Miniature Bulldog

Miniature Bulldog.

The Miniature Bulldog

" Pellfas had a great, bulging, powerful forehead, like that of Socrates or Verlaine ; and, under a little black nose, blunt as a churlish assent, a pair of large, hanging and symmetrical chops, which made his head a sort of massive, obstinate, pensi'je, and three-cornered menace. He was beautiful after the manner of a beautiful natural monster that has complied strictly with the hws of his species. And what a smile of attentive obligingness, of incorruptible innocence, of affectionate submission, of boundless gratitude, and total self-abandonment, lit up, at the least caress, that adorable mask of ugliness ! " MAETERLINCK.

"Miniature Bulldogs are an acquired taste," said a friend to me ; and while I was meditating an adequate reply, he rashly added : " Like coffee or caviare." This gave me my opening, and I hastened to assure him that there is nobody who is anybody, that is to say who does not nowadays both know and highly appreciate coffee, caviare, and Toy Bulldogs ! Not to so do would be, indeed, to argue oneself unknown ! It is also another of the many proofs that history repeats herself. For fifty or sixty years ago, Toy or, rather, as a recent edict of the Kennel Club requires them to be dubbed, Miniature Bulldogs were common objects of the canine country-side. In fact, you can hardly ever talk for ten minutes to any Bulldog breeder of old standing without his telling you tall stories of the wonderful little Bulldogs, weighing about fifteen or sixteen pounds, he either knew or owned, in those long-past days !

Prominent among those who made a cult of these " Bantams " were the laceworkers of Nottingham, and many prints are extant which bear witness to the excellent little specimens they bred. But a wave of unpopularity overwhelmed them, and they faded across the Channel to France, where, if, as is asserted, our Gallic neighbours appreciated them highly, they cannot be said to have taken much care to preserve their best points. When, in 1898, a small but devoted band of admirers revived them in England, they returned most attractive, 'tis true, but hampered by many undesirable features, such as bat ears, froggy faces, waving tails, and a general lack of Bulldog character. However, the Toy Bulldog Club then started numbered on its committee the late Mr. G. R. Krehl (who previously to that date had already imported some good specimens to England), the Hon. Mrs. Baillie, of Dochfour, Miss Augusta Bruce, Lady Lewis, and the present writer.

The club took the dogs vigorously in hand, and, having obtained them their charter as a recognised breed from the Kennel Club, proceeded to make slow but sure progress, and this notwithstanding the fact that in 1902 a violent split occurred in its ranks. Owing to various differences of opinion a certain number of members then left and proceeded to form themselves into what is now known as the French Bulldog Club of England. Thanks to the original club's unceasing efforts, Toy Bulld3g3 have always since been catered for at an ever increasing number of shows. The original solitary " mixed open " class, for all sexes and sorts, is now split up into various separate classes, suited to sex, seniority, and other distinctions. Their weight, after much heated discussion and sundry downs and ups, was finally fixed at twenty-two pounds and under, this decision, by the way, costing them their original prefix. For the Kennel Club rightly decided that a sturdily built Bulldog of twenty-two pounds weight can in no sense be deemed a "Toy"! So the breed then blossomed forth as " Bulldogs Miniature," and have thriven well on the change both of weight~and name. In order to encourage small specimens a class for those under twenty pounds is guaranteed by the club at most big shows, and is generally well filled.

Another recent change has been that of ears. Bat ears, after being sadly suffered for a long time in the scale of points, have at last been firmly marked as a disqualification, and this by order of the Kennel Club. From the ist of January, 1907, all inbreeding with French Bulldogs has been absolutely forbidden, and the two breeds, so long confusedly intertwined, have at length been finally dissociated. Equally disqualifying are the shades of colour known, as black and blue the latter a kind of slaty grey, detested in the eyes of big Bulldog breeders.

The original aim of Miniature Bulldogs was to look like the larger variety seen through the wrong end of a telescope if not actually achieved, is being rapidly approached, and can no longer be looked upon as merely the hopeless dream of a and small, dating from sixty to eighty few enthusiasts ! That to get, in a dog years ago, the bat or prick ears are freweighing under twenty-two pounds, the quently to be noted ; a fact which weakens the contention held by many that they are the sign of a pure French breed, originating across the Channel.

To enumerate in detail the Miniature Bulldog scale of points is quite unnecessary, as it is simply that of the big ones writ small. In other words, " the general appearance of the Miniature Bulldog must as nearly as possible resemble that of the Big Bulldog " a terse sentence which comprises in itself all that can be said on the subject.

The club has a large and ever-increasing membership, and possesses the Duchess of Sutherland as President. From its original start the Duchess has been a warm supporter of the breed, and has owned some good specimens in the past. The Hon. Mrs. Baillie, of Dochfour, is still on the committee, and enormous size of skull, "cloddiness " of body, and thickness of bone obtainable in a forty-five or sixty pounds specimen, is a hard task there is no denying, but such prodigious strides have been made of late that one feels, given a few more years of patience and perseverance, it will come very near fulfilment.

Before passing to other matters, it is perhaps only right to mention, with all deference to our Gallic friends, that in many old prints of Bulldogs, big another member of the club is Mr. George Weinberg, of larger Bulldog fame. He owns two splendid miniatures in Tablet and Baby Bullet, of the big breed by no means scorn their and was the former owner of the incomsmaller brethren. Parable Champion No Trumps, one of the A few years ago Lady de Grey owned a best ever seen. Splendid little dog in Champion Bite, and of this goodly company comes last, Mr. W. R. Temple's Tulip and Mrs. Baillie's but far from least, Mrs. C. F. C. Clarke.

Also a well known owner of big " bulls." She had turned her attention to breeding and showing the smaller variety, and with great success, as her Mersham Snowdrop and Tiger the latter bred by her abundantly testify. In fact, had not Tiger unluckily just topped the weight limit he would undoubtedly have been about the best dog ever benched, and, as far as points (and particularly head properties) go, is as typical a Miniature Bulldog as could be found. The present writer has also the honour of being a committee-woman, and her Champion Xinon de 1'Enclos, Lady Cloda, Susan Anne, and Champion Bumps, the latter a very typical little dog and winner of twelve championships, have all upheld the prestige of the breed on the show bench. Mr. B. Marley, whose wife owns the celebrated Felton Bulldog kennels, is another member of the committee, so it will be seen that patrons Crib and Lena II were all hard to beat.

Of present-day dogs Mrs. Burrell, the sporting lady-master of the North Northumberland Foxhounds, can bench a real good one in Champion Little Truefit, as can Mrs. G. Raper in Little Model and Miss Farquharson in Peter Pan, the latter a beautiful little fawn dog, possessing rare bone and Bulldog character.

So much for the breed as show dogs, though a great deal more might be written of other successful winners on the bench. As companions and friends they are second to none, being faithful, fond, and even foolish in their devotion, as all true friends should be. They are absolutely and invariably good-tempered, and, as a rule, sufficiently fond of the luxuries of this life not to say greedy to be easily cajoled

Into obedience. Remarkably intelligent, and caring enough for sport to be sympathetically excited at the sight of a rabbit without degenerating into cranks on the subject like terriers. Taking a keen interest in all surrounding people and objects, without, however, giving way to ceaseless barking ; enjoying outdoor exercise, without requiring an exhausting amount, they are in every way ideal pets, and adapt themselves to town and country alike.

As puppies they are delicate, and require constant care and supervision ; but that only adds a keener zest to the attractive task of breeding them, the more so owing to the fact that as mothers they do not shine, being very difficult to manage, and generally manifesting a strong dislike to rearing their own offspring. In other respects they are quite hardy little dogs, and one great advantage they seldom have distemper. Cold and damp they particularly dislike, especially when puppies, and the greatest care should be taken to keep them thoroughly dry and warm. When very young indeed they can stand, and are the better for, an extraordinary amount of heat.

From a pecuniary point of view, given average good luck and management, Toy Bulldog breeding is a remunerative pursuit. Good specimens, fit for the show bench, command extremely high prices, and a ready sale is always to be had for less good ones for moderate sums as pets, the more so as, owing to their extraordinarily good tempers, they are much in request for children, with whom they can be absolutely trusted. No amount of teasing appears to rouse them to more than a somewhat bored grunt.

In fact, to sum up, they possess many advantages and few disadvantages. Anyone who has owned and loved a Toy Bull can seldom get really to care for any other kind of dog, and sooner or later takes unto himself or herself again another snorting little specimen, whose ugly wrinkled face and loving heart cannot fail to make life the pleasanter.

---

Related Items:

• Bulldog
• French Bulldog