Infuriated after being bitten by his bulldog, Nguyen Cao Ky, vice president of former Saigon from 1967 to 1971, once said that he would give his dog to anyone who could approach it.

Mr. Lang said that a dog breeder needed to know his limitations and that he was not an authority on miniature dogs.  The smallest breed of a toy dog is the Chihuahua, which descended from an ancient breed known to the Toltec people in Mexico. The Chihuahua weighs about 0.5 kg.

The experts on toy dogs at that time were two Chinese-Vietnamese who imported the first Chihuahuas to Vietnam from the United States.  “They developed this type of dog breed in Vietnam and a Chihuahua could go for 1,000 dollars,” he said.

“But, I am a specialist on large dogs,” he confirmed.

A boxer is, in fact, not a pure breed, said Mr. Lang.  It was first bred in Germany during the second half of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries from a number of breeds, principally the bas rouge and the bulldog.

The bas rouge resembles the German shepherd in that it has a long muzzle, but the bas rouge has a shorter dark coat and red markings on the sides of its muzzle and feet. A large, solid animal with a rustic look and a powerful, muscular build, the bas rouge is rather aggressive, he explained.

On the other hand, the bulldog is a smooth-coated, thickset dog, rather low in stature, but broad, powerful and compact. The head is strikingly massive and large in proportion to the dog's size. The face is short, and the muzzle is broad, blunt and inclines upwards. The body limbs are stout and muscular. The bulldog is known for its courage and ferocity. With the lower jaw projecting, the dog is able to take a grip that is difficult to break. But, its low stature at times puts it at a disadvantage, Mr. Lang said.

Thanks to cross-breeding, the boxer inherited desirable traits from both the bas rouge and the bulldog while the undesirable traits of both breeds were eliminated, said Mr. Lang. The balanced temper is one of the most noticeable characteristics of this breed and because of a boxer’s loyalty and gentleness toward children; the dog is often used to protect children from kidnappers.

To retain all of the desirable traits of the breed, dog breeders warn that all white or black puppies should be disposed of because the boxer is accepted in just two distinct colors - fawn and brindle, he said.

But, the bulldog is still viewed as a rarer breed than the boxer because the bulldog is not breeded very often, said Mr. Lang.

When Mr. Lang acquired his famous boxer, the bulldog was almost unheard of in Vietnam. In fact, the person to obtain the first bulldog in Vietnam was Mr. Nguyen Cao Ky.

Mr. Ky had a particular penchant for dogs, Mr. Lang stated. He was obviously pleased when he was offered the bulldog, but the dog was so savage that it would attack anyone who ventured close to it.

It was rumored that Mr. Ky was once bitten by the bulldog, and infuriated he reportedly told his uncle, Mr. De, that he would give the dog away to anyone who managed to come near it.

General Pham Xuan An, who was a close friend of veterinarian Mr. De, told Mr. Lang about Mr. Ky’s untamed dog.  Mr. Lang decided to meet Mr. De to tell him that he could conquer the savage dog.

When Mr. De took him to Mr. Ky’s house, “the dog barked fiercely as I approached the kennel. But as I risked getting closer to it, the dog gradually silenced, wagging its tail to show his friendliness,” said Mr. Lang.

Startled by Mr. Lang’s flair, Mr. Ky kept his word and gave him the precious bulldog.

“The security guards looked at me in astonishment as I took the dog home,” he added.

The secret to Mr. Lang’s ability to tame the dog was simple, he said cunningly. ”When a bitch is in heat, its reproductive organ secretes a substance that greatly appeals to its male partners. The hormone apparently becomes most concentrated on the ninth day of the mating season,” he explained.

“I applied some of the substance to my pants,” said Mr. Lang. “Because of the dog’s extraordinarily keen sense of smell, the dog was immediately attracted to it,’ he added.

The acquisition of Nguyen Cao Ky’s bulldog, in his words, was one of his most memorable stories.

When asked if he himself discovered such a secret, Mr. Lang answered, “Not really. In fact, all professional dog thieves are well aware of that fact.”

As for the bulldog, Mr. Lang raised the dog for about a year to build up its reputation, he said. He then sold it to Nguyen The Hung, son of an affluent jeweler, for 400,000 VND which was equivalent to 200 taels of gold and decided to give Mr. De 200,000 VND to show his gratitude, he added.

Mr. Lang has built a good and extensive business reputation for himself. At times, he raised as many as 40 dogs in his house. After purchasing a 1,000-square meter-house on the city’s outskirts, he turned the house into the first dog farm in Saigon.

Written by Hoang Hai Van.