American Bulldog

My ancestors’ journey to the United States follows a familiar American story. Between the 1600s and 1800s, a now extinct breed called the Old English Bulldog came over to the New World with their European, working class immigrant families. Southern farmers realized my ancestors weren’t afraid of a little hard work and quickly had them toiling on the farm. Our dog breed was famously good at catching feral pigs, earning us the nickname “catch dogs.” Since the pigs had no predators, we were the only ones up to the task!

Sadly, throughout history, many bulldogs died due to bull baiting, a sport where people purposely made us fight bulls to the death (earning us the name “bulldog”). This, along with the tough farm work we were doing, meant bulldogs were having a rough go of it. By the end of World War II, Bully breeds were nearly extinct.

Luckily, a few great humans – John D. Johnson and Alan Scott – helped revive our struggling breed in the 1950s. You could say those men were the bulldog’s best friends! This was the genesis of what’s now known as the American Bulldog, a name that first stuck in the 1980s.

These days, we’ve moved away from our ruff past. Now, we’re mostly family companions, spending time chilling out and playing with our families. We still make good guard dogs though! We come in a number of different types: the Bully, the Johnson, the Standard, and the Scott.

In 1999, we were recognized by the United Kennel Club, but we haven’t been recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) yet. We’re on our way! In 2019, we were approved for the Foundation Stock Program (FSS), which lets breeds continue to develop before official recognition. Until that day comes, we still have a club of our own: the American Bulldog Association.