Bulldog, also called English bulldog, breed of dog developed centuries ago in Great Britain for use in fighting bulls (bullbaiting). Characteristically powerful and courageous, often vicious, and to a great extent unaware of pain, the bulldog nearly disappeared when dogfighting was outlawed in 1835. Fanciers of the breed, however, saved it and bred out its ferocity. Nicknamed the “sourmug,” the bulldog is a stocky dog that moves with a rolling gait. It has a large head, folded ears, a short muzzle, a protruding lower jaw, and loose skin that forms wrinkles on the head and face. Its short, fine coat is tan, white, reddish brown, brindle, or piebald. The bulldog stands 13 to 15 inches (33 to 38 cm) and weighs 40 to 50 pounds (18 to 23 kg). Typically gentle and reliable, it is placed in the Non-Sporting Dog group of the American Kennel Club. See also French bulldog.
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French bulldog…small native dogs and small bulldogs of a toy variety. The French bulldog is a small counterpart of the bulldog, but it has large, erect ears, rounded at the tips, that resemble those of a bat. Its skull is flat between the ears and domed above the eyes, and the…
Dog, ( Canis lupus familiaris), domestic mammal of the family Canidae (order Carnivora). It is a subspecies of the gray wolf ( Canis lupus) and is related to foxes and jackals. The dog is one of the two most ubiquitous and most popular domestic animals in the world (the cat is the…
Bearbaiting, the setting of dogs on a bear or a bull chained to a stake by the neck or leg. Popular from the 12th to the 19th century, when they were banned as inhumane, these spectacles were usually staged at theatre-like arenas known as bear gardens. In England…
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