Hello Bulldog enthusiasts! New owner, here. Advice... please?

[Brett Seats]

I have wanted an English Bulldog my entire life. I came across a year and half old male, for sale on craigslist, for $250. When I called and asked the owner why he was selling, and why so cheap, he stated that he was military, rescued the dog from another military guy, and couldn't keep him, with all of the traveling duties his job entailed. He was priced so low, because he doesn't have papers. My wife and I went to Fort Jackson military base, here in Columbia, SC, to check out Romeo. He is the sweetest dog I've ever been around, easy to walk on the lead, and was great with my wife's little dachschund. After plenty of discussion, and play with Romeo (the dog ;-) ), we decided to get him.

Now I didn't go into this, thinking that Romeo was going to be just like any normal dog. Like I said, I've wanted one my entire life, so I've researched the care and expenses, for English Bulldogs. Only problem is, I've never been around someone that owns one. So, basically what I'm saying, is that I have general knowldge of what I need to do with Romeo, but would LOVE to have long time owner's input, to get me up and going. I can read a book, and webpages, all day long, but hearing what an actual owner uses with/for their dog, is what I would trust more.

What kind of food do you recommend? Treats, toys, shampoo? What kind of solution to use in his ears? He doesn't let me near his tail pocket, no matter what I do. Got any remedies that work with your dog, when he won't let you touch his butt? HATES a bath, how can I make him fight less when in the bath? I've noticed his collar has rubbed the hair off his neck, would you recommend a harness, or anything else? What to use in his eyes? How often? How often to put vaseline on his nose and face flaps?

He humps... ALOT. Is neutering going to stop this completely, a little, or not at all?

Any input is welcomed! Thanks for your time!

 

[BruceP]

Lets start by welcoming you and your family to EBN. This is a site of people who have, had, want or just love English Bullies help each other so we are glad you joined. In no time at all you will be passing on your experiences helping others so dont be intimidated. Join right in. Im not going to address all your questions but lets cover one of the most important. FOOD.... these freaks, er bullies are very food sensitive and it is important that you find one suited to him. They have lots of allergies to foods so I cant say to use this or that one; you have to try different ones. If your lucky he will be able to eat about any of them but remember that you get what you pay for in foods so buying cheap food isnt much of a bargain in most cases There is a food rating here on EBN that I suggest you read thru to see which foods are good or not. It takes some experimenting in most cases to find the perfect food for your particular bully.
One other thing,.... jes kidding but we LOVE pix here... lol

 

[Brett Seats]

Thanks, Bruce! I figured that the cheaper, wasn't the better, in the case of these pups. The previous owner gave me the remainder of his bag of food, for Romeo. Purina Dog Chow. I'm thinking this isn't the best choice... As far as pics go, I need to take many more, but here's one of me bringing Romeo home!

PS: How do you put a profile picture on your profile???

 

[Davidh]

Welcome to the site, [MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION] said it best and start with a good food. Romeo is a good looking boy and we are looking forward in more pics, and by the way my Lucy Lu said he can be her Romeo any day.

 

[nikkip410]

Welcome !!! How exciting that you got the bully you have always wanted .. I cant wait to see pics of romeo .. They definately arent like any other breed ..they need alot of care.. Like a baby ..at least thats how i feel .. I feed rex wellness super 5 mix .. Chicken is the primary source of protein and he does great on it .. No stinky gas .. The food is alot of trial and error .. Whats good for rex might not be good for romeo .. Also i use a harness on him i feel that a collar would be jerking his neck when i need to pull him .. As far as the ears .. I use the ear wipes every other day to get the gunk out .. I am a little afraid to use the solution and it stay wet in his ear and cause an infection which he has never had .. As far as treats bully sticks are the best for them they are fully digestible the only thing i have to say is that i cut the stick as he chews so he doesnt swallow a whole lot .. I also give him deer antlers which are great and dont splinter .. As far as a shampoo i only use an oatmeal one .. Which u can get at your nearest pet store ..as far as humping .. Rex always humps its very annoying he was neutered last week .. And still does it but not as bad eventually im sure they will grow out of it .. Hope i have answered all of your questions and you can always ask more if u need to .. Make sure you check romeo out at the vet and get him all of his shots .. Now go and enjoy your puppy

 

[cali~jenn]

Oh my, I love that pic. Seeing that smile on his face surely put one on mine. Welcome to the world of obsessed bully lovers. To answer your questions.... Food is a huge one. I agree to check out the recommended foods page and look at 4 star or higher on the average. When you buy the new food, do a very slow switch cuz your new baby has probably been eating crap for a long time and bullies tummies are very sensitive to change. Mix like 1 part new to 3 parts old for maybe even a week then up it to half and half. They say a couple weeks overall for transition time is ok so you can go a little quicker but if you see runny then back off a little. As for Vaseline, just use it as you feel necessary. If the nose is dry then use it. I prefer aquaphor lotion, it really heals up the cracks vs just coating them. That can be found I think with baby lotions and is kinda pricey but it lasts forever. No help on the butt area but as for baths I would give a BIG reward after so that he gets used to the idea of knowing that it means something great. My boys dont love baths but they jump in the shower cuz they love the attention they get after. This will probably help in the rear area also. As for shampoo, I just use baby shampoo with pantene conditioner. lol. They smell great and are extra soft. For treats I give a lot of veggies. Seems crazy to non bully owners but they gain weight so easily that frozen green beans, peas, lima beans are great. They can eat any fruit aside from grapes and raisins of course so that all is great in moderation. I always have a bag of the baby cut carrots in the fridge for them to snack on also. As for toys.... I know we have a few good threads on them, let me see if I can find one. Here is the link...
http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/general-bulldog-talk/8337-toys.html

 

[TessaAndSamson]

Welcome Well to address your questions and concerns, first the food. Now we all have our favorites and because these dogs have such special needs and each dog is so different what may work wonders for one bully won't for another. I suggest checking out the foods on the dog food ratings article here on EBN. I would suggest going with a food AT LEAST 3 stars or higher. If he ever develops allergies (licking his paws, lots of eye watering/tear stains, general itchiness, etc) I would suggest trying a grain free food. My Samson's allergies developed around that one year mark and we had to experiment with different grain free foods until I found the right one (if you want to try a food not available to you locally I HIGHLY recommend ordering from petflow.com). For treats, there are alot of crappy ones out there so you really need to read the labels and be careful. Easy way to make sure you get a quality treat is to get one that compliments the kibble you feed, if you are feeding a 3 star food or better than the treats should be of the same quality. Toys, again each bully is different. They have REALLY strong jaws so if they have the desire to destroy toys like my Samson does then you will want really tough toys like kongs and the nylabone durable bones. Some bullys don't have that desire to destroy toys though so if he is gentle you can get away with pretty much any toy big enough that he can't swallow it. Tail pocket, I can tell you how I clean Samson's but I can't tell you how to deal with him not wanting you to do it, Samson runs away but once I catch him he is cooperative so no suggestions on that. I use Fort Dodge waterless shampoo sprayed on a paper towel, wipe out under the tail. Then dry, then wipe with mal-a-ket wipes (mal-a-ket wipes and the fort dodge shampoo are readily available on amazon, thats where I get it for Samson). For shampoo, my personal favorite is the Tropiclean hypoallergenic, it's soap & fragrance free so it's real gentle which I need for Samson because he has sensitive skin. Samson hates baths too but once I get his chubby butt in the shower he is cooperative. The only thing I can suggest is giving him a bath somewhere that he can't escape. Like I have the shower/bath tub combo style shower in my bedroom with sliding glass doors so when he goes in there it is completely enclosed and he knows he can't get out so he doesn't try. BUT in our guest bathroom it's just the stall shower and Samson knows he can push the door open with his nose so he will do it the first chance he gets if I shower him in there so I don't do that anymore! As for the collar issue, personally I would keep a collar on him for ID purposes during the day (for me keeping ID on my pups is important), my thought is if I were a dog I would think it would be much more uncomfortable to wear a harness all day versus a collar. Just my opinion. So if it were me I would just make sure the collar is loose enough that you can get several fingers in between his neck and the collar but not so loose it can come off over his head. At night I would suggest taking it off so his skin can get some air and help it heal faster. Then harnesses are awesome for walks. Finally, face/wrinkle cleaning. We all have our own ways of doing that. I personally clean Samson's face with a wet washcloth, then dry it, then carefully apply neo-predef powder to his wrinkles. Neo-predef is by prescription only and a bit pricey from your vet (much cheaper on dr fosters & smith.com) but it works wonders for irritated wrinkles. You can use pure cornstarch instead if you prefer. Hope that helps, I just looked back on everything I wrote and looks like a short novel LOL

 

[anatess]

YO BRETT AND ROMEO! WELCOME!!!

Who needs papers when you got such a cute bulldog face like THAT? He is super cute... well, my idea of bulldog cute is the wrinklier the better because, I just got into bulldogs 3 weeks or so ago when we adopted a 3-year-old bulldog and the first thing that came to my mind was - poor dog! Looks like she ran into a brick wall! LOL.

A lot of your questions is dog-specific - as in, it will be different for every dog even if they're the same breed. So, let me answer some of the ones I know how to answer...

1.) What kind of food do you recommend?
- A bulldog can live off of Purina Dog Chow, of course. But with the health risks bullies are prone to, it's advantageous to go with premium food to hopefully alleviate vet bills as the dog gets older. Also, bullies tend to live shorter life spans than other breeds, so giving him good nutrition may hopefully give him the high end of that spectrum.

A lot of bulldog owners on EBN like the Fromm Grain Free. It's not readily available in the big box pet stores. You can find a dealer in your area by going to the Fromm website and putting in your zipcode. I personally use Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-free kibbles. It's the brand that the feed store close to me carries - I go to the feed store to get my exotic pet food for my other pets, so it's a one-stop shop for me. Blue Wilderness has been great for my dogs, so even with the recalls they've experienced, I stuck with them.

You might also want to explore raw diet. There's several articles and threads on EBN on that.

2.) Treats, toys, shampoo?
Treats - if you use dog food in kibble form, you can use them as your main treat as well. This is what I do because I'm sold on the Blue Wilderness being a "complete and balanced" diet for my dogs. I do give the dogs the Blue Bones for their teeth and then have Blue biscuits and jerkies for occasional treats. Yeah, I try to stick with the same brand because, that's just the way I am. LOL. Like, my electronics are Sonys, my shoes are Aldos... etc.

Toys. Hah. More than likely, Romeo will destroy toys in a quickness. They have really strong jaws! Bullies like to play tug of war and chase. So, those little cute squeaky toys are going to be destroyed in under 15 minutes. LOL. I don't bother buying toys. I just get old t-shirts and knot them in places. Or I get a thick rope and knot that in places. And discarded tennis balls from the tennis court. Lots of people here like the Nylabone and the Kong.

Careful when you play chase - if he's like my dog, he would chase you and jump to take a bite off your butt. :D No, my bulldog never clamp-bites - she would "headbutt" my behind with her teeth. But she's so strong that I end up falling flat on my face. So, I learned how to play "matador" instead... chase, then when she's getting ready to jump, I step aside so she gets all air. Really fun!

Shampoo - I have a bichon frise. So, I use the Bichon Bubbles (home made - there's a recipe on the internet for it - main ingredient is Ivory liquid soap) for my bulldog as well. But, my bichon goes to the salon every month, so that's probably where the bulldog is going too.

3.) Vaseline, etc.
I wipe down Bullie's wrinkles with baby wipes with aloe everyday after I brush her hair. After a bath, I wipe his nose with vaseline and put cornstarch powder in his wrinkles. I put tooth gel (Tropi-something brand from Petco, green colored thing) on her teeth once a week and swipe it with a baby toothbrush - the rubber thingee that goes on your finger.

4.) About hating water...
My bulldog loves water. My bichon, not so much. Fortunately, the bichon is only 18lbs, so I can hold him still to get a bath. I wouldn't know what to do with a bulldog who is stronger than me. I'm thinking I'd probably have to put her on a leash to bathe just like how they do it at the salon.

5.) Harness
A harness is better for walking. I had the experience of using the collar (flat collar with break-away buckle - the only collar I would ever recommend for a dog) and when she decided to run (my dog wasn't leash trained when I got her), she was so strong that the collar broke-away before I could get control of her. So, now we use a harness. She still has the collar of course - to hold her tags.

Hope this helps.

 

[lexterwayne]

Welcome to the site!!! I feed lex avoderm grain free can get it at petsmart. I'm sure it's gonna be trial and error for a while till u find the right foods. Also I use a oatmeal shampoo and conditioner from petsmart as well. And toys well they love anything ropes, kongs, balls etc.

 

[GatorRay]

I love that picture of Romeo! What a cutie he is. I won't try to answer your questions because the previous posters summed it up beautifully! I hope you enjoy EBN!

 

[LariP]

everyone else did a great job answering your questions. Good luck with Romeo and I hope you have many many happy years together and you share them with us with pics and stories!

 

[Sherry]

Looks like you both put a smile on each others face.


Will be nice to hear all the joy of getting to know him and share those funny stories too.


Again Welcome to both of you

 

[BeauregardMom]

I just wanted to welcome you and Romeo to the site. You could spend hours...days...weeks...going through the forums (at least that's what happened to me!) and find all sorts of helpful information here. Looking forward to more pics!

 

[hoegaandit]

Welcome to this site - great to see the smiling pic of both of you!

What kind of food do you recommend?

My thoughts are (a) get a better quality kibble and mix it with bits of chicken (meat only if cooked), cooked liver, kidneys, chicken giblets, raw chicken necks etc. If you are keen enough you can try feeding raw.

Treats, toys, shampoo?


For treats you can give bits of cheese or liver. Cheap toys our boy likes are stuffed animals (you can get cheap from local thrift stores, salvation army stores etc), and he quite likes playing with plastic bottles. Remove the eyes off the toys and also remove the cap off the bottle.

We don't use any shampoo. Our boy goes to the beach every week and also goes to the streams once or twice a week. So we only wash him about once a year.


What kind of solution to use in his ears?


We don't use any. I have been thinking about using some flea treatment called revolution instead of the advantage we have been using as that apparently deals to ear mites also.

He doesn't let me near his tail pocket, no matter what I do. Got any remedies that work with your dog, when he won't let you touch his butt?

It may be he has sore anal glands, so those might need to be expressed. I think most bullies love to be rubbed on their butt - just do it gently when he is relaxed. But it may be that he has some sore in his tail pocket, so I think you need to check this out.

HATES a bath, how can I make him fight less when in the bath?

We've always made the bath a pleasant experience eg made sure the temperature is nice (bulldogs feel heat more) and don't force a full cleaning if he doesn't want it. I think you have to take it slowly eg with a pool/bath outside and not force it otherwise you get fighting resistance.

I've noticed his collar has rubbed the hair off his neck, would you recommend a harness, or anything else?


We take our boy's collar off on the weekends. A harness is probably better but it is no big deal.

What to use in his eyes? How often?

We don't put anything in our boy's eyes. I would only do this if he had dry eye or something.

How often to put vaseline on his nose and face flaps?

It's really important to wipe their wrinkles regularly. You might be surprised if you look carefully how many wrinkles there are. I would do this at least once a week, but even daily if necessary.

He humps... ALOT. Is neutering going to stop this completely, a little, or not at all?

At his age it won't help in my opinion. We have a big dominant boy VERY interested in female bullies but he very rarely humps. We give him a lot of exercise (total 3/4 hour a day walks in the weekdays and 1 1/2 hour walks or more in the weekend days) and also as soon as he starts showing signs of humping we tell him no.

Best of luck with your new arrival!

 

[BruceP]

Brett... top right click on settings. It will take you to your prifile settings where you sill see Edit Profile pic and Edit avatar. The Edit avatar will be the one that shows under your name each time you post. Profile pic will show in your profile when someone goes to your profile.