It’s hard to follow an act like the Afghan Hound, but we think you’ll find that our next Purebred of Interest can more than hold its own. This can only mean that your first hint about the breed is here! Our POI breed was used widely on British estates, but it’s not the Bullmastiff which has been called the Gameskeeper’s Dog. At the time of the breed’s creation, England had many large estates owned by people not amused that the game on their land was being killed and stolen, or wounded and left to suffer. They paid gamekeepers to protect their game, but these men needed help in the way of a dog that would “have their backs.” Why? Because poachers were dangerous given that poaching was a hanging offense. Gameskeepers tried mastiffs, but for their purposes, the breed was slow and not driven to hold down a man. Bulldogs of the time were too ferocious and apt to leave a poacher a bit chewed up. The solution was a Bulldog and Mastiff mix of 60% Mastiff, 40% Bulldog.
Image: Bullmastiff Limited Edition Print by Vic Granger. Find this print here.