Continental Bulldog

		Continental Bulldog
		FCI standard Nº 369

Origin		Switzerland
Translation		Thomas Tschanz / Official language : DE
Group		Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
Section		Section 2.1 Molossian type, Mastiff type
Working		Without working trial
Acceptance on a provisional basis by the FCI		Wednesday 30 March 2022
Publication of the official valid standard		Wednesday 11 February 2026
Last update		Friday 20 March 2026
En français, cette race se dit		Continental Bulldog
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Continental Bulldog
En español, esta raza se dice		Bulldog Continental
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Continental Bulldog
This breed is also known as		Swiss Bulldog Pickwick Old Type Bulldog Pickwick Bulldog Angehrn Bulldog Pickwick Bulldog Old Type

Usage

Companion dog, family dog.

Brief historical summary

The goal was to create a medium sized molossoid type dog. The cross-breeds with English Bulldogs and Old English Bulldogs showed very soon that the program eventually led to the creation of a new breed, a breed that comes fairly close to the original Bulldog type. In order to clearly distinguish the new breed from the English Bulldog, the name “Continental Bulldog” was chosen.

General appearance

A smooth coated, almost square, medium-sized bull-type dog of athletic build. Despite his compact body, the Continental Bulldog is active and powerful; his respiration even at full speed is noiseless. His weight, depending on his height is between 20 and 30 kg. Sexual dimorphism should be clearly defined.

Important proportions

Height at withers Depth of chest 2:1
Height at withers Length of body 1:1,2
Length from the point of insertion of the neck to body up to the base of tail 1:1
These measurements and proportions are understood as guidelines, decisive factor is always the general impression of the dog, the bulldog-type must be preserved.

Behaviour / temperament

Attentive, self-confident, friendly, neither aggressive nor shy.

Head
The circumference measured in front of the ears shall not surpass the height at withers by more than 10%. Viewed from front the head appears to be almost square with the zygomatic arch slightly bulging.
Cranial region
Skull		The forehead is flat to slightly arched, wrinkles existing but not too distinct. From the stop a furrow appears broad but rather flat extending to the middle of the skull.
Stop		Distinctive but not too pronounced.

Facial region
Nose		Tip of nose broad. Nostrils big and wide open. Nose always completely black.
Muzzle		Broad, viewed from front almost square. Ridge of muzzle is straight, neither turned upwards nor downwards. In relation to the overall length of the head it is 1:3 (tolerance 1:4) Skin folds on both sides of the ridge of muzzle not too thick. Lower jaw including chin is broad and square. Neither tongue nor teeth may be visible when mouth is closed. Distinctive seen from the front underjaw, is not covered by the upper flews.
Lips		Shall be thick, well closed and pigmentation should be black and as complete as possible. Flews of the upper jaw shall be hanging completely over lower jaw at the sides. Flews of the lower jaw as tightly fitting as possible.
Jaws and teeth		Lower jaw projection 1-5 mm, tolerance up to 10 mm, upper and lower teeth must be in straight line and parallel. Strong teeth. 6 regular and well developed incisors placed between the widely set apart canines. The absence of PM1 is permissible, M3 are not taken in consideration. A complete set of teeth however is always preferred.
Cheeks		Tight and well rounded.
Eyes		Round, quite in front of the head and wide apart, neither sunken nor bulging. The eyelids shall be tightly fitting and as fully pigmented as possible. No white (sclera) may be visible when the dog looks straight ahead. The iris is dark brown.
Ears		Set high, small and thin; the front inner edge of each ear forms a straight line with the top line of the skull. Either rose- or folding ear is allowed. Rose ear means folded inwards at the back side and laid back. The front part of the edge of ear falls out- and back-wards, the inside of the outer ear is partly visible. Folding ear means the ear is tilting forward when the dog is attentive so that the tip of the ear is more or less in line with the outer corner of the eyes. When resting, the ear is placed closely at the sides of the head. All other ear forms are to be regarded as fault.

Neck

Quite short and strong but not as short as to give the impression that the head sits directly on the shoulders. Well arched neck line. Slight skin folds in the area of the throat are permissible.

Body
Body		The height at withers is slightly higher than the loins.
Topline		As straight as possible.
Withers		Length of back measured from the withers to the root of tail corresponds to the height at withers.
Back		Short and strong.
Loin		Viewed from above they are only slightly narrower than the chest.
Croup		Slightly sloping.
Chest		Depth of chest reaches down to the elbows and corresponds ideally at a ratio of 1/2 to the height at the withers. Ribs rounded and thorax spacious.
Underline and belly		Belly moderately tucked up.

Tail

Set low, strong; thick at the root and tapering off continuously, thickly coated but free of fringe. Ideally it should extend down to the hocks and be either straight or slightly curved.
When resting it falls down, during movement raised but never carried in a roll above the back.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Legs viewed from front straight, very stout and strong.
Shoulders		Broad, slanting and well muscled. The shoulder blade shall be closely fitting to the thorax.
Upper arm		Close fitting to the body and with good angulation towards the shoulder blade.
Elbows		Firmly fitting to the body.
Pastern		Short and strong, only slightly sloping.
Forefeet		Thick and compact, neither turning inwards nor outwards. Nails short and desirably dark.

Hindquarters
Generality		Hindlegs with strong bones and well muscled, parallel if viewed from back.
Stifle		Well angulated, not turned outwards.
Hock		Well angulated, neither turning inwards, nor outwards.
Metatarsus		Short and strong.
Hind feet		Thick and compact, neither turning inwards nor outwards. Nails short and desirably dark.

Gait and movement

Regular and fluid movement, good reaching of the forelegs, strong thrust of the hindquarters.

Skin

Elastic without wrinkles on body or legs.

Coat
Hair		The top hair short, close, flat, glossy, not wiry. The undercoat short, close and of fine texture. The absence of undercoat is permissible.
Colour		Fawn (all shades from sand to red), brindle, black; these colours with or without limited, medium or strong white markings, or dark mask are permitted. Also white with or without markings in the permitted colours. A specific spot pattern is not desired. All other colours and colour combinations are not permitted.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males : 42-50 cm. Females : 40-48 cm.
Weight		Males : 30 kg. Females : 25 kg.

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

General faults

Too low to ground.

Circumference of head surpasses the height at shoulder by 10 to 20%.

Not well developed teeth.

Undershot between 11-15 mm.

Uneven carriage of ears.

Short and/or slightly deformed tail.

Not enough coat density.

Shorter or taller in height (within the tolerance) of an otherwise correct dog.

Pacing or paws grinding over the ground.

Serious faults

Circumference of head surpasses the height at shoulder by more than 20%.

Skin folds overlapping line of layback.

Nose roll too big.

Standing ears.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

Breathing noises in action or when standing still.

Blue and/or wall eye.

Entropion/Ectropium.

Visible incisors or canines or tongue when mouth is closed.

Undershot over 15 mm.

Slanted jaw.

Strongly deformed tail.

No tail.

Ratio length of the nose ridge to head length less than ¼.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Details: Also available:; Last Updated: 30 May 2026; Hits: 1994

Continental Bulldog