DumDog
Posted : 3/1/2010 12:04:56 AM
he looks am.bulldog.. everything fits except the head. he just looks plain weird...... but the American Bulldog breeders cant make up their minds on how they want the breed to look (which is why am bulls are often mistaken for pits) you have streamlined lighter built dogs, you have mastiff built dogs, you have in betweens, you have am bulls that look like they are part boxer.... this one looks like the boxer variety but again.... maybe its the lighting, but that head is just way out of the ordinary (for me)
people these days also like to mix their own bulldogs so any dog you get in the shelter that looks bully .. probably IS.. its just an amalgamation of several varieties.
its easy to tell a pure AKC staffy from the other bulldogs. they arent much bigger than jack russell terrier....
pit bull or american pit bull.... eh... really.. what IS the difference? not much except a piece of paper. the dogs you get in the shelter probably ARE pit bulls (bred from game dogs - be it fighting or hunting dogs you wont EVER know for sure)
American Bulldog (Johnson variety)
this dog is a pure bred American Bulldog but many would say "he's part english!" ... well he is.... Johnson used the english when he made his version of the breed, which was where he and Alan Scott had their differences.
American Bulldog (Scott variety)
...stand him next to a pit bull(American or otherwise.. could you tell them apart??) this dog is pure bred and pure working muscle. NOT a fighter. This is the type that has remained the same since the creation of the bulldog.Scot wasnt breeding for a big ugly dog. He wanted a dog that could move and hang onto a hog or cow(his job was catching wild cattle) without biting its own lip in the process. These are ALSO known as White English or Old Southern White. these are backwoods bred working dogs. their breeders dont give two flips about breed standards or stud registries. all they care about is if the dog can keep them safe from being gored by a bull, attacked by a hog, killed by an intruder, etc. etc.. and they willingly breed their BEST dog(that meets all qualities mentioned) to the dog down the street(who also has those qualities. yes there IS pit bull in them, probably some hound, terrier.. mastiff..... but once the dog lands at your doorstep... you'll never know.
Personally when i see a stocky, short coated, bully breed i just call it a bulldog. i wont add english, american, or pit to its name unless i know its got some piece of paper stating that. its JUST a bulldog. i dont really like that shelters want to label them pits or otherwise because this is the canine version of ... Gumbo. it has a little of everything, and what with people trying to make their own versions (Olde English, Valley Bulldog, American Bully, American Mastiff) you are just safer.. rather the DOG is safer.. to just be called A bulldog MIX. get to know THAT dog's personality. but try to pin a name tag on it unless you know 100% for sure.
The personalities of all the bulldogs arent too different so it doesnt REALLY matter. many of them are dog aggressive, same sex aggressive, over protective, have high prey drives etc... You're asking for trouble if you get a black dog that obviously looks like a bulldog and call it a LABRADOR mix just so people wont be afraid of the "BULLDOG" part of the name..... in the shelters and "free to good home" ads where i live i see a lot of black bulldogs called "labs or lab mixes". sure, maybe they're part rottie? maybe they're something else... you'll never know for sure.((that is the risk you take when you get a dog from an ad)) but to ME there are distinguishing features (short nose, broad skull, tight skin, short hair, rose ears- though the ears arent always an indication. Ben has weird stiff droopy labdrador ears.. if he was a purebred American Bulldog dog he would be disqualified for them lol) But in the American Bulldog standard a dog with "hound ears" is automatically unfit for the standard and cropped ears are a disqualification. docked tails are frowned upon but allowed (because the standard doesnt like to see tails curled over the back like a chow, that too is a disqualification) And i can only assume they dont want "hound ears" because if he's a working dog then they would only get torn off his head by a wild pig. they need to be short and compact.
I dont know if i helped or not..... but one thing you should know and tell everyone who DOESNT know is that there are far too many different versions of the bulldog "TYPE" and new ones being created every day by some person who wants to revolutionize the breed or create a new and better one*coughAmericanBullycough*. and the reason there are so many different types is because no one can bloody well agree on the ideal bulldog.... part of it is function, part of it is looks and part is personality. For Example... Ben is supposed to be half Panja American Mastiff and half American Bulldog.... what is a Panja? basically its a rottweiler x pit bull x God only knows... They were bred and designed to guard crack houses, but have since become registered purebreds and are considered good home guardians. they were bred to be watch dogs(bark but doesnt attack) but aloof enough to allow trafficking.. Ben is all about the bark.... so far he fits that standard...
his other half is American Bulldog (this was what i was TOLD by the previous owner - he had two homes before ours) But he's just a bulldog to me. However his personality is so.... UN bulldog its funny. he has a cat's personality. he'll be petted on his own terms... and walks? ever tried to walk a cat on a leash? lol yeah its not any easier when the cat weighs about 75lbs.... you aint movin' Ben.... unless he's ready to move. and he's a cowardly lion. a brave dog behind his own fence. he acts like he wont let you open the porch door.... but as soon as you do .. oh he melts like butter(Panja??). and the only evidence i've seen of his Am. Bulldog side? He's a jolly old fellow until you piss him off. Kaydee was much the same but more intense. only difference between those two is Ben can forgive and forget. with Kaydee you had an enemy for life if you crossed her. and she had a good memory and great instincts. Ben doesnt care. he had been bounced around too many times at such a young age, and his last home was in a 10 x 5 kennel with a concrete floor with coon hounds for neighbours.. he wouldnt catch a pig, and he kept escaping their backyard fence every time they went in the house(hence why he was kenneled) until we got him he didnt care about people. all they did for him was provide food and lock gates or clip chains.
I say all that about Ben as an example of .. just because it looks like a bulldog doesnt mean its going to act like one (which is why i dont like the pit, american, etc labels if there are no official papers) Ben is about the softest dog you could ever meet. He's never tried to hurt my kids, he's been in one fight - and it was in defense- he and Sparta(American Bulldog) get along famously... but i work hard to keep their playtimes positive!!!
I dont know for sure WHAT Ben is mixed with. i can only take his previous owner's word for it - she's a vet tech, and got him from a friend who got him from a friend- if he were ever to be picked up as a stray he would PROBABLY be labeled American Bulldog or Ambull x Hound ..because of those goofy ears... but only a fool would expect him to ACT the way an ambull should just because thats what someone called him.
I understand you probably dont have much control over what titles the dogs get when they come to the shelter... this is all just my insane ramblings. i've been in love with this breed ever since i was a baby(my grandparents owned the "White English" bulldogs before the American Bulldog even existed and i was raised with them) so i've spent a lot of time reading about them and learning new things about the other bulldog breeds, new and old.