Leavitt Bulldog

Leavitt Bulldog

The Leavitt Bulldog is a late 20th-century re-creation of the now extinct Old English Bulldog, the original bulldog breed which existed around the 19th century Regancy era, about 1820. In contrast to English bulldogs of modern times, depictions of the breed from nearly two centuries earlier showed healthier, more agile dogs, with working ability. Unlike the 19th century breed however, the Leavitt Bulldog has a placid temperament. It is one of several breeds developed in order to overcome the genetic problems in the English Bulldog breed.

History

Portions of the Olde English Bulldogge (OEB) breed renamed their dogs in 2005 in order to dissociate themselves from the OEB name, now commonly being used by some breeders to refer to their unrelated (and non-purebred, aka Designer Dogs) dogs using a different standard and heritage.^[3]

"A big reason for my wanting to change the Breed name is that there are far more Alternative Bulldog OEB’s than true ones, and most of these dogs don’t have the appearance of the old working Bulldog. I admit it’s my pride that has driven me to want to make clear these heavy dogs aren’t my creation. I couldn’t force them to change and the logical answer was to change a name that really wasn’t correct for the period we are trying to recreate anyway." - David Leavitt

Portions of the breed which decided against changing the OEB name have since gained UKC recognition as such as of 1 January 2014. The registries of both the clubs have since been granted recognition by the United Kennel Club, so LBA members can register their dogs with the UKC as Olde English Bulldogges contingent upon review by the breeds Parent Club.

Characteristic 

The Leavitt Bulldog has a very stable, friendly and loving temperament, which makes them suitable as family companions, and some have qualified as therapy dogs. They are easy to train and they are useful for various sports. This breed is extremely strong, which means that socialization and obedience training are important. Their disposition should be confident, courageous and alert without being overly protective. They enjoy not just physical games, but also activities that require intellect, such as tracking.

Genetic Background

The Leavitt bulldog was created with only breeds that all have old Bulldog in their background. According to David Leavitt a line breeding scheme developed at Ohio State University was used in the breed's development. The founding stock consisted of 1/2 English Bulldog, 1/6 American Bulldog, 1/6 American Pit Bull Terrier and 1/6 Bullmastiff.

Appearance

The above content from WiKi