The Olde English
Olde English Bull Dog History  

The Olde English Bulldogge originated in England between 1600 and
1700.  These were the early ancestors to many of the Bull breeds that
exist today including the English Bulldog and the American Bulldog.  
They were bred to participate in blood sports like bull baiting.  This so
called sport, became quite popular in England through out the middle
of the 18th Century.  Bull baiting primarily consisted of staking out a
bull and allowing several Bulldogges to attack it.  A dog of great
courage and agility was needed for bull baiting. This dog was of
medium size; larger dogs were considered to be the result of mastiff
crosses.

Around 1835, laws were passed in England prohibiting bull baiting and
the Olde English Bulldogges main purpose of existence vanished.  
Within a decade the numbers of bulldogs declined drastically almost to
extinction.  Dog show fanciers eventually decided to reconstruct the
breed, but wanted to tone down the aggressive temperament of the
original Olde English Bulldogge.  They crossed the remnants of the
existing stock with the pug and over the years that followed they
developed the modern English Bulldog.  Unfortunately though, this
modern dog is wrought with all kinds of genetic health problems.

The modern Olde English Bulldogge is a reconstruction of the original
Olde Bulldogge of the 17th and 18th century. Various genetic crosses
have been used in carefully and thoughtfully planned breeding
programs to obtain this goal.  The foundation of most of today's Olde
English Bulldogges can be traced to English Bulldog, American Bulldog,
APBT and Mastiff.

These dogs  were used very selectively in various combinations to
obtain the desired physical and mental traits of the original Olde English
Bulldogge.  The result has been a good looking Bulldogge of great
athletic ability that is much healthier and physically fit without most or
all of the problems that plague today's modern English Bulldogs.  The
goal of all Olde English Bulldogge breeders should be to produce
genetically healthier Bulldogges that are free breathers, free breeders,
and free whelpers