Adopted a problem child

[jtyson]

My first english bulldog. Had a frenchie before. This dude came from a rescue in Utah by way of California. He was a breeder throwaway effectively. Has his share of issues at the ripe old age of 2. He is a pain, doesn't listen, and is the most high maintenance thing I've ever owned. But boy is he cute!

He came to us as Buddy, which we've stuck with for no reason other than it was already on his paperwork from the rescue. He doesn't listen to it. But he doesn't listen to anything. He was Wakanda originally from the breeders lol. I thought about changing his name to Chad as an homage to the late actor's character hailing from Wakanda, but I had little support there in the house. I call him Ferdinand the bull when he lays in the yard munching on grass and sunbathing. I also thought to call him Louis since he is colored the same as the fancy handbags.

He is epileptic. He has allergies. He has goofy joints, funny teeth and more dirty rolls to clean every day than I ever thought I'd have to manage. He is the epitome of what breeders have done wrong to create a beautiful short stumpy little bulldog.

I've thought about putting him on Instagram to gain some web fame and raise awareness for people who see these awesome looking dogs and don't know the troubles behind the scenes, but I haven't committed to that idea yet.

For now I'm joining this group to be able to search amongst some folks who have had more experience with these beasts.

 

[Manydogs]

All you have to do is look at that face, and problems fade away!! He can be taught to listen-but you have to learn to make him think it's his idea-ha!ha!We love our Bullies, with all their faults, and we are addicted to their ways. to this site.
Have a problem? Ask us. Someone will usually have a solution. If he has allergies, it could be food. What are you feeding him?

 

[helsonwheels]

[MENTION=20124]jtyson[/MENTION] you describe 90% of the men on the planet. :D

He’s absolutely adorable! Stubborn? Which bully isn’t? Comes with their character. My white face Jake is like talking to a wall. I had less issues working with teens than my pig head Jake.

Like [MENTION=8741]Manydogs[/MENTION] mentioned, what food brand you feed him. We are here to help you. Simply ask.

 

[Shirley Wigglebutt]

Welcome! I was in the same boat not long ago minus the epilepsy and allergy issues. Adopted a 6 turning 7 year old on April 27th from a rescue on January 4th, also a breeder surrender that had been grossly overbred. I received a lot of great information and ideas that helped me and Shirley Wigglebutt get through the blatant constant ignoring. She would put her head up and stare at the ceiling but I know she was hearing me as her ears would occasionally move. She will still ignore me if there's a distraction but will now listen most of the time. I tried EVERYTHING I could think of and when I was told things have to be on their terms (due to the breed's stubbornness) I started putting my head up staring at the ceiling, ignoring her. She did not like receiving what she was dishing out and that's how we overcame that issue for the most part. I do daily training sessions on the basic commands and she's picked those up very quickly. I'm still having potty training issues after about a month of no messes, I'm back to square 1. I had made one of my bedrooms for her own room and have had 3 failed attempts with it and every attempt has put me back to having to start all over. The rescue had told me that she was caged most of her life so in my plea for help here, the advice I received was basically that the room is too big and overwhelming to her and she actually feels safer and happier in my main bathroom for when I go to bed and in a smaller space which is tiled and much easier to clean than carpet. I'm disabled so having to get the carpet shampooer out and carpet cleaning supplies is very difficult and hard on me. We have only had 1 mess in there in over a month now, but I can't leave her in any other room in the house even to be outside for hay delivery without her peeing on my blankets, not hers on one of her 3 her raised beds throughout the house but mine I keep on the couch for me. She pulls them off the couch, pees on them, then bunches the blankets up and lays on top of her mess trying to hide it. Time and patience, lots of love and healthy baked dog treats! If Shirley and I can get through it, you and your cutie pie will too :0)

 

[ddnene]

Goodness... he is precious!!! I have owned 5 bulldogs so far, and I will tell you... some are more stubborn than others BUT we adore the breed just the same!!! These dogs take a certain kind of patience, but SO rewarding... their personalities are unmatched in the canine world.

 

[sisters3]

A big bully welcome to you and Buddy (or whatever name you and he decide on). You will love being a part of this family, it totally saved Joey and I when she was a wee pup. Almost SIX YEARS later we still get priceless advice and support here.

THANK YOU for rescuing this handsome boy!! Please continue to post, photos too, there are VERY EXPERIENCED bully owners here that are always ready to help.

Again, WELCOME!!!

Sue and Joey

 

[cefe13]

Welcome! Castor says hi to your boy!

Yes, they are stubborn. Yes, there are many folds, and yes, they need a kind and understanding owner!

 

[1Chumly]

Oh my, what a beautiful boy!

I didn't see how long you have had him but a lot of rescue dogs can take months to settle down and adjust. Give him time to get used to being in a proper home. The stubborn-ness? HaHaha! That may never change. My Buster is as stubborn as they come and if he doesn't want to do something, he just won't. He has very selective hearing too. If I don't let him up on my knee, which he would live on if he could, he turns his back to me and barks. His previous home said he had been spoilt, they just didn't tell us how much!!!
Hang in there, you are already in love with him so it will get better no matter what!

 

[gobronco]

Don't worry, he will train you in no time. Welcome!!!

 

[jtyson]

He has been with us since right before Thanksgiving so I guess a bit over 3 months. He has settled in pretty well considering we have a bit of a chaotic household and he deals with multiple different adults. We lack the standard pack structure with one Alpha that typically comes with getting a new dog in line. Considering that, he has done alright really.

He was a young stud to be and apparently had low motility so he was rehomed. The folks that got him saw a couple seizures and surrendered him to the rescue. He was with them for about 4-5 months, so really, his whole life has been a bit chaos.

Since I've had him, I've only actually witnessed 1 seizure, and he has someone with him pretty much 24/7 and we haven't seen any others so I'd say the epilepsy is well controlled.

Potty training is like 95% there. First few weeks was rough. Now we don't have accidents, but I find that he does pee in his little dog house/crate sometimes. I don't think it is an accident, but more an act of defiance. Some could be incontinence from seizures that I don't catch, but no way to know unless I put a camera on him all the time.

He came to me on Purina Pro Plan Chicken Shreds. I haven't moved off that brand yet, but have been trying different flavors. Salmon made him very itchy. He does better on Chicken, and so far on Lamb he isn't too bad. I chased food allergies with my frenchie for years before finding food that worked for him. I thought about switching this guy right over to the same brand - Earthborn Holistic but I have been concerned about his belly being upset and me not being there to manage that mess and leaving the other people in the house to deal with it.

The stubbornness is irritating at times, maddening at other times. He responds to treats. I know he is smart enough, just doesn't care what I want lol.

His sleep schedule is what kills me currently. I have odd hours. I sleep from about 2-4am to 7-11am depending on the day. Work. In the beginning he slept whenever I slept. It was great. Now, he wants to get up between 4:30-5:30 to get out of his crate and go sleep in the other room in his tiny chair. Not to go outside or some other reason, just wants a different bed. If I ignore him he gurgles and growls for a few minutes then starts barking. So I give in to the tiny dictator and he goes to sleep in his chair and someone else takes over to feed him his breakfast between 7-8am.

Work in progress! He's snoring away as I type this. So he must be relatively comfortable lol.

 

[1Chumly]

We went through the sleep schedule problem with Buster. He was ready to get up 3.30 -4.30 am. He didn't want to go outside, just to get up. We had been giving him 3mg Melatonin daily (prescribed by his vet) to help with his hair loss so we started giving it to him when we all went to bed and touch wood, has so far solved the problem! Now he is often the last one up! Check with your vet before doing anything like that, however, because of his medical needs.
As far as changing his food, as long as you do a slow change, 7-10 days, he should be fine.

The stubbornness is irritating at times, maddening at other times. He responds to treats. I know he is smart enough, just doesn't care what I want lol. This sounds exactly like Buster. He will jump through hoops for a treat but absolutely ignores us at other times.

 

[oscarmayer]

I've only actually witnessed 1 seizure, and he has someone with him pretty much 24/7 and we haven't seen any others so I'd say the epilepsy is well controlled.

Can you describe the seizure?
He's mighty cute...and the stubborn-ess can actually add to the cuteness

 

[Shirley Wigglebutt]

Can you describe the seizure?
He's mighty cute...and the stubborn-ess can actually add to the cuteness

The first post says pup has epilepsy, I'm guessing it was an epileptic seizure. I've never witnessed any animal having a seizure, I'd be terrified

 

[jtyson]

Can you describe the seizure?
He's mighty cute...and the stubborn-ess can actually add to the cuteness

Sure. It was a bit before 4:30am and I heard him bang against the crate harder than normal. I turned on the lights and he was on his side with legs straight out. I wasn't sure if this was a puppy dream or what so i went to roll him onto his belly and that is when the seizure really took off. He was shaking and rocking side to side while kind of grunting. He eventually rocked onto his other side and the seizing stopped. Head and eye tremors kept going for a couple more minutes and then he kinda woke up and wandered out of the crate. Pretty normal. We went outside, I removed his bedding since he peed himself, cleaned him up a bit and then went back to bed.

I took a video of a portion of it for record and for the veterinarian in case they wanted to see it. I don't know if I can upload video directly here, but I guess I could post it on youtube and then put a link if you want to see what it looks like.

The first post says pup has epilepsy, I'm guessing it was an epileptic seizure. I've never witnessed any animal having a seizure, I'd be terrified

Unfortunately not my first rodeo. I've dealt with a lot of seizures. This is my 3rd epileptic dog. I've been around several people as well who have gone through seizures due to fibromyalgia, head trauma, epilepsy, withdrawal, etc. My experience with seizures is why I was picked for this guy to go to. To be honest though, it is still ultra high stress and traumatic to deal with in your own pup. They don't understand. A human you can explain it to, but the dog has no comprehension. So it just wonders why you're freaking out after it's brain pressed all the buttons at once and then rebooted.

 

[Shirley Wigglebutt]

Sure. It was a bit before 4:30am and I heard him bang against the crate harder than normal. I turned on the lights and he was on his side with legs straight out. I wasn't sure if this was a puppy dream or what so i went to roll him onto his belly and that is when the seizure really took off. He was shaking and rocking side to side while kind of grunting. He eventually rocked onto his other side and the seizing stopped. Head and eye tremors kept going for a couple more minutes and then he kinda woke up and wandered out of the crate. Pretty normal. We went outside, I removed his bedding since he peed himself, cleaned him up a bit and then went back to bed.

I took a video of a portion of it for record and for the veterinarian in case they wanted to see it. I don't know if I can upload video directly here, but I guess I could post it on youtube and then put a link if you want to see what it looks like.



Unfortunately not my first rodeo. I've dealt with a lot of seizures. This is my 3rd epileptic dog. I've been around several people as well who have gone through seizures due to fibromyalgia, head trauma, epilepsy, withdrawal, etc. My experience with seizures is why I was picked for this guy to go to. To be honest though, it is still ultra high stress and traumatic to deal with in your own pup. They don't understand. A human you can explain it to, but the dog has no comprehension. So it just wonders why you're freaking out after it's brain pressed all the buttons at once and then rebooted.

I am glad yet sorry that you've had so much experience with seizures. I've witnessed a human have a seizure once and we were in a car, I was in the backseat and held her head as still as I could so she didn't bang her head on the window. I was borderline freaking out, but since everyone else in the car had all their experience with it and remained calm kept me from freaking out. Her husband was driving giving me instructions on what to do. Thankfully it wasn't long or as they said a bad one. As you stated an animal doesn't know and you can't explain it to them so they can understand what's happening to them. I'd imagine they get terrified when they have a seizure and a freaking out fur parent would most likely make the situation worse because you can't explain it to them. 3 very lucky dogs have had the chance and understanding you have given them. Kudos to you dear and thank you so much for taking the epileptic dogs in and letting them have a life that they normally wouldn't get the opportunity of without you.