Requiring Advice Before Purchasing

darrenmdws

New member
Sep 1, 2011
7
0
Barcelona, Spain
Hi All,
I have joined this forum as i am seeking some urgent advice before i purchase an english bulldog. I have found a registered breeder and i have a date of when the next litter is due, so the dog will not be purchased via a pet shop.

My concern is this - i live in Barcelona, Spain, i have a 2 bedroom spacious apartment, tiled flooring and air conditioning in every room, that has programmable settings. Like alot of people, i work full time and my concern is leaving the dog at home whilst i am at work.
I would of course walk the dog for around 30 mins before i went to work and whilst i am gone i would have its crate attached to a puppy pen, so it wasnt running around the flat unsupervised. There would of course be suitable toys in the pen for the pup to play with as well as a litter tray as i would like to try and train the pup to use this. A water bowl and food bowl will also be in there. I would be gone in the day for around 10 hours (mon-thurs, 9 hrs on a fri) and would then be home to walk the dog and play with the dog until its tired :D

I have read that on the internet people have different opinions about this but i wanted to find out from people who actually own Bulldogs what they think.
This would only be for around 3-4 months as i will then be able to work from home 2 days of the week. i believe that i can give a bulldog a great loving home, the city i live in is perfect, with the park and the beach but i want to know if this is going to make the dog unhappy as i want to avoid this.

So please, i would appreciate any responses and feedback that you can give me before i make my final decision.

Regards,
Darren
 

LariP

..........
Aug 4, 2010
8,293
452
Milwaukee, WI
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
(HRH) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie & Princess Amelia Pond (Amy)
:welcome: it sounds like you have already put a lot of thought into this. Nobody can tell you absolutely what is best here. Many people work and have dogs. Obviously it's partly going to depend on the temperament of the particular puppy you choose. Some do better alone than others. But figuring out which pup that is could be a challenge.
 

cali~jenn

..........
Mar 28, 2010
0
419
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Cutty, Miila and Mugsy the pug :)
Welcome and thanks for trying to learn as much as you can before getting your pup. I dont have the right answers either but I think if you are able to give this baby lots of loving in your off time it should be alright, especially being that it is temporary and you will be home with him more soon. I would almost say get 2 so they keep each other company. hahahaha You will get better advice from others, I stay at home with my skin kids so I cannot give the best on this matter.
 

BoostedFloto

New member
May 1, 2011
5
0
Tampa, FL
Bulldog(s) Names
Homer
In my opinion it can certainly be done just fine. I got my Homer I believe on a long weekend but had him home only for a day or so before going off to work. I as well worked long days many days would be in the 10hr away from home time frame. I just made sure to wake up a little earlier and play in the morning and than spent the evening playing/cuddling as much as possible. This lasted for a year plus before getting a new job which I worked from home and traveled. He went from being crated a good portion of the day to me being home with him all day except when I traveled at which point he went to my parents for the 2-4day trip and was again crated for the work day. There was then a 9month period where I was laid off and home 24/7 with him and now back to working at home with the random business trip except these trips last 2wks at which point he goes to the parents and is crated again. Mine has been wonderful the entire time and extremely adaptable to the different situations. The main thing is they crave the attention so when you get home from work make a big deal out of them with plenty of love and attention even if it was a bad day.
 

SunDog

New member
Mar 26, 2011
231
31
California
Bulldog(s) Names
Lupe (or Lulu)
Ahhh…Barcelona. Truly an amazing city! I think walking a puppy daily as often as possible is super important (after their immunizations have kicked in). In addition to your time before and after work, maybe you could have a dog-walker or a sitter of some kind check in? (Also, when I lived in Spain, we had late afternoon time to pop home for a loooong siesta….would you be able to get home for a break?). 10 hours is a pretty long time for a domesticated animal not to see/interact with a human, especially if she needs something special like medicine, but since your situation is temporary, and since owning a bully is the best thing ever!, I’m sure you’ll find a safe and happy solution. My puppy became super active around 8 months and luckily I was off for the summer. Good luck!
 

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
Like you, I worried about leaving my puppy along all day while I was at work. When I got my first one, Tate, I took about a week off to bond with him those first few days, and i also looked into a dog sitter service. I ended up choosing a dog sitter who would stop by twice a day to check up on him, clean up his messes, and feed him. Each visit was 30min long, and the cost was $20 per visit. So, I did that for maybe a month or so and then weaned it down to just 1x/day at lunch to feed him. Then I got my 2nd bully and currently, I still have the sitter come at noonish to feed them. Maybe there is some kind of service like that in Barcelona? Or, do you live close enough to your work so you can stop by for a little while to see your pup during the day? At least you will be working from home after the 3-4month mark so that's a big plus.

Good luck with your decision. It sounds like your heart is open for a bulldog to enter your life and it also sounds like you live in an amazing part of the world! Let me know what happens!
 
OP
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darrenmdws

New member
Sep 1, 2011
7
0
Barcelona, Spain
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  • #7
I will look into the idea of a dog walker but i think like Boosted Floto said, they can extremely adaptable and the dog would get all the attention in the world when both myself and my girlfriend got home from work.
 
OP
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darrenmdws

New member
Sep 1, 2011
7
0
Barcelona, Spain
  • Thread Starter
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  • #8
[MENTION=2315]BoostedFloto[/MENTION] - Thank you so much, this was the type of information that i wanted, somebody that had left their dog for that amount of time and has had no drawbacks from it.
 
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Victor Y

..........
Sep 19, 2010
399
28
Gatlinburg,TN
Bulldog(s) Names
Pepper. The Belle of Birming'am
THe puppy pen is an excellent idea.
I go by a standard rule for crating that for each month old the pup is I allow it to be in a crate an hour. So a 3 month old pup would be in a crate only 3 hours before I would let it out to get a walk and to roam around. But I never leave one crated at any age for more than 10 hours. Bullys tend to like to be by themselves anyway when they get older but as long as you make sure to0 give your pup set times where it gets its attention and the focus is on it then it should adjust fine. My bully as a pup spent all her time with me as I could take her to my shop and where ever else I was . Now I keep her mostly at home. As she earned the trust at home I took her from a gated hallway to where she now has to the hallway and a room of her own.
Take a look at the photo of Pepper. do you see the white gating behind her? You can get those in sections at some larger hardware stores though I don't know about Spain. You can add sections and needed and there is even a piece that has a locking gate so you can come and go and lock as needed. Also you can get them and shops that sell baby,toodler and nursery items
 
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kazzy220

..........
Jul 31, 2010
8,556
441
Grafton, OHIO
Country
England
Bulldog(s) Names
Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
It really sounds as if you have done your homework and understand everything that is involved with owning a bully!! Good for you!!! :yes4:

This is only temporary so I don't think that 10 hours would be too big a deal. Puppies can sleep a lot ... but there again bullies in general seem to be couch potatoes!! :hahaha:
 

GatorRay

I am in total control....I think
Feb 25, 2011
3,432
227
Louisville, KY
Bulldog(s) Names
Gator & Lucy Goosey, the Basset and Gigi (AKA Gypsy)
Seems to me you

a) did your homework
b) got some great advice already

I also crated mine for 8 hours pretty early in life because I work too. Gypsy started only a few days after coming home. She did fine. If you can set up a puppy pen to start and offer somewhere for them to go to the bathroom (the litter is good) and some toys that the pup can't destroy and/or choke on, then you will be ok. Besides it is only temporary and if you spend lots of cuddle and play time when you are home, he will adjust well :)
 

apogee

New member
Aug 24, 2011
24
4
Colorado
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Layla
With commute time, I'm gone 9 1/2 hours each day. I have a setup similar to what you're describing.

While I'm gone, I put Maggie's crate inside a puppy pen and secure the crate door open so she can't shut herself out. The whole setup is on linoleum, I put puppy pads on the floor, put a wide based bowl of water in there, and throw in a few chew toys.

I work at least 5 days a week and she goes in there every day I work. She's a happy, well adjusted, friendly dog and she doesn't mind going in there. I'm hoping one day I'll be able to let her run loose in the house all day while I'm gone. But for now, this setup seems to work.

I don't think you'll have any problems.
 
OP
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darrenmdws

New member
Sep 1, 2011
7
0
Barcelona, Spain
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  • #13
Victor Y, what you said about the gate is a great idea and i have now worked out that a gate will be a better idea, thank you for this
 
OP
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darrenmdws

New member
Sep 1, 2011
7
0
Barcelona, Spain
  • Thread Starter
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  • #14
Thank you everyone for your advice. I think it really helps knowing everybodys feedbacks especially from people who own these dogs. I have now also purchased the book, Bulldog for dummies for some basic overview and will no doubt be back on here if i have any further questions.

I think that we are going to proceed in getting the bulldog and just awaiting for the breeder to have the puppies so that we can reserve one.

Again, thank you very much everybody and no doubt i will be speaking to some of you again soon.

Regards,
 

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