BULL TERRIER TIMES COMPILATION

Norseman's Critique of S B T Article

"It's true to say that the dog 'Rosa' shown in the painting bears more than a passing resemblance to some modern Staffords. People should not be surprised at this, because despite many writings to the contrary, there exists no evidence that a cross was ever made to Terriers to create our breed. It may at first seem madness to suggest such a thing, but when examined in depth, Stafford history shows the events and reasons generally given to be nothing more than assumptions and guesswork. Indeed, it becomes clear that the breed we call the Staffordshire Bull Terrier received a name first, and then the history was created.

Baiting sports were indeed outlawed in 1835, but to suggest that our breed was in the 'wilderness' until Kennel Club recognition is wrong. The baiting dogs of the time were still kept and admired by those who valued them for their gameness, often using them as outcrosses to other breeds to improve the qualities of these other dogs. These owners were more interested in whether the dog could undertake his task, rather than how he looked. Baiting continued to be participated in well into the late 1800's. However, as it was illegal, large crowds were not encouraged. It was far easier to hold clandestine dog-fights rather than events with larger animals, and these matches would be held inside, often in pubs. In these areas the spectators would have been much closer to the action, and trying to contain an excited 50lb dog would have been difficult. Smaller examples would have been easier to handle and these smaller dogs began to become popular.

Further evidence that baiting continued, is to be found in an 1889 book on the bulldog by Fulton. In it, he writes from memory of a bull-baiting that took place in Greenwich. He describes how Bull-dogs, very different from the ones exhibited at the time, were run at the Bull. One has only to examine old paintings and prints that depicted baiting, etc. They clearly show the dogs that Fulton is describing; very different to Bulldogs but identical to Staffords. Of course these dogs were named according to their main function at the time, Bull dogs. Not all dogs of this type were run at the bull, the pastime cost money and the poorer classes tested their dogs against other dogs.

The qualities that the baiting dogs possessed were ideally suited to all forms of combat and in particular dog-fighting. The 'official' history suggests that this was not so, as the the dog held too much and drew too little blood. This is a fallacy which history compounds further by explaining dog-fighting rules. The sole aim of dog matching is to find the most game dog, however, this is not always the winning dog. The dog who is most game, is the one which will continue to fight regardless of the punishment that he receives. It cannot be sensible to claim therefore that the old time dogmen bred their dogs to 'let go' more and have less instinct to hold, as Cairns suggested. It is the tenacious dog who keeps his hold that shows his willingness to fight, whereas the dog that does not keep its hold would appear to be unwilling to continue, and wants to give up the fight. What's more, once the dogs were fighting the aim would be to bite hard and thus injure or incapacitate the opponent. With this in mind, it does not seem credible to suggest that jaw strength was reduced and thus makes this less probable. It would be akin to Mike Tyson working on his fighting style, to enable him to punch lighter.

What is more, the dog fighting rules mentioned explain that dogs 'out-of-hold' can be counted out. With that in mind, would dogs be crossed with Terriers to 'let go' more. The Stafford, with the exception of perhaps the American Pit Bull Terrier, has the strongest jaw of any dog, coupled with an instinct to hold on. It is obvious that the argument given for reducing jaw strength is perhaps the clearest example, of how the idea of a Terrier cross is being woven into the baiting dogs history, with little or no evidence to support it.

The article then goes on to extol the virtues of owning a white-coated dog, claiming that the blood showed more clearly on its coat, thereby providing more visible blood and attracting more spectators; yet more inaccurate information. It seems to have been forgotten that the pastime was illegal. The reason that whites predominated amongst baiting dogs was due to the fact that they were descended from the 'Alunt', a white-coated mastiff type dog, brought to Europe by tribes from Asia, and used as guards, hunters and sporting dogs. Boxers also originate from the Alunt and a glimpse at photographs of old Boxer (or 'Bullenbeiser') Shows reveal a majority of the dogs to be completely white. White still occurs in Boxer litters despite the attempts of exhibition breeders to eradicate the colour.

Let it not be forgotten the 'official' history explains that the bull-baiting dog had small teeth to help him hold on to the bull, but which were no good in drawing blood. The Terrier blood was then introduced to lengthen the teeth (weaken the jaw and reduce the holding instinct). Can it really be, that smaller teeth were more efficient at holding flesh than long ones? Of course not! The American Bulldog is quite capable of holding a wild boar during the hunt with 'normal' sized teeth, as is the Dogo Argenteno. It is assumed that because the modern Bulldog has small teeth, the old baiting dogs must have had them too. This is forgetting of course that the modern-day Bulldog has been crossed with all manner of dogs, including the Pug, to obtain the ultra-short face; not a characteristic of the early baiting dogs.

To sum up, the Bulldog that we know today bears no resemblance to the baiting and fighting dog of the 1800's, whereas the Stafford is identical. Early fanciers of the Bulldog such as Farnham and Fulton acknowledge that the Bulldog, with its ultra-short muzzle, was a show development. The excuse given for the muzzle, was that the dog needed the nose turned up in order to breathe with a hold on the Bull. The wrinkles that cause so much discomfort, were required to drain the blood from the dogs eyes. Strange, when we've been told that; a: the Bulldogs short teeth drew very little blood, hence the Terrier cross, and once he took hold he never let go, so what did he need to look at...and b: other dogs that hunt by biting and holding do not possess ultra-short muzzles, or turned up noses. The Stafford, as previously mentioned has no problem with biting or holding. It seems as though a story has been created to explain a deformity.

Thus, I believe that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is the original baiting dog, with no crosses. The 'official' history has been created to fit the nameand not the facts. A name considered because the Bull Terrier, touted as the gladiator of the canine race, had already been Kennel Club registered. This dog had hard evidence of Terrier cross and was registered by its creator James Hinks. This dog was widely admired for its alleged gladatorial prowess; what a shame when it was everything the Stafford was, and the Bull Terrier was not

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