| Bullmoose Bullmastiffs "Histories are full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends." Alexander Pope |
| Bullmastiff History |
| Let's begin with the name "bullmastiff". Bullmastiff was at one time two words. After 1939, a one word description of the breed became generally used and accepted. The real story of the bullmastiff began in England in the 1880's. The dog was developed to aid in the efforts to control poaching. Estates were interested in keeping their wildlife for their own needs. Life was hard and the common man also needed food and money to support himself. Stealing game from the estates for one's own needs or selling that stolen game was too tempting to resist. Penalties were high so the resistance of the poacher to being caught doing the deed was also high. The poacher used a dog himself to drive the game into snares. This dog would also be a problem to the gamekeeper. The gamekeeper's job was to protect the estate's wildlife interests; and also if possible, to apprehend the poacher. What the gamekeeper needed was a bold dog of substance that would not only protect the gamekeeper, but also could apprehend and hold the poacher. This need provided the spur to initiate this man-made breed
The dog developed was a combination of bulldog and mastiff. Sixty percent mastiff and forty percent bulldog are the numbers most commonly used to describe the combination of the two contributors. The bulldog of that time was a fierce animal and beared little resemblance to the squat, rolling animal we see today. The tenacity of the earlier bulldogs and the size of the mastiff proved to be a good combination. The first bullmastiff was registered to the English Kennel Club in 1881. Perhaps the dog most written about in the early 1900's as an outstanding example of what a "nightdog should be, was a dog owned by Mr. W Burton of Thorneywoods. He had a brindle named Terror that he used to give demonstrations of what the Bullmastiff could do. Mr. Burton offered prize money to anyone who could stand up against the dog, which was always muzzled during these competitions. Terror made a sizable reputation for itself and for what the breed could do, which explains why you can expect to read about him in most of the breeds written histories. Bullmastiffs were imported to the United States in 1935. Some of these early dogs guarded the large estate of John D. Rockefeller. To investigate the breed further, information can be obtained from the AKC library. However it is not free of charge. Some years ago my daughter decided to do a high school paper on the bullmastiff. She used her initiative and called up the AKC. I got the unexpected bill later. US and English standards do differ in wording. I will be including the US standard on another one of my pages. Please take a look at the standard because all bullmastiff breeders need to do their best at trying to produce dogs that adhere to it. The standard is an ideal, but it also provides guidelines for what the breed expectations happen to be. Today the bullmastiff remains a courageous dog that is up to the task of guarding the home. They are expected to be bold and fearless; but at the same time, they should be expected to be a well balanced dog that is controllable. This is a dog that was developed to be a team player. Today he is a valued member of the family he loves and should be expected to guard that family well..
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