As well as it being a spectators sport a lot of money exchanged hands, and there was often large amounts waged on the results of the baits. This in turn meant the best bulldogs become very sort after and valuable, meaning that breeders began specifically breeding for type. The best bulldogs were bred to the best as time went on there became some obvious traits forming amongst the Bulldogs - the more muscular necks and shoulders the dog had the less likely he would be thrown off the bull, and the powerful jaw was a must. The dogs that were not overly large but had strong frames and thick bone began to prevail, There was no real standard but from the images, paintings, etchings, accounts and descriptions there appears to be a clear type amongst the bulldogs - These examples can be seen in art work, photos and read about in various written accounts of bull baits

In 1835 bull baiting was made illegal by an act of parliament, after this the number of pure bred bulldogs reduced dramatically. These larger powerful dogs had very little use anymore, and were very uneconomical to keep. The ban on bull baiting lead to an increase of popularity in dog fighting, and most of the best stock was outcrossed to terriers to produce a lighter framed fighting dog for the pit, or breed to pug for fashion and conveniance in size.

Below is a gallery of images of everything from Prints, paintings, statues and even skulls realated to bulldog history that we have found interesting and relevant to our bulldogs - The skulls in particular are concrete evidence of the size and structure of the original bulldog;

This short Video clip explains very clearly the dramatic change in the bulldog over years, to suit the show ring and modern day breed standards:
More often than not at the detriment of the health and quality of life for the dog.
We have no interest in slating the Kennel Club or Show K.C Bulldog breeders, however we do find it hard to understand how they can justify breeding such extreme, exaggerated and genetically deformed dogs, that suffer so badly. Its very sad to see, and at times uncomfortable to watch, one can only imagine the sorry life the modern show Bulldog has to lead.
There has been reports of the Kennel Club improving the breeding guidelines and encouraging better breeding practices amongst Bulldog breeders which would be a massive step forward for this long suffering breed.
We can only hope for the future.

Below are various examples of artwork that we have collected depicting the early original working Bulldog. As you can see from these images, they were in no way exaggerated or extreme in appearance, quite the opposite. These were functional, athletic and very capable dog - Many are very similar to our own Bulldogs. It is always worth remembering that these examples of artwork are just interpretations of what an artist saw, so are never going to be exact example like the skulls above. However the likelihood of all of these examples you see above to be so coincidentally alike is very unlikely.
This artwork is all we have left of the original Bulldogs of Olde, its a great shame. This certianly was a Bulldog a nation could be proud of and call its Icon.