Painting by Manuel Castellano in 1853. The scene is from Madrid.
There are different opinions on if the Alano Español and the Perro de Toro (Spanish Bulldog) is the same breed,
but most people that are involved in the Alano, and the ANCAE (Asociación Nacional de Criadores del Alano Español)
regards the Perro de Toro as just a heavier version of the Alano, used in the Bullfights of old times.
There are however breeders in Spain, and now in other countries, that breeds dogs that they claim is
Perro de Toro's. They do not regard the two breeds, Alano Español and Perro de Toro, to be the same breed,
but instead they regard the Spanish Bulldog as close related to the Dogue de Bordeaux.
It have probably always been different opinions about these breeds and
while some have regarded the Alano and the Perro de Toro as the same breed and interbred them, others have especially
bred only bulldog typed dogs together, and therefore referred to their dogs as Perro de Toros.
Obviously, the ones breeding only Perro de Toro typed dogs, should have a more "bulldoggy" stock than
the Perro de Toro-typed Alano, which contain blood from both the Alano and the Perro de Toro strain of Alano.
When Alano enthusiasts tells that the Perro de Toro and the Alano is the same breed, and that the Perro de Toro
is just a strain within the Alano, they are right. But we have to accept that some breeders regard this strain
to be Perro de Toros, and that they want to breed this strain as a separated breed.
Therefore this pages have been devided from the Alano Español pages, and they will show the past and present of
the "Bulldoggy" Alano Espanol; the Perro/Presa de Toro.
An old illustration of the Spanish Bulldog
that Mr. Frank Adcock imported to England in 1873.
When the Spanish Bulldog was imported to England in the 1800's they was clearly discribed as Spanish Bulldogs
and not as mastiffs. We can therefore presume that the imported Spanish dogs were of more bulldog type than mastiff type,
which the above picture of Mr. Adcock's import shows.
In one of my old dog-books (1930) it is written (no picture) that the Spanish Bulldog is equal to
the Dogue de Bordeaux in size and weight and they are often confused with each other. I do believe that both
the Dogue de Bordeaux and the Spanish Bulldog are remains of the type of the
old Molossers of central Europe, and while several other breeds are related to these dogs they are too much refined
to have kept the old type in their apperance.
As mentioned above the Spanish Bulldog were imported to England in the 1800's. In 1840 Mr. William George imported
a brindle pied Perro de Toro which he named "Big Headed Billy".
Mr. Marquart did import two Spanish Buldogs in 1868 and Mr. Frank Adcock imported two more in 1873.
We know for surtain that these dogs were used in breeding
of English Bulldogs and the following are taken from the "Book of the Dog", published in 1948;
"The Bulldog Club really came into being in order to save the British breed from
being crossed with the larger-sized Spanish Bulldog, which Mr. Frank Adcock had imported from Spain in
1873 -there had been constant warfare in the press from 1873 till 1875 between the lovers
of the old style and the Adcock party, who advocates the cross with the Spanish Bulldog.
Records show that 49 members joined the Club in the first year, and, as they comprised the cream of
the fancy of those dogs, they were strong enough to check partically all inter-breeding with the hated
Spanish Bulldog, except in the kennels of Mr. Frank Adcock and his friends, amongst
whom Mr. George Dawes, an ardent Birmingham enthusiast, was then prominent."
A picture, source unknown, that have been regarded as
a Presa de Toro by some, while others believe that this
dog is a Dogue de Bordeaux, Toulouse type (Toulouse Bulldog).
M.B. Wynn writes in his 1886 book "History of the Mastiff" the following; "It has been presumed without any decided
proof that the Spanish Bulldog was originally imported from England, but the truth of this is far from certain, and having
inspected some of the most noted Spanish Bulldogs that have been imported to this country, I have come to the conclusion
that although the Spanish Bulldog is or was a remnant of the true Pugnaces, yet it differs considerably to
the british Bulldog of modern age, in more characteristics than its greater size".
Wynn writes further in his 1886-book;"It may be unadvisable here to mention, that the imported pedigreeless
Couchez, (whose blood runs in nearly every modern Mastiff) bore all the trace of having a large percentage of
Spanish Bulldog blood in him, and although imported as a smooth St. Bernard I have little doubt that in reality
he was little else than a Spanish bull-mastiff or Alano".
The following is also from the same book; "As a proof of the presence of the mastiff or Alano in Spain in past times.
In Lockhart's Ancient Spanish Ballads mention is made of a mastiff that belonged to Don Pedro the
cruel, Vide 11, 12, 13, and 14 verses of the XXII. ballad, entitled "The murder of the master of St. Jago," which took
place at Sevile in 1358. I have not seen the original Spanish version, but the particulars mentioned in the ballad show that
a mastiff and not a small bulldog was meant."
We can judge by this that Wynn considered the Alano and the Mastiff, or Bullmastiff, to be, more or less, similar,
while he consider the Spanish Bulldog to be of another type. He describes the pedigree-less Couchez as a Spanish
Bull-Mastiff and judging by the illustration of Couchez we can understand that he compared him with a bull-mastiff.
However, Couchez was imported from northern Italy, which in fact Wynn writes in his book, so it is not likely that
he had some Alano blood in him, but rather blood from Italian Molossers, dogs that Wynn do not mention in his book at all.
We can assume that Wynn simply did not have any knowledge about the Italian Molosser breeds.
More about Couchez can be found at the Cane Garouf page here at Molosserworld.
Couchez.
The Spanish Bulldogs imported to England in the late 1800's were all around 41 kg. (90,2 lbs).
"Toro", one of the dogs imported by Mr. Frank Adcock,
was 56 cm. (22 in) at the shoulder. It is very interesting that "Igor de la Rocca", who is pictured at
these pages, has the same height.
All these early imported Spanish Bulldogs to England was described as very muscular dogs with lots of wrinkles and deep
flews. Powerful shoulders and neck and large feets, deep stop, undershot, and a broad and deep chest.
They all had cropped ears.
When judging the 1853 painting by Manuel Castellano, we can clearly see the power this dog are displaying,
and we can also see the recemblance to the Dogue de Bordeaux.
The extinct Toulouse type of the Dogue de Bordeaux was believed to be the Dogue that closest recembled the
Spanish Bulldog, and some researchers consider the two, The Toulouse Dogue and the Perro de Toro, to
practially be the same breed. Professor Kunstler (the man who wrote the first standard for FCI in 1910)
considered the Toulouse type to not be a Dogue at all but rather a bouledogue (Bulldog).
Perro de Toro with cropped ears, owned by Gomez Bleda.
Cropped ears since it is used for hunting wild pigs in the mountains.
There are probably still going to be much debated whether the Presa de Toro really is a bulldog typed
Alano or not. The truth is probably that it is a bulldog typed Alano Español, a strain within the Alano.
But we must accept that there are
breeders that regard the Perro de Toro to have enough differences, or breed characteristics, compared to the Alano,
to breed this strain as a breed of its own.
The information on this page proves that there has been a distinctive bulldog-typed "Alano" for a long time. To have been
able to keep the bulldog-type for so many generations, without loosing it, I would believe that some breeders must have
bred only bulldog-typed dogs to bulldog-typed dogs, a long time before our modern time. This would be the only logical scenario.
Let us hope that the future will bring favour to the Perro de Toro, and that the spanish entusiasts will separate the
Alano Español into two breeds; the Alano and the Perro/Presa de Toro, so that the historical old bulldog of
Spain will not dissapear.
"Igor de la Rocca" at 18 months of age,
together with Ermanno, the son of Igor's owner, Mr. Gilberto Pauciullo.
