Inconsistencies There are a lot of breeds of dogs that show continual inconsistencies in their appearance .Some of these variations are in size and others are in their looks. The most concerning , is the difference in looks. The size difference can easily be corrected if both dogs are of the same overall appearance. We are dealing with inconsistencies in The Aussie bulldog, that falls into both immediate categories. (Size and Appearance) This is mainly because we have about 4 different breeds of dogs in their make up, and these breeds have some noticeable variations in size and look amongst their own pure lines. Bullmastiff males can range from 50kg at the bottom of the scale, to 80kg at the top. They can also have heads that look like a bulldog, to heads that look like a lab. American Bulldogs are similar with their variations . If you look thoroughly at the British bulldog, there are some adult males that are around 20kgs and have a head like a pug, and there are some BBDs that are 40kg and have a head like a mastiff. This should explain the noticeable variations in the Aussie bulldog. The UABA is one huge breeding program, with nearly every litter being individually matched to suit the size and appearance of the set standard. As time goes on, we should have larger numbers of bulldogs that are distinctly recognized as an Aussie Bulldog, and should end up with 8 out of 10 dogs that look similar. Today's Bullmastiffs would be lucky to have 4 out 10 dogs that look similar. This is because every bullmastiff breeder is on their own chosen path , as to what they think a bullmastiff should look like, and this means the breeds appearance has fragmented. Egyptian pharaoh hounds are one of, if not the most consistent breed of dog on this planet. They are breeding to within a kg of their standard weight, and ½ inch or 1 centimeter of their height, this is because they have been pure for over 6000 years, and all our modern day dogs that are all man made, are flat out being 60 to 160 years as a pure. Debatably there are dog breeds that are suppose to date back 2000 years as well, eg; Neapolitan Mastiffs, but I would very much doubt that these dogs today are directly linked to their ancestors of that era, due to human interference, and it is obvious in their inconsistencies too. So the moral to the story is , do not stress too much about inconsistencies that you are seeing at the moment in the Aussie bulldogs, because if we all work together, and we familiarize ourselves with Aussies that look like good examples of our breed, then we should be able to jointly produce great numbers of great dogs. Our first objective is to get 1000s of dogs around 80% British blood, then we look at the size and appearance and make our selection. I am excited to say that in the last 12 to 18 months, we have seen a larger number of people planning on breeding, that have made excellent choices in their selection of pairs, and choices of stud dogs. There are still some lines, and some individuals that need to be brought up to speed, so we should not condemn them, but just let them catch up, and while they are catching up, we can focus on the main players and make sure we don’t step backwards with the dogs that are already looking good. Good luck with your breeding. Noel Green 05/04/07 Click here to return to Articles page
|