This may or may not have been the origin of the old English sport of bull baiting. At any rate, wherever it began, it became more popular with the passing years. Its popularity created a demand for dogs qualified for the sport. These dogs were selected and bred for courage, power, and ferocity. From the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, bull-baiting was a national sport in England.It was during the continuing years of these sporting events that the dog owners began to recognize the necessity of altering the dogs' size and structure to better survice in the rings. The large mastiff-like dogs were seen as being too heavily built and too slow and cumbersome in the ring. Through judicious outcrosses the Bulldog gradually evolved. The dog began to change shape with the bulk of his weight near the head so that when the bull shook him there was less chance of the dog's back being broken. However, a scientifically selective breeding program certainly did not exist during the Middle Ages and it is evident that dog owners were following a program of breeding based on the individual specimen, which had to have a fierce, vicious and tenacious personality, rather than on the basis of pedigree bloodlines, as illustrated by the following anecdotes.Among a number of informative stories aboutis one concerning a bait at Bristol in March 1822. An old and crippled bitch had been standing calmly at the side of a butcher watching the flight of the numerous dogs through the air as the bull cleverly and effectively disposed of his adversaries. At the command of the butcher, the bitch slowly hobbled into the ring. She was covered with scars, blind in one eye, and altogether deprived of the use of one of her hind legs. Unlike many good dogs, she did not run directly up to the bull's front, but sneaked cautiously around him, with her remaining eye vigilantly bent upon the bull's every motion, apparently watching for an opportunity to bolt in and grab the bull. This was rather un-Bulldog-like behaviour, but considering the infirmity of the old bitch and the little chance of success she would have had if she had gone in like a strong, fleet, and unmaimed dog, it may have been in some measure excusable. She had pinned this same formidable bull about a dozen times, and she and the bull had slept many a night in the same stall.In the stable the two were as amicable as doves, but on the turf the situation was different. The bull's fiery and bloodshot eyes were fixed upon her the moment she made her appearance. He seemed to be perfectly aware of her capabilities and steadily kept his front toward her, turning as she turned and, disregarding all other objects, keeping his keen eyes fixed on her alone. Another dog unexpectedly burst into the ring while the two thus steadily eyed each other, but the bull sent him curvetting and gambolling over the heads of the spectators, without deigning to honour him with so much as a momentary glance.