The second less widely held theory is that the Old English Bulldog was not crossed with terriers; rather, the Stafford as a breed began with direct descendants derived from generations of selective breeding of early Bulldogs which produced a smaller dog with a more athletic build. Some believe the theory is evidentially supported by certain genetic characteristics and similarities in the appearances of modern Staffords when compared to the Old English Bulldogs depicted in some of the early 19th-century paintings.