30/08/2023
Some Bullmastiff Breed History 🩵🦮
The Bullmastiff’s nickname is “The Gamekeeper’s Night Dog,” and this pretty much sums up the breed’s early history.
During the mid- to late 19th century, the vast country estates and game preserves of the English aristocracy were the irresistible targets of poachers. “Penalties were severe,” wrote a breed historian, “yet poaching seemed impossible to eradicate by mere laws.” Because a poacher might face the death penalty if captured, they had nothing to lose when encountering an estate’s gamekeeper. They might choose to shoot it out with the gamekeeper when cornered, rather than face the gallows.
Gamekeepers responded by breeding dogs big, swift, and brave enough to pursue and pin a man prowling the grounds in the dead of night. Eventually they hit upon just the right combination of breeding stock by crossing Mastiffs to Bulldogs at a ratio of 60 percent Mastiff and 40 percent Bulldog. The new breed was smart enough to work on command, tractable enough to hold but not maul a poacher, a big enough to scare the bejesus out of any intruder.🐾
https://showsightmagazine.com/bullmastiff-proportion-weight-crank-tails/
📷AKC Library
