Has the Kennel Club improved the Bulldog breed?

Question

This is how bulldogs used to look in the Georgian period when they were used for bull-holding, a part of the butcher's business:

http://www.georgianindex.net/dogs/1803_bd.jpg

This is how the Kennel Club has determined that they should look now:

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/185/bulldog.jpg

Notice the shortening of the legs and the flat, wrinkly, pug like face. Is this really an improvement?

Ref: http://barkadaworkingdog.com/bulldogmolosser_history__photos

Answer 1

Thats because you've demonstrated two different types of bulldogs there.

The first looks more like an american bulldog and the bottom pic is quite obviously an english bulldog.

Answer 2

Despite what the Kennel Club say, they have never been interested in 'improving' breeds, if you consider animal health to be included in the term. The KC have been so far up their own ars*s that they have encouraged irreparable damage through decades of setting standards that have no concern for the dogs at all. Docking tails is barbaric and only thought necessary because the cretins at the KC insist upon it.

I'd shoot the lot of them!

Answer 3

Breed standards are submitted by the breed clubs but the KC has ownership of them and agrees (or refuses) any alterations.

The Kennel Club has not determined how the breed should look, they have merely laid down, in a particular format, the way the Breed Clubs have agreed the Bulldog should look.

The First Bulldog standard was drawn up by the Bulldog Club Inc. in the 1870s and has been little altered since then. If it wasn't for those first enthusiasts, the Bulldog would not exist today.

To blame the KC shows a complete misunderstanding of how canine affairs are run!

You cannot judge the breed standard by one photograph - the Bulldog breed standard is one of the most explicit of all of the 200 or so the KC own.

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/155

In the last 10 yrs The Kennel Club have gone through all breed standards, added & taken away certain phrases to ensure that no dog suffer because of certain desirable features.

These are some recent additions to the Bulldog standard:

Dogs showing respiratory distress highly undesirable.

Free from obvious eye problems

Soundness of movement of the utmost importance.

The Kennel Club holds the standards but they can't be held responsible for how owners & breeders choose to interpret that standard.

BTW. I'm not a Bulldog fan,  but blaming the KC for every wrong is ridiculous. Not every Bulldog is a cripple - I have seen some that can outmove many breeds and their temperaments should be the envy of many a breed.

Answer 4

How can making it harder for a dog breath good? Short flat snouts often make it difficult to breath and make the dog more susceptible to heat and humidity.

http://www.trimbullbulldogs.com/english_...

I am not a real fan of AKC based breed clubs, I have seen in the past where they demonstrate gross negligence in their breed standards, ex the Dalmatian and the breed clubs requirement of a "responsible breeder" euthanizing of 12% their puppies due to bilateral deafness. Which the dalmatian breed club creates because "patches" of color are a disqualifying physical factor, if patches were allowed the instance of deafness would be greatly reduced.

http://peek.snipurl.com/3jz9y  [answers_yahoo_com]  

Answer 5

If a breed standard is supposed to reflect the original working purpose of a dog and how certain physical attributes make it so successful at its job then I would say NO.

Can anyone honestly believe that a dog with munchkin legs can hold his own against a raging bull? I've lived in both Spain and Portugal and have seen many bull runs and bullfights. Angry bulls are insanely strong (I've seen one turn over a pickup with 3 grown men in it) and incredibly fast.  For a dog to be successful at bull baiting and have any chance of surviving the ordeal, the dog would have to be FAST and have lots of agility.  Ever seen a british bulldog compete in agility?  The american bulldog is bred more to the original standard of the breed. The british version is a joke.

Answer 6

I may be wrong, not knowing the rules in the UK, but I believe it is the national Breed club that writes the breed standard, and the national Kennel Club ratifies and accepts that written Standard.

Therefore, the question might better be, "Have modern breeders improved the Bulldog breed?"

My answer would be no. They have allowed competition and aesthetic fad to destroy the athleticism of their breed; they have only themselves to blame.

Were Bulldogs still used for their original function, this would likely never have happened.

ADD: The national Kennel Club will usually accept the national Breed Club's Standard (and its changes) because it assumes that the breed club (made up of breed fanciers and breeders) has the best interest of the breed at heart.

They are not an enforcer, they are a record-keeping body.

If the breeders choose to warp their breed, I'm not sure how the Kennel Club they choose to register their dogs with has any culpability.

Answer 7

Actually it is for this reason that there are Bulldog enthusiasts that have developed the Olde English Bulldogge Breed. The Olde English Bulldogge is a much more athletic Bulldogge than the AKC English Bulldog.

Part of the problem is when bull baiting became outlawed, Bulldogs (which were bred for bull baiting) almost died out as a breed. Some breeders got together to save the breed but, introduced breeds into it like the pug that has horrible Genetics and as a result AKC English Bulldogs have terrible health.

Olde English Bulldogges seek to correct the health problems to the breed while restoreing athleticism and keep their sweet tempermant.

For more information about this breed:

http://www.ioeba.net/

Answer 8

Well the breed can't possibly be any more of a state than it is now, so I would say no.

Poor bulldogs; they should never have been bred. A breed that can't breathe or walk properly and can't even give birth naturally should not exist. And of course it's not just this breed; pugs and pekes have also crossed the line, and probably boxers and cavvies are on the way there too.

Yeah I saw the programme too, although even before the programme I would've thought it screamingly obvious that the mere act of breeding bulldogs to kennel club standards is an act of cruelty.

Chalice