New "temporary" owner - clueless

victorh91

New member
Oct 30, 2013
5
0
Country
United Kingdom
Bulldog(s) Names
Lola
Hi everyone,

I have been desperate to find a good english bulldog forum and I have finally found this one, phew! I want to apologise in advance if this post ends up becoming long-winded and confusing but I am in dire need of some advice. I am also sorry if this is the wrong place to put this!

Basically, I used to go to college with a girl who is known to have a "rollercoaster" life, well, she decided to get a bulldog puppy. Now recently she was made homeless and was unable to take care of the dog, so I volunteered to take her in for an undetermined amount of time. I've got one dog already but she is a collieX and already I can tell that a bulldog is completely different. To be honest, I know nothing about english bulldogs other than the fact that they can experience all sorts of health problems (and again, this may or may not be true, like I said, I don't really know anything). I've googled and googled but eventually decided that my best bet was to ask people who own and love bulldogs.

Lola is a 5 month old bulldog and this is already her fourth home. She was given to my friend for free on the grounds that she is bred every year, which I do not agree with at all (neither does my friend, apparently, also I use the term 'friend' loosely). She looks very overweight to me, weighing roughly 14 kilos. My other dog is very lean so I don't know whether I am just comparing Lola to her and she seems fat, or whether she actually is fat. Can somebody confirm if this is overweight? I can't see any muscle or bone definition, just chub. If she is overweight, how can I go about reducing her weight? My friend used to give her human food and scraps, on top of two very heaped bowls of food a day. I've cut out all of the extras (including treats for now) and reduced the amount of dry food she is getting (although spreading it out throughout the day). She seems very lazy and grows tired easily. She starts panting as soon as she climbs to the top of the stairs!

I have no idea how long I am going to have Lola for and to be honest, I am not overly keen on the idea of returning her as my friend ("friend") clearly doesn't know how to look after her either. She is a very lovely pup and I want to do my best to get her on the right track.
 

jlcox24

New member
May 5, 2013
363
20
NC
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Ollie
Wow, well welcome to the site this is a great place and someone with more experience will be along shortly to help. I'm a newer owner too, and have found lots of helpful information here. Thanks for taking the dog in hopefully if possible you can be a forever home and keep this pup from being tossed around home to home!
 

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
Do you have a picture you can post looking down from the top of Lola? You should see a defined waistline when looking down at her and if you don't they chances are she is overweight. Keep in mind that bullies come in all shapes and sizes so it is not entirely impossible for her to weigh that much at that age as some are bigger than others but no waist line is a sure sign of being overweight. Also, many bullies do have a lot of health and allergy issues with quite a lot of them attributed to the food(s) they eat so it is good to hear that you have cut out her getting the table scraps and heaping bowls of food. Most bullies are fed between 3/4 and 1 cup of food 2 to 3 times a day depending on weight and if they have soft serve poo or not so you need to keep an eye out for that as well. What type of food are you feeding her? Lower quality foods tend to be high in fats and fillers that are not good for most dogs in general and that could be a contributing factor as well to her weight issued, so I would get the highest quality food you can afford and slowly transition her to that.

As for the breeding part... That really sucks. No pup should have to go through what is expected of her each year just because someone wanted a free dog. I would do whatever you can to keep that from happening.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Lola as you have a long road ahead of you and I hope everything you are trying to do for this young pup doesn't get undone by your friend or anyone else.
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
Community Veteran
Oct 8, 2012
9,740
597
Burlington, ON Canada
Country
Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Bulldozer and Blossom
:welcome4:Hi, and welcome to EBN. You've joined a fantastic site, there is a wealth of great information, and lots of great people to answer your questions, and share their experiences. Poor baby, to have had 4 homes in such a short time, it must be so confusing for her, thank goodness you took her in, and are giving her some stability. It's great that you are researching on how to take care of her. Without pictures to show how big she is, it's hard to say or agree with you that Lola is overweight. Although at 14 kilos at 5 months, this would be over 30 lbs, and that does seem like a lot for a 5 month old puppy. My guys are 21 months, and they both weigh 45 lbs, and my vet says she would actually like to see them more around 40 lbs. having said that, every bully is different, and are different sizes, my guys are more on the smaller side, as was their mother, so will weigh less than a bigger bully. How you can judge if she is overweight is by looking at her from a top view, she should have a well defined waist, and by feel, you should be able to feel her ribs, but not see them. Did your friend just fill her bowl at each feeding, or did she measure it? You should be measuring the kibble in a cup, we give our guys 1 cup of kibble every morning, and one cup of kibble in the evening, that would be 250 ml in metric measurement. Is she still on puppy food, or an adult formula. At 5 months, you could switch her to an adult food, puppy food has more calories than adult food. Also what brand of food is she eating? You want to feed a bully a good quality brand of food. There is a dog food rating on the Nutrition forum, that rates all the dog foods, you want to feed a 4 Star or higher food. Some examples of these are Fromm's, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, and Orijen. You want to stay away from brands like Purina, Beneful, And Iams, they are not a good quality, also a lot of bullies are sensitive to chicken. A lot of people on here feed their dogs Fromm's Beef Frittata, as do I, and have great results with this food. Again every bully is different, and what works for one, doesn't always work for all. You can reduce her weight if she needs to by measuring her kibble, giving no table scraps, but you can give healthy snacks. We give our two guys 1 Tbsp. of plain unsweetened yogurt on their morning kibble, this is for the good probiotics, and good for their digestion, we also give them healthy treats like cut up apples, 1/2 a banana, strawberries, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, or cheese strings. If you do decide to give her these extra occasional treats, make sure to introduce one at a time, so you will know how she tolerates it, and if she has any allergic reactions like hives, or diarrhea, you will know which one she reacted to. My next question is, has your friend been taking Lola to a vet for her checkups and her puppy vaccinations? Is she up to date on her vaccinations? I hope you get her sorted out, and on a good routine and diet, and I hope you get to keep her, it sounds like your friend doesn't have her life together to take care of her properly. Good luck with her, and please keep us posted on how you and Lola are doing. If you have any questions just ask, there is always someone who can answer your questions, or find out an answer for you.
 
OP
V

victorh91

New member
Oct 30, 2013
5
0
Country
United Kingdom
Bulldog(s) Names
Lola
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5
Hi guys,

Thank you so much for the quick replies! :) As you can all probably tell, I am a bit clueless! :p

I have attempted to take a few photos from above! It took a few tries because she is too preoccupied playing with my other dog.

lola.jpg

She has been fed IAMS puppy food since she was weaned. I know IAMS isn't good but I wanted to talk to somebody (you guys) before I switched her as I didn't want to make her unwell. My other dog gets fed a food that is made by the vets where my partner works and I am toying with idea of putting Lola on this food too; however, I'd rather pay extra and get seperate food if necessary, if bulldogs benefit from certain food. I don't think my friend was weighing out her food, she was just free-pouring it into the food bowl, which was quite big anyway! At the moment Lola is pooing several times a day but it is very soft (not runny though) and smells foul. She is also very gassy and her coat is shedding quite a lot -- food related??
 

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
She is a bit pudgy. For the soft poo you can give her a bit of pure canned pumpkin. Not the pie filling. Both the soft poo and the gas are most likely caused by the food she is eating so i would suggest getting a better quality one and slowly transitioning her over to it. For the gas you can also give her plain yogurt or Kefir and that will help out a lot.
 

brutus77

Skinny-Dippin' Smokin' Tidy Bowl Bionic Woman
Jul 18, 2013
6,940
593
Long Island NY
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Brutus, Frankie, and Jack
Well you sound like quite an extraordinary person. To take on this responsibility and to be so caring on top of it, I think you are proof positive that there are good people left in this world. Lola is lucky to have you. I would do anything I could to keep her. The shedding is most definitely from the food. I don't know what food you are feeding your other baby, but bullys usually do well on a grain free food. There also seems to be a lot of bullys here that are allergic to chicken so you might want to avoid that altogether. I think Lola is going to blossom under your care and love. God bless you for all you have already done and all you intend to do for this sweet baby.
 

Petra

Moderator
Jan 8, 2013
2,869
198
Naboomspruit, South Africa.
Country
Sweden
Bulldog(s) Names
Boeboe, Bennie Boy and Joey
Aww, I'm so glad you took her in:) the poop situation is likely because of the food, lower quality food brands makes them go more often, gives them gas and makes them fart... but bulldogs do fart lots either way, lol. The shedding can also be food related. My bullys go for #2 about twice a day, I believe 2-3 times is normal for any dog.

When switching food do it gradually, mixing the old food with the new for a week or two so she can adjust to the new food without getting issues. Bulldogs are a bit sensitive:unsure:

In my opinion she doesn't look overweight:) if she is she'll come right in your care without the extra scraps and with controlled feeding.

I hope she can stay with you:heart: and that she doesn't have to be bred:( Maybe you can get a note from a vet she's not suitable for breeding or something? She deserves a forever home after having so many homes:heart:
 

GunnyHighway

The Yacking Scuzz Brush Toilet King
Community Veteran
Aug 29, 2013
980
51
Ohio
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Gunny Highway
What a great person you are! I cannot add anymore to what advice has already been given. Sorry. I just wanted to let you that what you are doing is truly amazing and touching.
 

Lauren31287

New member
Nov 8, 2011
1,004
38
Rhode Island
Bulldog(s) Names
Winston
What a great person you are for taking her in and caring for her! You have definitely come to the right place and have already gotten some great advice!! I hope she can stay with you. I just wanted to say welcome!!
 

cefe13

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2013
3,714
205
Country
Sweden
Bulldog(s) Names
Castor (2013-2021 RIP)
For comparison, our 6-month-old bulldog weighs 15 kilos. The last few months we've given him 80g of kibble (Acana) three times per day plus a little salmon oil for his coat (stopped the shedding and got very soft). Recently, he's gone over to a fish-based kibble (Orijen) so we skipped the salmon oil and also increased the portions to 90 or 100 g (still three times per day). Not sure if this is an ideal amount, but seems to work for our dog!
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
I tagged a fellow UK member to help with some food advice as I know there are other brnads for you to choose from.... the gang really has you covered with some great info and I justed wanted to thank you for taking her in and caring so much about her health...

:welcome3: to EBN and the wonderful world of Bulldogs!
 

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
Welcome to the site and glad you found us, and bless you for taking her in. That poor girl has been shuffled around too many homes. I wish you could just keep her. She needs to be on a better food and that will help her with most of her problems. She looks fine from the pic and doesn't look over weight, but a better food will help her. Here is one thing you need to do to really help her. Have her spayed before the people want her back. Tell them she got an infection and needed the spaying.
 

fastmatt613

Socks Don't Hold Pee.....Trust Me on This!
Community Veteran
Aug 6, 2013
1,026
55
New Jersey
Country
United states
Bulldog(s) Names
Rocco
How can someone force your friend to breed the dog annually? Just trying to understand that agreement

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victorh91

New member
Oct 30, 2013
5
0
Country
United Kingdom
Bulldog(s) Names
Lola
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #15
How can someone force your friend to breed the dog annually? Just trying to understand that agreement

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Thanks for the replies again guys. I don't think I am that great, I just love animals and I couldn't let the pup go into a rescue when there was a loving home available for her. I will go out in the morning and find a more suitable food for her.

I don't fully understand the agreement either, all I do know is that the man that the puppy was originally from is not a very nice guy. I have already said that I do not want her to produce puppies (even though it isn't up to me really). My partner and I have already thought about taking her to the vets when the time is right in order to get her spayed, and we are more than happy to deal with the consequences that should arise.
 

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