TOTALLY crazy ..............

[kazzy220]

So.................. we have six dogs and a cat. I felt the next way to go was to foster rescue english bulldogs. I'll be honest and say that in the back of my mind there is the thought that most people from a rescue organisation may just see the number 6 and decide we wouldn't be suitable because of a lot of rescue dogs maybe needing a little more personalised attention. Now my husband has always had his heart set on a little bulldog boy puppy. We've even got the name ready ......... he's going to be Daddy.

So, making this as short as possible, we are going to see some bulldog puppies tomorrow at 12. This lady has 3 male and 2 female. I found out about it through the rec centre where I work.

So here are the alarm bells that are currently ringing. Five puppies seem to be a big, although not impossible, english bulldog litter. The second alarm bell ringing is that when I asked the owner about the parents, she said the father is in Kentucky and comes from a champion akc line. That is not unlikely at all.....The female belongs to her son, and is actually about 10 miles away. The puppies are just over 12 weeks old so there is no real reason for them to still be with their mother.

When I enquired about them, I admit to calling them with the thought of puppy mill already in my head, and so that's why I'm finding problems where there may not be any.

The lady I spoke to has the AKC papers .... but I've learnt from this website that that really means nothing.

Apart from going to look and being really careful to see if there any obvious signs of ill-health etc ............ what other questions could I ask except to demand to meet the mother. Who, let's face it, does not necessarily have to be the mother but could be any female bulldog.

In my mind, there is also the thought that we know and love english bulldogs, so if this is some kind of puppy mill or BYB scam then we are in a position to give a little boy bullie a good home and the care he needs.

 

[gatorfan85]

I feel your pain.I wanted to adopt but with two kids and three dogs I know it will be hard. I looked at a few websites and talked to a few breeders but I have the same fear. Check out the facilities,home VERY WELL!!! If something looks off it most likely is. The breeder should be as knowledgeable as you if not more. If you ask questions and dont get answers thats also a bad sign. Look the puppies over almost as if you are a vet giving them an exam. If the puppy is listless, cloudy eyed, or has a crusty runny nose there is something wrong. Its sad that this process has been made to be more of a pain than a joy.

 

[bullmama]

Have you read the puppy buying tips? It has many questions you can ask

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/Puppy_Buying_Tips_from_English.html

 

[kazzy220]

@desertskybulldogs Thanks I just read through and although I've already asked a lot of the stuff over the phone there were also a few things on there that I had not thought of. We will be going to see this lady in her own home with the puppies, and she's less than a 40 minute drive away which is a good point I always think ............ as in "I know where you live" as opposed to I got the dog from a puppy store or I flew somewhere to get him/her.

Hubby is so "broody" .. (do you use that word over here?) ... for a little boy puppy that I am having difficulty seeing us not ending up coming home with a little boy!!!

 

[bullmama]

Yes, unfortunately there are those of us who would never qualify for adoption or foster care. I know some rescues have dedicated volunteers who have multiple dogs or even a cat, but the dog who comes in must be special and non alpha to go into their homes. So it is good that you are going to the breeder and doing your research. I will be looking forward to pictures if you bring a bully baby home tomorrow!!

 

[laurentourville]

Horse came from a litter of 9, so big english bulldog litters are possible. 8 of the puppies were sold for $3000 to buyers that the breeder didn't personnally know. I fell in love with Horse, and the breeder, a family friend sold him to me for less than the original price. These puppies had both parents on site. The father is a show bully that places in the top at every show he's in, a very good looking, well mannered dog. The mother looks just like Horse, definetly not "show quality", and is also very shy, and quite unpredictable at times (Horse).
The rest of the litter was sold to people looking to show the dog. The impression was given that since the father was a "show quality" dog, the puppies would be too. All I can say is that I am happy that Horse is just a regular old family dog, because he doesn't look anything like his dad, and inherited all of his mother's looks and personality. If I had bought Horse to be a show dog, I would not be happy with the breeder because they were advertised as being show quality, with a championship winning father. So, from my experience, even if both parents are on site and the breeder is a decent person, there's no guarantee that the puppy you buy will be what the breeder says. If I were to buy a puppy, I would want to meet both parents and interact with them, with the knowledge that the puppies could be a mix of both, or be just like their mom or dad (kinda like skin kids). When I got Horse, the breeders gave me the impression that they were bully experts. I now realize, from what I've learned from this site that they are far from experts (they feed Iams, have a bully with what they refer to as "stink butt" which most likely needs a tail amputation, another has super scabby itchy skin and since she's a "show dog" they just put cinnamon and confectioners sugar on her to cover the scabs and missing fur, instead of trying to find out what's causing the skin problems (Iams is my guess). These are great, loving, hard working people, but they are also breeding bulldogs to make money. When we add another bully to our family, it will definetly be a rescue.

 

[mammyglicks]

Could it be possible that the mother would still be healing from a C section? You could check that or ask to see the vet papers. Again doesn't have to be the same dog but may help ease that fear.

Everyone on here always has great advice!! Don't forget to post pics when you bring your new bully home

 

[kazzy220]

So it doesn't look like we will be going to look at puppies today after all. There could be something wrong with Maggie, and I'm going to message [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] right now to see if what Maggie is doing is anything like she experienced with Vegas and his epilepsy. I'm also going to post a new thread to see if anybody else has experience of this happening.