New puppy owner!

islide

New member
Dec 28, 2011
5
0
Bulldog(s) Names
olive
First and foremost, I've been observing this awesome forum and I must say it has tons of useful info. That being said, I was hoping to hear some first hand experience on what worked for you. I picked up Olive 3 days ago. She's 10 weeks old and already a handful but a joy nevertheless.

On to the questions.. biting! Hands, feet, socks.. there are times where she goes on hours on end relentlessly nibbling away. I've tried the whole "No!" and ignoring her but it's hard to ignore when she jumps at your toes with those sharp teeth. I was going to try "time out"? But I also don't want her associating her crate or the patio(where she stays when no one's home) with bad vibes so to speak. Any advise? I know this is mostly just a phase from reading up but those teeth HURT and with a 2yr old son, it makes the puppy experience a bit stressful at times.

The Crate. We purchased a large crate and blocked off 2/3 or so so that she doesn't have room to poop/pee on one side and sleep in the other. She freely walks in while we're home at times but for the most part she spends the day inside the house. I'm not sure if I should be locking her in overnight at such an early age? As of now, she sleeps all night in her "bed" in the living room. We haven't had much problem with that either. Should I be trying to have her stay in her crate more often? I guess my question to you guys is where does your bully sleep and has it cause any "destruction"?

She's a smelly one also. Is 10/11 weeks too young to start grooming? I picked up some "gentle" bathing shampoo but have yet to use it. Wondering if I should wait it out a bit or give her a much needed bath.
Is there a period I should wait to cut my puppies nails? Those things are sharp!

Finally, she has had her first set of vaccinations and a 2'nd pet visit and a physical analysis before picking her up. I'm not introducing her to dogs yet for fear o parvo but I do take her on walks frequently and she does very well going potty out doors. Is this also a "no-no"? Did you guys gold off on walks and potty training until your puppies second set of vaccines?

Once again, thanks for all the help.. glad to come on board.
 

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Mack-N-MatildasMommy

Bulldog Spoiler
Community Veteran
Apr 3, 2011
1,750
128
Moore, OK
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Matilda A.K.A Sassy Pants & Mighty Mack A.K.A. Fat Peanut
[MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] are some of the peeps that can help with alot of your questions. I am sure she will be safe to go potty outside. Olive is so adorable!! :luv:

Welcome to the forum!! These are the best people to meet. :heart:
 

LariP

..........
Aug 4, 2010
8,293
452
Milwaukee, WI
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
(HRH) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie & Princess Amelia Pond (Amy)
For the biting, continue what you are doing with NO but also keep chew toys close at hand and give them to her instead of toes. This is a stage they outgrow.

For walks, I'd say it depends on where you are walking. If there are other dogs "going" in the area then the threat of Olive catching something from their :poo: would be my concern. But if you have her going potty outside in an area where she isn't going to encounter that, the I would think the early potty training would be ok.

I think bath and nail trims are fine. Just don't get water in her ears and nose. Wash her face with a cloth then rinse the same way.
 

BruceP

..........
Aug 12, 2010
0
505
Milwaukee, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
HRH Princess Gracie, aka: HRH; Princess Amelia Pond, aka: Amy
:welcome: to EBN...... What an absolutely adorable puppy. Olive is just precious :heart: I'm glad you joined and hope you get lots of help. Feel free to join right in. We love pix so keep em coming. LOL Thanx
 

Fontanafox

New member
Jan 25, 2011
3,649
315
Fontana, CA
Bulldog(s) Names
Wilson & BabyGirl
Welcome and let me say I love that first picture. Kids and puppys grow so fast so you better take a lot of pictures. Don't have any advice on behavior training as my dogs have been pretty mellow. They've always had toys to chew on and now they only get antlers (much safer). Bath time: I invested in a dog bathtub to put in my garage. I just bought a canvas tote bag for tools at my local hardware store. Has lots of pockets for shampoos,ear cleaning solution, ear meds, eye meds, moisturizing eye drops, foot powder (for tail pockets), small jar of vaseline, diaper rash creme, Q-Tips, Cotton balls, dog nail clippers, Neosporin and an ipod (keeps me entertained). Always keep some baby wash cloths nearby to was the face wrinkles. I'm especially lovey-dovey when it comes to the face as they are not liking that part. If nose is dry this is a good time to smear a dab of vaseline on it (its ok if they lick it). I also trim the toenails at this time. I also use ear cleaning solution. One squirt in each ear and massage and then let him shake his head after. Whew! Like detailing a car right? The final touch...I warm some towels in the dryer and wrap them up. Bulldog bliss. :) All is forgiven and I've got a squeaky clean bulldog.
 
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Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
Welcome @islide ! You've involved yourself with a positive community of bulldog addicts. You do have one thing wrong tho: you owning a bulldog. You will find, as we have, that the bulldog really owns YOU.

Re: Grooming - I'm a huge fan of beginning grooming - broken up into short, enjoyable experiences - right away. When your dog loves the bath, it makes it a lot easier when they're 75 lbs and running from you to get away from having one. Using treats or scritches or whatever is a high value "treat" for your baby, positively condition them for all bulldog maintenance. Mine know to follow me into the laundry room (where all the dog stuff is kept) when I say, "Let's get your medicine." (regardless of the potion, lotion or wipe being used) It's handy to say the least. I used to bathe my dogs once a week but have reduced this quite a bit so natural oils - which protect - aren't constantly being washed away. (Something I read - doesn't mean I won't go back to weekly bathing someday...Bo is a stinker!)

Re: Exposure to other dogs: I would expose your new puppy to as many new experiences as you can SAFELY. Dog park is a no no because you don't know who/what is there and yes, there is a parvo risk. But your best friend's healthy, balanced dog (for example) would make a great afternoon play date. Keep new experiences short and POSITIVE. Don't "poor baby" fear based behaviors; this just reinforces them.

Re: Biting - Bea was a chomper. Bad. Terrible in fact. Needle sharp teeth were delivered forcefully on anything within jaw-range. What worked best for Bea was saying "OUCH" (to tag the unacceptable behavior) and IMMEDIATELY ending the play session. Get up, walk away. She eventually put two and two together; "When I chomp, they stop playing with me. I hate that!" Too, teething hurts babies. Get a nice, quality puppy sized Nylabone for something acceptable to chew. Bea and Bo still chew on their little six inch Nylabone.

bea7.jpg <== Bea the Super Chewer. (Bo was NOT a chomper at all - so you never know!)

My BEST ADVICE to anyone getting a new pup is this:
1) Google "nothing in life is free" for dogs - and then actually do this.
2) Read and watch Cesar Millan's "How to Raise the Perfect Puppy"

Looking forward to more pics of your adorable angel baby!
 
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Biogirl71

Moderator
Nov 5, 2010
3,500
242
Cedar Rapids, IA
Bulldog(s) Names
Frank
Welcome to EBN and the wonderful world of bulldogs! Congrats on your new addition...she is adorable!

Everyone gave good advice, so not much more to add. As for biting, when Frank started in on it, we would immediately say "NO!", then give him something acceptable to chew on. I know one thing Frank loved was frozen washcloths. I would take clean, non frayed washcloths, soak them in water, then freeze them in shapes for chewing. I would hold him in my lap while he chewed on the frozen washcloth.

We used potty pads at first for Frank and had a designated "potty area" before he received all his vaccinations because the area we lived in had stray dogs which would wander around. That worked well and it was easy to transition him to outside once he had all his vaccinations.
 

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
[MENTION=3956]islide[/MENTION] Welcome to the site, and looks like you have some good advise above. Puppies like to bite so I would put a nylabone in their mouth whenever they would bite my hand or foot. It just takes time a patients, they will grow out of it. I also noticed you say she stays on the patio when you are gone. Is it a closed in patio that is climate controlled? Don't want that baby to get too cold or hot outside. They can not handle extreme temps. even when they become adults. Crate training is a good thing, we let ours sleep in them and they stay in their crates when we are gone. After they get used to it they will just go in on their own. I would limit places you take her until after she gets all her shots. If the vet wants to give her Bordetella nasally, I would tell him to give her the shot instead. Down here where it is humid, we have had quite a few pups get pneumonia from the nasal Bordetella and some have died from it. Just a word of caution. Your bully is precious and would like to see more pics of her. The article above is an excellent for new puppy owners.
 

Bella'sMom

New member
Community Veteran
Jun 23, 2010
3,256
168
Eau Claire WI
Bulldog(s) Names
Abby 13 (RIP), Bella (6), Betsy( RIP), Frenchie: Oliver
Welcome to you and Olive, she is beautiful! All the advice here is great, just like with any question you may have. Needless to say, you found the best site on the web for Bullies.

I really don't have much to add. Do keep lots of chewing toys availible for Olive, that will limit her finding things to chew on herself.

And remember, not only does this site get addicting.....Bulldogs are like Potato chips, you can't have just one!!!
 

gobronco

Active member
Dec 16, 2011
474
65
San Jose, Ca
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Mila and Bruno
Our Vet told us to keep Rudy off of any grass, that is not in our own back yard, until about a week after the final shots @ 16 weeks old. He said that there is no problem socializing just no grass. According to him Parvo is spread by the feces of other animals not by face to face contact. You can't always see the feces in grass.
 
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islide

New member
Dec 28, 2011
5
0
Bulldog(s) Names
olive
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
Wow! So many helpful responses! Thank you all for your responses. I plan on bathing her tonight, I'll try and snap some pics.

I think she might have peed over night so I might try crating her at night tonight also.

Were all still working on the biting. I've noticed if I walk away once she stars biting she momentarily stops so I'm going to work on that. Im also going to pick up a couple more toys for her to chew on. Maye a Kong.

I also bought some potty pads but I want sure if I wanted to use them since I was afraid of her getting use to them and not wanting to transition to grass down the line. So I might alter the walks a bit and switch to pads at least till she gets her shots. I'll keep you all posted! I kinda skimmed through things since I'm at work! Thanks again everyone!
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
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USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Welcome to the wonderful world of bulldogs and EBN!! Olive is adorable.

Very smart not to associate with other dogs till after the second round of shots is done -- very good practice! also, good not to associate crate/patio with punishment... use the bathroom or laundry room (works for us) we have the crate as their 'safe zone' so they LOVE their crates -- go in an out at will and tend to sleep or go in with their favorite toy when not wanting to be bothered by the other.

Sleeping -- until they were housebroken they slept in their crates... then once broken and trusted -- they had free run of house and sleep with us.

Biting is a teething phase --- say a firm no and give them a toy or bone in place of the feet, socks, pants, etc.

Grooming -- go for it, but make sure to protect eyes and ears fro water/soap. Also, what food are you currently feeding -- could be some of the issue with smell.
 

loonatic8

New member
Oct 10, 2011
121
4
Indonesia
Bulldog(s) Names
BooBoo
Welcome to the site!

It seems only yesterday i have all the same problem with boo.
I gave him his first bath when he turns 3 months. And nail trimmed a week after i got him. But u have to be carefull not to traumatized him with nail clippers. Boo got into "accident" and he struggles to get away on his next trimming. We need 3 people to hold down a 10 weeks old puppy!

As with the biting it will eventually stops. Boo's almost 5 months now and he got most of his teeth changed so it wasn't as sharp as it was. He now learn to bite slowly when playing and not so obsessed with moving feet as he was before. I've got other problems now. lol
 

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