Hello :)

[ashlyne]

New here, so I'll say hello. I'm a computer graphics artist for my father's small business. My husband and I live in a fairly small town near Indianapolis. We've owned a couple of dogs in the past and currently own two mini-lop rabbits.

My husband and I are adopting an English Bulldog puppy here in a few weeks and I've signed up to ask for some advice (see the discussion forums for more info on that). The first dog I got as "my very own" was a male English Bulldog, 9-months old, named Ditka when I was 17. I had nine wonderful years with him till he passed away from old age and health complications. Just before that happened, we adopted a humane society mix breed (English Bulldog and something else....Beagle, Basset?? we're not sure), about 9-months old again. He was quite the wild one, with a very young spirit that kept him looking and acting like a puppy for 5 years. But he recently hurt his back during the night and just before surgery, he seized several times and the vets, after a couple of hours, were unable to revive him again. We were heartbroken to lose him so young and I dealt with it by looking forward to bringing another pup into our lives.

We wanted to raise a puppy from very young this time around and the timing is perfect for that. We looked at several breeds but just have a heart for those wrinkly tubby bulldogs I'm so used to. We discovered a small-family breeder not too far from us that just had a litter of "miniature" English Bulldogs -- full-blooded ones (not hybrids) that typically get to the size of 30-40lbs. We've opted for a female who will be spayed since breeding bulldogs is a very involved and risky process for the inexperienced. We should be able to pick her up on December 16th -- a nice Christmas present

Thanks and I'll see you around the boards!

 

[Whisper]

Hi, ashlyne, and welcome to Chazhound!
I'm very sorry for your losses.
I hope you find answers to all your questions!

 

[Honey_Bear]

Welcome to chaz!!! Send us pics of the new dog when you can!

 

[soft pawz]

Welcome to chaz!

 

[ashlyne]

Here's a picture of Boswell, who recently passed away. 5-year old Bulldog-something else mix.

Here are a couple of picture of the pups we'll be choosing from. The small fawn girl is one we originally had reserved but she's just now getting over pneumonia. We have a choice to go with the larger and healthier female with the white face instead. Here's my post on that issue: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41013

fawn girl - getting over pneumonia, our 1st choice pup

white brindle girl - healthy, 2nd choice

You can see the size difference between the two girls (top left is fawn girl, the one on her back is the white/brindle girl)

 

[Barb04]

Welcome. Oh, those are such cuties to choose from.

 

[dogsarebetter]

one with pneumonia is with the healthy ones?

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

Miniature Bulldog...?

Is that a breed? Is it registered?

Cute though .

~Tucker

 

[ashlyne]

Thanks for your hello's

one with pneumonia is with the healthy ones?

I don't know much about whether or not aspiraton pneumonia is contagious -- I know it develops because a foreign substance (like milk) gets into the lungs. But the owners are closely following the instruction of their vet and the other pups aren't being affected by it; at the time of the pics, the pup was recovering well so she is probably in the clear. By the way, CUTE rabbits! Here's a pic of one of mine, Tater, dressed up for Halloween - she's very gentle, social and tame for a rabbit!

Miniature Bulldog...? Is that a breed? Is it registered?

Not officially registered as far as I know since they're relatively new and there's confusion over exactly what makes a mini bully. Technically a true mini is an English Bulldog, just bred down to a smaller size and to minimize the typical health problems larger ones have. They still have typical bulldog problems but they're generally not as severe or as prone to them. They're still pudgy, wrinkly and tubby but about 20lbs lighter than what's considered normal for the full-sized bullies (30-40lbs instead of 50-60lbs). Some breeders sell mini's as mix-breeds, mixing bulldog with pugs/boston terriers/ and other short-nosed dogs to get the smaller size, but those aren't generally considered true mini's...or at least a different type. Here's one site that does a pretty good job at describing the differences: http://www.brentwoodbulldog.com/id7.html

We knew we were going with another English Bulldog. Registration, show quality or breeding quality are going to be an issue for us since we adopt for pet quality. But we know some bulldog's health problems are related to the weight they carry, so getting a small one made sense. Plus it should be a little more easy to manage (less food, smaller crate, easier transport) and if what they say about them being a bit less prone to health problems is true, all the better.

 

[joce]

Glad you made it here