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A Review of the American Johnson
Bulldog used in Australia for catching Wild Boar by Steve.
Everyone is always searching for a definitive breed of dog that will excel in
catching wild pigs in Australia and for most Austr alians the bigger the better.
In the past ten years a rare breed has re-emerged from foreign shores to reclaim
that recognition, used as the base of many great hunting breeds it is the
bulldog. It has had many names, The Old English Bulldog, The English White, The
Southern White, HillyBilly HogDogs, etc. Basically the American Bulldog origins
date back to the original Butcher’s Bulldogs bred for catching livestock,
protecting their master’s and families and unfortunately for the blood-sports
(bull-baiting, etc) which when banned saw the a large decline of the breeds
numbers. Many were bred with smaller dogs to create many of the smaller bull
breed whilst a small population travelled with settlers to American. It was in
America that breeding was continued along the same original lines, for catching
livestock and protection. Two men emerged as credible breeders of this breed of
working dogs Mr Allen Scott and Mr John D. Johnson, hence the two lines, which
most breeders discuss today the Scott line and the Johnson line. I have not
written this review merely to talk history but to explain my observations and
make my recommendations for the use of this breed catching wild pigs in
Australia.
I purchased my Johnson Bulldog
here in
Australia bred from imported (USA) parents Andrew’s Krunch and Sodeau’s
Suzie. I began hunting with him at 5 months old, at
this stage he showed no fear, raced straight for the ear and held regardless
of what took place. He has not stopped since; he has hunted the swamps and
hills of Northern NSW, Central NSW, Qld Darling Downs, Qld Sugar Cane
districts and in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
THE INFORMATION I HAVE PRESENTED BELOW
IS OF OBSERVATIONS OF MY DOG’S ABILITY AS A JOHNSON BULLDOG, I AM
NOT A BREEDER, I AM SIMPLY GIVING MY OPINION AS A PIG HUNTER.
Andrews Krunch
SODEAU’S SUZIE
The owner of this bitch is
currently looking for another suitable sire. She is situated in SE Qld.
BODY
TYPE/SIZE:
Many people will ask is he a Mastiff/Boxer cross and
many bulldogs will have the similar head and muzzle of a boxer. They are
definitely not the same body type or breeding as a BANDOG or AMERICAN BANDOG
although many people are advertising and selling Bandogs as Bulldogs, there is
no comparison. There is a large difference in body size and type in American
Bulldogs, even within the same litter. All bulldogs have well defined muscling
over their entire body; some are more defined athletic in stature, whilst others
are heavy boned extremely solid dogs. Height of the dog or bitch can also vary
considerably.
MALES CAN RANGE FROM: 40 kg to 60
kg HEIGHT: 60cm to75cm
FEMALES CAN RANGE FROM: 35kg to 55
kg HEIGHT: 50cm to 65 cm
Western Australian dog “Rock”
and Stonka 1 yr old.
TEMPERAMENT:
The Johnson line of Bulldog is renowned for breeding
a stable temperament, socialised correctly with other dogs they have no
problems. My bulldog shares his compound with a male cattle dog, and on hunting
trips has shared cages with everything from Pit-bull males to Great Dane
crosses. They are a very loyal family pet and devoted to their owners and
family. They make an excellent guard dog, just their stature alone scares most
people. They are very intelligent and easily trained many are used for
protection or guard dog work. As seen above ‘Rock’ Protection training. Really
they are big sooks when it comes to women and kids.
 STAMINA AND ABILITY TO HUNT:
I’ve found that when using my dog for hunting I must
keep his weight to a lean 40 kg maybe even a little less, he looks quite tucked
but handles the heat and has far more stamina. Most people would realise taking
a fat, unfit dog hunting usually results in overheating no matter what breed.
He has demonstrated his ability is just as good as any hound in finding pigs in
a variety of areas as mentioned previously. Finding a protective breastplate
that does not restrict and run them too hot is the difficulty. Being so large
in the chest they don’t suit too many ‘One Size Fits All’ breastplates. They
are quite fast chasing pigs, with a running start he has pulled them up in at
least 150 m in open country, a little more in dense scrub. Overall if you keep
them fit and hunt them sensibly they have the finding and catching ability
compared to most Mastiff/Dane crosses. I’ve never seen a dog get so into
hunting and absolutely love it.
 COLOURS/MARKINGS:
Colours of the breed can range from all white
to solid brindle or tan dogs. Most breeders aim for white with patches of
colour and are not real impressed with solid coloured dogs. Too much pink on
the nose or around the eyes can be a sun safety problem; really depends on how
dedicated you are to applying zinc. I’ve had people ask me about their feet
being a white dog; Stonka copes extremely well running on all surfaces, from
burrs to harsh slate country his feet are just as good as any.
COST: There
are pups available from between $600-1100 dollars, depending on their breeding.
The bulk of the breed is in N.S.W, there are quite a few studs in Western
Australia and a few select breeders in Queensland. Beware of buying from people
that can’t produce evidence that their dogs are of pure breeding, as I was
mentioning before many people are starting to cash in on cross bred dogs that
look similar and selling them as Bulldogs. There are two registry groups that I
know of the Australian Bulldog Association and the American Bulldog Association
that purebreds are registered with. 
CROSSBRED BULLDOGS:
George Andrews sells Bulldog/Bull Arab pups
quite regularly and I’ve had many people comment on how pleased they are with
this breeding. I’ve come across others crossing Bulldogs with Whippets or
Greyhounds, Wolfhounds and of course Great Danes. I would definitely recommend
adding the Bulldog as a crossbreed to give more hunting drive to your dogs and
holding ability.
WHERE TO FIND OUT
MORE:
There are some great web-sites both here in
Australia, America and Europe to see the variety in the breed, find out their
history, see pups, etc. Just go to a search engine and type
in American Bull Dogs.
Pups by
Stonka out of a Crossbred bitch, she had 14 pups. Pups
at 6 wks.
Left: Stonka
sharing a rope with hunting partner |
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If you're interested in an American
Bulldog pup click on the image below.
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