The American Bulldog is a strong, stocky looking dog. There are two different strains of the American Bulldog. There is the Johnson (bully type), and the Scott (performance type) which is often mistaken for it's second cousin, the American Pitbull Terrier because of it's apperance. The Johnson Bulldog is massive in comparison to the Scott Bulldog. The Johnson Bulldogs bone mass, jaw and head size are bigger than the Scott's Bulldog, where as the Scott Bulldog tend to be lighter in weight, and moves faster (performance). The Johnson type is a little bulkier, has a shorter muzzle, and heavier muscled, and the Scott is leaner, and ripped with muscle. American Bulldogs have a short coat that is either white, fawn and white, fawn and white brindle, black and white brindle, or white with patches.

Behavior

The American Bulldog is a very loyal, and fearless breed of dog. It is friendly, and one of the easiest breeds to train. They get along very well with children, and they are very protective of their family. They bond strongly with their master but, because of their high guarding instincts, and dominant attitude, they need a firm and consistant hand. They should be socialized, and trained at an early age to get exposure to other dogs and people to ensure that they can be controlled around company, because as they get larger, and older, they can become strong willed and stubborn. The don't always get along with other pets because of their high prey drive, but early socialization should increase the chances of them getting along and accepting other animals. Bulldogs are versatile working dogs that excell in a lot of fields, such as police dogs, catch dogs, guide dogs, estate guardians, and a all around farm dog.

History

In the 17th and18th centuries, bulldogs wer used on farms as catch dogs, guardian dogs, and many other tasks. This eventually led to bloodsports such as bull baiting, and dog fighting for entertainment and gambling. In 1835, the bloodsports was outlawed in the United Kingdom and over time the bulldog became a common pet. The most important role of the bulldog were dealing with vermin such as the wild pig. They were the settlers only means of sufficiently dealing with them. By World War II, the breed was near extinction until John D. Johson and his father went looking for the best dogs to revive the breed.At this time a young Alan Scott grew interest in Mr. Johnson's dogs and began working with him to revive the breed. At some point Mr. Scott began breeding non-Johnson catch bulldogs from other southern working farms with Mr. Johnson's line creating the Performance type today. At another point Mr. Johnson began crossing his line with an atavistic bulldog from the north. This created a falling out between Johnson and Scott cusing them to go their seperate ways. Today bulldogs are very popular and are used all over the world as either a family pet or a working dog. They are still used alot as "hog dogs" catching either escaped pigs or hunting wild boar. They also successfully compete in dog sports such as: weight pulling, schutzhund, french ring sport, and street protection sport. The American Bulldog is the closest surviving relative of the old English Bulldog, because they were not altered a great extent while in Colonial America. Bulldogs can live for 8-15 yrs.