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Dog Articles
Past and Present: French Bulldog, French Bull Dog
The French
Bulldog, we are told, was originally a Spanish Bulldog, a much
larger animal, formerly used in Spain for baiting bulls. But dogs of
the original type found their way to France, where they were
eventually reduced in size and ‘beautified’, until today a normal
specimen of this breed is not unlike a Miniature Bulldog, except
that his teeth do not show when his mouth is closed, and that he has
well-rounded bat ears, which form perhaps his most noticeable
characteristic.
This
bat-eared, flat-faced little gnome among dogs has a wide and
enthusiastic following. The reason for this is doubtless that he is
such a nice little dog in spite of all man can do to make him unfit
for life, by condensing the nasal region and developing an oversize
jaw. The Bulldog tendencies are exaggerated. The head is similar,
but the face is flatter and more vertical in profile, with the jaw
somewhat less turned up. They are perky, inquisitive little things,
but much given to asthma and the sniffles, which is not their fault
but ours. The proper color is dark brindle, though light brindle is
not frowned upon. More than a trace of white on toes and chest is
discountenanced. The tail, carried low, should be either screwed or
straight.
In form he
is all Bulldog, the only radical differences being the flat face and
the large upstanding ears, graphically called ‘bat-ears’ by the
fancy. These are important, and should be wide at the base, tapering
up to a rounded point, carried high but not too close together, and
with the orifice directed forward. The light weight should weigh
under 22 pounds, the heavy weights from 22 to 28
pounds.
Next to
toy dogs, the French Bulldog and the Miniature Bulldog are among
those best suited to city life. Neither of them requires a great
deal of exercise, and with intelligent, thoughtful owners may be
kept successfully, even in a flat. But life in a flat, even for dogs
of this kind, is a hard one unless they are the care of some
conscientious person who will give them daily exercise.
Source:
National Geographic 1919
Recommended Reading
Dog Training
Mastery - An Owners' Manual
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