Message #306372

[tmatt]

Circa 1406 Edmond de Langley, Duke of York, wrote a treatise entitled "The Mayster of the Game and of Hawks" in which he described the "Alaunt" or "Allen" dog (a descendant of the ancient molossoid dogs), which was the popular baiting dog of the time because of its tenaciousness and strength. In a 1585 painting, dogs described as Alaunts that look very similar to modern day Pit Bulls, only of a larger size, are shown hunting wild hogs. The name "bulldog" was first mentioned in print in 1631. Later, dogs described as bulldogs were used to bait bull and bear. These bulldogs are most assuredly the descendants of the Alaunt. A letter written in Spain in 1632 by an Englishman named Prestwich Eaton to his friend George Wellingham who was in London, asked for a "good mastiff dog and two bulldogs." This gives indication that a split had occurred and the bulldog had already formed into a distinct type by this time.
    By viewing art, we can see two distinct types of bulldog-like dogs. Some are more low-slung, with undershot jaws, heavier-boned, and broader. It is to be assumed that this is the prototype from which the modern-day AKC Bulldog was drawn upon, having been created by the crossing of the Alaunt with a Chinese brachycephalic breed Pai Dog. However, also to be noted are bulldogs in art that are strikingly similar to modern day Pit Bulls, with less-exaggerated features and longer legs. Might these be the main ancestors of the current day Pit Bull? It would seem likely. It must be noted that "bulldogs" at this time were not dogs of any particular strain or breed, but rather a type of dog with certain traits that was used for certain things. Dogs which possessed more Pit Bull-like features went on to become the Pit Bull breed after being mixed with terriers, while the more "bulldoggy" bulldogs were used in creation of the brachycephalic breeds (Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, etc).