Hi everyone,
I have been desperate to find a good english bulldog forum and I have finally found this one, phew! I want to apologise in advance if this post ends up becoming long-winded and confusing but I am in dire need of some advice. I am also sorry if this is the wrong place to put this!
Basically, I used to go to college with a girl who is known to have a "rollercoaster" life, well, she decided to get a bulldog puppy. Now recently she was made homeless and was unable to take care of the dog, so I volunteered to take her in for an undetermined amount of time. I've got one dog already but she is a collieX and already I can tell that a bulldog is completely different. To be honest, I know nothing about english bulldogs other than the fact that they can experience all sorts of health problems (and again, this may or may not be true, like I said, I don't really know anything). I've googled and googled but eventually decided that my best bet was to ask people who own and love bulldogs.
Lola is a 5 month old bulldog and this is already her fourth home. She was given to my friend for free on the grounds that she is bred every year, which I do not agree with at all (neither does my friend, apparently, also I use the term 'friend' loosely). She looks very overweight to me, weighing roughly 14 kilos. My other dog is very lean so I don't know whether I am just comparing Lola to her and she seems fat, or whether she actually is fat. Can somebody confirm if this is overweight? I can't see any muscle or bone definition, just chub. If she is overweight, how can I go about reducing her weight? My friend used to give her human food and scraps, on top of two very heaped bowls of food a day. I've cut out all of the extras (including treats for now) and reduced the amount of dry food she is getting (although spreading it out throughout the day). She seems very lazy and grows tired easily. She starts panting as soon as she climbs to the top of the stairs!
I have no idea how long I am going to have Lola for and to be honest, I am not overly keen on the idea of returning her as my friend ("friend") clearly doesn't know how to look after her either. She is a very lovely pup and I want to do my best to get her on the right track.
I have been desperate to find a good english bulldog forum and I have finally found this one, phew! I want to apologise in advance if this post ends up becoming long-winded and confusing but I am in dire need of some advice. I am also sorry if this is the wrong place to put this!
Basically, I used to go to college with a girl who is known to have a "rollercoaster" life, well, she decided to get a bulldog puppy. Now recently she was made homeless and was unable to take care of the dog, so I volunteered to take her in for an undetermined amount of time. I've got one dog already but she is a collieX and already I can tell that a bulldog is completely different. To be honest, I know nothing about english bulldogs other than the fact that they can experience all sorts of health problems (and again, this may or may not be true, like I said, I don't really know anything). I've googled and googled but eventually decided that my best bet was to ask people who own and love bulldogs.
Lola is a 5 month old bulldog and this is already her fourth home. She was given to my friend for free on the grounds that she is bred every year, which I do not agree with at all (neither does my friend, apparently, also I use the term 'friend' loosely). She looks very overweight to me, weighing roughly 14 kilos. My other dog is very lean so I don't know whether I am just comparing Lola to her and she seems fat, or whether she actually is fat. Can somebody confirm if this is overweight? I can't see any muscle or bone definition, just chub. If she is overweight, how can I go about reducing her weight? My friend used to give her human food and scraps, on top of two very heaped bowls of food a day. I've cut out all of the extras (including treats for now) and reduced the amount of dry food she is getting (although spreading it out throughout the day). She seems very lazy and grows tired easily. She starts panting as soon as she climbs to the top of the stairs!
I have no idea how long I am going to have Lola for and to be honest, I am not overly keen on the idea of returning her as my friend ("friend") clearly doesn't know how to look after her either. She is a very lovely pup and I want to do my best to get her on the right track.