Saturday, December 10, 2011

Some dogs don't let go



The Record Union, Sacramento, April 11, 1891

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

When it comes to this report I think this is one of the few cases in which an english bulldog showed the capacity to maul someone. This is probably because this was before the breed became the wreck it is known as today. Probably because the breed of old and recreation of the breed today most likely looked like this, this, and this. Images gathered from this site.

The first kennel club show was held in 1890 and you can see a image of a english bulldog before it become heavily deformed in their first poster edition.

Also, one of the images I just showed you? Seems as though the man depicted is a dogman as he boosts both and olde english bulldog and pit bulldogs or just bulldogs. Aka the American Pit Bull Terrier… And so I think it's no coincidence that his old english bulldogs have a lot of the same structure as the pit bulls depicted.

More vintage bulldog fun. Although several of these dogs are deformed.

link
link
The Bouncer
1920's English Bulldog
Dated Photo Of Boy & English Bulldog

Either the "bulldog" was an old type English Bullldogge, or an APBT. But I wouldn't hold the latter against my judgment.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

That's very true. But it could also be media error. Based on all of the media's track record of breed misidentification, i suspect this could have been a bulldog. just look at what the media labeled Colby's killer dog.

There has been confusion since the beginning, could be innocent, could be deliberate. As more and more archives are made available to the public, we might be able to answer that question.

Thank you anon for these links. In addition to stories, we are also interested photos and graphics. And doesn't the bulldog in this kennel club illustration look menacing?

Anonymous said...

It seems to be more of a media error than anything else. Although there is the slim possibility that the bulldog in question could have been one of the last surviving english bulldog type dogs.

But that doesn't change the fact that the dog was obviously had some level of aggression bred into it - hello it's a 1800's bulldog - and thus proves it's not "all in how you raise them." Breeding is a key component of any dog line. And sadly - the pit nutters resist this all to evident fact.

Report errors happen. But most people back then seem to be more dog savvy than people of today. Mostly because they weren't brainwashed by "find the pit bull" games and understood that nature normally dictates breed and breed lines. So compared to the purposeful bred cofusion of today in media reports; I can believe that this was an honest mistake on the reporter's end.

I would also like to point out that even if this was an english bulldog; this does't discount the plethora of reports that were done by "bulldogs" aka pit bull dogs aka American Pit Bull Terriers aka Staffordshire Terriers from that same era.

Anonymous said...

Boston Bulldogs, aka Olde Boston Bulldogs, aka Boston Pit Dog, aka Boston Bull Terriers, aka Boston Terriers were slightly smaller than the APBT and most had defined tuxedo markings to some measure back in the early years of the breed.

The APBT and Boston Terrier, known as the other names back in the day, were from around the same time period. The only difference is that their days in the pit were short lived due to not being suited for such a thing and were soon bred with sound temperaments to be family pets for pets for the elite.

The Boston Terrier is a pit bull but unlike it's APBT cousin it is not prone to vicious behavior and any reports of such seem to quickly shatter well after a decade while the reports of bulldogs and pit bulldogs seem to be consistent and rise as the decades pass. Even today. no one can produce maulings and deaths attributed to the Boston as they can the APBT. Mostly because the latter is STILL bred for aggression on a large scale...

Here's some good vintage Boston fun.

Boston & French Bulldogs
1913 Men's Ad
20's Boston
Officer & Bostons
Fighting Boston
20's and 30's High Class with Bostons
40's Boston


And sadly; these dogs have been purposefully confused as "pit bulls" (APBTs) by various organizations that post vintage photos of these dogs. Check out Bad Rap's new "Vintage Photos which shows, as clear as day... a Boston Terrier as the header of the page. Of course, they skew the definition in their favor...

"Who doesn't love old family photos? If you have a favorite vintage photo of a pit bull type dog, please consider sharing it so other dog lovers can enjoy. Include your name so we can credit you along with any info you might have about the photo. Thank you!"

They are exploiting pit bulls who AREN'T APBTs to support their breed of choice... the APBT! How dishonest can you be?

Anonymous said...

I think that the whole "Pit Bull" epidemic is ridiculous. Okay, It is sad that vicious dogs have attacked and killed innocent people, but the first post even suggests that dog was provoked being teased. There have been kids massacre schools because they were teased but we don't considered every kid to be a "killer".

Anonymous said...

I live alone, if I need protection instead of having a best friends, who adores me and will if needed be able to protect me and scare off any danger, I should just...... buy a Gun??? Because that would make more sense. Dogs protect on instinct it's their nature no matter the breed, but a poodle is not going to be effective to a robber or rapist.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

speaking of the school massacre...