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Those unwilling to accept the truth will never find it. WEBPS Information
Breed Information
History
Contact Information # 384 Hwy. 341 S. - Hawkinsville, Georgia 31036 478-783-2535 (9:00am - 6:00pm ET) or 662-562-6144 Arkabutla, Mississippi |
American Bull Mastiff
ABM vs. Bullmastiff "Against a background of Mastiff, Bulldog, and night-dog breeding at the end of the last century, is the breed of Bullmastiff anymore manufactured than the modern breed of Mastiff or Bulldog? Behind the Mastiff as a recognized breed are Great Dane, Bloodhound, the old fashioned St. Bernard, (Alpine Mastiff), Tibetan Mastiff, and both Bullmastiff and Bulldog blood. Behind the Bulldog is the blood of the Spanish Alano, introduced by the renowned Bill George, the baiting dogs of mixed and varied ancestry, small mastiffs, and the Pug. Clearly, such mixed blood needs skillful blending if a uniform type is to emerge and then be established. If you lined up an American Bulldog with a solid brindle coat with a brindle Bullmastiff, few would argue against a common origin." The Mastiff, The Big Game Hunters Band-Dogs? "The
term Bandog or Band-dog meant dogs that had to be tied up. These ancient
alaunt types are believed to be the progenitors of the present day
Mastiff and Bulldog. A kennel of Bandogs kept in the Parish Gradens were
described in 1600 by Camden; 'These dogs are strong and bite so hard
that three of then are enough to seize a bear, and four a lion.' John Swinford DVM, introduced the idea of recreating the bandog which was never a breed, but a term describing the tying, chaining, or binding of a mastiff in England during the Middle Ages to cause it to be an aggressive guard dog. The idea most likely derived from Tibet, know as the Do- Kyi; to tie up. He crossed the Neapolitan Mastiff to the APBT, however, like most various crosses, this has yet to produce a breed that reproduces true to type. Modern knowledge of genetics are popularly being ignored by such bandog programs; furthermore, the quality of the mastiff of the Middle Ages has been lost to the popular dog world. The term mastiff mastin, mastino derives from Latin, meaning to mix, however, during the Middle Ages, dogs of the same breed type, selecting the best war dogs through harsh testing and ruthless culling, produced localized breeds that have long bred to type and used by farmers. "On the subject of the Mastiff, the Duke of York writes in 1406 in the Master of the Game: 'It is the job of the mastiff , in keeping with it's nature, to protect the animals, house, and farm of it's master.' "From Dr. Caius, physician in ordinary to Queen Elizabeth I, we learn from the year 1550: The Mastiff or ban-dog is a coarse, very large dog with a broad, heavy head, ugly and quite keen, of heavy, ponderous form, and thus not too fast. It is horrible and frightening to see how much more ferocious and aggressive it is than any Arkadian Dog, Molossus)... This dog is also called Villatica because it's job is to guard and protect farms." Fighting Dog Breeds, Dr. Dieter Fleig The best
places to find working farm bull / mastiff, aka Alaunt breeds descending
from war dogs that have always worked livestock, is in remote farming
areas on rural farms. A number of people scoff at the idea that true descendants of alaunt type war dogs still exist, and they state they themselves have been rebuilt through inter-crossings of the APBT and other breeds, however, even if this were the case, they are still working livestock as well as breeding true to type. This would be most impressive if this were the case, and as such, the farmers breeding these dogs were and are much better breeders than those intellectual and scientific attempts at re-creating the ban-dog! A cross between an Alaunt type German Mastiff, 'Sassin, who shows ribs while free standing at 140 lbs, to both an American Bulldog and a White English Bulldog was made to produce the American Bull Mastiff. The ABM is ONLY registered with the BBC. The ABM is gritty like bandogs, and greatly resembling the Boer Boel of South Africa, which themselves were developed mainly from German and Dutch Alaunt type bulldogs and Mastiffs, and they require a firm handler, yet are very protective. They absolutely love children as I wouldn't have it any other way, and are natural protectors bred for the specific task of livestock / family protection. Here in lies the great difference of the true Alaunt type Bull and Mastiff breeds of Arkabutla Farm's Kennels. They must be bred to protect the livestock and family , as true to the old days, or else, one is not truly breeding a "Band -dog," now are they? The ABM Various Bull and Mastiff breeds were imported into North America from various countries. The first major imports were brought by Spain. Such dogs have always been used in guarding farms and controlling livestock. Various breed types developed in various locations. The American Bull Mastiff represents one of these variations. Used to control unruly cattle and swine, as well as intruders, the ABM is a holding dog, par force. However, as a fighting dog, the ABM is not bred to kill predators, only to hold them. Though completely submissive, the ABM requires firm handling and training. Size: Females - 80-90 lbs. 23" - 27". Males - 90-100 lbs. 24" - 28". (Bigger is not better). Coat colors: Fawn, fawn and white, brindle and white, white. Back-breeding of the Estate Guard "Parallel to the increasingly cold world, sober objectivity, commercialization, growing angst among beings, there still grows the yearning for a creature that leads the human being back to another, better world.
A high stimulus threshold and good-natured ness toward man and animal in everyday life are the two basic requirements for dog breeds that must fit into out modern life. Pugnacity and unbridled aggressiveness are completely different from the sensible readiness to defend itself. Fighting dogs that bare their teeth, are nervous, or tremble not only are distorted images of their breed, they simply do not fit into our time. All the necessary anatomical changes are of secondary importance to the requirement of a reliable temperament. The Italians have their Mastino, the Argentines the Dogo, Brazilians the Fila. None of these breeds was bred seriously until about 30 years ago. And we? I think that imagination and creativity in breeding should not be reserved only for our forefathers. This is required just as much for the back-breeding of an extinct breed as for improvement of existing breeds today." Dr. Dieter Fleig
Above left: Estate dogs retrieving a loose bull. Righgt: Estate guards killing a fox that threatened the estate cats. Notice that at least two of the dogs are males. They are working together, not fighting each other. The central focus of this picture, for my purpose, is the large mastiff holding the fox down.
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The
Bandogs were used for protection as well as fighting in the arenas
against bears, bulls, lions, etc. The existing bandog is a crossbred
mastiff, rather the lurcher of the dog fighting world. These dogs are
sometimes called Swinford Bandogs or American Mastiffs." Canine
Lexicon
From this stock remains a few true to type working
mastiff breeds such as the Cane Corso and Branchiera Siciliano of Italy,
the Alano of Spain, and the White English and closely related Brindle
Bulldog of the southern US, to name a few. We already have the stock, we
simply need to recognize it and preserve it. Here, we can use modern
genetic knowledge..."And it is not the experienced and informed
breeders who are forever experimenting with out-crossing of strains. It
is rather the novice and inexperienced who hope in one fell swoop to
garner in one generation all of the virtues of both out-crossed strains
and to eliminate their faults. Bad results from out-crossing can be
eliminated through persistent inbreeding and selection, and the good
results so derived may be retained and perpetuated by the same means.
Out-crossing is for the breeder who is willing to devote generations to
the addition to his strain of a virtue which it lacks. If possible, that
virtue should be brought into the strain through an only partial
outcross, since out-crossing is quite as likely to destroy virtues
already possessed as to add others that are wanting and wanted."
The New Art of Breeding Better Dogs 
left:
English Alaunt type Mastiffs
