Although a Victorian bulldog is known as drooling, don’t be deterred by a little drooling! These endearing lumps are friendly, gentle and will be the heart and soul of your house. These low-maintenance dogs are a constant ray of sunshine in your life and bring light into your day.
If you are looking for a guard dog, you don’t bark much, but their burly physique and grumpy face can deter anyone who looks inside.
Their natural frowning is the exact opposite of the truth when it comes to these dogs. You are some of the happiest puppies you will ever meet and love to go to new places and meet new people.
Would you like to channel your British roots? Read below to learn more about the Victorian Bulldog…
Where did Victorian bulldogs come from?
The Victorian Bulldog is the highlight of the movement of “resurrection breeding” (i.e. H. rebreed a lost ancestor), where a breeder revives a race that no longer exists.
In 1985, breeder Kenn Mollett launched a program to replicate this lost breed. It is believed that the original bulldog during the Edwardian period in the early 20th century. Century has been lost somewhere.
With carefully selected bull breeds such as the English Bulldog and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Mollett used dogs that were exclusively registered with the British Kennel Club and was able to replicate a dog that was believed to have disappeared forever.
This bullbreed is a friendly and loving dog known for its gentle and devoted nature and is recognized by the American Canine Association, although it has only existed for 30 years.
Appearance of the Victorian bulldog
These puppies are in most aspects, such as the Old English Bulldog, a heavily built, medium-sized and muscular dog, with a wide face and muzzle.
The difference between the two Bulldogs is that the Victorian has bigger but lighter and a longer face than their English cousins, who are more stocky.
Size
They are a medium-sized dog with males between 65 and 75 pounds and females between 55 and 65 pounds.
Typically, they stand between 16 and 19 inches with little difference between the sexes, slightly larger than the 12 – 15 ‘for their English cousin.
Colours
These dogs have firm white, red, tabby or light brown coats. There are cases of two-tone bulldogs, but these dogs are much rarer and deviate from the breed standard.
Coat
The fur of this dog is short and smooth, similar to the fur you would see on a traditional bulldog.
Victorian Bulldog temperament
These dogs look stoic and grumpy, but this could not be further from the truth. You are a friendly and loving dog with a soft, gentle nature.
Their loving nature means that they require a lot of attention and will love cuddling with you on the couch and having some belly scratches.
You are attracted to people and enjoy being the life and soul of your house with their funny nature. Puppies of the Victorian bulldog are playful and wild, but quickly turn into quiet, satisfied adults. You are more than satisfied with playing with someone when they are encouraged to do so, but they are also more than happy to be just by your side.
These dogs are not big market criers, so you shouldn’t expect much noise from them, but as soon as they start barking, it is very difficult to make them stop. In addition, they don’t make much noise apart from their snoring!
This dog can be quite lazy and would rather do nothing but spend his day eating and sleeping. It can be a challenge to make your dog work, but once he gets up, he has an incredible joie de vivre that turns every walk into an adventure.
With people, Victorian bulldogs can be very social dogs and love to meet new people. However, caution should be exercised with unknown dogs or other animals, as it is known that they react negatively to unknown pets.
With good socialization at a young age, these dogs can make wonderful pets of the family.
Can a Victorian bulldog be a family dog?
These dogs are very suitable for families because they are fantastic with young children and fit exactly to your family.
Their stocky physique is deceptive, they are well suited for smaller rooms and are also suitable for living in apartments. Due to their lazy temperament, they don’t need much space to run and play.
Although this dog is known for his patience and is generally more than happy to let children climb over him, he still has a fracture.
If you plan to have your puppy regularly around young children, you should teach them limits and limits on how to treat the dog with care and respect.
How to train a Victorian bulldog
These dogs are very intelligent animals and react very well to basic obedience training due to their temperament.
As a bull race, most people think domination training is the way forward with these dogs. However, the exact opposite is the case.
Due to their loving and loyal temperamentVictorian Bulldogs do not react well to any form of dominance or strength-based training and should only be trained with positive reinforcement.
This breed reacts very well to clicker training – as a form of positive reinforcement. You can try this with your puppy. Positive reinforcement contributes significantly to the training of a rounded dog.
These dogs love to please, so training your dog with a food-based reward will help make training more encouraging for them due to their sometimes stubborn nature.
Exercise requirements
As a medium-sized dog, they only need 40 minutes of exercise every day. This can be divided into two walks per day and distributed over morning and evening.
These dogs are not big fans of exercise. So don’t expect them to be a great running partner soon.
An exercise is required; be it a walk or a farm game, as they get active every day is extremely beneficial for you and your health and well-being.
Yard Play can also be beneficial for this dog. Old English bulldogs love to play tug-of-war, and these guys are no different.
Every toy you give a bulldog should be durable, as these dogs like to chew.
Try to lure your dog with a pull rope to strain these muscles and promote full body training. However, bulldogs are stronger than you might think. So don’t be surprised if you are pulled over the ground!
Care and shedding
These dogs are average stables that shed lightly all year round and with the seasons twice a year. They must be easily maintained with a fine bristle comb.
This puppy is not a fan of water and therefore you may only want to bathe it if necessary. When bathing, make sure that you use a damp cloth under all its skin wrinkles and dry these areas properly.
When caring, it is also advantageous to clean ears and eyes to prevent infections. You may also want to brush your teeth to take your dog breath into account.
Feeding and nutrition
Like most bulldogs, this dog also does very well with raw food.
In order to feed your dog, raw food requires a basic understanding of nutrition. It is therefore not suitable for inexperienced owners. Consult a raw food company or your veterinarian if you want to feed your dog in this way.
If you don’t want to feed your dog raw, this breed is well suited for a diet with dry pet food. If you want to feed dry food, choose a high-quality grain-free dog food that is your best option.
A good compromise is to feed your dog a raw meal and dry food. This covers all potential dietary benefits.
Dry food works wonders on your dog’s teeth because it cleans them and removes plaque. While raw food ensures a high protein content in your dog’s diet, which contributes to improving body and coat condition.
Regardless of what you feed your dog, it is a good idea to distribute the food into two portions to reduce the risk of flatulence.
Known health problems of a Victorian Bulldog
Due to careful breeding, these dogs are not associated with genetic diseases, which is why most Victorian bulldogs lead a long, happy and healthy life.
However, since these dogs are not big fans of exercise and lead a fairly sedentary life, many tend to be overweight and therefore suffer from diseases related to obesity:
Being overweight can cause many problems in your dog, including joint problems such as hip and elbow dysplasia and breathing problems.
Getting up and walking your dog is the key to combating this problem and carefully managing the diet to ensure that you do not overfeed.
If you are concerned about the weight of your dog, contact your veterinarian for tailor-made advice.
How long do Victorian bulldogs live?
These dogs live on average 10 to 12 years. However, since these dogs are much healthier than their English cousins, they are known to live far beyond their life expectancy and are up to 15 years old.