Round table around judge Bill Warren

By Begoña Pascua

My parents began breeding Bullmastiffs in 1947 under the COPPERFIELD affix. I grew up among Bullmastiffs, and at the age of 4 I showed for the first time. I have shown 14 English champions and bred champions all over the world. I have also shown Best of Breed at Crufts on three occasions. At 16 I judged for the first time. For the last 11 years I have been judging as a National Judge in England. In 1998 I judged the World Dog Show in Helsinki.

Question: What is your opinion on “prognathism”?

Bill Warren: It is preferable for the bite to be level, but it is secondary. With a good head, prognathism is not important, unless it is visible at first sight, in which case the head loses its typicity. Up to 1.5 cm is usually permitted. In the 1950s, the KENNEL CLUB met in England to revise the standard and, among other things, they attempted to make a pincer bite the desired bite. Breeders complained because they feared losing the typicity of the heads, and to keep them satisfied, since almost all the dogs were prognathous, the pincer bite was left only as recommended.

Q: Is the mouth more important than the dog as a whole?

BW: No, the dog as a whole is more important.

Regarding this question, some of those present commented that in countries such as France, by worrying only about the bite, they have damaged the breed, and dogs outside type are seen because prognathous specimens, which were the ones maintaining type, were eliminated from breeding. Bill Warren says that the bite should only be judged between two very similar specimens, to decide on one or the other, but the mouth should never prevail over the whole.

Q: Dogs with very short muzzles are being seen in the ring, which worsens their breathing. What is your opinion on this?

BW: That is very clearly defined in the standard. The length of the muzzle must be one third of the length between the nose and the occiput; anything that does not conform to this is not desirable.

Q: What is your opinion on the mask? One of the attendees comments that heads are being seen with lack of pigmentation, and another says that the black of the muzzle does not fade toward the eye, but is entirely black.

BW: The mask is what gives expression to the dog, so it is very important that it be well defined, and it must consist of a black muzzle fading toward the eye, forming a black mask around them. Another very important part of the mask is the ears, which are not given the importance they deserve; they must have black tips fading toward the head, but always darker than the coat. In dogs with brindle coats, the mask must be perfectly distinguishable, just as in fawn coats.

Q: How should the ears be?

BW: Small and close-fitting ears are desired. Large ears are often seen because they fall more easily. The important thing is that they square with the head, forming a straight line with the skull, falling close to the eyelids and never going beyond the tip of the line of the eye. This, together with the mask, is what gives expression to the dog.

Q: Do the nails always have to be black?

BW: It is desirable that they be black, but it is not important when faced with a good overall dog.

Q: What is your opinion about the dogs being seen in the rings, dogs that are too apathetic, with very little vitality, which seem to enter the ring tired?

BW: It is a matter of practice, of teaching them from puppyhood to stand and to show vitality by playing with them. It is a very calm breed; if you do not stimulate them, they can spend the whole day asleep. They must be stimulated if we want them to be lively dogs. I do not think there are more active and less active lines; it is all purely practice.

Q: As a judge, what do you not forgive in a Bullmastiff?

BW: I do not forgive a dog that, at first sight, is not homogeneous, that has great differences between the rear and the front of its body, that is, that is not balanced; bad movement, short tails, atypical heads.

Q: As an enthusiast, what do you like about the Bullmastiff?

BW: That it is a Bullmastiff.

Q: It is being observed that the tendency of most judges today is to ask for too much bone, that is, very massive dogs which, in my opinion, make movement difficult. What is your opinion on this?

BW: Harmony is very important. If the dog is well built, having a lot of bone does not mean it must have difficulty moving. There are dogs lacking bone that move very badly; I think it has nothing to do with it. The Bullmastiff must be a massive dog with strong bone, but without becoming heavy. In England there is a lack of bone in the specimens, and bone and massiveness are being promoted.

Q: Is dysplasia important in the Bullmastiff?

BW: One must look at movement. If the dog moves well, even if it has some degree of dysplasia, it can be bred from. If a dog moves well, the dysplasia cannot be very serious, can it? In England, three plates are taken by three different veterinarians, because none interprets them in the same way, and between them an attempt is made to obtain a coherent result. In countries such as Germany or the Nordic countries, all dogs with any degree of dysplasia have been removed from breeding, and they have damaged the type. In breeding, above all, common sense is needed, and one must know how to discern perfectly whether a dog is fit for breeding or not.

Q: Farm-style breeding or family breeding?

BW: The best English breeders of 30 or 40 years ago, OLWELL, COPPERFIELD, NAUKEN, had many dogs to use in their breeding programs, and they managed by themselves without having to use dogs from other breeders, thus creating their own bloodlines with their own specimens. It was a time when there was great quality in dogs, but nowadays that would be very costly and very few could do it. However, if family breeding is carried out using the best specimens in the country, or in countries good at breeding Bullmastiffs, and being very critical of one’s own dogs, great quality can also be obtained.

Q: Bullmastiff, English or American?

BW: If the dog is good, it does not matter where it comes from or what line it is. There are good dogs in England and in America, and bad dogs in England and America.

Q: Dogs with a lot of wrinkle on the head are being seen. How should it be?

BW: The Bullmastiff should only have wrinkles on the head when it is alert; when at rest, it is not desirable.

Q: What should be sought, temperament or structure?

BW: Of course, the structure, that it be a Bullmastiff, since temperament is guaranteed and depends a lot on the owner. But if we do not have structure, no matter how much temperament the dog has, it will never be a Bullmastiff.

Q: Your opinion on the controversy over dangerous dogs in Europe.

BW: The problem is that there are unsuitable people who use dogs for things they should never be used for, or who do not know how to handle these dogs. One must be very selective with future buyers and avoid those who want a very macho dog.

Q: How can the breed be improved?

BW: By knowing how to appreciate the dogs of other breeders and using for breeding the best dogs in the whole country; that is the way to evolve, and to know that the perfect dog does not exist — and if it does, please tell me, because I want it for myself. Above all, one must be very critical of one’s own dogs and know all their faults in order to try to eliminate them. It would also be very interesting to have an important population of dogs throughout the country, in order to be able to choose and compare with the standard.