Hello and some puppy questions from new member

[Roosi]

Hello to everyone on this site. I'm a fresh English bulldog owner from Estonia. I got Alistair a bit more than a month ago when he was 3 months old. He is such a sweetheart and we feel so lucky to have him. I've had dogs before but this is my first bulldog. I can't believe how different this puppy is compared to other dogs I've known. Not just the looks but behavior and everything. All in all it's been a blast so far.
I do have couple of concerns though and thought people on this site might be able to help. I understand bulldogs have often issues with digestion and so does Alistair. His stools are almost always loose or semi-loose and very smelly. I've been feeding him mainly Royal Canin Medium Junior kibbles, which were recommended by breeder. In addition he gets some bio-yoghurt every day and some meat or fish fillet or boiled egg now and then. His stools change colour if he has had larger amount of meat but stay loose. He is growing well, has put on 6 kilos already in one month (weighs 17 kg now at 4 months). I'm surprised Royal Canin is rated so low on this forum. Here it is considered to be a very good pet food brand. Could the kibbles be the cause of Alistair's tummy issues? Maybe I should try a different brand. I noticed that online shop, where I buy his food, does have some higher rated foods, Acana and Orijen among them. I don't think I am prepared to cook all his meals myself. Just don't have time for that as we also have human toddler and baby to look after.
Other concerns are about Alistair's physical abilities. He is quite playful and seems to have lot of energy but still is often reluctant to come for a walk. Also I hope he starts walking up and down stairs soon. We live up the stairs and have to carry him up and down several times a day. 17 kilos is quite a lot to carry already.

Thank you for reading. Lots of wiggles from little bullhog Alistair!

 

[helsonwheels]

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

Hello Anne and Alistair....

Go on the link above and it will help you enormously

Cute puppy there

And I would never feed Nyala RC but that's me.

 

[ddnene]

to EBN!!!

Alistar is adorable, we are so glad that you joined the forum. At 4 mos most bulldogs are not ready to go down stairs, maybe even have trouble going up the stairs. Don't worry he will be more that willing soon enough… bulldogs can be extremely stubborn, and that also means on going for walks. I personally prefer using a harness, and I would plan for very short trips maybe 10-15 min at first so he gets the idea.

As far as the food goes, obviously something he's eating isn't sitting well w/him. You can add PURE pumpkin to his kibble to get his stools for firm up, but it sounds as if this has been going on for some time. Sometimes certain kibble just doesn't work for some bulldogs, Arcana and Orijen are both great foods but check on food advisor. I give my dogs Fromm's, but we have also used Earthborne Holistic and there are many great choices in different price ranges. Remember to do a very SLOW food transition over several days so that he doesn't have more stomach issues.

 

[2BullyMama]

to EBN!!!

Your babies are beautiful! ❤️
As for food, if you can get Acana/Orijen... I would switch RC has too many fillers and grains.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Davidh]

Welcome to the site and your pups is a cutie. Cut back a little on the food and see if the poops harden up. Usually soft poop means too much food, or could also be a parasite. Royal Canin isn't that great of a food, but if he does well on it, you might keep him on it, but they will be pretty gassy on it. Try a grain free food, that should help, plus the eggs will contribute to the gas as well.

 

[BREWBADGER]

Very cute puppy... I was feeding a lesser rated kibble that the breeder was using. It was rated high years ago I learned from research, but very low now.. Still cost the same as the higher rated food. So I switch to Fromm's because of the loose stools.. Also I was probably over feeding and taking him out to often and given him a treat to potty... House breaking you give them a treat for success.. but I notice Vader was really trying too hard to potty for his treat and he was poohing before it was time which was contributing to his loose stools. IMO... I also added pumpkin and cut back on the yogurt and cottage cheese ( actually stopped cottage cheese).... I was setting him up for loose stools without realizing it.

Stairs are hilarious. I would never have thought 6-8 inches would be that big a deal... but it is... Vader is now 5 months old and can go up and down. Reya is 4 months old and can only go up.. not down.. not even from the first step... Happened today as a matter of fact... she went up the first step and couldn't go back down.. not for all the coaxing in the world or a treat.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hello to everyone on this site. I'm a fresh English bulldog owner from Estonia. I got Alistair a bit more than a month ago when he was 3 months old. He is such a sweetheart and we feel so lucky to have him. I've had dogs before but this is my first bulldog. I can't believe how different this puppy is compared to other dogs I've known. Not just the looks but behavior and everything. All in all it's been a blast so far.
I do have couple of concerns though and thought people on this site might be able to help. I understand bulldogs have often issues with digestion and so does Alistair. His stools are almost always loose or semi-loose and very smelly. I've been feeding him mainly Royal Canin Medium Junior kibbles, which were recommended by breeder. In addition he gets some bio-yoghurt every day and some meat or fish fillet or boiled egg now and then. His stools change colour if he has had larger amount of meat but stay loose. He is growing well, has put on 6 kilos already in one month (weighs 17 kg now at 4 months). I'm surprised Royal Canin is rated so low on this forum. Here it is considered to be a very good pet food brand. Could the kibbles be the cause of Alistair's tummy issues? Maybe I should try a different brand. I noticed that online shop, where I buy his food, does have some higher rated foods, Acana and Orijen among them. I don't think I am prepared to cook all his meals myself. Just don't have time for that as we also have human toddler and baby to look after.
Other concerns are about Alistair's physical abilities. He is quite playful and seems to have lot of energy but still is often reluctant to come for a walk. Also I hope he starts walking up and down stairs soon. We live up the stairs and have to carry him up and down several times a day. 17 kilos is quite a lot to carry already.

Thank you for reading. Lots of wiggles from little bullhog Alistair!

View attachment 97347

Hi Ann, and Welcome to you and Allistair to EBN. You have a Cutie Pie. My guys were also on Royal Canin from the Breeder, but I switched them right away since RC isn't the best choice of food due to too many fillers, and corn which isn't very good for dogs, plus it has grains. Many Bullies are either allergic or sensitive to grains and chicken. RC is a chicken based kibble, and both of my guys are allergic to chicken. We switched to Fromms, but there are many other great food choices out there, like Orijen, Acana, Wellness, and Blue Buffalo. Check out the Dog Food Ratings on the Home Page, the best choices to choose from are 4 to 6 star foods. RC is rated as a 3 star food. He may have soft stools due to either the chicken or the grains and fillers in the RC kibble. When switching foods do a slow transition over a week or two, to avoid tummy troubles from a food switch. Start with 3/4 of the old food mixed with 1/3 of the new food for a few days, then mix 1/2 of the old food with 1/2 of the new food for a few days, then mix 3/4 of the new food with 1/3 of the old food for a couple of days, and finally all new food.

 

[CCandMurray]

congrats on being a new bully parent-they truly are the best dogs ever!! I would suggest you transition off of Royal canin to Orijen or Acana. A lot of people seem to have great success on the Acana fish flavor. Best of luck with your new baby, check out the site there are a ton of great people and great resources

 

[Enjoimangos]

Hello to everyone on this site. I'm a fresh English bulldog owner from Estonia. I got Alistair a bit more than a month ago when he was 3 months old. He is such a sweetheart and we feel so lucky to have him. I've had dogs before but this is my first bulldog. I can't believe how different this puppy is compared to other dogs I've known. Not just the looks but behavior and everything. All in all it's been a blast so far.
I do have couple of concerns though and thought people on this site might be able to help. I understand bulldogs have often issues with digestion and so does Alistair. His stools are almost always loose or semi-loose and very smelly. I've been feeding him mainly Royal Canin Medium Junior kibbles, which were recommended by breeder. In addition he gets some bio-yoghurt every day and some meat or fish fillet or boiled egg now and then. His stools change colour if he has had larger amount of meat but stay loose. He is growing well, has put on 6 kilos already in one month (weighs 17 kg now at 4 months). I'm surprised Royal Canin is rated so low on this forum. Here it is considered to be a very good pet food brand. Could the kibbles be the cause of Alistair's tummy issues? Maybe I should try a different brand. I noticed that online shop, where I buy his food, does have some higher rated foods, Acana and Orijen among them. I don't think I am prepared to cook all his meals myself. Just don't have time for that as we also have human toddler and baby to look after.
Other concerns are about Alistair's physical abilities. He is quite playful and seems to have lot of energy but still is often reluctant to come for a walk. Also I hope he starts walking up and down stairs soon. We live up the stairs and have to carry him up and down several times a day. 17 kilos is quite a lot to carry already.

Thank you for reading. Lots of wiggles from little bullhog Alistair!

View attachment 97347

I also used Royal Canine kibble when I first got my Boris as its what was recommended by the breeder. He had very loose smelly stool and we added Pumpkin to help firm it up, but eventually just switched our kibble to Taste of the Wild and never looked back. The Royal canine stuff is highly recommended by Vets due to all the clinical studies they do and publish. If you look at the ingredients yourself its all crappy grain fillers which is not recommend for EBDs. I think most of the owners here will agree that teaching a bulldog how to walk on a lead is like pulling an anchor... I used the handful of kibble trick to get Boris to walk on a lead, its funny what they'll do for food

 

[CCandMurray]

I just realized I have zero knowledge on Orijen or Acana as far as if they have puppy food. I had mine on taste of the wild puppy and he did really great on it

 

[Roosi]

Thank you all for replies and good advice. I understand people here recommend Fromm, but I don't think it is available in this country, at least I have not seen. I'm probably going to try Acana, it seems to have puppy variety food too. I admit overfeeding might also be part of the problem, but he is growing very fast and I don't want him to feel hungry.
He is actually quite good at walking on lead with me. He walks slowly and stops every now and then to look around and also wants to talk to all the people he sees, but we get our park round done. Yesterday it took us more than an hour to walk 1,5 km. It's different with my husband or son. Sometimes Alistair seems to be fine to go out with either of them, but sometimes just sits down and refuses to walk unless they turn back. And then the person subjected to such stubbornnes feels insulted and thinks the dog does not like him. I guess he is still small and wants to walk with mommy. :D

 

[ChrisRN]

to you and Allistair! He is adorable! Royal Canin was recommended to me at one time, but I was not impressed with how my dogs did on it. I would try one of the higher-rated foods and y might see an immediate change.