Three Bullenbeissers.
By John. E. L. Riedinger (1698-1767) of Augusburg.
"When Marius, (who died B.C. 86) defeated the Cimbri, according to Strabo, the wardogs so successfully defended the women
and baggage, that the battle had to be recommended." (M. B. Wynn; The History of the Mastiff, 1886).
The Bullenbeisser, Bärenbeisser & Branbanter of Central Europe could be found in the area that now covers the countries of
Belgium, Holland, Germany and Poland. How these dogs did arrive in Central Europe, and how long time they have been there
is unknown, but it is most likely that these old Central European Molossers is a blend from several ancestors, and from
different times in history; Celtic & Cimbrian dogs, wardogs brought by attacking or passing by armies, dogs brought to
the area by human migration (Goths, Alans, Huns, Vandals, etc), dogs aquired by trade, etc. We should not expect that the
earliest versions of these breeds were uniform in type, since new dogs arriving would be used in the breeding, if they had
any trait that was wanted. Slowly these dogs were getting its specific breed-type and traits, and became devided into
the Dutch Mastiff, Bullenbeisser, Bärenbeisser, Brabantse Bullenbitjer/Brabanter Bullenbeisser & Danziger Bullenbeisser, even
if it is not always so clear where to draw the line, especially between the little Bärenbeisser and the large Bullenbeisser.
For the best descriptions and illustrations of these dogs we must move closer to our modern time, and take a brake in
the late 1600's/early 1700's.
Detail from the painting "Massacre of the Innocents",
by Peter Bruegel the Elder, showing a large Bärenbeisser.
This flemish painting was made in 1565.
John E. L. Riedinger (1698-1767) from Augsburg, Germany, was well known for his portrets on the German Molossers, and he is
the most reliable source when it comes to the illustrations of the Bullen/Bärenbeissers of this time in history.
Riedinger also gave written references to these dogs, when he wrote; "The main portion of most old time German
hunting packs were made up of coarse haired, big dogs with bush tails and wolfish heads called "Rüden". They were
supplied to the courts by the peasants in immense numbers and suffered great losses at every hunt,
therefore no particular pains were taken to breed them. The Doggen and Bullenbeisser, however, knew instinctively how to
tackle the game from behind and hold it in a way that kept them from serious injury yet gave the hunters time to reach
the kill therefore they were more valuable to the hunt and were accordingly highly prized and painstakingly bred."
By this description we also learn that these dogs were used for hunting big game, and we can assume, by Riedinger's words
that these dogs were
"Highly prized and painstakingly bred", that the dogs were kept more or less pure, else they
would surely loose their desired and prized traits as hunting dogs.
We do a leap in history, just to read what Wagner wrote about these dogs in 1950; "Through comparison of Spanish and
French autors of the late 12th to 14th centuries with autentic English and German sources we find that the so-called
"Dogge" title was used as a collectivism for all strongly built, short-haired chase dogs with large heads, powerfully
developed muzzles and triangle-like, stubbing and drooping upper lip, strong bodies and teeth and that the Doggen forms
of all European countries from the middle ages up to the present day are limited to three types which have in the course
of time developed into national breeds. They are:
1. The heavy Bullenbeisser.
2. The large hound ecolved by crossing the Bullenbeisser with the old type Wolfhound or Deerhound.
3. The small Bullenbeisser which represents a smaller form of the heavy Bullenbeisser through natural selection.
Head studies of Doggen types, by John E. L. Riedinger.
The dogs got their name Bullenbeisser (Bull biter) the same way the English Bulldogge got its name; through the work the
dogs were used on.
Bärenbeisser (Bear biter) are described as almost the same dog, somewhat bigger than the Bullenbeisser. They were used in
in hunting and fighting the Bären (brown bear). Probably was these two breeds, the Bullen and Bärenbeisser, the same breed,
only differing in size.
Brabanter got their name from the province Brabant in northeast Belgium and was a smaller Bullenbeisser.
An early 1800's German writer wrote that a different kind of Bullenbeisser, of medium size, were being established
in Brabant. He tells us that these dogs were hunting and baiting bears, makes good watchdogs, had short noses with black
muzzles, protruding lower jaws and was black and yellow striped in colour. It is believed that it was not before the
English Bulldogge came to Germany that the white gene was introduced to the Bullenbeisser.
The Danziger Bullenbeisser got its name from the town Danzig (now Gdansk) in Poland, which earlier did belong to Germany.
These Danziger Bullenbeissers was described as large, much larger than the Brabanter, and we can assume that the Danziger
was more or less the same dog as the Bärenbeisser.
The Dutch Mastiff was mentioned by M. B. Wynn in his 1886 book; "There is a breed indigenous to, or at least of great
antiquity in Holland and Germany, called the Dutch Mastiff, and are closely allied to the British variety, being of fierce
nature, and presenting the short truncated muzzle. This breed, which are apparently the true descendants of the war dogs of
Gaul, have been much crossed says a well known writer, with the larger Mastiff. In the cronicles of the knight of St. John
of Jerusalem, there is a mention of a Mastiff called Dreadnaught, who saved his master from the coils of a serpent by his
courage and agility. The dog is stated to have been descended from the fore-mentioned cross. However, the Dutch Mastiff is
still to be met with occasionally in Holland."
About 1875, Mr. Theo Basset did meet one of these Dutch Mastiffs in Hamburg. He described the dog as standing not more
than 71 cm. (30 in) at the shoulder and weighing 81,5 kg. (179 lb). He made a rough sketch of this dog, showing that it
have to been a long, low, massive animal, with vast bone, but short limbs, coat and stern both fine.
All these were developed from the same ancestors and although some were kept "pure"
due to their specific working abilities, we should expect that some interbreeding was done, and by Wynn's description we
learn that the Dutch Mastiff was crossed with the British Mastiff.
A carved powder flask, showing large Bärenbeissers and small Bullenbeissers hunting wild boar.
Central Europe, second half of the 1600's.
Today it is generally accepted that the smaller Bullenbeisser bred in Brabant, together with the British Bulldogge,
is the ancestor of the modern Boxer.
The larger Bullenbeisser is believed to be one of the ancestors of the Great Dane. Others do, however, believe that the
Great Dane is a result of crossing English Mastiffs with Greyhounds. The truth is probably that both versions are accurate.
We know for sure that both the English Mastiff and Mastiff-crosses was imported to central Europe. In Britain they crossed
the Mastiff with the Greyhound, and possibly the Irish Greyhound (Irish Wolfhound), to make swifter and more agile
hunting dogs. These dogs never got any popular in Britain, but when shipped to Germany they soon found many admireres.
These dogs, described in early German literature as "Englische Dogge", together with the large Bullenbeisser, or Bärenbeisser
if you prefer, was mostly likely both involved in the breed base of the dog that later was to be known as "Deutsche Dogge"
(Great Dane).
The Bullenbeisser was also brought to South Africa by the Boer and German settlers, and can therefore be found in the breed
base of the Boerboel and the Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Drawing by John E. L. Riedinger, explained in Wagner's 1950 book as a "Large or Danziger Bullenbeisser".
Today the Bullenbeisser, or its sub-types, can not be found. It is believed that they dissapeared at the end of the 1800's,
when the Boxer gained popularity in Germany. The Boxer so to speak filled the role of the Bullenbeisser, and the Bullenbeisser,
a pedigreeless and not so favored breed now when the dog fights was banned and the big game was dissapeared from the forests,
got extinct.
It is however rumours going that the Brabanter still lives, but they would most likely show to be just recreations.
Different recreations, and recreation attempts, of the Bullebeisser and the Brabanter, have been done both in Europe and
in the USA.
