Hello all, this is my first post here. We bought a 17mths bulldog bitch last Sunday and I'd like some tips on how to keep her healthy, etc, please. I have read about the breed but never had one before. I already have 2 dogs, one Dogue de Bordeaux(boy) and a Jack Russel x Chihuahua girl, and decided to get a bulldog, advertised for sale as she doesn't like the show ring and had one litter 5 months ago when unfortunately her puppies died, so the breeder was trying to find her a good home. She, Kimi, seems like a very fit bulldog,  I think she is a typical one, with very wide shoulders, she looks like a gorilla. She loves going for walks, she fitted in perfectly with the family straight away, loves my Bordeaux(and vice-versa), although my little Jack-chi is scared of her. Her breathing is very good, I can't hear her snoring when she's sleeping and she never is short of breath when out for walks. She is so good she also took to my cats straight away. I would like to know, please, how can I keep her skin free of problems? I read that many bulldogs suffer from bad skin- can't see anything wrong with her skin, but the white fur goes a bit pink sometimes, don't know if it's the skin showing through or if because she has just scratched it? Also, she has to jump out of the patio doors(about a foot) into the patio/to comeback inside, and go down the stair onto the garden. Is the jumping and steps OK for a bulldog? She is a small girl and I am worried. She is a bit of a pain to eat, I give at the moment Orijen and Nature Diet mixed, as she was used to dry food, but I want to go Barf or Barf + Orijen with her, I want to give Kimi a grain free diet, as are my dogs and I find it much better. Kimi is very fussy, though, and will sometimes eat raw chicken if I feed her- she likes me to feed her by hand. I am worried she will starve herself, she's not eating a lot. Is it OK for a bulldog to eat raw? Lastly, she has big breasts from her pregnancy which worries me a bit because some teats are bigger than  others. Is that normal, please? Thank you all.

I dont have bulldogs so cant really help with the skin problems but if I were you.... get her spayed as she was bred from far too young, shame on the breeder (not haveing a go at you), this might help hormonally with the teats you can buy a product to rub on the teats that help them to go back to normal cant remember what its called though.

Yes she can eat raw its absolutly fine most people on this site prefer to feed raw, id stop feeding her by hand if shes hungary she will eat put the food bowl down for 10- 15 mins them lift it dont leave it down for her.

I suspect that you have taken her to see a vet if not talk to your vet to see what they say, she shouldnt be in any pain when eating.

>most people on this site prefer to feed raw,

I think it's probably quite a minority, actually - but I agree that it's fine as long as you know what you're doing.

Hi Gracie1 and welcome

This is not a breed I'm familiar with so I can't be specific but do you think you got the full health history from the previous owner?  Was your girl advertised in the paper or on an internet site?  For your own piece of mind it could be worth getting her checked by your vet.

Could the fussy eating be because she's not been with you long?  It may just be taking her a while to settle.  Although it's quite nice for bonding I'd be inclined not to hand feed - it may be masking a problem and you'd get a better view of her eating habits if you left her to it.

Finally if you are worried about the jump from the patio doors perhaps you could make her a mini step.  We had to do this once when we had building work going on, my OH just used a couple of breeze blocks laid flat, and side by side.  It was very sturdy interim job.  No need for her to jump is she doesn't have to!!

Good luck with her

Hello, thanks for the replies! I agree she seemed to be too young to have babies, I thought bitches should only be bred at around 2 1/2- 3yo, so was very surprised. I have not taken her to the vet yet, but will do next week, I want to know her weight and have a check-up, but she seems in very good condition and the previous owner had many other dogs- she breeds boxers and American Cocker spaniels- and they all looked very good and have excellent temperament, also, she wanted Kimi to go to a family instead of a breeder, I thought  she took good care of her dogs. Kimi is not in pain, she is a pain to eat hehe! Her previous owner said she lover grated cheese on her food and I did give it to her twice but stopped now. I give raw to my dogs but also give them Orijen and Nature Diet sometimes(I know it has rice) as I worry about getting the right amount of goodness to my dogs. I was never so paranoid before with my previous dogs as I am with Kimi, I want her to live for as long as possible.

Hello & many thanks! Kimi was advertised on the Internet, but I have bought all my dogs this way and they have been always great, of course my husband and I always go see the breeders and ask questions, see their other dogs, etc, before buying. This breeder had all her dogs inside, it was only her and her husband in a big bungalow, the dogs were beautiful, friendly and clean, the house was very clean also. I did ask about any problems I should look out for and the breeder said maybe sometimes I would have to wipe Kimi's bum! The breeder did warn me Kimi is a nightmare to feed, and she said she was happy for us to have her as she had lots of interest from many people but it seemed everyone was more interested in if Kimi could be bred from, and, as we were not bothered, she withdraw the advert straight away and kept Kimi for us. I understand some breeders are business people and if a dog is not good for breeding they don't keep it(although I couldn't do it), so I think the breeder was genuine.
I will stop feeding her by hand, but she's so cute!!!! I think she is really fussy and I was starting to spoil her.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will get some breeze blocks, great idea!
Thanks again!

She was probably no good for breeding because she was bred too young!!!! She would have fallen pregnant at just 13 months old no wonder her puppies died bless her. People that do this ARE NOT good people. Bulldog pups from what i know need special care like an incubator and i know several breeders who lost majority of the litter through fading puppy. If she wont eat she either doesnt like it or has some issues with food. Feed her whatever you want in a dish and leave her, if its barf she will eat it when shes hungry. im a big fan of barf and my dogs love it. Did she have other bulldogs or did she intentionally mate her just after she turned 12 months? Try fish in her diet good for the skin i feed sardines, sprats n pilchards.

Louise

Hi, Louise, I agree she was far too young...the breeder does actually have a bulldog stud and a bulldog puppy bitch, that she will probably breed from, although she told me she would never do it again as it was heartbreaking when Kimi lost her babies, however she would keep her stud dog. I think the problem with food is that the breeder said she's a nightmare to feed so she kept changing her food, also putting grated cheese on top of it- which she loves. Also, if another dog came near her when she was eating she'd just leave...I feed her separately from the other dogs but sometimes my cats come close when she's eating then she stops. She is so docile, and wouldn't hurt a fly, I love her a lot already. I give Kimi some fish biscuits and she loves them, I will try to give her fish, could you tell me if you give tinned fish on water, or oil? Or is it fresh? I have seen tuna in spring water, tinned. I also am a fan of barf(although I do complement the barf diet, too) ever since I changed my late dog's diet when he was diagnosed with a rare & serious disorder, he lived so much longer than the vet predicted, and I do think the change in diet helped a lot. Many thanks!!

We sometimes give it in ketchup as i think its toooo oily in sunflower so we rinse it off. mostly fresh sprats from morrisons. Sounds like her eating is more a learnt behaviour than her being fussy, cant imagine grated cheese being too good for her on a regular basis very fatty. Try to feed her on her own in a room and shut the door. gradually as she improves open the door and move slowly from there. I have tried many different complete foods and not been entirely happy with any one of them. with barf im 100% happy, the dogs are fit, healthy, great teeth skin and glourious coats and top notch poos which was the main failing in the complete. No gas and no fussyness. My girl was very fussy and will even tip the dish over if she doesnt want it!! cheeky cow. but not once turned her nose up at barf.

Hi there,

Please can someone tell me what barf is? I haven't heard of it before.

Thanks!

Nicki xx

> Please can someone tell me what barf is?

Feeding raw meat as opposed to commercial dog food.

> Please can someone tell me what barf is?

BARF - familiarly known as "bones and raw food" but also tagged as "biologically appropriate raw food"

Barf is as above and for example i feed my dogs, tripe, lamb mince, heart, fish, lamb bones, chicken carcus, liver, kidneys, chicken wings/thighs/necks, rabbit, egg shell, left over veggies, egg, goats milk, beef mince. I think thats about it.

Thats not one meal btw brekky normally consists of 1lb tripe 1lb of lamb mince, lamb ribs normally about 5ish ribs, 2 sprats, maybe some heart or liver. Supper is chicken carcus stuffed with tripe and mince plus other left over veggies (frozen veggies make good popsicles with some meat stock)
i vary meals as heart and liver is too rich for every meal and i like to keep things interesting but they think its xmas everyday. Rabbit is the occasional treat as its pricey.

Hi Gracie,

Congrats on your new little girl!!

I have Bulldogs and I can say she was definately bred too young! It is perfectly normal for bulldogs to have big nipples after they have been bred from, they never go back to normal around the nipple area (don't really know why though!). Stairs etc are fine, I avoid letting my pups up and down stairs but once they have stopped growing that is fine. just watch she doesn't topple down them. The pink skin is likely to be because she is warm, my bulldogs look crimson sometimes when they are warm due to the skin showing through the white fur. You must really watch her in this hot weather, they can overheat so quickly. Try to walk her early morning and late evening. If she does get too warm, soak a towel in cold water and wrap her up in it. They love to sunbathe as long as there is somewhere they can go in the shade if they get too hot. Make sure you keep her face wrinkles clean, I use unscented baby wipes on mine, wipe downwards to avoid pushing dirt and loose fur into her eyes and ensure that you clean under her tail. As their tails are held so close to their bodies they can get quite dirty.

I don't like the BARF diet but that's just down to my personal experience - it won't do her any harm if that's how you want to feed her. I occasionally give mine tinned tuna in sunflower oil, the oil is really good for their skin.

I have a DDB too and I think the 2 breeds get on really well together.