For anyone thinking this post is about dirty magazines filled with pictures of naked Bulldog ladies, sorry Bulldog boys, it’s not.

More seriously, we were asked not long ago why a breed standard in one country would differ from the breed’s standard in its country of origin. Specifically, we were asked why “smut” is an acceptable color for the Bulldog in the United Kingdom, but not mentioned in the AKC standard which states: Colors are red, white, fawn, fallow, or any combination of the foregoing. Patterns and markings may include brindle, piebald, ticking, black masks, black tipping, and a minimal amount of solid black in piebalds.”

There are several breed standards that differ from those in the country of origin, and the reasons why often elude us, but we think we know the answer to this question: It’s semantics.  In Bulldogs, “smut” refers to a dog of one solid color (red or fawn) with a black mask. The AKC standard simply “fleshes out” the description by indicating the specific colors (red, white, fawn, fallow…) and adds details about patterns and markings.

We weren’t able to get permission to share a picture of a “smut” Bulldog that we found, but if any Bulldog people out there have one and are willing to share, please post it here!  For now, we show a wonderful watercolor, “Bull And Ball,” by Debra Jones which is available as wall art, home decor, and lifestyle items here.