Manila Bulletin

HOW THE BULLMASTIFF CAME TO BE

The creation of Bullmastiffs can be traced back to 19th-century gamekeepers, people meant to breed and care for game animals. According to the American Kennel Club, poachers were hunting animals on English aristocrats’ land despite death penalties in place to prevent it.

In response to this never-ending problem, gamekeepers began to breed different combinations of Dogs. Their effort to find the perfect deterrent to poaching paid off when they came upon the Bulldog-mastiff breed, at a ratio of 40% Bulldog and 60% Mastiff. The resulting Bullmastiffs had the size to scare away trespassers and the strength to capture poachers, but the discipline to listen to their gamekeepers and keep the poachers alive.

Though gamekeepers once preferred Bullmastiffs of a dark brindle color so they would be camouflaged at night, aristocrats began to prefer fawn-colored Bullmastiffs. According to Petfinder, these Dogs would eventually fulfill other functions, including the role of estate sentry.

In 1924, the English Kennel Club recognized Bullmastiffs as a pure breed, and the American Kennel Club followed less than a decade later.

COVER STORY

en-ph

2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://manilabulletin.pressreader.com/article/282677575891382

Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp