the bulldogs original occupation is now gone his weight is of little consequence He can be from any size from twentyfive to sixty pounds or even seventy pounds A miniature or dwarf variety is now cultivated weighing less than twentytwo twentytwoM M tlIldS tlIldSThe The bulldog breed has a large variety of colors including in order of merit brindle reds whites fawns and fallows with or without black masks and secondly pied and mixed colors colorsA A pink liver colored or flesh tinted nose called a Dudley nose attributed to excessive inbreed ¬ ing is a disqualifying blemish The bulldog while being broad in front should be comparatively nar ¬ row across the loins although the hind legs should be strong and sound The skull should be very large and the circumference measured round in front of the ears should at least eiual the height of the dog at the shoulder The skull should be broad and square and the forehead flat The skin iii the forehuad and face should hang in large wrinkles The stop or indentation between the eyes should be deep and broad and should extend in i faint groove up the middle part of the fore ¬ head The eyes should be wide apart low in the skull and as far from the car as possible possibleAlso Also they should be quite round of moderate size neither sunken nor projecting very dark and showing no white when looking straight forward The cars should be small and thin and set on the top corners of the skull The most correct the rose ear folds outward and backward showing part of the inside of the burr The face should be short from cheek bone to nose and the skin deeply and closely wrinkled The muzzle should be short broad turned upward and very deep from the corner ol the ear to the corner ot tlie mouth The nose should be large broad and black and set back almost between the eyes The nostrils should be large wide and black with a well defined straight line between them The upper lip should be thick broad and pendulous hanging over the lower jaw at the sides but just meeting the lower lip in front and should hide the teeth when the mouth is closed Many excellent dogs how ¬ ever show their teeth or tusks wide apart apartCHANGES CHANGES FROM FORMER TYPE TYPEThe The lower jaw should curve upward and project considerahly beyond the upper jaw enabling the dog to obtain an extraordinarily secure grip The neck should be moderate in length rather short than long thick deep strong and arched The skin under the throat should be loose and wrinkled The chest should be wide round prominent and deep The shoulders should be powerful and muscular broad slanting and deep The body should be round not flatsided with the l elly well tucked up The back should be short and narrow at the loins There should be a slight hollow Behind the should ¬ ers and then the spine should curve upward to the top of the loins which should be higher than the top of his shoulders The spine should then curve down suddenly to the tail The ideal length of the tail is about six inches inchesThe The ancient bullbaiters had moderately long curved whiplike tails but this feature was latterly altered The crank tail is the one stipulated in the British club standard It should be set on low just out rather straight and then downward the end pointing horizontally Other styles of tails are permitted but they are penalized The tail should be round smooth and devoid of fringe or coarse hair It should be thick at the root and taper quickly to a point The dog should not be able to raise it above the level of his back The fore ¬ legs should be sturdy set wide apart muscular and straight The calves should be well developed thus lending a somewhat bowed outline to the fore ¬ legs but the bones of the forelegs should be rather short in comparison with the hind legs The elbow should be low and stand away from the ribs The ankles should be short straight and strong The feet should turn slightly outward should be of medium size and nearly round The toes should be thick and the knuckles prominent and high The hind legs should be large and muscular The hocks should be slightly bent and well let down so as to give length and muscularity1 from the loins to the point of the hock
