Bulldog na Ingilishi yana da tarihin ɗaukaka. Tushen asalin wannan nau'in almara ya koma ga manyan karnuka waɗanda suka rayu a cikin ƙasar Girka ta zamani tun da daɗewa, inda ake amfani da su don gadi da farautar manyan dabbobi.
An san cewa an samu irin wadannan karnuka a yankunan wasu jihohin. Alal misali, akwai jita-jita game da karnuka masu girman gaske, waɗanda aka farautar zakuna da su a Indiya. A lokacin tono, an gano cewa manyan karnuka masu gadi sun kasance a Mesopotamiya, a cikin Etruscans, tsakanin Celts, da kuma a tsohuwar Roma.