The bulldog takes hold!

The three faces of Mastini's Justice, who is enjoying tons of attention at her new home in Canada.

A single-minded determination is needed therefore and, as you would expect in Steve's case, a good degree of bulldog spirit to ensure that having set off down the path you will follow it to the end.

Thankfully, some 15 years down the line Steve is finding himself in the position where he can slow down a gear. The dedication and consistency that he has put into his breeding has resulted in some of the finest examples of alternative, or olde, bulldogs to be found anywhere. And this fact is being recognised more widely than just in the UK. This year has seen an increase in the number of enquiries about Dorsets from abroad.

One pup, Mastini's Justice, has flown out to Canada to become part of the family of bull breed enthusiasts Rob and Lauren Dingwell, where she is living alongside their Hermes bulldog, Ripley. Later this year, a male pup will fly out to join Justice and to form a breeding pair of Dorsets. These will eventually be joined by three more bitches and one more male, which the Dingwell's hope will form the basis for expansion of the breed in North America.

Another pup, Mastini's Norway, was exported as her name suggests to Scandinavia where she has quickly settled in with new owner Heidi Halvorsen. Heidi says, "She is wonderful. She has played with many other dogs and even my two cats. She and my youngest son are great friends and we can't wait until we get a male Dorset puppy to keep her company and establish the breed in Norway. She has won many fans."

A third pup, Mastini's Formosa, is presently settling in to life in Taiwan with proud owner Andy Lei. Like the Dingwells in Canada and Heidi in Norway, Andy plans on importing more stock and to eventually breed Dorset Olde Tyme Bulldogges himself, so ensuring the breed's representation on three continents!

While these ground-breaking developments will serve to broaden awareness of Dorset Olde Tyme Bulldogges, Steve is quick to point out that this is but a small part of a much bigger picture.

"These pups are undoubtedly pioneers but they are also ambassadors for all types of alternative bulldogs," he explained. "It is my hope that they will make people look at bulldogs differently and make alternative bulldogs the dog of choice for bulldog owners, thereby forcing a re-evaluation of the KC British Bulldog standard in favour of better conformed, healthier dogs."

The change to that standard may still be some way off as views and opinions in both British Bulldog and Kennel Club circles are somewhat blinkered and entrenched. But, with his dogs doing the talking, Steve looks set to make people sit up and take notice.