All dogs present were extremely friendly and loved being touched and caressed by strangers. Neither did I see a shy dog nor an aggressive one. There were no macho demonstrations among the male dog. Therefore, the goal to create a "socially amicable" dog has no doubt been achieved with the Continental Bulldog.

It was a very hot summer day. At 15h00 the temperature outside had reached 29,5^oC and inside it was certainly hotter by at least two to three degrees but with the exception of three animals, none of the dogs showed breathing problems. On the contrary they happily did their rounds in the ring without heckling. The three exceptions were pronouncedly of the English Bulldog type which if I remember correctly were qualified by the judge as not in accordance with the Standard.

Again, the goal to breed dogs without serious breathing problems has been greatly achieved with the Continental Bulldog. Especially notable was the fact that how effortlessly the dogs moved at a trot. Apart from a few exceptions they showed excellent movement of the hind quarters, the noisy shuffling, one of the customary trademarks of the English Bulldog, was not to be heard. Also in this regard, a lot has been achieved towards the creation of a "sound, mobile dog". It is of course understandable that a breed at the outset of its creation cannot provide a uniform type. From breeds whose creation is well documented (like the Eurasian, Kromfohrländer, Saarloos, the Slovakian Wolfhound, Kaanan Dog, asf) it is well known that approx. ten generations of strictest selection is needed until a uniform phenotype can be obtained.

It is to be said that with the Eurasian it was relatively simple to breed a uniform type as he was created from the Chow Chow and Wolfspitz and also with the wolf hounds which came into existence from crossing the German shepherd with wolfs; whereas with the Kromfohrländer, one still cannot speak of a real phenotype as in order not to lay too much hardship on such an achievement, a number of varieties are accepted.

The creation of the Continental Bulldog can be compared with the problems in breeding the Kanaan Dog. There too, the first breeders, Dres. Menzel, had to chose those animals that fulfilled their vision of the new breed to the utmost out of a number of dogs mostly of unknown descent. Based on this knowledge it was to be expected and is absolutely understandable that various types were presented at the Club Show. The dogs that were in accordance with the standard to a very high degree were in the minority. However this will change from generation to generation and could be observed already now. The dogs in the junior classes were much more uniform than those in the open classes.

The following remarks shall not be construed as pre-judgement or as in contradiction to the judge’s critics because from outside the ring quite a number of features that influence the judgement cannot be properly evaluated.

With a larger part of the dogs I still miss the aspired proportions of the body (height at shoulder vs. length of body = 1:1,2). Many dogs are still too long and therefore, a number of them show too much fall in the back. The same holds true for the ratio height at shoulder : depth of brisket = 2:1, meaning that in many cases they are still too low to ground. These proportions are very important with regards to the phenotype of the dog and must be achieved in the future.

Many dogs, and among them the best, are at the ultimate level of size. We do not want to have a "little boxer" but at the utmost a middle sized bulldog; the ideal height is 42 to 44 cm. Most of the dogs carried a straight tail, screw tails or even twisted ones were rare. To believe that the form of the tail is an irrelevant detail is to forget that the tail is the continuation of the spine. A crippled tail usually does not stand by itself but correlates to a lesser or higher degree to a grave deformation of the discs in the area of the lumbar vertebra. Deformed tails, therefore, must become extinct.

A number of dogs have straight hind quarters thus the croup is higher than the height at shoulder which spoils considerably the overall impression.

Luckily with the Continental Bulldog the pear-shaped body meaning the narrow pelvis which by the way is one of the causes for the whelping problems has practically disappeared. However with some of them I still miss strong shoulders and elbows that lie closely to the thorax. On the other hand I did not see many weak pasterns and turned-out feet.

I was also pleased with the fact that many dogs had a sufficiently long and strong neck and a nicely arched neck line and little dewlap. Also in this regard a very positive progress has been made.

What concerns the heads I must desist from giving any opinion as circumference, teeth, wrinkles and eyes cannot be judged from outside the ring and I have to leave it to the judge to make his evaluations. All I could say is that for my taste still too many dogs have an extreme stop which can be one of the reasons for breathing problems and in addition is the reason for being highly undershot.

In this respect breeders will not find an easy answer to the problem. On the one hand we would like to be our dogs not or only slightly undershot but on the other hand the typically large muzzle should remain. Fact is however, that the length of the upper jaw und the length of the under jaw are influenced by different and independently acting genetical factors which means that the shortening of the upper jaw does not necessarily produce an equally shorter under jaw. Occlusion means that a dog must be able to bite with his incisors. However, with a distance of more than 2 mm between the upper and the lower incisors, biting is no longer possible. A distance of 3 mm or more must be regarded as a deformation of the skull. The aim is to obtain a well marked stop without the deep dent and a straight nasal bone which must not be too short.

This year it is exactly 50 years that I have been active as judge of dog shows. During this period of time I have judge innumerable dog shows all over Europe and also in Australia. Very seldom did I encounter a show that was so well and impeccably organised in every respect as the first club show of the Continental Bulldog Club Switzerland. It was a real pleasure to judge the dogs under these conditions to which of course also the correct manners of the exhibitors contributed considerably.

I was, however, less satisfied with the presentation of a number of dogs. Of course it has to be taken into account that neither the owners nor the dogs had a lot of show experience. To my mind this situation must be remedied by giving proper instructions and offering ring trainings and I regard it as an indispensable duty of the club to see to this. It goes without saying that the dog owners have to actively participate in such activities.

60 Continental Bulldogs were entered and 56 shown which is very representative for such a new breed. The quality of all dogs shown was extremely high. As a very positive factor can be regarded that especially the dogs in the younger categories were already of a more uniform quality than those of the older classes. To 11 dogs out of the 15 in the baby and puppy classes I could award the highest qualification "very promising" and to the remaining four the qualification "promising" which means that those too were within the limits of the standard. This proves that the strict selection of the parent animals on the basis of the "typisation code" is successful

6 Continental Bulldogs of the 41 entered in the older classes qualified for the highest mark "excellent", 25 were judged as "very good" and 10 had to be given a "good". Again, this means that all of them were in various degrees in accordance with the standard and this must be regarded as a complete success. The dogs that were qualified with "good" had to leave the ring only because they did not qualify to be placed but without doubt they are sufficiently valuable animals.

A different qualification for the same dog by the same judge has to be explained mainly by the form of the day the dog showed. Apart from this I want to stress the point that between an "excellent" and a "very good" there is only a slight difference. It is, however, the duty of a judge to make note of such minor faults. It is even more important at the outset of the development of a new breed to have available exact information in order not to double deficiencies.

It would not be correct to just mention the success because still a lot of work and a great responsibility are ahead of us in the consolidation of the phenotype with regards to size, height, correct stifles as well as the form of the head and correct teeth. It must be underlined that we can be very satisfied with the temperament because without exception all of the exhibited Continental Bulldogs were absolutely friendly and good-natured.

I was pleased and honoured that at the end of my curriculum that was included in the catalogue the reference was made to "my Continental Bulldogs". I do have to correct this statement categorically because there were also a number other renowned Cynologists involved in the development of this new breed – first and foremost Imelda Angehrn who initiated the program as well as Dr. h.c. Hans Raeber.

I think it is very positive that today the new Swiss breed "Continental Bulldog" exists but we all have to contribute to its development to the utmost of our possibilities. In this connection I like to make a few observations with regards to the scepticism still prevailing among a number of people whether the creation of a new breed is necessary and desirable as there are so many different breeds in existence already.

To my mind it is not only necessary but our responsibility as well as of future Cynologie generations. Cynologie is not a still but a live matter which has to undergo changes continually.

The same way as we create the Continental Bulldog today, for instance the Doberman and Leonberger came into existence in the 19^th century During the first half of the 20^th century the hunting terrier came into being and during the second half the Czechoslovakian Wolfhound, the Kromfohrländer as well as the Eurasian dog. I was personally involved at the beginning of the development of the four last mentioned breeds and I encountered the same scepticism at the time. Today all of these breeds are recognised by the FCI and well liked by the public.

What’s more, the creation of the Continental Bulldog is justified just by the fact that there presently exists no middle sized, easy to care for, sound bulldog-type dog with the best disposition to be an ideal family dog that can also be used for the various types of dog sports.

                                                                                                sig. Dr. Jan Nesvadba