The Bullenbeisser, Now in a Breed Near You

In a small village in Germany, a naughty dog is called a “bullenbeisser,” but the word is also the name of a molosser-type dog that was native to Germany and the Low Countries. It was, at one time, a common dog found throughout the lands of the Holy Roman Empire where it was also known as the Barenbeiszer, Bullenbijter, German Mastiff, and German Bulldog. It specialized in boar hunting, bull-baiting, and as a livestock catch dog, and later, for personal and property protection. That the dogs across the lands had a “similar but different” appearance from one state to the next was the result of localized versions of the breed being developed. Over time, however, Bullenbeissers, began to be seen less frequently. Frequent breedings with English Bulldogs, the popularity of other breeds, and modern farming methods saw the beginning of the end for the breed, and in the early 1900’s, the Bullenbeisser was gone forever.

Why we’re telling you about the Bullenbeisser is because its real claim to fame was the key role it played in the development of a several breeds we love today. Early Boxers were thought to be half Bullenbeisser and half English Bulldog, while PetMD posits that the Great Dane can trace approximately half of its ancestry to the breed. The Rhodesian Rideback and Boerboel are also thought to have Bullenbeiser in their background from dogs taken to South Africa with Dutch colonists.
Knowing the background of a breed is important to breeders charged with safekeeping its future. For the rest of us, learning about the histories of our various breeds is just plain interesting. Ultimately, however, the Bullenbeisser’s fate is a reminder that extinct is forever. Some experts believe that at least 40 dog breeds are now known to be extinct, and shockingly, several breeds of today are on the brink of vanishing in our lifetime.
Image By Johann Elias Ridinger – Johann Elias Ridinger, Entwurff Einiger Thiere, S. 13, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27164483

4 thoughts on “The Bullenbeisser, Now in a Breed Near You”

  1. I have a german boxer that looks more like his forefathers than the boxer he is.

    • Nada, we’re not sure what you’re asking us. Are you asking for the breed of the large dog, or the Beagle with tiger stripes? Either way, we need a photograph.

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