New to the Bulldog World

Hi all, my husband and I are in the process of adopting a puppy in the Washington DC area. This will be our first dog together and I have just joined the EBN group! I was wondering if anybody has an recommendation on whether or not they have pet insurance for their bully and if so what the best pet insurance is. Also, there are a lot of opinions on food for bullies. Fromm's looks like the best but it is super expensive. Is there another brand that people like a lot and isn't as expensive? Lastly, do you suggest using a collar or a harness for a bully? I have gotten differing opinions on this. Thanks for all your help! I really appreciate it!

New to the Bulldog World from Washington D.C.

So I think I posted my original thread on the wrong area ... Anyway my husband and I are in the process of adopting a puppy in the Washington DC area. This will be our first dog together and I have just joined the EBN group! I was wondering if anybody has an recommendation on whether or not they have pet insurance for their bully and if so what the best pet insurance is. Also, there are a lot of opinions on food for bullies. Fromm's looks like the best but it is super expensive. Is there another brand that people like a lot and isn't as expensive? Do you suggest using a collar or a harness for a bully? I have gotten differing opinions on this. Also, any advice on how to potty train a puppy in an apartment? We live on the 7th floor of a pet friendly apartment complex. I will be working from home thankfully so there isn't any issues with me taking out the new puppy. Just not sure how to go about the elevator and getting him outside in time!

Sorry for all the questions! I will post pictures once we get the little munchkin ... hopefully after the 4th of July. Thanks for all your help! I really appreciate it!

[MENTION=4716]ccurran[/MENTION] Hi and welcome! I have pet insurance for both my english and french bulldog. I use Healthy Paws! It has already come in handy this past february when I had to bring Gio to the ER twice for bad allergies and stomach problems. He is also on springtime allergy medication and they payed for 90% of it! Gio is currently on Natural Balance, I like it but I am going to put him on Fromm pretty soon. I use a harness, personally I think its more comfortable for them and Gio can wiggle out of collars since his neck and head are almost the same size! Post pictures as soon as you get the little puppy!! Are you thinking of getting a boy or a girl?

Hi! Thanks for all the information! I am trying to do as much research as possible before we get the little guy. We are getting a boy puppy and his name will be Seamus. We are hoping to get him after the 4th of July but are still talking with the breeder. I am super excited! How do you like Healthy Paws? That is actually the insurance that I found most appealing when I was doing my research. Have you had a good experience with them? From the looks of it Fromm's is the best dog food out there for bullies so we will probably go with that. Thanks again for the info! We will post pictures once we get the little guy!

Re: New to the Bulldog World from Washington D.C.

to EBN... Im glad you have come here for advice on you new bully.. BUT,,,, Where are the pix.. HUH? HUH? LOL Everyone here loves pix, the more the merrier.
We do not have Princess Gracie on ins. but IF you wish to get it while it is still young. Once they are older it can get expensive.
You mentioned Fromm..... USUALLY premium foods like Fromm provide better nutrition and are more thoroughly digested with less fillers so you end up feeding a lot less. Crapola foods may take 3 cups or more a day where as Fromm for an adult bully may only take 1-1.5 cups.... Some even feed less than that of premium food. There goes the expensive theory. it is not. And besides that usually there are less ingredients in better foods that bullies are allergic to. Finding the perfect food for your bully takes time, and may take switching foods a few times til you find it. Slow transition from one food to another is also important with bullies. Earthborn is another great food and is a bit less pricey than Fromm. (to answer your ?) LOL.
Harness,,,, definitely a harness... but teaching them to walk calmly is important too. You don't want them to tow you around, even with a harness.
Puppy questions someone else can answer.. Her Royal Highness is 5.5 years so I have no puppy help for you.. LOL Thanx again for joining and I hope you will feel comfortable here and participate. Now, about those pix?

Re: New to the Bulldog World from Washington D.C.

WOW.... welcome to EBN and the WONDERFUL of bulldogs!! All great questions and here is my opinion...

Food... remember, you get what you pay for and the wrong food will me MORE vet bills... allergies, skin issues, weight problems, etc. The biggest thing to remember is bulldogs are like no other breed and require alot of attention and daily maintenance. Fromm, Earthborn, and Nature Variety Instinct as some of the favorites of those here, but you can check the recommended food listing on the nutrition forum.

Collar/harness... there are many threads discussing this, but we use both depending on the situation. Collar is for stress=free situations , short walks where there will be no pulling and such. Harness is long walks, dog events or lots of people. Bullies have small trachea and are bruised/damaged easily. use you best judgement based on the situation.

Potty training.... get a schedule set based on the puppy age... they can hold their bladder for 1 hour more than they are old in months... so 3 moth old pup can hold for 4 hours. Take him/her out 20 mins after meals and as soon as they wake up.

Hope all that helps.... ask all the questions you need to --- it is why we are all here to help and have fun.

Welcome! I have Brutus on Fromm Beef Frittata since 8 months and wish I had switched sooner! I quickly learned the key to a healthy bullie starts with the food! I use about 1 bag every 3-4 weeks about ! There is a Nutriten forum that has food recommendations ! Give that a look it rates the food by rating! What works for some doesn't work for all but I always recommend a 6 star or possibly 5. Good luck with everything and can't wait to see pictures!

This site and it's members are amazing and have great advice! I thought I was giving my Brutus the best food and I was wrong! I was giving him a 5 star when he needed a 6(based on Ebn food Rec) bc he is super active! Good luck and please post pics soon! Nice to meet you!

I am in my IPhone and apologize for mispelling lol I prefer a harness to avoid hurting their neck. I have heard good things about the kong harness. We have just regular harness that clips in. Okay again welcome welcome!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.659007,-74.233447

Welcome to the world of EB's!!

We had the exact same questions when we first got Molly 5 months ago..

1) We signed up for insurance through Trupanion. It covers 90% and we have a $250 deductible. I know a few people that don't have insurance, and a few people that do.

2) We switched from what the breeder was feeding (cant remember what it was) her to Avoderm because it was a recommended food and we could get it local. She didn't really like the Avoderm so we switched her over to Fromm puppy gold... She has been thriving on that for the past 4 months! We buy it from PetFlow.com since nobody in our area carries it. We'll be switching her over to Fromm 4 star soon. You may spend more on a quality food... but i i think it saves money in the long run (preventing health issues).

3) Molly wears a collar right now, mostly because my wife likes the *bling*. We are on the hunt for a good harness for walks since she's getting BIGGER.

I have Dozer on ASPCA insurance, the best plan available @ $60 a month it covers everything except negligence.

As for food...like the previous posters said you get what you pay for and with the higher quality (read: more expensive) foods will be fed a lot less. I have Dozer on Earthborn Meadow Feast and he is doing ok with it. You can find a lot of great deals online for these foods and shipping it usually free. See what food works for you or you can get an allergy test done right off the bat and see what he is allergic to; then simpy buy a food that doesnt have what was listed in the test results.

In the house he usualy wears a quick release collar, when hes in his play pen no collar and on walks we use the Premier "No Pull" harness.

Cant help you with apartment housebreaking

Great thanks for all of the information! Do you all give your bullies supplements to their food? Vitamins? Fish oil? Also how often should I be cleaning their ears and wrinkles? Should I be using Witch Hazel on the wrinkles, ears and tear stains? Does that work best? Also, what is the best shampoo to use on bullies? Thanks again for all your help!

Hi there and welcome to EBN! You sound just like me before we got Rook last October.

We've talked about getting insurance but still haven't done so... and knock on wood... Rook has been a pretty healthy puppy so far.

Our breeder had Rook on Royal Canin when we brought him home, but as soon as I found EBN I realized how important a quality food was. We switched him over to Fromm Beef Fritatta around four or five months. He has been doing really well with it. Still some water eyes but I'm not sure if it might be a food or environmental allergy causing it. When he is a little older I want to do an allergy test and maybe figure that out. What works for one bully doesn't always work for another, so it might be trial an error for you to find the best one for Seamus.

We started Rook with a collar, but recently switched over the a harness. You would not believe how strong a little bulldog puppy can be, if Rook does pull on his leash I feel much safer with the harness than the collar pulling around his neck. And he actually walks much better now with the harness, so I think he likes it better too!

As for apartment potty training... I don't know how old Seamus will be when you bring him home, or if he will already have all his vaccinations. We also live in an apartment, but we didn't let him outside until he had all of his puppy vaccinations. Since we don't have our own private yard and there are countless people and animals walking passed we couldn't be sure the area outside our apartment would be clean and safe for him. We didn't want to risk him picking up parvo or anything else that he wasn't protected against. So for the first month it was all potty pads in the apartment for Rook, which he picked up on immediately. You will pick up on the things he will do to indicate he has to go... for instance, Rook smells around a lot before he poops. Just make sure he gets to the potty pad, and give treats and praise when he does it correctly. Once we got the all clear from the vet, we started going outside for potty breaks and never put down another potty pad because we wanted to make sure he understood going outside was the only option from then on. I was really worried about how he would do with this transition, but when we told him to "go potty" he did. We treated him and gave a lot of praise every time he went outside... nothing if he had an accident inside. The trick is to know he has to go before he does, and lots of trips outside just in case to eliminate any accidents inside.

Good luck! Can't wait to see pictures of your little guy when you get him!

ccurran said:

Great thanks for all of the information! Do you all give your bullies supplements to their food? Vitamins? Fish oil? Also how often should I be cleaning their ears and wrinkles? Should I be using Witch Hazel on the wrinkles, ears and tear stains? Does that work best? Also, what is the best shampoo to use on bullies? Thanks again for all your help!

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Wont need supplements if you get a high quality food, but some people like using fish oil on any food.

I clean Dozers wrinkles and face everyday with grooming wipes or witch hazel. Either is fine.


As for shampoo's any oatmeal or tea tree leaf based works best.

Great thanks. I definitely want to get Fromm's but am not sure what to use, either Fromm's Puppy Gold or the Fromm Beef Fritatta. Seamus will be around 12-13 weeks old when we get him so I am not sure what would be best to feed him. I am concerned with the Puppy Gold since it has Chicken Meal and Fresh Chicken as the #2 and #3 ingredients and I have heard that bullies tend to be allergic to chicken. So would it be okay to just start him on the Fromm Beef Frittata?

In terms of vaccinations, our breeder said that he will be up to date with all his vaccinations, but I don't know what that means in terms of puppy vaccinations. If he is around 12-13 weeks will he still need other vaccinations before he can be around other dogs? I hadn't thought about using puppy pee pads since I really want to get him trained to go outside.

Supplements... HRH eats Fromm Beef Fritatta. she gets 3/4 cup in the am and same in the pm. Her morning food is supplemented by a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt as a probiotic, One fish oil pill.... we think she is allergic to salmon but many use liquid salmon oil. She also gets a 4200mg Cranberry pill to help prevent UTI and finally, right now with all the trees and flowers starting to bloom, she gets a Benadryl mixed in. We add nothing to the evening meal.