50 Fun Facts About Bulldog

The Bulldog is a British breed of which type?

Mastiff is the name a Tudor book of English dogs gives the dog used against bulls; by 1631 a letter could ask for a mastiff and bulldogs as two separate things.

The Old English Bulldog, ancestor of today's breed, was developed for which sport?

Bull-baiting set dogs on a tethered bull for wagers, and the one that pinned it by the nose won; centuries of that work gave the breed its low body and massive jaws.

Which organisation lobbied Parliament for the 1835 act that outlawed the Bulldog's original sport?

The RSPCA was eleven years old and not yet royal when the 1835 act passed; with its sport gone the Bulldog nearly vanished, until fanciers bred the fight out of it.

In 1631 Prestwich Eaton wrote to London asking for 'two good Bulldogs' to be shipped to which country?

Spain: Eaton was an Englishman writing from San Sebastian, and he wanted them put on the first ship, so the breed was prized enough to export even then.

Which of these dog-world nicknames belongs to the Bulldog?

The Sourmug scowl is all front: behind it the modern Bulldog is a docile, gentle companion, bred away from the fighter it once was.

Which rodeo event, pioneered by cowboy Bill Pickett, is still nicknamed 'bulldogging'?

Steer wrestling began when Pickett copied the cattle dogs he had watched subdue steers by biting the upper lip, and brought animals down with his own teeth.

Which Dickens villain's dog Bull's-eye is said to be modelled on one from a London Bulldog dealer's kennels?

Bill Sikes's dog is said to come from Canine Castle, the Kensal New Town kennels where dealer Bill George sold Bulldogs as pets once their old sport was banned.

The first Bulldog Club, formed in 1864 to preserve the breed, took which motto?

Hold Fast was more than the club could manage: it folded within about three years, but not before it wrote the first description of the ideal Bulldog.

Which American truck maker has carried a Bulldog ornament on its hoods since the 1930s?

Mack got the nickname first: its blunt-nosed AC truck of the First World War was dubbed the Bulldog, and chief engineer Alfred Masury carved the first hood ornament in 1932.

Spike the Bulldog and his son Tyke are regulars in which classic cartoon series?

Tom and Jerry made the father-and-son Bulldogs popular enough that MGM gave Spike and Tyke cartoons of their own in 1957.

In which group does the American Kennel Club show the Bulldog?

Non-Sporting is an ironic home for a breed created for a blood sport; the AKC recognised the Bulldog in 1886, half a century after that sport was banned.

In 1893 the Bulldog King Orry beat show champion Dockleaf in what kind of contest?

A walking match of about ten miles: Dockleaf was pulled out after two, yet fanciers still preferred his heavy look to the winner's, and it became the modern type.

The characteristic wrinkle lying across the top of a Bulldog's nose is called what?

A rope is the thick wrinkle lying across the top of the nose, and Britain's Kennel Club now rules a heavy one unacceptable: it must never obscure the eyes or nose.

A Bulldog's short tail may hang straight or be coiled into what shape?

A corkscrew tail has sharp bends or kinks: American judges accept it as 'screwed', while Britain's Kennel Club now marks extremely tight tails as highly undesirable.

What do Bulldog breed standards call the breed's loose, shuffling, side-to-side gait?

The roll comes as the dog's weight shifts from side to side with each short, quick step, and both the British and American standards ask for it.

The AKC standard asks for a Bulldog that is resolute and courageous but also what?

Equable and kind is the standard's phrase, followed at once by 'not vicious or aggressive': Victorian breeders turned the old gladiator's grit into good character.

In a 2022 UK study of 18 dog breeds, the four shortest-lived shared which feature?

A flat face brings disorders that can strike early in life, which dragged the Bulldog's life expectancy down to 7.39 years against 12.7 for the top-ranked Jack Russell Terrier.

University of Pennsylvania researchers studied the Bulldog as a natural model of which human sleep disorder?

Sleep apnoea struck the dogs hardest in dream sleep and left them abnormally sleepy by day, as the disorder leaves human patients.

Why do several big airlines refuse to carry Bulldogs in the cargo hold?

Too many have died in flight: US figures in 2010 showed Bulldogs were 25 of 122 dogs lost in five years, and airlines began turning the breed away that year.

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals found which joint disorder in nearly three-quarters of Bulldogs screened?

Hip dysplasia means the joint forms loosely and wears its way to arthritis; the Bulldog's rate in the foundation's 1974 to 2009 figures was the worst of any breed.

In a study of 2,443 puppies, which condition, where the legs splay out flat, was seen most often in Bulldogs?

Swimmer syndrome leaves a puppy flat on its chest, paddling its splayed legs instead of walking; the Thai study found it far likelier in small litters than large ones.

A UK survey found over 80% of Bulldog litters are delivered how?

By Caesarean section in 86% of the litters surveyed: the pups' large heads meet their mothers' narrow pelvises, so a natural birth is rarely possible.

A 1918 US Marine Corps recruiting poster showed a Bulldog chasing which breed in a German helmet?

A dachshund in a spiked helmet flees across the poster, which traded on the Marines' new 'Devil Dogs' nickname; four years later the Corps enlisted Jiggs, its first live Bulldog.

After which 2008 BBC documentary did the Kennel Club rewrite its Bulldog breed standard?

Pedigree Dogs Exposed caused such a furore that new standards for 209 breeds took force at once; the Bulldog's asked for a smaller head and fewer wrinkles, over its breed council's protests.

What do dog breeders call a jaw like the Bulldog's, where the lower teeth close in front of the upper?

Undershot jaws disqualify a German Shepherd from the show ring, yet the Bulldog standard demands one, 'projecting considerably' in front of the upper jaw and turning up.

Which country in 2019 began enforcing a law that makes Bulldogs illegal to breed?

Netherlands law draws the line at a muzzle about a third the length of the skull; the rule dates from 2014 but was enforced only once vets had set out how to measure it.

What happened to the 2022 Oslo ruling that banned breeding Bulldogs in Norway?

It was overturned on appeal for the Bulldog alone: the same court upheld the ban on breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that the Oslo judges had imposed alongside it.

Which wartime British prime minister became known as the 'British Bulldog'?

Winston Churchill earned it for his refusal to give in to Nazi Germany, and the pairing helped fix the Bulldog as a symbol of Britain itself.

Uga is the live Bulldog mascot of which university?

Georgia's initials, UGA, gave the dog his name; he watches home games from an air-conditioned doghouse on the sideline, often dozing on a bag of ice.

The first Uga, the famous Bulldog mascot, came to Sonny Seiler as what?

A wedding present from family friend Frank Heard: the pup appeared at the first home game of 1956, and the Seiler family has owned every Uga since.

Handsome Dan is the Bulldog mascot of which university?

Yale's first Handsome Dan was a student's pet, bought in 1889 and led across the field before every game; told to 'Speak to Harvard', he would bark himself into a rage.

What happened to the first Handsome Dan after the Bulldog mascot died in 1898?

He was stuffed and stood for years in the old gymnasium; he was later restored and sealed in a glass case in one of the university's trophy rooms.

The Bulldog mascot of the US Marine Corps is named after which highly decorated Marine?

Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history, lent his nickname in 1957; each new dog joins as a recruit and is trained for parade duty by the Chesty before him.

Butch the Bulldog is the long-running cartoon rival of which Disney dog?

Pluto started the feud by trying to steal Butch's bone in Bone Trouble (1940), the first of the macho Bulldog's eleven Disney cartoons.

What saved the Bulldog from dying out after its old sport was banned in 1835?

The rise of dog shows from 1859 gave fanciers a reason to keep breeding it, and they chose the gentlest dogs, trading the old ferocity for a companion's temper.

Which American breed descends from Judge, a Bulldog and white terrier cross brought from England around 1870?

Boston Terrier breeders mated the 32-pound Judge to a smaller white female and kept breeding down in size; the result has been the official dog of Massachusetts since 1979.

Which Victorian biologist's fierce public defence of evolution earned him the nickname 'Darwin's Bulldog'?

Thomas Henry Huxley took on the critics of evolution in public, a tenacity the nickname borrows from the breed; he also coined the word 'agnostic'.

A 2022 Royal Veterinary College study found Bulldogs 38 times likelier than other dogs to have which problem?

Skin fold dermatitis thrives in the breed's deep wrinkles, while the same study found Bulldogs far less prone than other dogs to dental disease, fleas and fatty lumps.

Which of these coats does the AKC Bulldog standard accept?

Piebald, white with patches of colour, is accepted on both sides of the Atlantic, while the AKC standard names merle as a disqualification along with any colour it does not list.

In Bulldog breed standards, the thick, hanging upper lips are known as chops or what?

Flews hang over the lower jaw at each side, and for all the breed's fierce look both standards want the teeth all but hidden behind them when the mouth is shut.

Where is each Bulldog who has served as the mascot Uga laid to rest?

In a vault at the stadium: each Uga is sealed in marble near the main gate with a bronze epitaph, and fans leave flowers there before home games.

Tillman the Bulldog set a 2009 Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 metres by a dog on what?

A skateboard is a favourite Bulldog trick, since the breed learns stunts easily; Tillman covered his 100 metres in under 20 seconds at the 2009 X Games.

Which band's song became 'Hey Bulldog' after one member began barking during the 1968 recording?

The Beatles had been recording it as 'Hey Bullfrog' until Paul McCartney barked during the ad-libbed ending, and the song took its new title to fit.

Which university's Bulldog mascot is named Bully?

Mississippi State treats Bully as a title, not a name: each live Bulldog inherits it from the last in a ceremony, and answers at home to a name of his own.

Displaced lace workers from which English city took Toy Bulldogs to Normandy, seeding the French Bulldog?

Nottingham's lace workers took their little Bulldogs along when machines closed their workshops; Paris fell for the dogs, and English breeders were soon exporting their smallest to meet demand.

Which Montmartre painter made several pictures of Bouboule, a restaurant owner's French Bulldog?

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec drew Bouboule, pet of the woman who ran the restaurant La Souris; by then the little Bulldogs first kept by Paris butchers and cafe owners were the height of fashion.

Which ear type did the French Bull Dog Club of America's first standard prefer?

Erect 'bat' ears became the rule after an English judge in New York gave his 1897 prizes only to rose-eared dogs; furious owners formed the club and staged a bat-ears-only show at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Which breed's 31-year run as America's most popular did the French Bulldog end in 2022?

Labrador Retriever registrations had topped the AKC list every year since 1991, while the Frenchie had been only 14th as recently as 2012.

A champion French Bulldog named Gamin de Pycombe went down with which ocean liner?

Titanic passenger Robert Daniel survived the sinking and later filed an insurance claim for his champion, last seen trying to keep afloat as the ship went down.

Bulldogs are prone to a prolapsed tear gland in the corner of the eye, better known as what?

Cherry eye gets its name from the red, fleshy lump that pops out beside the eye; a 2022 study found it about 27 times commoner in Bulldogs than in other dogs.