Puppy Selection shows quality vs. Pet!

pfgray2008

New member
Aug 11, 2013
18
1
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
None Yet
Hi Iā€™m new to this site but I have a few questions about how to choose or selecting a English Bulldog puppy that none of the 8 books I have answer. What Iā€™m dying to know is physically what distinguishes a potential show quality puppy from one that just going to be a pet? Considering that a puppy is often sold at 8 weeks or more and has good general health and temperament aside what physical characteristics do breeders look at? As far I understand it most Bulldogs donā€™t show their potential as prospect show dogs until about 3-6 months of age. So how does a breeder decide which ones to keep for themselves? I understand breed standard guides, I have several however they only apply to adultā€™s not cute adorable wrinkly, chubby puppies that can hardly walk!

The other thing I canā€™t seem to find is an accurate photo coat color chart for the breed? Does anyone know where I can find one online or from a book?
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
First let me say welcome to the site. Well that is the million dollar question. It is hard to pick at 8 weeks old as they will change so much as they grow. I have seen some look great at 8 weeks, and by the time they get 12 weeks the other one looks better. You will first look at how much bone they have, compared to the others. The length of their body, how tall they are compared to how long they are, how they stack, their chest, head, and how they walk. Usually the breeder will pick two or three that they may want to show and keep them until they get older then will pick the one they will keep. We had a little girl that just looked great when she was little and we just knew she would just knock everyone's socks off in the ring, but when she got older, she just stayed a little 42lb girl and stayed there. She's beautiful, but too small to show and breed so we had her spayed and found her a fur-ever home. I have two beautiful girls right now and the one at 8 weeks of age we thought would be great to show, but now they are 13 weeks old and her sister looks better and is a little stockier, and stacks nice, so we will see in a few months how they look. So to answer your question, it's hard to pick a show pup at 8 weeks of age. I don't know if I have ever seen a color chart anywhere. Only the description of the colors.
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
I've seen that chart, I thought they wanted one with pics. :ashamed:
 

Marine91

The New Casper
Staff member
May 15, 2013
8,698
556
Blips and Chitz
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harlea 5/4/13 - 8/25/22
Google has a good chart that comes up if you search for English Bulldog Color Chart. Pictures and all. Sorry I can't post the link from my phone
 

Scueva

New member
Sep 27, 2012
738
22
Chicago, IL
Bulldog(s) Names
Duchess
Ive been told from a few show breeders that 6 months is the minimum age. I have a friend that purchased a show pup an made a deal with the breeder to show the dog and let him win some shows and they he would purchase him. Well the breeder agreed problem is once you have a dog that is winning and appears that he is on the road to being a champion the price tag goes waaaaaaay up. However a good show breeder who has been around the breed long enough should be able to give a good educated guess.
 

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