Post by charmingnancy on Mar 10, 2009 13:38:40 GMT -5
Bullmastiff
Group: 3- Working Dogs
Origin: England
Purpose: Bred to find and immobilize poachers
Description:
The Bullmastiff is a powerful dog, which was originally a cross between the English Mastiff and the Olde English Bulldogge. The Bullmastiff is a powerfully built, symmetrical dog, showing great strength and activity, but not combersome; upstanding and compact in appearance, with sturdy, well boned legs.
Appearance- Breed Standards:
Coat and Colour: Coat short and dense, giving good weather protection. Colour: any shade of red, fawn or brindle, but the colour to be pure and clear. A small white marking on chest permissible but not desirable.
Head: The skull should be large, equal in breadth, length and depth, with a fair amount of wrinkle when the dog is interested; well-developed cheeks. The skull in circumference may measure the height of the dog. Forehead flat, with furrow between the eyes. Stop definite. Muzzle should be short, broad and deep, in the same proportion as the skull. The distance from the tip of the nose to the stop should not exceed one-third of the lenght from the tip of the nose to the centre of the occiput. Broad under the eyes and nearly parallel in width to the end of the nose; blunt and cut off square, appearing in profile in a plane parallel to the line of the skull. A black mask is essential. The nose should be black, flat, and broad with widely spreading nostrils when viewed from the front. Flews not too pendulous. The lower jaw broad. Teeth peferably level bite or slightly undershot. Canine teeth large and set wide apart; other teeth strong, even and well placed. Eyes dark or hazel, and of medium size; set apart the width of the muzzle. Ears V-shaped and carried close to the cheeks; set on wide and high, level with the occiput, giving a square appearance to the skull which is most important. They should be darker in colour than the body, and the point of the ear, when alert, should be level with the eye.
Neck: Well arched of moderate lenght, very muscular, and almost equal in circumference to the skull.
Forequarters: Proper angulation and proportionate bone lengths of the forequarters are very important. The shoulder bone should slope forward and downward from the withers at an angle of 45 degrees from the vertical. The humerus (upper arm) should form a right angle with the shoulder bone, 45 degrees from the vertical. The shoulder bone and humerus should be approximately equal in length. The length of the foreleg from the ground to the elbow should be a little more than half the distance from the ground to the withers, approximately 52 per cent. The shoulders and upper arms should be muscular and powerful, but not overloaded. Forelegs powerful, with round heavy bone, vertical and parallel to each other, set well apart; elbows set close to the body. Pasterns straight and strong. Feet of medium size, not turning in or out, with rounded toes, well arched. Pads thick and tough. Nails black.
Body and Tail: Body compact. Chest wide and deep, with ribs well sprung and well set down between the forelegs. Back short and level. Loins wide, muscular; croup slightly arched, with fair depth of flank. Tail set on high, strong at the root and tapering to the hocks. It may be carried straight or curved.
Hindquarters: It is important that structure , angulation, and proportionate bone lengths of the hindquarters be in balance with the forequarters. The pelvis (hip bone) should slope backward and downward from the spine at an angle of 30 degrees. The femur (upper thigh bone) should form a right angle with the pelvis. The lower thigh bone (stifle) should set at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical. The pelvis and femur should be approximately equal in length. The ratio of the lengths of the femur, to the tibia/fibula, to the hock should be approximately as 4:5:3. The length of the lower leg, from the ground to the hock joint, should be a little less than 30 per cent of the distance from the ground to the top of the hip bones. The lower leg should be vertical to the ground. The hips should be broad, in balance with shoulders and rib cage. Hind legs strong and muscular, with well-developed second thighs, denoting power and activity, but not cumbersome, set parallel to each other and well apart, in balance with forelegs and body. Feet as in forequarters.
Gait: The gait should be free, balanced and vigorous. When viewed from the side the dog should have good reach in the forequarters and good driving power in the hindquarters. The back should be level and firm, indicating good transmission from rear to front. When viewed from the front (coming toward) or from the rear (going away), at a moderate pace, the dog shall track in two parallel lines, neither too close together nor too far apart, so placed as to give a strong well-balanced movement. The toes (fore and hind) should point straight ahead.
Direction to Exhibitors and Judges: The dog should be moved in the ring at a sufficient speed to show fluidity of movement and not at a slow walk.
Serious Faults:
-Long, soft coat. White markings other than on chest.
-Narrow skull. Shallow skull.
-Muzzle too long, too narrow, pointed, upturned or laid back; lower jaw narrow.
-Teeth overshot. Teeth more than 1/4 inch (.6cm) undershot. Wry mouth.
-Rose ears.
-Neck too short; too long. Neck weak and scrawny.
-Lack of proportion in bone in forequarters. Shoulder too steep. Shoulders overloaded. Elbows turned in or out. Lack of bone in forelegs. Forelegs bowed. Weak pasterns. Splay feet.
-Body too long. Shallow chest. Narrow chest. Lack of ribspring. Sway back. Roach back. Tip of hip bone higher than withers.
-Screw tail. Crank tail. Tail set too low.
-Lack of proportion in bone of hindlegs. Poor angulation at hip bone. Narrow hip structure.
-Stifle too straight or over-angulated. Cow-hocks. Bowed hind legs. Splay feet.
-Rolling, padding or weaving when gaited. Any crossing movement, either front or rear. Stilted and restricted movement. (Dogs with structural weakness as evidenced by poor movement should not be used for breeding).
Minor Faults:
- "Staring" coat, which means poor condition. Black shading on body, legs or tail (of reds and fawns).
-Domed forehead. Insufficient stop. Lack of wrinkles on head; flews too pendulous.
-Irregular or poorly placed teeth. Small teeth.
-Light eyes. Eyes too close together, too large, too small.
-Ears too long or too short. Lack of darker colour.
-Front feet turned in or out, white nails.
-Too much tuck-up.
-Tail carried hound fashion. Too long. Too short. Too heavily coated.
-Back feet turned in or out, white nails.
Disqualifications: Liver mask. No mask. Yellow eyes.
Size:
Height at the highest point of the withers - Dogs, 25-27 inches (63-69 cm); Bitches, 24-26 inches (61-66 cm).
Weight - Dogs, 110-130 lb. (50-59 kg); Bitches, 100-120 lb. (45-55 kg). It is important that weight be in proportion to height and bone structure, to ensure balance. Serious Faults: Over maximum height. Under minimum height. Minor Faults: Over maximum weight. Under minimum weight.
Temperament:
A Bullmastiff should be fearless and confident, yet docile. A Bullmastiff is courageous, extremely loyal to its family, calm, and loving. It has a very strong protective instinct and will defend against any threat to its owners, as well as any threat to its territory. Bullmastiffs become intensely attached to their families. Their protective instinct combined with their great size and natural wariness of strangers means that early socialization and obedience training is essential.
Bullmastiffs can also get along with other dogs to but like any should be socialized. The Bullmastiff can get along extremely well with children provided the dog has been properly trained and socialized. Parental supervision must be maintained when they are with children; they may knock smaller children down accidentally because of their large size.
A Bullmastiff, because of its history, is a very independent dog, and likes to make its own decision. However, with good training, a Bullmastiff will look to its owner for "permission" to act on its instincts. Obedience training with all members of the family will teach the dog to look to them before taking action.
Health:
A Bullmastiff will not stop growing until it is about two and a half years of age. Bullmastiffs are prone to certain hereditary diseases including Elbow and Hip dysplasia, Entropion (folded eyelids), Hypothyroidism, Lymphoma cancer, Progressive retinal atrophy (a particular problem since the trait is an autosomal dominant one), Arthritis, and Bloat.
Average Lifespan:
The lifespan for a Bullmastiff is generally from 8 to 11 years.
History:
The Bullmastiff breed, as its name suggests, is a combination of the Mastiff and the Bulldog. It was created in England in the mid-1800s; the only guarding breed to originate in England.
At the time of its creation, there were many large estates in England, the owners of which frowned upon the game in their estates being poached. Gamekeepers were employed to oversee and protect the game in the estates and they needed an able assistant; the poachers being a rather dangerous lot since punishment for poaching was hanging. Mastiffs were tried but found to be somewhat slow and to not have the drive necessary to down and hold a man. Bulldogs (a quite different type that we see today) were tried, but the bulldog of that era was very ferocious and tended to tear the poacher up too much.
So, crosses were made of the Bulldog and Mastiff until a ratio of 60% Mastiff /40% Bulldog was achieved. This type of dog, eventually called the Bullmastiff, served the needs of the gamekeeper very well. The dog could track a man in the forest at night; work quietly; and, when close enough spring to a hard charge, knocking the man down and holding him there until the gamekeeper arrived. This was no mean feat since the poachers used every trick and tool at their disposal to escape, knowing that they faced hanging. The Bullmastiff had to be very brave and tenacious and more than one suffered death at the hands of a desperate criminal. But, the breed was exactly what the gamekeeper needed and they did their job well.
The Bullmastiff was recognized as a pure-bred dog in 1924 by the English Kennel Club.
In October, 1933, The American Kennel Club recognized the Bullmastiff. The first standard for the breed was approved in 1935.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Bullmastiff Fanciers of Canada
Bullmastiff Info
Pictures:
Photobucket
Group: 3- Working Dogs
Origin: England
Purpose: Bred to find and immobilize poachers
Description:
The Bullmastiff is a powerful dog, which was originally a cross between the English Mastiff and the Olde English Bulldogge. The Bullmastiff is a powerfully built, symmetrical dog, showing great strength and activity, but not combersome; upstanding and compact in appearance, with sturdy, well boned legs.
Appearance- Breed Standards:
Coat and Colour: Coat short and dense, giving good weather protection. Colour: any shade of red, fawn or brindle, but the colour to be pure and clear. A small white marking on chest permissible but not desirable.
Head: The skull should be large, equal in breadth, length and depth, with a fair amount of wrinkle when the dog is interested; well-developed cheeks. The skull in circumference may measure the height of the dog. Forehead flat, with furrow between the eyes. Stop definite. Muzzle should be short, broad and deep, in the same proportion as the skull. The distance from the tip of the nose to the stop should not exceed one-third of the lenght from the tip of the nose to the centre of the occiput. Broad under the eyes and nearly parallel in width to the end of the nose; blunt and cut off square, appearing in profile in a plane parallel to the line of the skull. A black mask is essential. The nose should be black, flat, and broad with widely spreading nostrils when viewed from the front. Flews not too pendulous. The lower jaw broad. Teeth peferably level bite or slightly undershot. Canine teeth large and set wide apart; other teeth strong, even and well placed. Eyes dark or hazel, and of medium size; set apart the width of the muzzle. Ears V-shaped and carried close to the cheeks; set on wide and high, level with the occiput, giving a square appearance to the skull which is most important. They should be darker in colour than the body, and the point of the ear, when alert, should be level with the eye.
Neck: Well arched of moderate lenght, very muscular, and almost equal in circumference to the skull.
Forequarters: Proper angulation and proportionate bone lengths of the forequarters are very important. The shoulder bone should slope forward and downward from the withers at an angle of 45 degrees from the vertical. The humerus (upper arm) should form a right angle with the shoulder bone, 45 degrees from the vertical. The shoulder bone and humerus should be approximately equal in length. The length of the foreleg from the ground to the elbow should be a little more than half the distance from the ground to the withers, approximately 52 per cent. The shoulders and upper arms should be muscular and powerful, but not overloaded. Forelegs powerful, with round heavy bone, vertical and parallel to each other, set well apart; elbows set close to the body. Pasterns straight and strong. Feet of medium size, not turning in or out, with rounded toes, well arched. Pads thick and tough. Nails black.
Body and Tail: Body compact. Chest wide and deep, with ribs well sprung and well set down between the forelegs. Back short and level. Loins wide, muscular; croup slightly arched, with fair depth of flank. Tail set on high, strong at the root and tapering to the hocks. It may be carried straight or curved.
Hindquarters: It is important that structure , angulation, and proportionate bone lengths of the hindquarters be in balance with the forequarters. The pelvis (hip bone) should slope backward and downward from the spine at an angle of 30 degrees. The femur (upper thigh bone) should form a right angle with the pelvis. The lower thigh bone (stifle) should set at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical. The pelvis and femur should be approximately equal in length. The ratio of the lengths of the femur, to the tibia/fibula, to the hock should be approximately as 4:5:3. The length of the lower leg, from the ground to the hock joint, should be a little less than 30 per cent of the distance from the ground to the top of the hip bones. The lower leg should be vertical to the ground. The hips should be broad, in balance with shoulders and rib cage. Hind legs strong and muscular, with well-developed second thighs, denoting power and activity, but not cumbersome, set parallel to each other and well apart, in balance with forelegs and body. Feet as in forequarters.
Gait: The gait should be free, balanced and vigorous. When viewed from the side the dog should have good reach in the forequarters and good driving power in the hindquarters. The back should be level and firm, indicating good transmission from rear to front. When viewed from the front (coming toward) or from the rear (going away), at a moderate pace, the dog shall track in two parallel lines, neither too close together nor too far apart, so placed as to give a strong well-balanced movement. The toes (fore and hind) should point straight ahead.
Direction to Exhibitors and Judges: The dog should be moved in the ring at a sufficient speed to show fluidity of movement and not at a slow walk.
Serious Faults:
-Long, soft coat. White markings other than on chest.
-Narrow skull. Shallow skull.
-Muzzle too long, too narrow, pointed, upturned or laid back; lower jaw narrow.
-Teeth overshot. Teeth more than 1/4 inch (.6cm) undershot. Wry mouth.
-Rose ears.
-Neck too short; too long. Neck weak and scrawny.
-Lack of proportion in bone in forequarters. Shoulder too steep. Shoulders overloaded. Elbows turned in or out. Lack of bone in forelegs. Forelegs bowed. Weak pasterns. Splay feet.
-Body too long. Shallow chest. Narrow chest. Lack of ribspring. Sway back. Roach back. Tip of hip bone higher than withers.
-Screw tail. Crank tail. Tail set too low.
-Lack of proportion in bone of hindlegs. Poor angulation at hip bone. Narrow hip structure.
-Stifle too straight or over-angulated. Cow-hocks. Bowed hind legs. Splay feet.
-Rolling, padding or weaving when gaited. Any crossing movement, either front or rear. Stilted and restricted movement. (Dogs with structural weakness as evidenced by poor movement should not be used for breeding).
Minor Faults:
- "Staring" coat, which means poor condition. Black shading on body, legs or tail (of reds and fawns).
-Domed forehead. Insufficient stop. Lack of wrinkles on head; flews too pendulous.
-Irregular or poorly placed teeth. Small teeth.
-Light eyes. Eyes too close together, too large, too small.
-Ears too long or too short. Lack of darker colour.
-Front feet turned in or out, white nails.
-Too much tuck-up.
-Tail carried hound fashion. Too long. Too short. Too heavily coated.
-Back feet turned in or out, white nails.
Disqualifications: Liver mask. No mask. Yellow eyes.
Size:
Height at the highest point of the withers - Dogs, 25-27 inches (63-69 cm); Bitches, 24-26 inches (61-66 cm).
Weight - Dogs, 110-130 lb. (50-59 kg); Bitches, 100-120 lb. (45-55 kg). It is important that weight be in proportion to height and bone structure, to ensure balance. Serious Faults: Over maximum height. Under minimum height. Minor Faults: Over maximum weight. Under minimum weight.
Temperament:
A Bullmastiff should be fearless and confident, yet docile. A Bullmastiff is courageous, extremely loyal to its family, calm, and loving. It has a very strong protective instinct and will defend against any threat to its owners, as well as any threat to its territory. Bullmastiffs become intensely attached to their families. Their protective instinct combined with their great size and natural wariness of strangers means that early socialization and obedience training is essential.
Bullmastiffs can also get along with other dogs to but like any should be socialized. The Bullmastiff can get along extremely well with children provided the dog has been properly trained and socialized. Parental supervision must be maintained when they are with children; they may knock smaller children down accidentally because of their large size.
A Bullmastiff, because of its history, is a very independent dog, and likes to make its own decision. However, with good training, a Bullmastiff will look to its owner for "permission" to act on its instincts. Obedience training with all members of the family will teach the dog to look to them before taking action.
Health:
A Bullmastiff will not stop growing until it is about two and a half years of age. Bullmastiffs are prone to certain hereditary diseases including Elbow and Hip dysplasia, Entropion (folded eyelids), Hypothyroidism, Lymphoma cancer, Progressive retinal atrophy (a particular problem since the trait is an autosomal dominant one), Arthritis, and Bloat.
Average Lifespan:
The lifespan for a Bullmastiff is generally from 8 to 11 years.
History:
The Bullmastiff breed, as its name suggests, is a combination of the Mastiff and the Bulldog. It was created in England in the mid-1800s; the only guarding breed to originate in England.
At the time of its creation, there were many large estates in England, the owners of which frowned upon the game in their estates being poached. Gamekeepers were employed to oversee and protect the game in the estates and they needed an able assistant; the poachers being a rather dangerous lot since punishment for poaching was hanging. Mastiffs were tried but found to be somewhat slow and to not have the drive necessary to down and hold a man. Bulldogs (a quite different type that we see today) were tried, but the bulldog of that era was very ferocious and tended to tear the poacher up too much.
So, crosses were made of the Bulldog and Mastiff until a ratio of 60% Mastiff /40% Bulldog was achieved. This type of dog, eventually called the Bullmastiff, served the needs of the gamekeeper very well. The dog could track a man in the forest at night; work quietly; and, when close enough spring to a hard charge, knocking the man down and holding him there until the gamekeeper arrived. This was no mean feat since the poachers used every trick and tool at their disposal to escape, knowing that they faced hanging. The Bullmastiff had to be very brave and tenacious and more than one suffered death at the hands of a desperate criminal. But, the breed was exactly what the gamekeeper needed and they did their job well.
The Bullmastiff was recognized as a pure-bred dog in 1924 by the English Kennel Club.
In October, 1933, The American Kennel Club recognized the Bullmastiff. The first standard for the breed was approved in 1935.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Bullmastiff Fanciers of Canada
Bullmastiff Info
Pictures:
Photobucket