Breed Priorities – The Bulldog

by Nikki Riggsbee

Year by year, the Bulldog has become more popular, enchanting peo- ple with his unique appearance and equable and kind disposition. As of 2016, the Bulldog ranks fourth overall in AKC registrations in the United States, exceeded only by the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, and Golden Retriever.

It is also a specialist breed. There are well over a hundred breeder-judges in the United States. There are more than eighty Bulldog specialties a year put on by both the parent club and well over fifty affiliate specialty clubs.
Learning to judge Bulldogs can be a challenge for a non-specialist. They have many characteristics that contribute to breed type that are both unique and different from most other breeds’ features. This survey on their breed priorities hoped to identify those features which were most important to the breed experts.

Seventy-six of the Bulldog breeder-judges were found to have working email addresses and were invited to participate in this survey on their breed. Forty-nine agreed to do so. By the deadline, twenty-four surveys were re- turned, with one being partially complete. The group averaged thirty years in the breed and over twelve years judging. Many have judged their Na- tional Specialty and all but one has judged other Bulldog specialties.

Bulldog Virtues

The survey included a list of breed virtues from the Bulldog standard for the breeder-judges to prioritize from the most important to the least impor- tant. The following is the list of Bulldog characteristics in sequence by the averages of the breeder-judges’ rankings, with 1 being the most important.

1. Jaw massive, very broad, square and “undershot”
2. Heavy, thick-set, low-swung body
3. Slight fall close behind the shoulders, whence the spine rises to the loins (the top of which higher than the shoulders), thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming an arch or roach back
4. Back short, strong, very broad at shoulders and comparatively narrow at loins
5. Muzzle very short, broad, turned upward, and very deep
6. Nose large, broad, black, tip set back deeply between eyes
7. Body well-ribbed up with belly tucked up
8. Forelegs short, very stout, straight, muscular, set well apart
9. Gait loose-jointed, shuffling, with characteristic “roll”
10. Disposition equable and kind, resolute and courageous, de- meanor pacific and dignified
11. Rose ears
12. Neck short, very thick, deep, strong, well arched
13. Eyes in front of head, as wide apart as possible
14. Tail short, hung low
15. Wrinkles on head and face
16. Feet moderate size, compact, firmly set, toes compact with high knuckles

The greatest agreement was on “Feet moderate size, compact, firmly set, toes compact with high knuckles” (16th), with seventy percent putting it in the last quartile and twelve ranking it at the bottom.

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Posted by Alex on Oct 19 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.