American Bulldog

The American Bulldog comes from the original Bulldog, the ancestor of all modern Bulldogs. Since ancient times, these large and powerful dogs were used for driving the cattle and guarding the property. Courage, strength, fighting drive and familiarity with cattle made these dogs suited for the cruel sport of bull baiting. Participation in this sport spoiled the reputation of the Bulldog. When bull baiting was outlawed in the 19th century, the original type of the Bulldog disappeared, as there were no tasks for these dogs. In England, the original type was replaced with a short, stock and heavy English Bulldog; in France, a funny-looking small French Bulldog was developed.

The American variety preserves the original working characteristics of the Bulldog to a greater extent compared to the English and French Bulldogs, because the original Bulldog was brought to the American South and bred in isolation from other dogs. The American Bulldog was used by farmers and ranchers for many tasks. This breed was not officially recognized, because nobody was going to show these dogs. They just did their jobs and were selected by farmers who needed strong and reliable workers. Only after the World War II, when the American Bulldog was on the brink of extinction, several breeders decided to preserve the breed. They carefully bred the best representatives of the breed and kept careful records. Great selective work resulted in maintaining a typical phenotype, personality and working abilities of the American Bulldog.

The United Kennel Club recognized the American Bulldog in 1999. The American strain maintains its utilitarian purpose and lacks the modifications that other Bulldogs underwent in England and France. Today, American Bulldogs are safe from extinction. They grow in popularity as both working dogs and family pets. This breed is good at several dog sports, such as Iron Dog competition, weight pulling, schutzhund, french ring sport, and street protection sport.

The breed standard is not strict to the conformation of the breed. The accepted height of a purebred American Bulldog varies from 50 to 71 cm; the weight can vary from 27 to 60 kg. The coat of the American Bulldog should be short and harsh. Many coat colors and patterns are accepted in the breed, but white must be present somewhere in the coat. Today, there are two varieties of the American Bulldog: the larger Johnson (Classic) type and the Scott (Performance, Standard) type.