AN HISTORICAL, SKETCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 3101, 20 August 1913, Page 33

AN HISTORICAL, SKETCH.

THE BRITISH BULLDOG (Contributed.)

To give a full account of the aims and ambitions of the South Island Bulldog Club and to set out an historical sketch of Britain's greatest dog, the bulldog, would involve a great task and fill a somewhat large-sized book. I shall endeavour to outline, first the early history, and second the objects of the well-established and wellknown South Island Bulldog Club. One could refer back to the year 1631 and in the annals of literature find an order from Prestwick Eaton to G'eorge Willingham. St. Swithin’s lane, London, for “two good bulldogs, let them be good at the bull and cost what they will, but let them be fair and good curs,’ ! and so we find as far back as the fifteenth century this valuable dog commanded high prices, as he does in the twentieth. As we are all aware, the dog was used m his early days purely as a bullbaiter and fighter, and was then classed as a sporting dog. This low and degrading sport of bull-fighting ran down the years to about 1845, when such exhibitions were prohibited by Act of Parliament. The ancestors of our modern dogs were not held by the public in so high an estimation as our beautiful show specimens of to-day, for wo have a record taken from the British Field Sports, 1818, which reads: “The bulldog, devoted solely to the most barbarous and infamous purposes, the real blackguard of his species, has no. claim upon utility, humanity, or common sense, and the total extinction of the breed is a desirable consummation.” Not only was he used for bull-baiting, but private matches were arranged between two dogs to fight each other, the stake in many cases being as much as £IOO. The early bulldog was not so “cloddy,” so heavily built, nor were they so docile in temperament as our present-day specimen. On the contrary, they are well described us being daredevil, intelligent brutes, game, and full of stamina, capable of being put to any test of strength and endurance. As tho Act prohibited the animals’ use, there was no incentive to breed, and had it not been for the existence of a few fanciers who kept and bred them the British bulldog would have become extinct. It was at this period that the fancy turned towards show purposes, and tho breeding of a purer animal, and so down through the years we have records of shows, parades, etc., in all parts of the British Empire. The formation of clubs was tho next move on the part of the fanciers, and after one or two efforts to get a footing the British Bulldog Club (Incorporated) was established on 13th April, 1875. The result of the formation of the club was that tho dog grew in popularity, and breeding and care to bring him up to the high standard set became almost an art. New Zealand was not long in following the example set in England, and to-day Dunedin can boast of having in its precincts the headquarters of the South Island British Bulldog Club, originally formed in 1907 with a dozen members, and in 1914 with a membership of 50 male members and 15 lady members. The chief aim of the club is to keep up the excellent quality of the show dog. and to explode the ignorant theory that he is a precious wild fighting beast. The bulldog is a majestic animal, much abused, much feared, and much maligned by the general public, and no other animal is so misunderstood. If treated with kindness, taken plenty notice of, ho is quiet, docile, and a faithful friend. If aggravated, made excited, or kept too much in captivity ho will become savage and dangerous, a trait handed down from his forefather, tho bull-baiter. He is the boldest and most resolute of animals, and there is nothing a good bulldog will not tackle. He is resolute, slow and determined, and will give only with life itself. Ho is Great' Britain’s national animal, and a dog of which Britons all over the universe may well be proud. One could go into detail on show points, selection, breeding and care of puppies, etc., but, as I remarked, it would make a volume.

I- have endeavoured to give a very short outline and historical sketch of this, the greatest of canine friends.