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Leavitt Olde English Bulldogge

The Olde English Bulldogge is a purebred breed of dog. It is a re-creation of the Bull-baiting dog that existed in England during the English Regency period of 1811 and 1820 that was known as the Leavitt Old English Bulldog.

The Leavitt Olde English Bulldogge" is a specific re-creation of the "Regency Period Bull Baiter", developed by David Leavitt, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. In 1971 Mr. Leavitt began his project by utilizing a cattle line breeding scheme of Dr. Fechimer from Ohio State University. The goal was to create a dog with the look, health, and athleticism of the original bull-baiting dogs, but with a much less aggressive temperament. The composition of the Olde English Bulldogge was ½ Bulldog, 1/6 Bullmastiff, 1/6 American Pit Bull Terrier and 1/6 American Bulldog. After many carefully planned crosses, the Olde English Bulldogge emerged and began to breed true. Thus, Leavitt formed the leavitt Olde English Bulldogge Association (OEBA) to maintain the breeds stud book and issue registration papers to future offspring.

During the 1980s Ben and Karen Campetti from Sandisfield, MA worked closely with Leavitt in breeding the Olde English Bulldogge. Soon they acheived great success showing the breed in Molosser breed shows across the country and internationally. For several years the Olde Englsih Bulldogge was the top rare breed in rare breed conformation shows across the US. In 1993 Leavitt stopped breeding and turned the OEBA registry as well as his personal breeding stock over to Working Dog Inc. which was owned and operated by Michael Walz of Saylorsburg, PA. In 2005, due to the OEBA's inefficiency, Leavitt re-emerged and joined the Olde English Bulldogge Kennel Club (OEBKC). Leavitt declared that he was merging the OEBA registry with the registry of the OEBKC before he developed another club called the Leavitt Bulldog Association.

Despite recent controversy over the name that Leavitt assigned to the breed, today's Olde English Bulldogge is still breeding true to form and possesses excellent health, agility, temperament and a consistent look to that of the old working Bull Baiter of the English Regency Period. The OEBKC and Leavitt Bulldog Association are recognized as the only breed clubs of the Olde English Bulldogge and are working to protect and maintain the bloodlines that make the leavitt Olde English Bulldogge a purebred dog breed. They are currently in the process of achieving United Kennel Club recognition and have unified a single breed standard that is curently under review by the UKC.

Appearance

The leavitt Olde English Bulldogge is a muscular, medium sized dog of great strength, stability and athleticism. He is well balanced and proportioned, with no feature exaggerated or standing out. He has the appearance of a dog capable of doing his original job, bull baiting. Excessive height would have been detrimental for the old working Bulldog because he had to “play low” to avoid the bull’s horns and fasten onto his nose. A heavy weight dog would have also been at a disadvantage because the bull’s nose would have been more likely to rip, sending the dog flying.

Temperament

The disposition of the Leavitt Olde English Bulldogge is confident, courageous and alert. OEB’s are very friendly and loving. They are extremely strong and occasionally display same sex dog aggression, so socialization and obedience training are important. It is best to channel high energy individuals to some type of work and exercise.

Health

The Leavitt Olde English Bulldogge is a significantly healthier breed of dog than many modern Bulldog Breeds. The Olde English Bulldoge is quickly becoming well respected in many working venues such as weight pull, therapy training, French Ring Sport and several others. They have become excellent breathers and do not have to be kept in an air conditioned environment on hot days. They not only posess excellent stamina and athletic ability, they can breed and give birth on their own. Artificial insemination is not a standard protocal when breeding Olde English Bulldogges, natural ties are the standard. Caesarean sections are only needed in the event of unexpected complications at delivery like with almost any breed of dog. Breeders from both the Olde English Bulldogge Kennel Club, Inc. and Leavitt Bulldog Association are are working vigorously on educating new breeders among the breed on genetic disorders and the benefits modern genetic testing for these disorders can have on preventing genetic disorders in domestic animals. Many breeders are also becoming more aware of how important selective breeding can be to the breed as a whole.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note ** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.