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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
22
When
bull-baiting
was
prohibited
by
law
the
sportsmen
of
the
period
turned
their
attention
to
dog-fighting,
and
for
this
pastime
the
Bulldogs
were
specially
trained.
The
chief
centres
in
London
where
these
exhibitions
took
place
were
the
Westminster
Pit,
the
Bear
Garden
at
Bankside,
and
the
Old
Conduit
Fields
in
Bayswater.
In
order
to
obtain
greater
quickness
of
movement
many
of
the
Bulldogs
were
crossed
with
a
terrier,
although
some
fanciers
relied
on
the
pure
breed.
It
is
recorded
that
Lord
Camelford's
Bulldog
Belcher
fought
one
hundred
and
four
battles
without
once
suffering
defeat.
The
decline
of
bull-baiting
and
dog-fighting
after
the
passing
of
the
Bill
prohibiting
these
sports
was
responsible
for
a
lack
of
interest
in
perpetuating
the
breed
of
Bulldogs.
Even
in
1824
it
was
said
to
be
degenerating,
and
gentlemen
who
had
previously
been
the
chief
breeders
gradually
deserted
the
fancy.
At
one
time
it
was
stated
that
Wasp,
Child,
and
Billy,
who
were
of
the
Duke
of
Hamilton's
strain,
were
the
only
remaining
Bulldogs
in
existence,
and
that
upon
their
decease
the
Bulldog
would
become
extinct--a
prophecy
which
all
Bulldog
lovers
happily
find
incorrect.
The
specimens
alive
in
1817,
as
seen
in
prints
of
that
period,
were
not
so
cloddy
as
those
met
with
at
the
present
day.
Still,
the
outline
of
Rosa
in
the
engraving
of
Crib
and
Rosa,
is
considered
to
represent
perfection
in
the
shape,
make,
and
size
of
the
ideal
type
of
Bulldog.
The
only
objections
which
have
been
taken
are
that
the
bitch
is
deficient
in
wrinkles
about
the
head
and
neck,
and
in
substance
of
bone
in
the
limbs.
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