The Bulldog is small in stature, but wide and compact, with a thick, massive head. Its head is broad with cheeks that extend to the sides of the eyes. The skin on the skull and forehead falls in dense folds. Its muzzle is short and pug, its nose, broad and black with large nostrils. Its upper lip is pendent and its lower jaw is more undershot. Eyes are very round, far apart and very dark. The ears are small and thin, folded back in the form of a rose. The tail is short and carries low.  The coat comes in red, fawn, brindle, pale yellow or washed-out red, or white, and can combine any of these colors. The Muzzle is sometimes dark. With its stocky legs set squarely at each corner of its compact, muscular body, the Bulldog's deliberate gain has become a waddle.
Today's bulldog has a very different temperament from those of his ancestors. The breed is descended from the ancient Asiatic mastiff, but its development took place completely in Great Britain. The name bulldog, which is medieval in origin, refers not only to the robust look of a little bull, which this aggressive dog has, but also to the power with which this dog attacked bulls in arena combat before that practice was prohibited by law in the nineteenth century.