A little more reading on the subject.
By the end of World War II, however, these bulldog type strains were becoming extinct. Mr. John D. Johnson, a returning war veteran, decided to resurrect this breed. He found many of the best specimens of these working type dogs and started recording pedigrees and family trees. His aim was to produce a large farm guardian-type bulldog, reminiscent of the bulldogs of old. Later Alan Scott and several other breeders joined Johnson's efforts to resurrect and recreate the old time bulldogs. Johnson and Scott began to carefully breed American bulldogs, keeping careful records and always with an eye for maintaining the breed's health and working abilities. Initially Johnson and Scott had a similar vision and even traded dogs with each other. However in time there was a split between their visions and resulted in the two distinct types of American Bulldog. Alan Scott preferred a smaller more athletic dog with a longer muzzle that could be used for cattle catching as well as wild boar hunting. John Johnson preferred a larger more massive dog with a shorter muzzle that was more of a guardian type dog. Over time the two founding breeders as well as important breeders crossed in other breeds to help meet their goal of the ideal working bulldog. Originally the breed was called the American Pit Bulldog and in the 1970s registered with the National Kennel Club (NKC) as such. Later the name was changed to American Bulldog to avoid confusion with the American Pit Bull Terrier. The American bulldog was recognized by the United Kennel Club on January 1, 1999. Currently the breed is recognized by the NKC, UKC, ABRA and the American Bulldog Association (ABA) And the SACBR
www.sacbr.co.za South Africa.
Perhaps the most important role of the bulldog and the reason for its survival, and in fact why it thrived throughout the South, was because of the presence of feral pigs, introduced to the New World and without predators.[2] The bulldogs were the settlers' only means of sufficiently dealing with the vermin. By World War II, the breed was near extinction until John D. Johnson and his father scoured the backroads of the South looking for the best specimens to revive the breed. During this time a young Alan Scott grew an interest in Mr. Johnson's dogs and began to work with him on the revitalization process. At some point, Alan Scott began infusing non-Johnson catch bulldogs from working southern farms with John D. Johnson's line creating the now Standard American Bulldog. At another point, Mr. Johnson began crossing his line with an atavistic English bulldog from the North that had maintained its genetic athletic vigor. This created a falling out between Johnson and Scott causing them to go their separate ways and breed the two significantly different versions of the American bulldog
