Feed Item
i have this book also , and there where some points i disagreed with , but i knw that st. bernard was crossed , bc i have seen a long haired american bulldog out of 2 shorted hairded parents and they where NKC , he said johd. johnson did the outcross.
Comments
    • I just start to read this book and finished the first chapter about the origin of the AB and some theories. The author spend many pages about the topic. In general Mr. Putnam have consulted many old books or some work that had been quote old books, unfortunately he did not like to write the bibliography. I just do not agree with some theory written in this book about the infusion of St.Bernard, Pug and Terrier so as Filas Brasileiros.The other thing is the author need to know more about settlement of Brazil, they were Portuguese and not Spanish like the author imagine the ancestral of Fila was. Dogo Argentino also had many recently cross so as with APBT.The Cuba Mastiff and Perro Zimarrone were the dogs that had Spanish Bulldogs and Mastiff in their origin. I desagree too about the author in persist to trace the ancient crossed of AB tracing back to old Bulldogs and the white colors, because is something very easy to breed out in 4 generations or less. The other thing i am very interesting is his knowlodge about hunting wild hog and claimed about the pure Bulldog the AB is the best breed to hunting hogs.I beleive that some sort of AB are very good in these job and could have high performance but i know many particular breeder that have some they own breed and for jaguar hunting and hogs in Hawai (javali) and they cross are some % around 25% of APBT and other mix of hounds , probably high % of Fox Hound, and the selective breeding program had been did not more than 8 generations. The author insist in talked about some selective program the many sort of bulldog had passing from 200-300 years to prove the purity of the AB, its hard to imagine those many years without any out crossing to increase the vigor and consequently breed out again. The pure Bulldog never exist... from the first sort of the dog that had the job to deal with Bulls from now , many sort had coexist together.The performance dogs always had crossed in cycles to maintain the vigor.The ancient breeders did not had afraid to use foreigner breed that shows better performance and the infusion of better dogs were more than common its a requirement. The modern sort of AB its wonderfull, the genes that this breed have , with EB, APBT and or not and the drives for hunting, guard , weight pulling and many other task like cattle its a oportunity.All breeds have positive and negative points.... no breed could claim for the best in the canine world. In my opinion this book is very good i saw (readed) many excelent points and some theories that today with the genoma most of them failed. The author had deep knowlodge about the modern AB and wrote many info that still interest me a lot.The Johnson line was describe perfectly, so as other good points of view. I recommend this book for those like to buy a AB and for those that already have been starting to bred AB.I hardly recommend the reader to buy together , the book of The World Of APBT by Stratton and Colby books of the APBT, for simultaneously reading.
      • i have this book also , and there where some points i disagreed with , but i knw that st. bernard was crossed , bc i have seen a long haired american bulldog out of 2 shorted hairded parents and they where NKC , he said johd. johnson did the outcross.
        • St bernard was used in the Johnsons line, fact. You only have to see St b move and you can tell straight away that johnson used them. I know a man that bred a St Bernard to a big Johnsons bitch here in london and got a few long haired monsters 150 pounds plus, he had to put a few down they kept turning on their owners.
          • Has anybody ever heard what breeds Alan Scott used? Ive never been able to find anything. I assumed different hounds were used.
            • I bought a version at a used book store(not in perfect condition) I haven't finished reading it yet though(I need to find it)...I have read other dog books opinionated like that too,no dog is the best at everything of course. I never seen a long-haired AB....
              • There were pre existing bulldog type dogs that Scott used so he didn't create anything. However the notion that the AB is some original bulldog is hilarious just as much as the idea that any bulldog of anytime is some "pure" dog. Here is about as accurate idea of the history that is posted online which is taken from bulldoginformation.com History courtesy of bulldoginformation.com Regarding the American Bulldog's origins there are three main theories. According to the first one, the American Bulldog was brought over to America by the colonists, where they were primarily used as farm guards, stock dogs gathering cattle and as pack dogs to hunt or tree bears. It is, according to this theory, the "original" English Bulldog which has survived unchanged in remote rural communities, just as it was when it was still a working breed rather than the present-day English Bulldog. According to the second one, the American Bulldog is a "made-up" breed concocted from a mixture of other breeds. The third one consists of a combination of theories (1) and (2). Basically, the "original" English Bulldog was an ancestor of today's American Bulldog but he has been much modified through the years by selective breeding and judicious outcrosses. We should remember at this point that many of the bullbreeds we know today are ultimately descended from the "original" English Bulldog: this includes Bullmastiffs, Staffordshires, English Bull Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers among others. All of these were selectively bred to create very different dogs, each suited to his individual purpose. The advocates of the first theory believe the American Bulldog is the pure embodiment of the original English Bulldog as it looked when the early settlers from the British Isles and Europe came to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. This idea was popularized by a couple of breeders, probably as a marketing ploy to sell their dogs. Others have eagerly swallowed the story, enabling its passage from myth to modern legend to widely-perceived truth. Records do exist which show that many bulldogs and bull terriers were exported to America and many contemporary British paintings and sculptures show bulldogs which look similar to American Bulldogs, and many people point to these as evidence to support this belief. The white coloring predominant in today's American Bulldogs was also the base color of most of the English bulldogs of that times, which could suggest a very strong link. However, it seems highly unlikely that the original English bulldog could possibly have survived unchanged in America for hundreds of years; through the generations he would have been interbred and shaped by his environment and the needs of his masters. This theory does have a certain romantic attraction to it however, so it is easy to understand it's continuing popularity. The advocates of the second theory believe the American Bulldog was created from a blend of various types of dog, which of course is true for every breed. More important is to know what exactly where the foundation dogs of these breeding programs, hence, the third theory option. The third theory, and the probably the one closest to the truth, is that the American Bulldog is descended from a selectively-bred blend of bulldogs and bull terriers. Immigrants from the British Isles, Spain and Northern Europe brought their prized bulldogs and bull terriers with them on their voyage to the New World, where they would certainly have proved their worth in many ways. The dogs provided welcome protection in a sometimes hostile land and also were invaluable to the livestock farmer whose cattle and pigs roamed unfenced over wide areas; this made the livestock hard for the farmer to catch when required, and so the "catch dog" came into being. The selective breeding that had created a dog with the strength, tenacity, courage and longing to seize a bull at a baiting or engage in some other form of animal combat now made him the free-range livestock farmer's best friend. In his new role the bulldog could seize a cow or pig and and hold him firm until his handlers joined him to tie or slaughter the animal. In addition those same abilities made him a most formidable tool for hunting wild game, a scenario the American Bulldog continues to excel in today in parts of the United States. His major role however was as a general watchdog and companion more than anything else, which continues to be the breed's forte. Pedigrees or other records were not kept, these were not show dogs so there was no need. Natural selection governed the development of the bulldog in America in those times, and as working dogs in a harsh world, poor performing dogs either died in action or would be culled by their owners. Breedings would be decided purely on a dog's abilities: If you had a good bitch and wanted a litter and you knew someone who had a good proven dog then a tie might be arranged to create another generation of working bulldogs, some of which may have been sold to provide a little extra cash in those tough times. Many breeding experiments would undoubtedly have been tried over the many decades that have elapsed since those first bulldogs and bull terriers landed in America, some successful and some probably less so. For example, some hound blood was likely crossed in to help enhance the breed's hunting/tracking/baying abilities. Higher proportions of terrier blood would have added tenacity and quickness to some strains too. An extra dose of modern "sour-mug" English Bulldog blood has apparently been added by at least one well known breeder in fairly recent history to increase the "bulliness" of his lines. A couple of mystery ingredients have probably been added too at some points back in the past. This old recipe probably holds true for all lines/types of American Bulldog with only the proportions of ingredients varying. However the American bulldog is now certainly far enough away from its "root-breeds" to unquestionably be regarded a true breed in its own right, and a fine and versatile one too. I have been around and involved in bulldogs my whole life and anyone from any breed apbt, AB, etc,etc that says they have some pure blah blah blah is full of shit. All that shit doesn't matter anyways as far as dogs "ingredients". So long as you have dogs that succesfully fulfill a certain function a consistent form and temperament will follow. In otherwords the dogs ability to perform said function makes it worthy of it's name. Good Day Fellas
                Login or Join to comment.