The Bulldog of today may look a bit like the Bulldog of days gone by, but their personalities are nothing alike. Bulldogs were originally developed to be fierce bull fighters with a high pain tolerance and an unparalleled aggression. They descended directly from the Bullenbeisser, an Asian dog resembling a Mastiff, and the Bulldog's ancestors were used by Roman troops as well as the Teutons and Celts.
When the Bullenbeissers were brought to England, breeders started working on reducing the size of the overall dog while increasing the size of the head. The result was a dog that was very effective in bull baiting and the breed earned the name "English Bulldog." It is believed that the Bulldog was first brought to the United States in 1735.
In 1835 bull baiting became outlawed and breeders started to eliminate the aggressive tendencies of the breed. As a result, today's Bulldogs are much calmer and more suitable to family life than the Bulldogs of the past.
