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The Bullmastiff first originated at least as early as 1791 in England.
It was first given official recognition by the Kennel Club in the UK in 1924. With this official recognition, the first breed Club was then formed on 23rd June, 1925 and called "The Midland Bull-Mastiff Club". (Bull-Mastiff as it was written then). Before it's official recognition, the gamekeepers dogs were first shown at a DogShow at Crystal Palace in England in 1871.
The first Bullmastiff dog to obtain a Challenge Certificate was "Tiger Prince" owned by Vic Smith in 1928 at Crufts. "Tiger Prince" went on to become the first Bullmastiff Champion Dog. The first Bitch to obtain a Challenge Certificate was"Farcroft Silvo" owned by S.E. Moseley. This bitch also went on to become the first bitch champion.
The Bullmastiff is a man-made breed made up from 60% Mastiff and 40% Bulldog. Not the Bulldog as we know it today, but the Old English Bulldogge who was bigger and had longer legs. He was bred for a purpose. For protection and detection for the Gamekeepers against poachers. Poaching was punishable by death and poachers would kill a gamekeeper rather than risk being caught himself. Both the Mastiff was Bulldog were tried in this role. The Mastiff proved to be too slow and not aggressive enough, the Bulldog was too aggressive and too small for the job. Since some of the traits of both breeds were required, gamekeepers decided to breed the two together.
The Bullmastiff and Mastiff Handbook by Douglas B. Oliff quotes the following formula by Mr Moseley as his conception of the Bull-Mastiff.
"Taking a Mastiff bitch and a Bulldog I produce 50/50. A bitch of these I mate to a Mastiff Dog and gave me a 75 per cent Mastiff 25 percent Bulldog bitch, which I mate to a 50/50 dog. A bitch from this litter is 62 1/2 per cent Mastiff 37 1/2 percent Bulldog. I mate this to a 50/50 dog, and a bitch from this litter I put to a 62 1/2 percent Mastiff 37 1/2 percent Bulldog which gives me approximately my ideal 60 per cent Mastiff 40 per cent Bulldog. I repeat this from other bloodlines as an outcross and thus I established my Farcroft strain and the Bull-Mastiff a standard breed of set type which breeds true-like produces alike. This is a fixing type not merely breeding a cross breed."
I have noted in some of the books on the breed, that it may be possible that early Bullmastiffs may have had a trace of Bloodhound in them and that this is what gives it the excellent tracking and scenting ability. This is not a proven fact though and many people do not agree with this theory. |