• The Modern Bulldog Problem

There is definitely something appallingly wrong with a dog breed that, as a rule, can no longer conceive without A.I. (artificial insemination), no longer give birth without Caesarian section delivery, and no longer perform any of the physical feats that placed such a proud and unique history on their legendary name and reputation.  As a long time-lover of the bully breeds,  I (JC) have always taken a deep interest in the various strains of bulldogs.  I have owned and worked with a large variety of bull types, including: American Bulldogs, Olde English Bulldogges, English Bulldogs, Catahoula Bulldogs, Olde Victorian Bulldogges, Boxers, Bull-Boxers, Bullmastiffs, Sharpeis, Pugs, Pits, and many crosses.  All of these bully breeds are relatively healthy dogs, not suffering the terrible state of health that the modern English Bulldog does.

At J.C.’s Bulldogge Barn, I believe that breeding for strength, health and temperament is of utmost importance.  The English Bulldog commonly seen today is a sad product of breeding for a specific look, without taking into consideration the health of the dog. 

My mission is to create a healthy, strong, bold and beautiful animal, combining a friendly nature with a strong natural guard instinct.  I am sure as you view my dogs and the links to other websites featuring the Olde Bulldogge that you’ll agree these dogs are a vast improvement over the so-called “traditional” English Bulldog.

Just the name "Bulldog" conjures up images of great strength, unyielding courage, indomitable will, and legendary tenacity. This was the extraordinary Bulldog of old: super strong, extremely athletic, bold, fearless, loyal, protective, and intelligent. He was the stuff of legends. Fast forward to the modern English Bulldog, and we find a very sad state of bulldog breeding for quirky show dog interests. The poor little bulldog of today probably couldn't survive a couple of days, much less a week in the elements. He is no longer super strong, athletic, bold, fearless, protective, or intelligent. He is strangely pitiful, almost crippled in movement, his natural drives seem repressed, and he's too often sickly. I almost always feel sorry for the dog (and his owner) when I see one breathlessly waddling around. It makes me angry too. To me the English Bulldog's overall current state of health borders on criminal animal cruelty. I just cannot understand why all these legitimate breeders do not strive to change the show standards to produce healthier animals. 

•  The Olde Solution

Because the modern show Bulldog is such a caricature of it's former self, I am thrilled that today there are so many people responding independently to breed bulldogs that more closely reflect the bulldog standards of old. The old time breeders firmly believed in breeding the best bulldog to the best bulldog to produce the best bulldogs for their intended purpose. They often bred together totally different lines (types) of Mollossers to produce the type of bulldog they desired. Genetically speaking it is very advantageous to have a large gene pool so as to improve a breeds' overall health.  One can find many types of “bulldogges” today, from giants to miniatures, with all kinds of different Mollosser influences. The Olde Bulldogge from J.C.'s Bulldogge Barn is not a fighting dog (go elsewhere if that is what you’re looking for - don’t call me. My dogges are not bred for this nor would they succeed, so there is nothing more to say on this matter.) but he should be tough as nails when he needs to be. He will be a smart, powerful, athletic, big boned beautiful bulldogge that is capable of being your best friend and an intruder's absolutely worst nightmare. He can calmly sit at your feet one moment and within an instant be willing to give up his life to protect you and your family. At J.C.'s Bulldogge Barn my country-raised dogs are my life's pride and joy. When I have a breeding it is always with certain goals in mind. 

• Our Breeding Goals

Breeding goals for my Oldes are: 

1)  Athleticism - This means easy free movement.  The ability to run and jump is a dog's heritage and my bulldogges will do it with ease. I'm not talking greyhounds - but I don't like the bulldogges that are so exaggerated that movement is compromised.

2)  Big Heads - An Olde Bulldogge should have a big head. It is a large and impressive facet of the bulldogge mystique, but this “big head” should be balanced, proportionate to the dogge's size, and with enough muzzle for good health and breathing. Too flat of a muzzle (Pug like) and we just recreate the show dog's problems.

3)  Thick Bones and Heavy Muscles - My Oldes will be impressive, but not at the expense of their athleticism. I've seen too many oldes who really looked good but could not run well and tired too quickly. All show and no go! I breed for powerful dogges that also look powerful. I want the real deal. My dogges will be 60-100 pounds, depending on the breeding parents.

4)   Instincts - I love the dog in the movie "Old Yeller", he was a Black Mouthed Cur. This dog was (and the BMC breed still is) naturally protective, brave, loyal, faithful, tough - and had a great natural prey drive. He would without question give his life to protect his family, but he was not a psycho.  He had character. Many American Bulldogs (AB’s) have great instincts. I love these attributes in a dogge. I don't believe you can train these qualities into a dogge, they must be in their make-up at birth. At J.C.'s Bulldogges I definitely seek to breed these traits into my dogges. I want my dogges to be real dogs, with really great dog instincts.

5)   Intelligence - I have a lot of dogs. Some are definitely smarter than others. My experiences with a great variety of bull breeds has led me to believe there are too many bullys bred with intelligence as a low priority. Big, powerful dumb dogs are not as fun to own as big powerful smart dogs. I like a dog that can assess a situation and react accordingly. Really dumb dogs are just not predictable, and just like dumb people they make dumb decisions. I once owned a huge beautiful bullmastiff that jumped off a hundred foot cliff to get at some dog it saw on the other side of the river. It landed half way down on a shelf and I had to rappel down and climb back up with a 140-pound bulldog in my arms. We pay for our dogs’ dumb decisions. I love type, but the instincts and the intelligence are equally important. My dogges will be bred for intelligence.

6)  Coat and Color - I love beautiful dogges. To me there is nothing more impressive-looking than a well proportioned, big boned, athletic-looking bulldog with a striking coat and colors. Call it flashiness. Some bulldog purists put this in the category of silly fluff. I don't argue the point, it's just that I love flashy dogges. If the dogge is solid in my other areas of concern then it just boils down to beauty, and I'll take that flashy coat every time. So I try to match breedable dogges that have interesting colors.

7)   Health - Dogges that have great natural health are considered to be good breeding stock if all else is good. Dogges with apparent genetic predispositions for health problems are considered to be bad breeding stock and I will not breed them.  

JC's Olde Bulldogge Barn: bulldogge@hughes.net 

You can call me at 559-679-0297

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.