Some people think the English Bulldog looks far too fierce, and that timid people would never dare to go near such a dog. In reality, although the breed appears intimidating, it is actually very kind once you spend some time with it. Those who judge dogs only by appearance miss out on that side of the breed. The English Bulldog's history, however, is indeed rather heartbreaking.
Most people know something about bull-baiting. In some forms of bull-related spectacle, matadors use red cloth to provoke the bull, while in others riders try to stay on the animal. But before formal bull contests, the animal often needed to be excited and angered first. The English Bulldog was one of the dogs historically used for that purpose.
The breed usually stands only about 35 to 50 centimeters high and weighs around 25 to 35 kilograms, which is tiny compared with a fully grown bull. A single kick from a bull could send such a dog flying. Yet English Bulldogs were repeatedly used in this dangerous work, sometimes paying with their lives. That part of their history is truly painful to think about. Fortunately, those practices have long since been banned, and English Bulldogs no longer need to enter the bull arena.
For a long time, many people disliked the breed because they thought it looked too fierce, and after it lost its original role, people did not always want to keep it. Later, however, Bulldogs became mascots for many schools, organizations, and even national institutions. For example, Yale University is famously associated with a Bulldog mascot, and the breed is also used symbolically by the United States Marine Corps and in Britain. It even became a sports team mascot at Butler University in Indiana. Since then, more people have begun to keep Bulldogs as family pets, and many have discovered that the breed offers a very distinctive kind of charm compared with more conventionally attractive dogs.
People who have actually raised English Bulldogs often find that the breed is loyal, dependable, brave, and full of energy. It is said to have developed through long periods of selective breeding from strong mastiff-like and terrier-related ancestors, with undesirable traits gradually removed and desirable ones retained. That selective process helped create the popular companion animal people know today.
That said, the breed does not always look especially clever, and this impression fits with its relatively low ranking in canine intelligence tables. Training can therefore feel quite laborious, and it places a real demand on the owner's patience and affection. Someone with a short temper might be tempted to give up.
Still, being a little slow also has its own charm. The English Bulldog gives people a sense of honesty and steadiness. It is not the kind of dog that uses clever tricks to outsmart its owner the way some very intelligent breeds can. For many people, that solid and lovable nature is exactly why the breed remains appealing. After everything it went through historically, it seems only fair that people now simply treat it better and better.