Can anyone give me any tips on bulking up an english bull? We are hopefully going to attend a champ show in sept so I want him looking his best! Hes currently fed on JWB but his breeder thought he needed a bit more body for the ring. Hes 12mths. Any suggestions?

Road walking is good and uphill walks are bound to bulk him up.

Please remember that he is still young and hasnt yet reached his full growth dont push him too much as he is still a ababy

At 12 months old he is still a baby and hence shouldn't look like a 'bulky' adult.Feed him as per normal,keep him at the correct weight and exercise properly..he will then mature as and when he is supposed to.
Trying to put 'bullk' on a young dog is not a good idea....too much food puts on fat...not good for growing bones.Too much exercise causes stress on bones too.
Archer

cheers for the advice guys!!

Ditto Archer,  it seems to be a common thing that people want young dogs bigger and fatter. I am guessing they think it makes them look maturer.

If you over feed a baby or a child you don't make them look mature just fat. :-)

Let them come on in their own time I say.

I agree Blue, I think most of us years ago thought a "bonnie" baby or puppy was a good thing but with more understanding about nutrition and growth I think we have had our views updated :)  It seems from some posts, though, that it is not just the idea that it makes them more mature but people feel that a layer of fat is "insurance" against leaner times ie an acute illness but of course what the puppy has in store is not a handy bag of nutrition but merely a layer of fat!  Further more that cute layer of body fat has a corresponding layer around the vital organs such as the kidney which surely is not a healthy state of affairs at such a young age.  I certainly intend to maintain any future youngsters leaner than I would have done in the past.

I am afraid I would never make the mistake i made with my eldest show dalmatian of not keeping a fat puppy.  She was narrow in front because she was not kept fat enough as a puppy.  Luckily since she has had her puppies it has widened her which could explain her current roll.  I believe as well that when mature all the fat will hopefully turn to muscle. 

Try adding some raw tripe in with the JWB as that certainly helps mine fatten up.

>I believe as well that when mature all the fat will hopefully turn to muscle. 

It is a physical impossibility for fat to turn to muscle I'm afraid. Fat cells and muscle cells are two very different things and there is no way one could ever morph into t'other! :)

I find that very hard to believe thomas-the-spot.

If she was narrow in front its because she was born that way and genetically meant to be that way.

All having a fat pup will achieve is stress to organs, heart and joints/muscles.

My xbreed pup was VERY narrow in front at 12 weeks, both front legs appeared to come out of the same hole! Now, at approaching 6 months old, his chest has dropped and widened amazingly. He certainly aint fat, he is lean and hard and has the correct amount of muscle for a pup his age.

Em

I wonder why it seems the exhibitors want theri bullies fat.  I was quite shocked at the fat (not athletic and lookign like Gladiators in my eyes, rather more like sumo wrestlers). 

Surely this cannot be in the dogs best interests, the dogs I saw at Midland Counties one year were Gross.  I notice that Pugs and Labradors seem to be shown rather too heavy for what one would consider a healthy weight in a dog????

I would say get the dog well muscled and fit not fat. :D

I think the border collies are like it too!  I know a friend of mine constantly got chucked out because her dog was too thin!  Her dog was really really well muscled up due to being a top class agility dog and all that goes with it.  Yet apparently that was wrong!!  Her dog should have been fat too.  That is why I gave up breed showing.  I would rather have my dogs fit and looking like they could do a days work than the fat table tops that breed people seem to want.

And before all the breed people moan, yes i know there are exceptions to every rule.  But in general there are a lot of show dogs that to my mind are overweight!

I know what you mean, although I don't think it is just breed shows that are guilty. Barely a day goes past without someone commenting that my dogs are too skinny. They all do agility too and I don't want them carrying anything extra at all. (unlike their handler ;)) I think it is just a case of so many pet dogs are overweight that it has become excepted now as the norm so my lean collies look underweight now. 

Someone I spoke to the other day laughed when I said my WSD was carrying a bit too much  weight!!  I think that was because compared to their dog he looked annorexic!  But I know he was carrying a bit more than I would like.

I have a retired agility dog and don't expect her to be anywhere near as lean as my working dog.  I don't think it is as neccesary, although I do still make sure she is not fat. 

A Border Collie would not do well in the breed ring if it was fat. They may look that way to an outsider, but the bone is usually heavier on a show bred dog.

It was probably another reason your friends dog did not do well, how does she know it was the weight, did she ask the judge afterwards. 

Yes she was told by various people that that is why her dog didn't do well.  And yes the dog is a good quality dog.  She was even told that under the "right judge" her dog could win tickets!  She is a merle too so that doesn't help.  She won tickets in agility now so that is preferable to her!

I do know my collies and don't regard myself as an "outsider".  I am not stupid enough to take a dog at face value.  I KNOW there are some horrendously fat collies out there being shown and being placed.  I would hope that by the time you get to shows like Crufts the worst "offenders" have been eeked out.  Like I said my comment was a genralism and there are always exceptions to every rule and I hope it is the exceptions that reach the top in this case.

Why does bone need to be heavier on a show dog?  I've never understood that.  Surely heavy bone would impede a dogs ability to work all day?  No expert on dogs that work sheep but would have thought that lean and light would make for a dog with more stamina.

>Why does bone need to be heavier on a show dog?

It doesn't need to be heavier.  It is usually the influence of the Australian and New Zealand lines that have made the bone heavier.  Saying that, these dogs work sheep in their respective countries.

I think I know who you are talking about with the merle, if I am correct it is a small collie and although lightly built, looked balanced to me.

As someone said to her, she would do better under certain judges then others.  For some unkown reason the merles do not seem to do very well on the show scene.

At least with the majority of show breeders their breeding stock is health tested.  Unfortunately there are very few agility bred dogs with these tests.  It is something I have never understood as you need to know if your dog has good hips at least for agility, a well bred balanced dog is certainly an advantage too.  It may have something to do with cost as most are WSD's and will not sell for so much as a Border Collie.

>I KNOW there are some horrendously fat collies out there being shown and being placed

Well I attend most Championship shows and I have never seen them, a lot of coat, yes, heavier in bone, yes, but not horrendously fat.

Well said Sandra

Well I attend most Championship shows and I have never seen them, a lot of coat, yes, heavier in bone, yes, but not horrendously fat. And as I said I hope the best get to the top.  Most of my show experience is at open shows.  So maybe things do change at champ leve.

We will have to agree to differ then!!!!!

My friends dog... show line bred.  And yes she is light but well balanced.

As for people breeding agiity dogs not testing.  Yes I think you are right to a point.  Though it has got better. 

I'm sure it won't disappoint you too much but I'll stick to my agility.

My next dog, will probably be (hopefully) show line bred. Or that is my intention.  I don't buy the show dogs can't work bit (as I know some people do). 

>I don't buy the show dogs can't work bit (as I know some people do). 

Absolutely, my bitch is show bred, with a lot of NZ in her, we also work A & B in obedience.

The standard on the whole is a lot less at open shows, people who don't often show will go to their local open show. Yes, sometimes the fitness of the dogs do leave a bit to be desired.

Good luck with your search when the time arrives, come and meet some breeders at a Championship show and see what lines you like.

Thank you I will do that.  I think it will be a good place to look for lines that appeal and like you say find breedrs that test for the various different "problems".

Think I will have to wait till next year though before I start my search :-(  But sure it will be worth waiting for.