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Spuds
Spuds
MacKenzie, the original party animal, made his debut in a
Bud Light beer commercial during the Super Bowl in 1987. Spuds,
who also functioned as senior party consultant for the Anheuser-Busch
Company, purveyors of Bud Light beer, was an affable rake
with an egg-shaped face and a black circle around one eye.
He became a marketing sensation almost faster than you can
say, "This Spuds' for you." Nearly every time you turned on
a sporting event on the tube, there was Spuds -- water skiing,
skateboarding, lounging by a pool with a bevy of beautiful
women or doing something else that was more glamorous than
what you were doing. His image and likeness appeared on T-shirts,
sweaters, mugs, posters and stuffed animals, outfacing those
of other popular television creatures of the time, including
the redoubtable ALF and mighty Max Headroom.
Whiter Shades of Pale
The omnipopular
Spuds MacKenzie was a bull terrier, a breed developed in England
during the middle of the 19th century about the time the first
recorded dog shows were held there. One of the most prominent
exhibitors at that time was James Hinks of Birmingham, who
made a comfortable living selling dogs. Among the several
breeds for which Hinks was known was the bull-and-terrier.
This breed, which is no longer in existence, was the product
of an arranged marriage calculated to combine the bulldog's
courage, tenacity and high threshold of pain with the now-extinct
black-and-tan terrier's lightning speed, agility and unsurpassed
ratting instinct. The result was an extremely rugged dog well
suited for the "sport" of pit fighting, which was legal and
popular in England until the early 1800s and which remained
popular even when it was no longer legal.
The bull-and-terrier
could best be described as downright ugly. Its legs were bowed,
its neck and head were short and thick, its body was low-slung
and clumsy looking, and it came in a variety of smutty colors.
This was a combination only dog fighters and rat (or badger)
hunters could love.
Beneath
the bull-and-terrier's clock-stopping appearance, however,
lay an exceptional combination of traits, not the least of
which was an unfaltering devotion to its owner. James Hinks
decided, therefore, to create a bull-and-terrier whose looks
would better reflect its noble character.
When Hinks
set about this task, he enlisted the aid of the white English
terriers in his kennel. These dogs, whiich are also now extinct,
were elegant of line, graceful of bearing and straight of
leg. Eventually Hinks was able to make smooth the misshapen
form of the bull-and-terriers and to establish in its place
the more graceful lines of the white English terrier, albeit
with more bone and muscularity than the white terrier possessed.
The homely
improvements bestowed by the white terrier also extended to
color. The new bull- and-terriers were more attractively marked,
usually on a white ground color, and before long Hinks and
the breeders who assisted him in his mission produced dogs
that were substantially white.
Beauty's Only Skin Deep
Fighting-dog
purists scoffed at this new look and complained that prettying
up the stalwart bull-and-terriers would rob them of their
pugnacity, which was their crowning virtue. To prove his critics
wrong Hinks sent his female Puss, who weighed but 40 pounds,
out to do battle with a 60-pound female of the old-fashioned
type in London in 1862. A five-pound note and a case of champagne
rode on the outcome of the match. In fewer than 30 minutes
Puss dispatched her opponent while suffering no more than
a few minor scratches on her own elegant self. According to
one writer Puss went off to take a red ribbon in a conformation
class at a legitimate dog show later in the day. (Another
writer claims that Puss took the top prize that day.)
As time
progressed, Hinks and other aficionados of the new bull-and-terrier
added a drop of Dalmatian blood here, a dollop of greyhound
there, perhaps a few dashes of Spanish pointer, too, and,
some say, even foxhound. There is also evidence of a borzoi
cross entering the mix along the way, that evidence revealing
itself in the convex profile of the bull terrier's head. The
final result of Hinks and company's makeover of the old bull-and-terrier
was a dog that came to be known simply as the bull terrier,
a breed with a unique look that fanciers to this day would
call handsome rather than beautiful.
The Big and Small of It
Before
he died in 1878 James Hinks had placed his breeding stock
in the hands of other fanciers. Ten years after Hinks' death
the first breed standard for bull terriers was published by
the newly formed Bull Terrier Club in England. The breed caught
the fancy of Americans as well, and the bull terrier was recognized
by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1895.
For a
number of reasons that obtained during the bull terrier's
development, size has varied so considerably in the breed
that a movement eventually began in England to separate bullies
into two sizes -- standard and miniature. The AKC recognized
the size differential in 1992, and the United Kennel Club,
which had recognized the bull terrier in 1948, approved the
distinction in 1993. Although the two divisions -- standard
and miniature -- are considered separate and distinct breeds,
the only desirable difference between them is size. Miniature
bull terriers should be 10 to 14 inches at the shoulder. The
standard variety, while it doesn't have to fall within a prescribed
range of heights beyond 14 inches, should posses substantial
bone and substance. As a point of comparison, the standard
bull terrier usually stands about 22 inches at the shoulder
and weighs fewer than 60 pounds.
No matter
what their size, bull terriers come in either white, with
minimal head markings allowed, or colored. The colored version
is heavily marked with one of a variety of acceptable colors
on the head and body. Those differences aside, both standard
and miniature bull terriers, white or colored, should have
a long, egg-shaped head, erect ears, small, triangular eyes,
cobby body, broad chest, well-sprung ribs and short, hard,
slick, easy-to-care-for coat.
A Character In Its Own Right
The bull
terrier look is undeniably unique but no more unique than
the charismatic temperament of this engaging breed. The well-bred
bull terrier is confident, courageous, good-natured and loyal
to a fault. Most bull terriers have lived down their blatantly
aggressive temperaments and will tolerate other dogs briefly,
but woe to the dog that even thinks about challenging a bullie
to a fight. The breed has lost none of its ability in that
department. For this reason a bull terrier should always be
exercised on leash or in areas where there are no other dogs
or small animals present.
Most dog books will confidently insist at some point that
the only thing more enjoyable than owning one of the breed
under discussion is owning two. This does not apply to the
bull terrier! The bullie needs no other companions besides
you and your family. Some bull terriers get on famously with
other dogs, but there is no reason to risk awakening the bellicose
heritage that exists in even the most placid members of the
breed.
Most bull
terriers love well-behaved children (although bullies seriously
resent being teased) and also do beautifully with the elderly.
The bullie who is not accustomed to the young or the elderly,
however, should be supervised closely so that accidents do
not occur.
It is
virtually impossible to describe the playfulness and the unrivaled
sense of humor the bull terrier possesses, but a longtime
friend of mine who owns bull terriers probably captured it
better than anyone I know: "They fall somewhere between Noel
Coward and Robin Williams," he said, "with, perhaps, a cement
mixer thrown in for good measure."
Long Live Spuds
Spuds
MacKenzie's popularity wasn't diminished a drop when some
enterprising reporter discovered that the dog who played Spuds
in commercials was really a she, a female bull terrier named
Honey Tree Evil Eye. Budweiser officials were at great
pains to conceal that information from the public, even using
their coats to shield Spuds from cameras when she answered
a call of nature, but eventually word leaked out.
Although
Spuds' gender bending didn't drain his popularity with his
following, he wasn't everyone's cup of brew. Some groups took
offense at his hail-fellow-well-met endorsement of the high
life. In 1989 the Center for Science in the Public Interest
charged that Anheuser-Busch commercials appealed to people
under the legal drinking age. Spuds also brought down the
wrath of school officials and Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
and as a result his career ended prematurely in 1989.
Spuds,
who was six when he was retired to his North Riverside, Illinois,
home, died there four years later of kidney failure on or
about his birthday, May 31. Before his death he had undergone
dialysis for a time.
"The criticism, I remember it," said one marketing official
after Spuds' demise. "It really wasn't accurate at all. Most
people saw the idea for what it was - a joke, an over-the-top
joke. I just wish some people would have a sense of humor."
That's
a wish one never has to make regarding the bull terrier.
Who's
the Boss?
Its sterling
qualities and merry outlook notwithstanding, the bull terrier
is not a "home alone" dog. A bull terrier with too much time
on its hands may engage in destructive behavior and develop
neurotic quirks. Moreover, the bullie's desire for human companionship
and its intense devotion to its owner will not prevent it
from challenging for the dominant position in the family pack.
This kind of behavior must never to be tolerated even during
puppyhood when "games" of growling and biting may appear cute.
Nipping any of these attempts at dominance in the bud is imperative.
It is much easier to convince the little rebel to change its
ways than it is to reason with a 50- or 60-pound adult accustomed
to deciding things for itself.
Obedience
training is highly recommended for the bull terrier and its
owner. The latter should understand, however, that a bull
terrier considers the repetition of boring exercises -- like
sit and stay — a nuisance and may well get up and walk away
if lessons become too repetitive. Short, frequent sessions
work much better in training a bullie.
Health
Bull terriers
are, by and large, a healthy breed, but like all pedigreed
animals they are plagued by certain maladies. Deafness has
been known in the breed from its inception, and although deafness
predominately occurs in white puppies, every bullie sold should
have been evaluated by the BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked
Response) test. Puppies as young as 5 weeks old can be screened
by this technique.
Bullies
may also suffer from luxating patella, a dislocation of the
small, flat, moveable bone at the front of the knee. Luxating
patella is an inherited tendency that can be aggravated by
excess weight. This condition can be corrected by surgery.
Adults bullies should be tested by a veterinarian and certified
free of luxating patella by the Orthopedic Foundation for
Animals before they are used for breeding.
Two kidney
conditions that prospective buyers should be aware of are
renal dysplasia and hereditary nephritis. The former causes
incomplete kidney development during the first few weeks of
life and results in early renal failure. The latter, which
can strike anywhere between the ages of 2 and 7 years, results
in progressive kidney failure. Both conditions are invariably
fatal.
Breeders
who have had broad experience with raising bull terriers can
help prospective buyers locate the dog that best suits their
needs -- as size and temperament exist over a broad spectrum
in the breed. An aggressive, extremely large male bull terrier
would not be the best choice in the world for anyone who does
not have the muscle power to cope properly with such a strong
dog. Some bull terriers are much more reticent than others
and would be more suitable for a quiet person and a calm household.
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