"David Cohen" wrote in message
nk.net...

The American Bulldog is an entirely different breed.

No, it isn't. Both are descendants of the original Elizebethan era
English bulldog.

I know their ancestry but they are still different breeds. The American
Bulldog is not recognized by the AKC and does not meet their "Bulldog"
standard.

When bullbaiting was outlawed, the breed went a
number of ways. Show fanciers bred achondroplastic dwarf bulldogs with
each other, and maybe crossed in some Pug, and ended up with the AKC
recognized Bulldog, a genetic mutant can often not breed or deliver
naturally. Other bulldogs were crossed with large, game, terriers,
eventually producing the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which developed
into the Pit Bull At the same time, lower socioeconomic class working
people emmigrated to the US, particularly to the deep South, and
brought their working dogs with them. There, the bulldog continued
with only little change from occasional crossbreeding. The American
Bulldog, along with the "bullier" lines of Pit Bull, are the closest
living descendants of the extinct original bulldog.

But the AKC doesn't recognize the breed of "bulldog" by any other
description than that which meets the English Bulldog in appearance.

They can be called American Bulldogs if their parents were American
Bulldogs. Registration with the American Bulldog Association helps.
The range from the "bullier" lines to the standard lines. Conformation
is more variable because they are, and have always been, working dogs,
for whom performance is more important than how they look.
Conformation shows are relatively recent for American Bulldogs. And,
by coincidence, I just...2 hours ago...came from the American Bulldog
Association 2003 Nationals, held this weekend here in Las Vegas.

But you have to admit that the conformation, not to mention other factors
like energy level/ability are vastly different from the English/AKC type
which makes them different breeds. They share next to no similarities.


--
Tara