136 WATCH DOGS, HOUSE DOGS, AND TOY DOGS. 



be the raeaking on him." And so the puppy was allowed to 

 hang on and worry his master's nose to his heart's content. 



But, when differently treated, the bulldog is a very different 

 animal, the brutal nature which he so often displays being mainl}' 

 attributable to the savage human beings with whom he associates. 

 Although, therefore, I am ready to admit that the bulldog often 

 deserves the character for ferocity which he has obtained, yet 

 I contend that this is not natural to him, any more than stupidity 

 and want of affection, which may readily be proved to be the 

 reverse of his character, if any one will take the trouble to treat 

 him in a proper manner. For the following remarks I am mainly 

 indebted to Mr. Stockdale, who is a celebrated breeder of bull- 

 dogs, and has had a long experience of their various attributes. 

 The antiquity of the breed is unquestionable, and it has always 

 been peculiar to these islands, the Spanish variety having ori- 

 ginally been procured from Britain. It is highly probable that 

 the modern bulldog has undergone a change in appearance 

 during the last fifty years, being now decidedly neater in shape 

 than was formerly the case, if we are to judge from the portraits 

 handed down to us. As now exhibited, he is a remarkably neat 

 and compact animal naturally, the deformities sometimes seen 

 being produced principally from the practice of constantly keeping 

 the poor dog tied up with a short chain. It is amusing to any 

 one who has any knowledge of these dogs to read the terrible 

 accounts of their ferocity in various books purporting to give 

 us an insight into canine nature in general, but as these for 

 the most part are merely copies of each other, too much weight 



