When Chris and I started raising Olde English Bulldogges, we studied and studied the breed standards and began to compare the “standard” to what was actually being produced and sold in the marketplace. In short, we did not like what we saw; therefore, we decided to start from ground zero and produced our own “seed” stock by selectively breeding very specific combinations and retaining only the very best for our programs.
We focused on two key factors in our bulldogge line.
- The dog must be able to breath
- The dog must be able to move freely
Because of our own self-imposed standards, you will NOT see a lot of standard English Bulldogs in our lines. In fact, our lines will tend to be longer bodied, stand a little talker than dogs their size and have a slightly longer muzzle. Why you ask…
- The “length-of-body” helps in the whelping process. This extra space makes the mother more comfortable and gives the puppies plenty of room. A c-section is not something we routinely do in the OEBs! In addition, the added length help with keeping them proportional.
- I like to see the shoulders, elbow, hips, and stifles underneath the dogs where they belong. I want a dog to have strong pasterns and stand upright.
- Breathing is vital, especially in Texas. That added 1/4 inch or so of muzzle makes a big difference in the dog’s survival rate in the hot Texas summers.
Overall:
Structurally an Olde English Bulldogge should stands 18-21 inches tall at the withers, weighs 50-75 pounds for females and 60-90 pounds for the males, with some female topping the 80-90lb mark and males exceeding 100lbs The dog should display a large head with a short, broad muzzle of 1.5 to 2 inches in length. The neck is short, thick, but muscular leading to a nice top line with a slight fall (wheel back) and a wide, well-muscled rear end. The chest should be wide and deep, giving the dog a broad, shorter appearance, but not enough to force the elbows away from the body.
The front legs should be set far apart and should be straight, and thick (not bowed), with elbows set close to the body and tight feet neither turned in nor out when on the move. Rear legs should show significant bend of the stifle (knee) as to allow for good movement. The dog should have a balanced, even and smooth gait within a single track.
Most of our dogs are “free breeders”. It is imperative that our dogs naturally breed and whelp. We do not routinely AI , nor do we schedule C-Sections. A female must be able to conceive, care for, and deliver naturally. We have a very close working relationship with our veterinarian clinic, Alvarado Veterinarian Clinic, who helps us medically evaluate every female before each breeding.
As a general rule, we keep at least one puppy from each breeding combination to evaluate our program. Doing so allows us to evaluate our product and build on the traits we find desirable for future CSB generations.
The structure of the bulldogge contributes to the functionality of the bulldogge, in other words, “function follows form.”