The History of the Bulldog and Genetic Issues
Amanda Rutherford. October 2016.
There is speculation as to the precise origin of the Bulldog but historians agree that the common ancestor is the Alaunt which “was the deadliest fighting dog the world had ever seen.... the Alaunt 'war dog' was the ultimate medieval status symbol” (The Courier Reporter, 2015). The ‘Book of dogs’ (Caius, 1576) refers to the early Bulldog as ‘Mastive’ or ‘Bandogge’ which was a vast dog, huge and stubborn, ugly and eager with a heavy and burdenous body which was able to bait and take the bull by the ear.
Only a maximum of two dogs were ever required to do the bull-baiting irrespective of how large or untamed the bull was. These dogs were kept tied in chains or locked in secure bonds and in time became known as “fighting dogs of Britain” and later the “broad-mouthed dogs of Britain”. There is no doubt that this was a ferocious breed of dog whose function was to guard, control and bait bulls.
Bull-baiting was very popular in the middle-ages and butchers were required to bait all bulls prior to slaughter. In 1631 the name of ‘Bulldog’ first appeared in a letter from Eaton to Wellingham asking his friend to send him some good Bulldogs (Read, 2013). By the 1800s the Bulldog was depicted having a round and full head with short muzzle, small ears a round body, wide chest with very muscular and strong limbs, and “the most striking character is the under-jaw almost uniformly projecting beyond the upper” (Harewood, 1835, p. 66).
In 1835 bull-baiting was made illegal by British parliament and the number of Bulldogs diminished rapidly. The pure bred Bulldogs were saved by a few enthusiasts, however “by the 1840s most of them had been almost entirely eliminated” (Malcolmson, 1970, p. 21). In 1864 the first Bulldog breed club emerged producing the ‘Philo-Kuan’ which was the first breed standard. In 1875 a second club began and through the start of the exhibition of dogs the Bulldog Club Inc in London saw specific Bulldogs emerging as exemplarily specimens of the breed resulting in frequent use in breeding programmes and selection was based on the Eugenics movement which was very popular at this time (Harrison, 2008).
Eugenics, meaning well-born, was the idea that humans could selectively breed individuals with desirable traits with one another to achieve a race free from defects and deformity (University of San Diego, 2015). This is the same principle followed by Adolf Hitler. The Bulldog is suggested to have been genetically compromised at this point as the eugenic selective breeding based on aesthetics led to exclusion of some dogs in the gene pool.
This reduced genetic pool was the basis for recent research into the genetic weakness of the breed. The assumption, there were not enough dogs remaining at this crucial point in history to create a stable gene pool as has been suggested in the recent study A Genetic assessment of the English Bulldog (Pederson, 2016) where he concluded that “English bulldogs have very low genetic diversity resulting from a small founder population and artificial genetic bottlenecks” (Pederson, 2016, p. 6). Pederson argues that this genetic bottle neck is the cause of the current health problems in the breed. The Bulldog has been named as one of the unhealthiest breed of pedigree dogs which, as found in this study, seems to present itself as more fiction and perception than fact.
Pederson’s 2016 research has been disputed and undermined by earlier research that he had already carried out into canine genetic variation in 2002. The research Analysis of genetic variation in 28 dog breed populations with 100 microsatellite markers (Irion, 2003) found that genetic diversity of the Bulldog is within the average across the 28 tested breeds and that “the results of this study support previous findings that a wide genetic variation exists between current dog breeds” (Irion, 2003, p. 86).
The reason for such a discrepancy in his 2016 research could be the small sample size of 102 dogs and that they lacked thorough geographical representation. (Pederson, 2016). These dogs were the control group however their DNA had been originally submitted for testing in order to ascertain the colour gene, which was an unreliable source as the colour gene is a genetic fault of the breed.
In order for breeders to get the colours required it is necessary to test for the colour genes to ensure they achieve the incorrect coat colour. By making these dogs the ‘control group’ there is a strong possibility of close blood relatives being tested as this coloured gene pool is very limited. As such the 2016 study by Pederson is not conclusive and raises more questions about the way in which genetic problems of the bulldog can be assessed. The normal use of control groups is difficult in these studies when the breed is worldwide and this research uses a control group with a small global sample. A wide range of samples is required that is not dominated by DNA which was focused on one specific trait such as colour.
In order to obtain accurate research it would be imperative for a vast sampling to be done across all continents. As such I have offered to Pederson my entire kennel for testing and requested additional tester kits to obtain DNA from around New Zealand and Australia. To date I have had no response from Pederson. I remain hopeful that accurate research will be done however am beginning to wonder if perhaps this is not on the agenda at all.
Amanda Rutherford. October 2016.
There is speculation as to the precise origin of the Bulldog but historians agree that the common ancestor is the Alaunt which “was the deadliest fighting dog the world had ever seen.... the Alaunt 'war dog' was the ultimate medieval status symbol” (The Courier Reporter, 2015). The ‘Book of dogs’ (Caius, 1576) refers to the early Bulldog as ‘Mastive’ or ‘Bandogge’ which was a vast dog, huge and stubborn, ugly and eager with a heavy and burdenous body which was able to bait and take the bull by the ear.
Only a maximum of two dogs were ever required to do the bull-baiting irrespective of how large or untamed the bull was. These dogs were kept tied in chains or locked in secure bonds and in time became known as “fighting dogs of Britain” and later the “broad-mouthed dogs of Britain”. There is no doubt that this was a ferocious breed of dog whose function was to guard, control and bait bulls.
Bull-baiting was very popular in the middle-ages and butchers were required to bait all bulls prior to slaughter. In 1631 the name of ‘Bulldog’ first appeared in a letter from Eaton to Wellingham asking his friend to send him some good Bulldogs (Read, 2013). By the 1800s the Bulldog was depicted having a round and full head with short muzzle, small ears a round body, wide chest with very muscular and strong limbs, and “the most striking character is the under-jaw almost uniformly projecting beyond the upper” (Harewood, 1835, p. 66).
In 1835 bull-baiting was made illegal by British parliament and the number of Bulldogs diminished rapidly. The pure bred Bulldogs were saved by a few enthusiasts, however “by the 1840s most of them had been almost entirely eliminated” (Malcolmson, 1970, p. 21). In 1864 the first Bulldog breed club emerged producing the ‘Philo-Kuan’ which was the first breed standard. In 1875 a second club began and through the start of the exhibition of dogs the Bulldog Club Inc in London saw specific Bulldogs emerging as exemplarily specimens of the breed resulting in frequent use in breeding programmes and selection was based on the Eugenics movement which was very popular at this time (Harrison, 2008).
Eugenics, meaning well-born, was the idea that humans could selectively breed individuals with desirable traits with one another to achieve a race free from defects and deformity (University of San Diego, 2015). This is the same principle followed by Adolf Hitler. The Bulldog is suggested to have been genetically compromised at this point as the eugenic selective breeding based on aesthetics led to exclusion of some dogs in the gene pool.
This reduced genetic pool was the basis for recent research into the genetic weakness of the breed. The assumption, there were not enough dogs remaining at this crucial point in history to create a stable gene pool as has been suggested in the recent study A Genetic assessment of the English Bulldog (Pederson, 2016) where he concluded that “English bulldogs have very low genetic diversity resulting from a small founder population and artificial genetic bottlenecks” (Pederson, 2016, p. 6). Pederson argues that this genetic bottle neck is the cause of the current health problems in the breed. The Bulldog has been named as one of the unhealthiest breed of pedigree dogs which, as found in this study, seems to present itself as more fiction and perception than fact.
Pederson’s 2016 research has been disputed and undermined by earlier research that he had already carried out into canine genetic variation in 2002. The research Analysis of genetic variation in 28 dog breed populations with 100 microsatellite markers (Irion, 2003) found that genetic diversity of the Bulldog is within the average across the 28 tested breeds and that “the results of this study support previous findings that a wide genetic variation exists between current dog breeds” (Irion, 2003, p. 86).
The reason for such a discrepancy in his 2016 research could be the small sample size of 102 dogs and that they lacked thorough geographical representation. (Pederson, 2016). These dogs were the control group however their DNA had been originally submitted for testing in order to ascertain the colour gene, which was an unreliable source as the colour gene is a genetic fault of the breed.
In order for breeders to get the colours required it is necessary to test for the colour genes to ensure they achieve the incorrect coat colour. By making these dogs the ‘control group’ there is a strong possibility of close blood relatives being tested as this coloured gene pool is very limited. As such the 2016 study by Pederson is not conclusive and raises more questions about the way in which genetic problems of the bulldog can be assessed. The normal use of control groups is difficult in these studies when the breed is worldwide and this research uses a control group with a small global sample. A wide range of samples is required that is not dominated by DNA which was focused on one specific trait such as colour.
In order to obtain accurate research it would be imperative for a vast sampling to be done across all continents. As such I have offered to Pederson my entire kennel for testing and requested additional tester kits to obtain DNA from around New Zealand and Australia. To date I have had no response from Pederson. I remain hopeful that accurate research will be done however am beginning to wonder if perhaps this is not on the agenda at all.
