The history of a Bull Terrier

If you've ever wondered where the Bull Terrier originated from, we think you will find this information from the American Kennel Club a very interesting read :

It is an irony that some of the AKC's most amiable breeds began their careers as ferocious gladiators in blood sports. Such is the case of the Bull Terrier.

The pastime of bull-baiting, in which Bulldogs were turned lose on a staked bull as spectators bet on the outcome, was popular in Britain beginning in the 13th century. By the more enlightened 1830s, blood sports with animals were outlawed. This didn't stop those with a taste for such gruesome spectacles. They simply went underground to evade the law. Bull-baiting was, of course, too conspicuous an activity to continue illegally. Instead, the blood sport of choice became dogfighting, with dogs mauling other dogs in indoor pits, often in the cellars of taverns. 

Bulldogs proved too slow and plodding to provide much entertainment in these gruesome affairs. Thus began the process of crossing Bulldogs with terriers to produce fighters with the power of a Bulldog and the animation and fiery spirit of terriers. Among the breeds created in this way was the Bull Terrier.

Before long, the law caught up with pit fighting and this, too, was banned in Britain. Happily, the suddenly unemployed Bull Terrier became fashionable among young gentlemen of the mid-1800s. Breeders set to work on refining the breed's looks and sweetening its temperament, better to play the role of an upper-crust companion dog.

Hinks found a Bull Terrier a battered old bum/And made him a dog for a gentleman's chum.' So goes an old bit of doggerel. It was in the early 1860s that Englishman James Hinks took an old fighting breed, a Bulldog-terrier cross called the Bull-and-Terrier, and refined and standardized it as the modern Bull Terrier. Hinks's dogs were white, but by the early 20th century coloured specimens were seen. BTs came to the AKC in 1885 and have been American favourites ever since. Famous Bullies include General George Patton's Willy; Rufus, the 2006 Westminster winner; and Bullseye, the Target mascot.