Old game Bred Bull terriers

The image I am posting is my great grandfathers game dog that he always called a bull terrier. This is the only photo I have of this dog. The picture would of been taken just after world war 1 when he came home from France. All I know is from what I have been told by my Father and Grandfather that he was extremely game and hard as a coffin nail. I know he was in contests on several occasions and always came out on top. A good dog in his day. My great Grandfather always said to his final days that he was the best dog he ever owned hands down. Since a lot of the members here have forgot more about game dogs than I will ever know, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with what possible bloodlines he was off of and perhaps the size of the dog? My great Grandfather in the image next to the dog was also a heavy weight boxer and was 5'10'' and 190lbs at the time of the picture. Any info on this dog would be greatly appreciated.

 

Great photo. A lot of people just called them Bull Terriers around the early 1900's. Pit Bull Terriers were registered as Bull Terriers with the A.K.C. alongside the show bull terriers. There were also lots of White Pit Bull Terriers around at the time.

In Armitage's book he recalls of a Boston Terrier x Bull Terrier that beat a Colby dog.

Frisco Sport a champion had the show Bull Terrier Edgecote Al as his Grandsire.

Rubel's Champion Dan originally called Crellin's Dan born in 1899 and still alive in 1911 was a winner of 11 battles, his sire Frisco had some names more associated with Bull Terriers in his pedigree.

 

Frisco sport 1915


Frontier 1916


Viper 1913
23lb full sister to bowsers crib

 

Thank you very much for your input. So you would classify my great Grandfathers dog more as a apbt than bullterrier? Also how big do you think he is? I would guess around 60lbs conditioned.

 

Those white dogs look almost identical! Thank you. The photo of my great Grandfathers dog was around 1919-1920 so very close in years as well.

 

Impossible to say really without knowing the names behind the breeding. 60lbs sounds way too big.

Champion Dan was a 40lb dog and he looked like a monster. The henry dogs were often in the 60lbs plus range and they looked huge, dogs like Black Brandy, plunger etc.

Trix marvelous was 56lbs

Champion dynamite

 

I was just guessed 60lbs by the size of him compared to my grandfather in the picture he looks like a good sized dog. I also thought a 60lb dog was very large for the time. The henry dogs of which you speak of are like Tudors Jack Swift?

 

Show English Bull Terriers at the time.

 

Im not sure about Tudors Jack Swift but the ones im familiar with around 1905-13 area would be these.

 

Nice clean looking dogs. From what I have read is that Earl Tudor purchased all the old Henry dogs. Tudor said they where the best dogs he ever owned also the hardest handling dogs he owned. He said they were pure English dogs and they were better than the Irish dogs. That is the Blood that Earl Tudor started with. As for all the great pictures of dogs you have posted I would say that Frisco Sport and Frontier are the most similar to my Great Grandfathers dog.

 

65lb dog

60lb dog


50lb dog

 

Tudor also said that the old Henry dogs you could always spot because they had red eyes like a raccoon.

 

Here is Tudors Jack Swift a old Henry dog.

 

Going back to my great Grandfathers dog a story I was always told is that back then a lot of hobos would jump on and ride trains. My great Grandfather owned a business that had horse drawn equipment (Graders ec.) He had a machine pole shed at his business and the hobos would sneak in there for shelter and sleep. This is also the place where he kept the dog. On Monday mornings he would have to let the hobos out because the dog would let them in but would never let them leave. All the hobos would be huddled up and trapped in a corner and none would dare leave, some got trapped in there for days. But to my knowledge he never chewed up any of them I guess the dog had the upperhand.

 

Sounds like you've read the Oklahoma Kid bio of Tudor by Don Mayfield, same as I have. Very good read.

 

You are right that must be wear I read it. It was a good read I really like the dogs from 100 plus years ago.

 

If you do a google search for "Vintage Pit Bull Terrier" a lot of old similar period photos come up with dog people had as pets at the time. some obvious Bull Terriers some more Pit Bull Terrier like.



1899

 

Those old bull terriers you have posted are a great looking dog. I image they could be pit or pet. Someone should start breeding these dog to the specs that they were 100 plus years ago instead of the egg shaped heads of the bull terriers of today.

 

Here is a couple of Gull Terriers. They are very close to the old bull terriers. They are found in India and Pakistan. They came from England in the 1800s. They may have some of the native dog from there bred into them [bully kuta] but still look very similar to the bull terrier of old. To my knowledge there is none in north america. I would love to see some imported.

 

The Gull Terrier is a separate dog from the Modern English Bull Terrier kept today in India. I only know this from talking to a few people from India and a guy on here who know's his Bull Terriers. There are some in the UK that still breed working Bull Terrier's.

This is a rescue dog in the UK that is of the old type.
https://web.archive.org/web/2016072.../1339509-jans-dog-rescue-portia-coventry.html