Spike Bulldog

Spike the Bulldog is most likely an secondary or even major character, as he has appeared in almost all renditions of Tom and Jerry and TV series. Spike is a stern, but occasionally dumb American Bulldog who is particularly disapproving of cats, but is a softie when it comes to mice, innocent characters and of course, his son Tyke.

Why He Rocked In His 'Old Days

 * 1) Whenever he was paired with Jerry, he was Jerry's loyal and protective sidekick, this is shown in a style of a laid-back wingman when Tom annoyed Jerry in episodes like The Bodyguard, he always helps him stand up for him (whenever he is aware of the situation at the very least) and was always done satisfyingly and hilariously, sometimes both at the same time!
 * 2) With this in mind, when he is friends with the duo Tom and Jerry it is quite wholesome, heartwarming, and fun to watch seeing how he helps or even saves his friends out in The Truce Hurts episode for example.
 * 3) He is very loyal and affectionate to his owners, humorously or not.
 * 4) If Tom wasn't evil or didn't attack Jerry, he didn't attack Tom in a prickly way as well. Showing how innocent he was.
 * 5) Even if Tom actually treated him foolishly, Spike's short-tempered and ballsy demeanor was warranted.
 * 6) His barks were pretty funny.
 * 7) When Jerry saved him in one episode, he was very grateful and he helped Jerry in response.
 * 8) He was mainly characterized for how much of an Papa-Wolf he is with showing how much he will protect his son Tyke from harm and interruption at all costs and is shown to be a very protective and reliable father figure (like another, certain anthro dog who relates on being a good parent). His caring and fatherly nature for him was always shown in an endearing and lovable manner. Not to mention that his memorable and quotable catchphrase on showing his fondness for his pup was what he was remembered by many, true-hearted Tom & Jerry fans for.
 * 9) While Spike is usually violent with other cats or even powerless dogs that annoy or provoke him (e.g The Truce Hurts is a true example for protecting Tom), he has a good reason to since they startled him to do so.
 * 10) In The Truce Hurts, Before the newfound friendship came to an end, Spike was portrayed as a very intelligent and equilibrated character when convincing Tom and Jerry to stop fighting among the three of each other and sign a Peace Treaty to be friends.
 * 11) Even Spike himself was downplayed by his later appearances after the golden age of Tom & Jerry in some adaptions like in the Tom and Jerry Tales cartoon for example, he was still a pleasant character to be around (if somewhat a unlikable jerk at times due to his mild Flanderization).
 * 12) "That's My Boy!"

Bad Qualities

 * 1) He has become completely out of character recently in the Tom and Jerry 2014 series, because of the fact that he was dumbed down to the point of not being his more memorable and likable counterpart.
 * 2) In his non-flanderization, while not unlikeable at the slightest, but he can sometimes be slow to pick up what Jerry is suffering through when he doesn't notice that Tom was involved by how Jerry gives him sign languages of begging for help and being temporarily unaware in The Bodyguard episode as an example.
 * 3) His loyalty for his owners (while true-blue for the most part) can be capricious at times with tagging along with Tom's selfish behavior (e.g Pet Peeve being an example of this when he and Tom were kicked out for slightly wrecking the house at the very least).
 * 4) Spike can sometimes show to have a lack of common sense or shows acts of gullibility at times, especially when either Tom or Jerry easily deceives him on occasion.