Help Needed! The life of a bulldog mommy!

[tdy426]

I swear I check this site a thousand times a week looking for answers to all of my questions, but here's a few I'd love additional feedback on if anyone has the time:

1) I weighed the pups (unofficially, holding them on my scale) yesterday, and at 14.5 weeks, Henry weighs in at 19 lbs; Eleanor at 17 lbs. Are we a little on the chunky side? For some reason, I have it in my head that they should average one pound a week.

2) Eleanor had a cherry eye pop out a few weeks back. At first I could massage it back in place. Not so much anymore. I'm waiting to talk to the vet about it at her next shot appointment, unless I should move faster??

3) I can't find ANY chewie that Henry can't choke on. Ugh. I've tried a few different things (no rawhides!), but if I had a dollar for every time I had to reach in and pull something out of his throat! He's trying to give me a heart attack!! Is there anything you suggest that's not plastic?? They have a thousand toys, but I'm thinking along the lines of something (eventually) edible.

4) I thought I needed to wait until 6 months old to have Eleanor spayed. Someone else said that's the latest I should wait. Any drawbacks to doing it earlier?

I know there's more...but that's a good start! If we make it through puppyhood unscathed, we'll all deserve a medal!

Thanks y'all!

 

[ddnene]

1. Our pups averaged about a pound a week, but I don't think it's worrisome if they don't. I would worry more if they were losing weight…
2. Not sure about cherry eye in a pup, Bella had it as an adult but I was able to massage it back in…
3. KONG makes some great puppy chews, or I say just get him the bigger sized nylabones… those work great!
4. Not sure about the spay question, I thought that I heard it's best to let them go thru a first heat but I will tag some members on that one [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION], [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION]

 

[s5nelson]

1) I don't honestly remember what Winston weighed at 14 weeks, but I can tell you that the vet said as long as you can feel their ribs whenever you run your hands down their sides, they are at their perfect weight.

2) Not sure on this one. Others here on the forum might have better advice for you.

3) Ok, I definitely went through this one. I wound up buying Winston oversized nylabones / kong toys so he couldn't swallow them. There just was no other way around it.

4) I've heard that they don't develop as fully as they otherwise would / could if they are spayed before 6 months, but I'm not the expert on this by any means.


Good luck with everything!

 

[Pati Robins]

1)Weight - lily put around pound a week i know people like chunky pups but too much weight is bad for their growing joints ;-) but again every bully is different

2) cherry eye -we were advised to wait untill lily is at least 5 months old as the risk of her not waking up after surgery becomes minimal
But consult the vet first ,some people wait and do the surgery at the time of neutering

3) Chews-kong ,kong and kong ;-). I Dont trust nylabones etc x my friend dog that was stolen as a pup and found over a year later (thanks to unusual face marks) died a week later after eating a chew

4) Spaying- we spayed all our dogs at 6 months -none of them didn't develop properly etc (all were healthy and as big as their parents ) i think when it comes to timing its down to personal preference

 

[Davidh]

I say they are just about right on the weight. On the chew toy, if he is chocking on it because it is too far in his mouth then the chew toy is too small. Get a Nylabones or Kong that is bigger. I don't like the editable ones as they can be a chock hazard when they get small or they can swallow them and get an obstruction from it. There is always a big debate on when to spay. I like waiting a few months after their first heat, but most people don't want to hassle with that, so I would say spay around 5 months of age, before her first heat.