thinking of getting a british bulldog puppy...

[gemmummy]

please come and talk to me, what kit would i need to start with and who has experience of these dogs?

You'd probably need an oxygen tent .

Really, they are genetic mess-ups. Can barely breathe for themselves, and walking not too easy for them either. But tis your choice .

Sorry to be harbinger of doom, am sure someone will be on here soon who's had them for years, never had any problems etc etc.

I've just seen a lot die in really horrible circumstances, almost always due to their airway probs

horrible health problems.

Why are you thinking of doing that???

These dogs have been artificially bred for so long that they can no longer even give birth naturally. These dogs have to be born by caesarian section!!!!

Not a good family dog either in my opinion.

Straight away on top of the cost of the puppy add in 2-3k for airway surgery in the first year of its life.

If you insure it, the premiums (understandable) will be very high, but worth it still.

You need to keep them fairly lean in order to prevent leg problem problems as well as make any heart and breathing problems worse

Daily you will need to clean (wash and dry) the wrinkles in their face, and in some dogs, their tail.

They need to be ideally walked on a harness. In hot weather you need to keep a really close eye that they don't over heat.

If you like the look of bulldogs but want less maintance, then breeds to look at are the french bulldog (similar, but less prone to needing surgery), bullmastiffs and mastiffs

Not every bulldog mum will need a c-section, but a large majority do, which adds to the cost of a puppy.

My parents paid £1800 for their dog! She is a lovely, funny girl and has never had any airway problems but hasn't the usual bow legs or hugely squashed nose. She doesn't have her face cleaned that often and doesn't have problems. Admittedly she does sound like a 2 stroke when hot but can go for good walks. I'd choose your puppy very carefully though, and do your research, have a good look at the parents. I really don't like the idea of pups being sired by their great-grandfather! She is also very good with my 10mo but she is 8 so might be slowing down a bit, she was pretty boisterous as a younger dog so not good with smaller children.

Phew, thought i'd get flamed for my opinions, but am obviously not the only person to have these views.
Good idea about French Bulldog, also look at possibly Boston Terriers, if you're into that look.
But really, there are so many other breeds (or x breeds) that are just as cute, but with far less genetic problems. Going just on cuteness factor (if that's what you were doing), can be a huge mistake.

But well done for doing some research 1st, rather than just jumping straight in. I hope you find something xx

thanks everyone, i've been reading up and from what i've read they make extremely loyal family pets, especially good with kids. obviously i have no experience, i've always had staffies in the past and although good with kids, staffies are not good with other dogs which i don't fancy much. from what i've read bulldogs are very good around other dogs, as long as socialised young. i've made contact with a kennel club affiliated breeder, is this the right thing to do? she's got 2 males, one has cherry eye so he's not available for at least another 12 weeks (undergoing treatment.) the other is ready now.....

I have a dog who's a fantastic loyal family pet, completely bombproof with kids, and loves other dogs. 100% fit and healthy. Do you want to know what breed she is? Well, so do I! Put it this way, her father was of mixed parentage and so was her mother, and I think her parents only met once, very briefly on a dark night .

She came to us via Battersea dogs home and I have never known a better dog, having had them all my life.

Please don't get totally hung up on so called breed characteristics, especially when they have enormous health problems too.

i see your point bella, however i'm still in terested in peoples opinions of bulldogs.

Have to agree with bella - I and all my dog-owning friends just have mutts. DP's dog is a Newfoundland/Alsatian/labrador cross that came from a travellers site for free, and is loyal, polite, good with other dogs despite having his balls, well socialised, superb with kids, extremely handsome, and basically a delight.

They are generally hardier, and far cheaper. A dog is a dog, and it seems daft to spend vast amounts of money on a pedigree that may have health issues when there are so many gorgeous dogs needing homes already.

thankyou anarchyaunt...not what i asked though! i was more after opinions on this specific breed, not to explain where i'm getting my new dog from. that's for another thread i'm sure.

BTW, cherry eye can be hereditary, so i'd avoid that one if offered

gem, don't go foor the first pups that come along, if that's what you're doing. Have you seen the mother?

Just done a bit of research on them and cant say I'd touch the breed with a barge pole.

Hypoplastic trachea, soft pallate problems, stenotic nares, hip dysplasia, cherry eye, skin fold problems, entropian, ear disease, luxating patellas.....it goes on

These dogs are a genetic mess and if you buy one you are encouraging the breeders to continue to perpetuate a breed with too many problems. Please reconsider. Yes nice temperaments most of the time though but there are plenty of other nice tempered breeds.

Please spend some more time researching breeds. You only need to look at threads on mumsnet to get an inkling of how many mistakes people make and the poor dogs end up getting rehomed.

I'm with beautifulgirls - in buying a british bulldog puppy you are accepting and condoning the fact that the breed has been messed around with to conform to a human "aesthetic".

Also I thought I read somewhere that the kennel club are introducing new breed standards in an attempt to reverse or halt the decline of the breed. I would have thought that that alone would be an indication that some at least of the current pedigrees have messed up genes.

Please have another think about it. Horribly inbred and deformed most of them. I can't believe people continue to want dogs with such debilitating problems. It's cruel.

ok...i'm always open to suggestion. what drew me to this breed was that the amount of exercise it required was possible for me, 1/2 to 1hr walk a day plus long ones at weekend. the dog would be alone in the day, but i come home for lunch so it would have an hour outside then. especially wanted a dog who was a reliable watchdog, ie would bark at the door but not vicious. for all those telling me to adopt a rescue dog, i would love to but apparantly i am not suitable because of my working hours :-( although i am more than willing to give one of these dogs a loving home which i think is silly...so can anyone suggest an other breed that would fit these requirements? i also want a dog that will be very sociable with other dogs.

Well lots of breeds possible - Take a look at Border Terriers, Cairn Terriers for a start. Is size an issue or just exercise level? Golden Retriever, Schnauzer (standard or miniature)
If you google dog breeds there are quite a few sites with advice about the different breeds.

Pet planet and champdogs have searches you can do. In my opinion I think you need to be at home at least for the first few months especially if you want a well trained and adjusted dog.

My dane fits your requirements apart from teh being left alone bit - not until they are grown up anyway.