Did you buy or adopt your bully? Tell me your story, please....

BuddercupKelly

New member
Jan 5, 2014
206
7
Citrus County, FL
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Dozer
I am looking to get another bulldog, but I have never rescued a bully before and wondering if that is the way to go. The two English bulldogs I've had/have have had very little medical or behavior issues and I bought those. I grew up with bullies that didn't have too many issues either, so I am just not sure about the rescue thing. I wash/wipe my bullies face, folds and tail pocket alot and wonder if that is why they do well. Any advice would be helpful.
 

dieMuttivonBifi

Well-known member
May 25, 2013
1,817
178
Germany
Country
from the Philippines but residing in Germany
Bulldog(s) Names
Bifi (beef-ii)
I bought my boy but the next bully i am going to have would be from rescue. Rescues evaluates health and temperaments of dogs they put up for adoption. If there's any upstanding health issues they would let you know about it. And most of the time the dogs' medical needs, if any, would have already been met. Like surgeries, heartworms, fleas, spay and neutering. They work and retrain dogs that have behavioral problems. They also match dogs and potental homes to ensure compatibility so as the dog wont end going from one home to another.

Ofcourse nothing beats the cuteness of a bulldog pup :blush: but from what i heard the love those rescued dogs give are humbling :).
 

nycbullymama

Well-known member
Dec 22, 2012
5,182
476
Country
usa
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b and w
Both.

Blue we got from a breeder when he was 8 weeks. I call him my "special snowflake". He has toy aggression, is scared to death of everything, and has most of the usual bulldog health issues, allergies being the worst of it.
Oh, and it turns out his breeder is "well respected". So to me that means nothing.

We just got another bullie who needed to be re-homed, Wellie.
He was purchased at a pet store, and the guy who owns it also owns a puppy mill somewhere in the midwest. Wellie also has some health issues, so far his palate being the worst of it. But he's only 14 months old.
But Wellie is my brave boy. Nothing scares him, he's Mr. Curious. He has no aggression issues and loves everyone. Just the sweetest baby. All he wants to do is eat, play, sleep. He's a cuddle bug and demands affection..lol..

So based solely on my own experience, buying vs rescue means nothing. You still can't guarantee a healthy, well adjusted bulldog just because he comes for a breeder. Just like bulldogs that were given up, are rarely given up due to behavioral issues. More like craptastic owners that just don't want them anymore. Usually for lame reasons.
 

harveyspecter

Harvey's Executive Assistant
Community Veteran
Aug 5, 2014
5,533
331
Yorba Linda (The OC), California
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United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Specter
I bought my puppy but would consider a rescue the next time around for reasons pointed out by Bifi's mom. All major medical issues would have been addressed and the rescues will release the dog to you if you seem like a good match from their initial evaluation. ie if you have a family, kids and the rescued bully prefers not be around kids or other dogs for example.
 

dolphin

Pooper scooper
Nov 5, 2012
10,936
962
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USA
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7
You doing that everyday prevents a ton of problems! I know that a lot of people buy a bully and never take care of them like that and can't figure why they spend a pile of cash on vet bills, blows my mind.

We bought from a breeder at 9 weeks.
 

cali baker

Worlds Greatest Chef
Feb 25, 2011
8,925
851
The Crown City (Pasadena)
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
I bought both my boys from the same breeder--Tate at 8wks and Finn at 12wks. My next one will be a rescue, however. There are just so many unwanted animals out there that I believe this is the way to go for me.
 

yulia

New member
Oct 20, 2014
143
5
Boulder, CO
Country
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Kira
I put my deposit down for our bully puppy about a week ago. I am buying her from a breeder, after much research into the topic.
 

momof2bullies

New member
Jun 18, 2014
32
0
Greenwood, Arkansas, United States
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Dudley & Daphne(together @ Rainbow Bridge) Bentley and a little black chorkie named Pansy
We bought our first one, who passed 3 months ago due to a disease called GME. Second one we adopted from a rescue 6 months ago and she was absolutely precious. No behavior issues and very healthy, other than we did the palate surgery on her which helped her tons. Our third bully we bought from a small breeder. He is almost six months old and totally healthy, so far. AND in December we will be adopting a 3 year old female from the breeder where we bought our first bully. She is his half sister and breeder says totally healthy. So as others have said, it really doesn't matter. We loved our adopted as much as the ones we had as puppies.
 

binxrexchubbs

New member
Oct 1, 2014
564
16
NH seacoast
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Chubbs W.C.
After ALOT of research, we purchased our baby at 8 weeks from a breeder. I flew round trip to pick him up, that was a LONG day! As Chubbs is still a baby, we're still learning so I'm not sure what we'd do next time. I do agree with the others, can't guarantee a 100% healthy bully.
 

ThatsBull

New member
Sep 10, 2014
50
4
Saskatchewan
Country
Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tia
We got Tia from a local (well 1 hr away) SPCA. We had adopted our Rotty there, and I had added them on facebook. I had always thought that an EB would cause me a great amount of laughter and lightheartedness, but had never had plans to buy one. When she showed up on my Facebook page, I was in communication with the director of that SPCA within a couple of hours, I had been to visit Tia and adopted her within 24 hours of her showing up. We did have to leave her there though, until she had her vet check at the end of that week.

Tia is very social, NO issues with aggression, very motivated to learn (she's even in agility, and causes many laughs when she decides, from time to time, not to jump a jump, but just to bulldoze through it), and amazingly cuddly! She has adopted me as much as I have adopted her. And she does indead cause me to laugh every day! Her antics....they frustrate my husband some days (like climbing up to, and scavanging all over the kitchen table), but I can't help but laugh at them!

I post updates to the SPCA page about our 2 gems frequently.
 

JennieS

Moderator
Jun 25, 2013
3,292
301
Florence, KY
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Ruthie(died 11/27/18) Brutus & Hazel
We have 2 adopted bullies, Ruthie and Brutus! They are two extreme opposites.
Ruthie was a puppy mill dog and then thrown away because she wasn't going to be able to breed and they abused her. She went into rescue and we scooped her up! She's FANTASTIC, Ruthie doesn't bother anyone or anything. She is so well behaved, she listens and is so loyal. she does have health issues. She is epileptic and has dry eye. she's just perfect to us and we love her beyond words. She's an old soul.
Brutus...oh BRUTUS. Brutus was passed around from home to home because he is so energetic and i swear it's because his owners did not understand him. We gave him back at one point because he tried to eat our cats but I brought him back with us and he's been here ever since. We tell him all the time that we understand why he was passed around hahahaha. He's just a boy. he's inquisitive, playful and just a busy body. Brutus just wants to be loved and he's the happiest boy on the planet. He would leave with the first person that brought him a ball. he adjusts to everything so well whereas Ruthie is a ball of nerves. he is extremely healthy and we have no clue where he came from, his history...nothing. We just know 3 other families tried to adopt him before coming with us.

I think you can go either way honestly. I've seen people with breeder bullies who have more health issues than rescued dogs. And i know money is a factor, we paid less than half for our rescues than what we would have paid for a breeder dog. You can't tell the difference between a rescue and bred dog, only you know. We had to train both of them from the ground up. It's hard but it's so worth it knowing we gave these 2 lost dogs a family to call their own.
 
OP
BuddercupKelly

BuddercupKelly

New member
Jan 5, 2014
206
7
Citrus County, FL
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Dozer
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #12
Thank you guys so much for your information. I truly appreciate you all and think I will look into adoption. I love my bully, and really would like to save bullies as opposed to promoting breeding-not that it's a bad thing. I just think there are too many babies out there already in need of a home. I can tell you that no matter what, when I take a dog it is mine for life... no matter about the health or behavior issues. It's like adopting or having a new child, you just don't give it up! Thanks for all your advice and stories. I really enjoyed reading them.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
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Gilbertsville, PA
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USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
So based solely on my own experience, buying vs rescue means nothing. You still can't guarantee a healthy, well adjusted bulldog just because he comes for a breeder. Just like bulldogs that were given up, are rarely given up due to behavioral issues. More like craptastic owners that just don't want them anymore. Usually for lame reasons.

Agree 100%!

Both my Bulldogs were purchased and have a long list of issues both bulldog related and just plain behavior related. My Frenchie, Cheli is adopted after an owver surrender... he had some health issues, but is now a happy and healthy little 'GNAT' :giggle:
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
Staff member
Jun 19, 2013
14,554
1,249
Nashville, Tennessee
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Willow (2015) Walter (2014-22) Winston (2012-13) Wellie (2012-13) Bella (2007-13)
We bought our first bulldog from a breeder, then we bred her and got our second/third bully from the litter. The ONLY reason we bought our last bully is because our boxer seemed to tolerate puppies better than older dogs. I would love to adopt next time, I'm worn out from all the puppyness… Lol But I agree w/the gang, just because you purchase a dog does NOT mean you will be free from issues. I almost think that past three most dogs have been neutered/spayed and most issues w/them have been addressed. That would be a nice change for our family…
 

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
We bought our first Bulldog Brutus and he is the love of my life. He has health issues and food aggression but I love him to death. We rescued our second bulldog Frankie when he was 2 1/2 yrs old. He was purchased from a pet store. He has no issues whatsoever. He had some behavior issues when he first came to us because his previous owners did not know how to take care of or train a bulldog. He is now the sweetest, most loving little man ever. I will from now on only rescue because the amount of love and the look of gratitude we see in Frankie is like no other feeling I have ever felt. We rescued him on December 22, 2013 and one day around his 3rd birthday in June 2014, I actually saw him physically relax and accept that he was finally home with people who love him. Jezz, now I'm crying...oh well, I would advocate adoption/rescue all day long.
 

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