Hi Jon and happy new year to all the CFZers,Breed standards are different in the US and UK and some Boxers still get their ears cropped here so while I am talking through my hat, here's what I think. The size and looseness of Pru's ears look more boxer-like to me than the 'rose ear' that is the bulldog standard. The rose ear is smaller, more compact and swept back in distinctive way.
These are proper ears by the American standard.
http://www.engbulldogs.com/Bulldog%20Club%20Standard.htm
http://www.engbulldogs.com/Bulldog%20Club%20Standard.htm
You should be happy that Prudence isn't so exaggerated as the bench type bulldogs.
ReplyDeleteIf you can find Pedigree Dogs Exposed online, you can see what misery bulldogs are in when they are bred to have such flattened faces. That snoring sound that Prudence makes is actually her soft palate jamming up against the trachea. That feature exists because bulldogs don't have as much room in their jaws as "normal dogs," and all that soft tissue at the back of the palate extends back more so than other dogs. Some bench-bred bulldogs have so much tissue that it prevents them from breathing or cooling themselves property (dogs cool themselves through their respiratory system.) Lots of bulldogs living in hotter areas of the US die of heat stroke. Often, vets will remove that soft tissue from the palate, just make the dogs breathe properly.
There are people in the UK who are trying to breed a less exaggerated bullodg, like Prudence, in the UK:
http://www.victorian-bulldog.co.uk/new_page_1.htm
Photos of Victorian bulldogs:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.victorian-bulldog.co.uk/past_shows.htm
Because she was a puppy mill/puppy farm rescue, it would also make sense that she would not be a pure bulldog.
ReplyDeleteBoxers are known for their ability to whelp naturally.
Bulldogs-- in general-- cannot. Bulldog bitches have narrow hips, and the whelps have unusually large heads. That means that they can't whelp naturally.
Puppy millers would just cross some boxer in, so their bulldogs would be more likely to whelp naturally.
Boxers do have bulldog in them. A white bulldog is at the base of the boxer breed, which was developed in Munich. I took a photo of a taxidermied boxer from the early days of the breed in the German Hunting and Fishing Museum in Munich. It was black-- like my old golden retriever/boxer cross-- but it was closer to the bulldog in conformation. But its ears were cropped.
It looked very much like these early boxers (which look like less exaggerated bulldogs with cropped ears):
http://www.ukboxerdogs.co.uk/pictures/boxer_club_1896.jpg
More Boxer history photos:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ukboxerdogs.co.uk/history.html