Wheelback's Bulldogs

We got our first bulldog "Ella" (INT & NORD CH Black Hope Tutti-Frutti) in the spring of 1999. She proved out to be a very energetic dog with a constant interest to everything possible. She was always very busy with entertaining herself and us. She had lovely temperament and she will be always remembered as a very special bulldog.

We had thought that the bulldog would be a good companion for us at home, and the idea of attending dog shows had not passed our minds. But as Ella's activities aroused a lot of questions about bulldogs in general and we wanted to know more about the breed, we also wanted to see more of them. And where would you see lots of bulldogs if not in dog shows? As we began visiting the shows, we gained a lot of useful information and found new friends.

Ella was so playful that she seemed to need a mate to play with. So another sourmug, "Bessie" (FI & SE & EE CH Jewbull's American Pie) came to our home in the beginning of 2001. Ella greeted Bessie warmly. They got along very well and never fought with each other. It seemed as though they compensated each others' temperaments. Bessie was much calmer than Ella. At times one could almost call her a "sofa potato" although she sometimes behaved very wildly and wass very playful.

When we got Bessie, we also became interested in breeding bulldogs. We gained knowledge at the courses arranged for breeders-to-be by the Finnish Kennel Club. We also got ourselves a kennel name. The first Wheelback's bulldog, puppy bitch Wheelback's African Queen "Patsy" was born in August 2004. We are very thankful for being able to use for our bitch the wonderful, very masculine male bulldog "Reidar" (S & N & FIN CH NORD CH Roseneath Masquerader) owned by kennel Malcom's. He had already showed that he produces excellent offspring. We are very thankful for Mrs. Karin Ögren at kennel Malcom's for all the support and good advice that she has given to us.

At the end of the year 2004 we got a new dog. "Roli" (INT & NORD CH Brampton Tug Tough) came to us from the well-known Brampton kennel in the UK. We are very happy to have this handsome and well-tempered fine gentleman with us from Terry, Angela and Steven Davison. Roli is a very sound bulldog with lovely bone structure and strong, efficient movements of Brampton bulldogs. At veteran age he is still very alert and playfull. In 2009 another male from the Brampton kennel moved to Finland to livewith us. "Bailey" (Brampton Mister Bailey) is a charming personality, beutiful dark red boy with a very stubborn temperament.

We bred Patsy with Roli and got a litter of six nice puppies. Three of them became Finnish Champions. We have used two of the bitches in our breeding. Both were bred to males in the Brampton line. Patsy's and Roli's son "Nemo" (INT & NORD & BALT & RU CH Wheelback's Brave Boy) was mated to a "Pirkko" (Black Hope Red Red Wine), and we co-own a nice red male "Urho" (EEJCH EE JW-12 Machismo Wheelbacks Superlad) from this litter. He looks a loot like his grandfather Roli. Patsys' and Roli's granddaughter "Dixie" (Wheelback's Dixie Lady) was mated to Bailey, and we now have a bulldog boy in the fourth generation of our breeding from this combination. "Sipowicz" (Wheelback's Mr Handsome) is a true personality like his father, and he has inherited many nice features from his great garndparents.

We intend to breed bulldogs very moderately as our's is a home kennel. Our bulldogs live with us sitting on the sofa and enjoyning their life as part of the family. As Ella and Bessie have passed away, we now have a new bitch at home. She is of our own breeding, from the second litter of Patsy. "Maija" is a loot like her mother, a strong and happy bitch with very nice movements and great personality. She is after "Matty", GB & ES CH Medbull Earth Mover.

In our breeding work we follow the guidelines of the breeders commitment of the Finnish Kennel Club and the breeding goal program of the Bulldog Club of Finland. We want to help to promote the breeding of healthy bulldogs in Finland.

We are members of the Bulldog Club of Finland, The Bulldog Club and the Bulldog Clubs of Sweden and Norway. We think that it is important to get information from the bulldog scene also from other countries as Finland is a quite small country and there are not so many bulldogs or bulldog breeders here. We have been active members in our Bulldog Club and also our local kennel club, the Helsinki Kennel Club.

We attend dog shows quite actively sometimes also travelling to foreign countries. We hope that our bulldogs can represent the breed in a good way. We want to take good care of our dogs so that they are healthy and in good condition and they also get along well with other dogs and people.

The breed standard of the bulldog describes very precisely the qualities that the bulldog should have - the temperament, the structure of the dog and his other qualities. According to the breed standard the bulldog should have a roach back, or, as the english breeder Chris Thomas states in his book Bulldogs today, a "wheel back". This is the origin of our kennel name. Although the term "wheel back" has been removed from the amended breed standard, we still think that it is an important feature of the breed.

Pasi Apajalahti and Liisa Suoninen