Talk:American Bulldog/Archive 1

To Elf
Yes it is sad. Pitbulls can be sweet and gentle too. It is people who don't have any regard for them that torment them and use them as staus symbols that make them dangerous. Our baby boy is like a child to us. We are very fortunate to have our babies, 'llMonica, Amber and Bernie. Dakota.


 * I would love a Pitbull, but to get one i would need a dangerous animals liscence, which is hard to get and even harder to keep. stupid UK law! I like american bulldogs too, but you dont see them over here, so thats out of the window too! Perhaps i should move to america!Tekana | Talk 19:04, 28 August 2005 (UTC)


 * Did not know that Pits are required dangerous license in the UK. Some cities and counties of states in the US ban them also. American bulldogs are not common here. The pups are expensive also. We did not buy our boy (we would not buy or sell any being), he was a rescue dog as a 3 months old pup. His owner died suddenly and his widow allowed us to adopt him. American Bulldogs are sometimes used in Switzerland as police dogs and in some other parts of the world also. Dakota 03:13, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

Quick Question for anyone
Yeah, quick question.... are we allowed to advertise American Bulldog pups for sale here? Because I just had 11 puppies born and I'm looking to sell them. I'll check back at this site soon for answer, and if it is yes, will supply contact info then. Thanks! --- Anonymous User at this time.


 * No. This is an encylopedia. Elf | Talk 18:57, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Life span
Does anyone have information on the life span of an American Bull? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.13.81.224 (talk) 04:10, 17 February 2007 (UTC). I think it is about 15 years

my dog is coming up to 2 he's got involantry head movements, hes going to the vets.. does anyone have any advise or knowledge about this ? or am i thinking the worst. He is a cross scott /johnson and his great grand dad was Chance. He has been imported to Britain and we have very little knowlegde about this breed. i have a staffordshire bullterrier also. he's amazing and i need to know what is wrong with him. his name is Dave. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sarah (cardiff)82.7.12.176 (talk) 18:38, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

To: Dave's owner. If you are checking this which you probably aren't. Email me:gary@zxstudios.com. Our American Bulldog puppy is the same age and of the same lineage and may be a littermate. Wanted to talk to you about dave. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.65.71.242 (talk) 17:34, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

History of Breed: "Colonial America"
I am rewording this passage, from the introduction:
 * [American bulldogs] are the closest surviving relative of the Old English Bulldog because they were not altered to as great an extent while in Colonial America

to this:
 * [American bulldogs] are the closest surviving relative of the Old English Bulldog, because they were not altered to as great an extent in America

because none of the history of either breeds is specific to colonial America. Indeed bulldogs were not "altered" (crossed with pugs) in colonial America as much as they were in Britain, but they were also not altered in post-colonial America as much as they were in Britain. None of the information provided in the American Bulldog article or the (British) Bulldog article indicates that the major period of differentiation between the breeds was before ~1776 (or whatever cutoff date is appropriate). In point of fact the preeminent club devoted to the present-day (British) Bulldog was not formed until the late 19th century. Moreover, the (British) Bulldog article says that the ancestral Old English Bulldog was modified into the present British Bulldog after the outlawing of bullbaiting, which did not occur until 1835. Ventifact (talk) 20:16, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Famous American Bulldog references?
Does anybody else think there should be mention of things like the AB in the U.K that had 21 puppies?--CarbriniTek (talk) 16:48, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Depiction in Film
Somebody should mention in this article that American Bulldogs have been rarely shown in movies. For example, Chance from the two Disney Homeward Bound movies is this breed. Just thought I'd bring it up! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.171.37.139 (talk) 01:43, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Vicious Dog Law-Ohio?
I am an animal control officer in ohio. i own an english bulldog myself(great dog-best i ever had) and recently we have had several incidents involving american bulldogs. i love all bulldogs to be honest. one of my colleagus and i have different views on whether or not the amercian bulldog can be traced to the pit bull and if so is it required to be covered under ohio's vicious dog law to carry insurance.. any feedback would be greatly appreciated(especially w references) the sooner the better. thank you for your time —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.96.99.100 (talk) 16:29, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Image description
"OSB's Matrix the Maniac is a fine example of an American Bulldog."

What is all this? 81.68.255.36 (talk) 12:20, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

To All
I was the person who originally expanded this article, so here's my two cents....

Yeah, it really is terrible for large bulldog-type breeds as everyone thinks they will be sweet as pie one minute, and then Cerebrus the next. Both pits and american bulldogs can make great pets; both are noted for being very loyal and energetic. I have known/met both here in NYC and the funny thing is most of the time you catch them doing the exact OPPOSITE of what the stereotype projects, and not one was ever muzzled or even needed it. (On the other hand one of each breed all but knocked me over in waggy attempts to lick my face off when I was talking to their master...)

Tekana, you're right: having a pitbull in England is tricky. Muzzles, paperwork, licenses, all focusing on a few breeds that aren't exactly the typical British dog to begin with (not one has a UK origin and I doubt if any ever made the top ten in terms of ownership)    But don't be too disheartened. They can't plausibly keep it up forever. They will have to keep expanding the list, because if a Fila is a bad dog, then so must be a Rottweiler since they both are guarding dogs and can leave a nasty bite. Or how about the American Bulldog; it looks like a pitbull, it has a similar temperment, so why not? Or what about the Malamute, since they practically look like wolves anyway? Fact of the matter is, all dogs bite. Should we ban them outright, then?


 * I started addressing some of these issues in the fairly new article dog attacks. Elf | Talk 04:30, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

Awesome 69.126.14.113 (talk) 23:31, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Moved from the article to the Talk Page
Dear Writer, a) many old time breeders of the original White English Bulldog in the rural American south did keep pedigrees and simply did not submit them to ARF for registration, some because they had no interest in the commercialization of their dogs, others as a form of defiance over Johnson and Scott's renaming of the dog. To this day there are older bloodlines that exist with very long pedigrees, some even bred by the same families for over 150 years. This is good news for the breed being it is being harmed today by the vigorous following of inline breeding protocols, with dogs less and less able to perform their rural function and more and more likely to contract cancers - apart from the fact that they're shrinking in size year by year, but for the multi-colored outcrosses now fictionally identified as American Bulldogs. It is notable that Johnson and Scott were not rich men and when they "scoured the American south" looking for "best specimens" what they actually got hold of was what strangers with very little money typically get when they go walking up country driveways making requests: The unwanted toss offs. b) An American Bulldog does not have a "prey drive." They were bred for and continue to be trustworthy as homestead helpers, protecting all forms of domestic and livestock animals from animal and human predators alike. They sometimes chase cats and will even kill a chicken or two once in a while because that is a typical attribute of any untrained or unsocialized dog, regardless of breed. Prey drive is when an animal seeks to chase and KILL another animal, not when a dog chases a thing he's unfamiliar with and accidentally kills it because it is more fragile than he was accustomed to. Prey drive is something very difficult to train an animal out of, case in point, wolf hybrids are commonly unsafe around children in their own family settings, and no sane person would keep a lynx as a house cat. When you use that term, "prey drive," please understand that it refers to lions and such, predatory carnivors chasing down food, not dogs who play too rough until they've been socialized and trained. It's an important distinction. Prey driven animals don't get trained to guard flocks and herds; American Bulldogs do. c) I am enjoying your transitioning article. You should make more mention of the dog's PRE-American history. The Alaunt we see in tapestries from about 1100 on is a dog that looks almost identicle to the Standard American Bulldog, just larger. Some of those tapestries show the dog with what seems to be its relatives and litter mates, dogs that look like English Mastiffs, Bull Mastiffs and Great Danes, each claiming heritage from the Alaunt and apparently sometimes pictured together, before the Mastiff breeds split into separation. Very little else can be surmised when looking at paintings of dogs that look like piebald English Mastiffs and Bull Mastiffs running easily beside horses hunting. Best Regards. Daniel Blasco, Blasco Family Bulldogs, www.blascofamily.com
 * Moved by --Greenmaven (talk) 04:36, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

History Section
Is anybody currently working on the history section? It is poorly organized and terribly disjointed. It looks like it was assembled by randomly cutting and pasting stuff in from other places without any thought to the overall cohesiveness of the article. As an example, the history section starts with: Even the slight modifications the bulldog underwent in Spain and England up to the Industrial Revolution (before 1835), were absent in the working strains. Which slight modifications, and what working strains, and why would an article about an apparently American breed start off by making veiled references to Spain and England of all places? Dusty |&#x1f4ac;|You can help! 17:23, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

Redirect for discussion
Please see Redirects_for_discussion/Log/2014_February_25 where the redirect to this page is being discussed after a request from an editor to delete it. Your opinion is invited. Fiddle  Faddle  23:18, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

The American Bulldog
Could there be a bit more information or possibly photographic differences between the Scott and Johnson types?--72.45.29.218 (talk) 02:52, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

restored article showing the difference of Johnson and Scott types. User:Fowl vet — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fowl vet (talk • contribs) 06:56, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

We have a male American Bulldog aged four. He is a calm, gentle, handsome dog who tolerates our two small dogs very well. He literally lets them walk all over him. He is also an excellent watch dog but he warms to some strangers a bit too easily. A good travel dog which helps me as I do have to travel at night when I am on call. His size alone is a deterent. Very clean and has moderate tolerance to water.They are very good around children. Somewhat a picky eater. Very affectionate and quiet. He has plenty of room to play and run and any dog his size needs it. This is not a good apartment dog in that it is not good for them. Oh yes, and an American Bulldog is not a pitbull.


 * It's sad that Pit Bulls and anything that even vaguely resembling them have been demonized. Sounds like you've got a great companion. Elf | Talk 22:23, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

This article is written in a VERY POV tone. I'm sure that some people could probably raise a bear to be an affectionate, loving animal. Personal experience isn't valid evidence.

I would just like to say that i have an eight month old pup that is half american bulldog and half staffordshire pit bull. He is the most intelligent loveing dog in the world and loves my eight month old daughter. This type of breed has been stereotyped for being aggressive but u r right it is all in how u raise them. Anyone who is going to be raising a dog for anything other than companionship should never be allowed to own a dog. Dogs are living beings too and need love just like we do.

Replacement of lead picture
This is a good picture, the replacement is not. The replacement picture is showing the dog from above. Hafspajen (talk) 23:17, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

New picture is a better picture compared to the last. It shows the dog in competition form for viewing. See Doberman Pinscher for example. Other pictures offered are good also, but the previous is very poor and doesn't even represent the breed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.60.132.49 (talk) 01:16, 14 January 2015 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid not. It is washed out and the dog is seen from above; both make it hard to see the breed features.


 * I presume you are also ? Yngvadottir (talk) 03:21, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Here are some pictures that we have and some could be used in the article. Hafspajen (talk) 23:37, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

WP Dogs
I have changed the article from C-class to start class. Some suggestions I have to improve the article... In the lede it mentions several different "types" of American Bulldogs. I encourage looking at the Beagle article (which has been a featured article), under the variations section. Creating a variation section would free up the lede for a more encyclopedic description and provide a section where the "types" can be described. I also suggest adressing the citation concern on the article page, as there are no citations until well into the "History in the US" section. I do applaud whoever added the picture gallery section, it's a great touch! cReep (talk) 07:28, 11 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Agree. Now, 2016, I changed the US project C -> Start. Such poor sourcing and issues mean it's not a C despite size. Widefox ; talk 19:05, 16 October 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 January 2017

 * Yes check.svg Done Though, I have abbreviated European Kennel Club to EKC, as it looks like others within that sentence are also abbreviated, too. Aurato (talk) 21:11, 6 January 2017 (UTC)

Recent history
American bulldogs are now safe from extinction and are enjoying a healthy increase in popularity, either as a working/protector dog or as a family pet. All over the world, they are used variously as "hog dogs" (catching escaped pigs or hunting razorbacks), as cattle drovers and as working or sport K-9s. American Bulldogs also successfully compete in several dog sports such as dog obedience, Schutzhund, French Ring, Mondio Ring, Iron Dog competition and weight pulling. They are also exhibited in conformation shows in the UKC, NKC, ABA, ABRA and the SACBR (South Africa).

I would like to add the European Kennel Club (www.europeankennelclub.eu) in the last sentence. I am part (Founder) of this European (registry & Show) organisation and we host around 20 shows anually all over Europe. RobertV1960 (talk) 09:44, 6 January 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 April 2017
Should add to "Recent History" the news of conviction of woman owning an American Bulldog that killed a three-year-old boy, Dexter Neal. BBC as reference? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-39628151). Drrichjlaw (talk) 11:18, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: WP:RECENTISM and WP:NOTNEWS concerns. Discuss with other users  Eve rgr een Fir  (talk) 02:27, 19 April 2017 (UTC)