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From BulldogWikipedia
Bulldog is a collective title for various breeds of dog of a particular type, also known as Bull Breeds. The Bull dog breeds were originally created to be bloody gladiators. The sport of baiting animals has occurred since antiquity, most famously in the Roman Colosseum, a direct precursor to the modern Spanish "sport" of bullfighting. After the signing of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 in England, bulldogs were retired from fighting. Selective breeding has changed the personality of the bulldog breeds into the gentle and loyal family pets that they are today.
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The Origin of the Bulldog
The term "Bulldog" was first used around 1568 and might have been applied to various ancestors of modern bulldog breeds.
The Bulldog earned their name from the reason of their creation, namely bull baiting. The sport of baiting animals has occurred since antiquity, most famously in the Roman Colosseum, a direct precursor to the modern Spanish "sport" of bullfighting. In the post Roman era, baiting, per se, was most closely associated with the English, who pursued it with utmost earnestness. The pastime flourished, reaching the peak of its popularity during the sixteenth century. The various animal types involved in the bait resulted in the breed specialization and basic anatomical forms of fighting dogs, which we still see today.
The first historical traces of bull-baiting occur in the time of the regency of King John. Enraged steers, specially bred for their aggressive nature, were used to test the keenness of dogs. A collar around the bull's neck was fastened to a thick rope about three to five metres long, attached to a hook, then fastened to an embedded stake that turned, allowing the bull to watch its antagonizer.
The dog's goal in the attack was to pin and steadfastly hold onto the bull's nose, which is its most sensitive spot. If the dog gripped tightly, the bull became completely tractable. The practical purpose that pre-dated the sport was that the working "butcher's dogs" rendered the semi-wild cattle available to the butcher for slaughter without human injury.
To avoid this attack, experienced fighting bulls lowered their heads as much as possible in the direction of the attacking dog, protecting their noses and meeting the attacker with only their horns, tossing the dog into the air. The dog reciprocated by staying low to the ground as it crept towards the bull. These tactics resulted in a specialized breed in the form of the original Old English Bulldog.
This breed was extremely compact, broad, and muscular. Modern oral history describes a particular characteristic of the breed as a lower jaw that projected considerably in front of the upper jaw, which made possible the strong, vice-like grip. This is highly doubtful since all modern working catch dogs have a level or reverse scissors bite. The story continues that the nose was deeply set, which allowed the dog to get enough air as it gripped the bull. A certain small amount of "layback" of the nose may possibly have been desirable, but a more important characteristic would have been a large nasal opening for airflow. The contemporary recreation of this breed of lore is called the Olde English Bulldogge.
The English Bulldog of today has developed since the initial bull-baiting days, inasmuch as characteristics of the breed (such as the underbite, size of the head and width of shoulder) have been accentuated by selective breeding.
