Help Needed! Is my bulldog overweight? And, any Vet suggestions for Waco, TX area?

[LunchBox]

We adopted our very first bulldog tonight & I have a small concern about his weight. My husband believes he looks very healthy & not overweight but I just want to make sure. I don't want his weight to cause a problem with his health. He's currently 21 months old & at his last vet visit in August, he weighed 72 lbs (going by his records). Does this sound excessive at all? The previous owners had him on Pedigree food & I will be looking in town tomorrow for a healthier option for him to switch over to. What do you think?

My other question is regarding Vet suggestions for the Waco, TX area. We are considering having him neutered but would like to find a vet that is more knowledgable in the breed so that we can be sure he's kept safe as possible. Thanks for any suggestions you can offer!

 

[elearn]

Congratulations on adopting your first bulldog! You should be able to feel his ribs and his spine. He waist should go in (like an hour glass shape) when looking down from the top. His tummy should also be "tucked up" behind his ribs when looking at him from the side. That will allow you to determine if he's a healthy size and doesn't have a lot of fat. Bulldogs have a lot of muscles and muscles are HEAVY.

Can you post some pics? @cowsmom is wonderful when it comes to food, she's given me some great advice! I'm feeding Herman Earthborn Great Plains Feast currently - but that might change due to some advice she's given me about food allergies. It's a great grain-free food that you can try if you can find it.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

You know it's so hard to say if he's overweight without seeing him. Elearn gave you great advice and 72 lbs is on the heavier side for most of our Bully's, but it might be fine for him. Pedigree is really a low rated food. It's full of fillers and junk. The best thing you can do is do a slow transition to a better food. Jake is also on Earthborne's Great Plains Feast. But every food won't work for EVERY Bully! There are many great options in our Dog Fiod Ratings page. And @cowsmom can certainly help you too! Just do a slow switch, over a 10 day period. Let us know and we will give you exact directions! I hope someone can help with a Bully vet! Did you check out the Vet Recommendation page?

 

[Lily122511]

You got some great advice.
can you post a pic?

 

[cowsmom]

Im at work will post later if its still needed

 

[LariP]

Heres a really good pic of HRH demonstrating her hour glass figure like [MENTION=5580]elearn[/MENTION] described so well.
Boys will be more full bodied and muscular than she is, although she has a pretty perfect bully build for a girl.
But, they should still have a waist like she does.

 

[2BullyMama]

Can you post a picture of Lunchbox... looking down like the picture of Gracie?

 

[cowsmom]

ok [MENTION=6126]LunchBox[/MENTION] were you looking for a grain free food or one with grains. also did you want one that you can buy locally or will you order? just will help with what food for you to get.

 

[LunchBox]

Thank you for all the tips!

I went & felt of him & can easily feel his spine & ribs with no problem. I do think he has the idea of the figureglass shape. I tried to take a picture of him looking down with not a lot of success. I needed to switch my camera lens to my wideangle zoom since I wasn't tall enough to get his entire body in the frame. I'll post the picture below. Does that look ok to you with that weight?

I found the dog food rating page someone mentioned & went to a local petstore here on Friday afternoon. I ended up trying Blue Buffalo-Freedom Grain Free. When I bought it, I was thinking I had remembered the rating being 5 or 6 stars but came home to see it was rated at a 4. Better than the Pedigree that is only at a 1 but I'm not sure if I bought the correct food or not still. Next time, I might need to bring my iphone with me with the ratings already up so that I can scroll through them & find them in the store. Should I switch again once we run out of food or stick with this one for awhile?

Ok, here's the picture of me trying to get the top of him

 

[LunchBox]

cowsmom-
I assumed I'd just buy locally but I haven't priced online options. Any places you'd recommend looking into for buying food at?

 

[bullmama]

Petflow carries all the best foods and are a site supporter use coupon code Englishbulldog and get free shipping over $49

Looking at the pic from my iPod I think he is not overweight.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[sweetpeasmom2008]

I think he looks good! He looks like a healthy boy ot me!

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=6126]LunchBox[/MENTION] he looks great in the pic, and if you can easily feel his ribs, he is good. You just should not be able to see the ribs. Blue Buffalo is a good food, a friend of ours feeds her bullies this food and they are doing well on it. It really just depends on your bully. Some will do well on one food and others may not. It is just trial and error.

 

[LunchBox]

It sounds like he is the right weight for his frame then. My husband will be happy to know he was right! I will check out the sponsor mentioned for buying dog food. Thanks for the tip!

I'm guessing noone has any ideas on a Waco (or surrounding area) vet? I checked out the vet page here & didn't see one listed that was within my (needed) driving range. I may just need to start calling around to see what I can find out.

 

[babyjax]

From that picture he looks like my Jax even the colors. Jax is at 65 pounds and his new vet said he is overweight but he is perfectly healthy in my opinion, well now he is since i just switched him from Royal Canine Bulldog to Fromm Beef Frittata. In just 2 weeks I noticed a big change in him. No more allergies and hives and his hair is starting to grow back and he eats less than half of what he used to. In my opinion a great food makes a big diffrence. Like everyone said, every dog is diffrent and try to change foods slowly so that it won't upset his stomach.