The bull dog's body is heavy and muscular with a short thick neck and shoulders. Their body is slung low to the ground and their tail is short. A bull dog has a short broad face with cheeks that extend to the outside of their large, round, dark eyes. The skin on their face hangs in dense folds. The cheeks especially hang to the sides of the mouth in folds on many of the dogs. Bull dogs have a short pug muzzle with a broad nose possessing large nostrils. The upper lip of the dog hangs like a pendent and the lower jaw is very recessed into the face.
Bull dogs tend to have breathing problems, due to the shortness of their muzzle, especially have problems with snoring and allergies. The bull dog was bred especially to have a muzzle that could grip things more easily. This shortened muzzle, together with their strong jaws, lets the bull dog have such a strong grip, that they can hang from their jaw suspended for over an hour with a grip reminiscent of a vice.
A bull dog has large strong teeth, adding to their gripping ability, and ears that are small and thin, folding back in pleats that resemble roses. They usually live eight to twelve years.
Exercise is very important to a bull dog, and they need it daily to keep from getting too heavy. If a bull dog gets too heavy it could cause heart or lung problems. During heat spells the owner of a bull dog should be careful that the dog doesn't get too warm, by offering plenty of shade and water or ideally kept totally out of the heat, because bull dogs are very heat and cold sensitive. Therefore the exercise for the dog should be carried out indoors somehow during heat spells, and the dog should stay indoors during cold spells, except for short amounts of time.
You need to clean the folds on the bulldog's face and body every day, to keep the moisture from accumulating bacteria that can cause infections. You should also brush their teeth with a soft toothbrush and a toothpaste that your veterinarian has recommended. For more information on the grooming regimes of the Bull Dog, and just to find out more about this beautiful breed, try online resources like VideoJug.com. If your dog develops eye problems, dryness or red skin hanging into the eye, you should know this is a common problem among dog breeds, including the bull dog. It is called cherry eye. It is treated by surgically relocating the gland that is visibly protruding into the eye, as well as with eye drops to remedy any dryness of the eye the dog may have.
Bull dogs come in many colors. They can be red, fawn, pale yellow, white, washed out red, tawny or any combination of these. They also have short smooth haired coats.
Bull dogs were bred as a cross between the pug and the mastiff in England, and the term bull dog has been used since approximately 1568. By the 1600's bull dogs were used for games such as bull baiting. The dog is short enough to stay under the other animal's horns, the folds on the dog's face let the blood drawn, by means of its sharp teeth, drain and run down the bull dogs face away from its eyes and the laid back nose lets the bull dog continue to reach air enough to breath during his attack on the bull or other animal.
