Hi there, me and my family are considering getting a dog, and basically we would really love to have an english bulldog. Firstly i've heard that english bulldogs suffer from various health issues, should we expect the dog to have to go to the vets quite frequently? Also the dog will have to be left for 6-7 hours a day (apart from weekends). i understand this is going to be a serious problem, especially as we want a puppie bulldog: is there a solution to this? Thanks very much, Sean ^^.
Hi there. I think if you do your research properly and find a good breeder who is interested in producing healthy dogs (rather than one who is just breeding for money), you should be ok. As for the leaving the dog alone, it isn't ideal for any dog, but particularly a puppy and as well as the loneliness, basic things like house training will really be effected by leaving him alone for so long. The only way it could be feasible (imo) is if you are prepared to pay a dog walker to come in and see to the pup during the period you are out. You'd need to pay for a home visit while the pup is young which will be more expensive than a normal walk where the walker can do several dogs at the same time. Alternately you could see whether friends, relatives or neighbours are prepared to help you out.
Hi, thanks for the response! I will be going to a school that is like 2 minutes away from my house, so at lunchtimes i could go back to the house and check on the puppy and take him out for a walk but having to do this everyday is not ideal as i might have school work to do at lunch and im not sure my friends would be too happy :/. I want to ask my nan actually, as she lives fairly close by, but again its not easy because im not sure if she would be happy about it. Other than that, im pretty bummed, hiring someone to come round everyday is going to be pretty expensive i would imagine. Do you think that getting an older dog would be a better idea? Thanks again, Sean
Getting an older dog can be better for a couple of reasons - firstly they are more likely to be already house trained and past the chewing stage and secondly, older dogs tend to sleep more anyway so may not be so bothered about being left. The drawback is that many rescues will be reluctant to rehome a dog to a home where the dog will be left for so many hours. 4 hours a day is usually the max that most will consider (some not even that). Others will consider each case on its own merits, i.e. depending on the individual dog and the prospective owner. There is of course the option of rehoming a dog privately, but there are risks in this - predominantly that many people trying to rehome their dogs don't always tell the whole truth and of course don't usually want to know once they've handed the dog over. At least with a good rescue centre, they will provide support and back up and are willing to take the dog back if things really don't work out. Does your Nan like dogs? If you got an older dog which you could drop off with her during the day, she might actually enjoy the company, particularly if she didn't have to worry about housetraining etc.
yes all the points you have said are true, and really i dont want the dog being left all day on its own anyway. I guess i'll have to think of a way for it to be looked after for a while at lunchtimes otherwise i will have to reconsider getting a dog which sucks . Thanks very much for your help, i got a lot of time to think about this so hopefully i'll make the best decision . Good night!
We have done very well leaving puppies 4-5 hours at a time starting at 7 weeks. I hate to see any dog left longer than that, but it is done. If you could usually stop in over lunch and have Nan help sometimes too, it might be OK. As for the health, I am afraid all the bully breeds have been damaged, but I am sure there are healthy ones out there. I don't know that there are working dog lines out there.
One other option, but I'm usually hesitant to recommend this for first time dog owners, is to consider two dogs so that they will have company when you are out. But I would definitely not suggest getting two puppies at the same time as even one pup is a huge amount of work. However, occassionally you do get a pair of older dogs that need rehoming together. If they have been well brought up and are looking for a home through no fault of their own, two can be not much more work than one (though of course twice as expensive). Something to think about anyway. The fact that you are thinking about it so carefully before you commit tells me that you would be a responsible owner and I do hope you can work out a way to make it work.
Hi, im going on holiday tommorow so this will be my last response. At the moment, we're still unsure of getting a dog because my dad needs to find work and i would need someone like my nan to look after it at lunchtimes (although i will look after it on my lunch break at school every now and then if my nan cant). Hopefully we will be in a position to be able to look after this dog, but like i said, it all depends on the future situation . Thanks a lot for the replies, they have really helped, have a nice holiday!
Hey, just another update lol. Well my nan said she could look after the dog a couple of times a week so im real happy about that ^^. Now i originally thought i would get a bulldog, but im still considering other breeds too .
That's good news. But the other thing Sean (didn't realise how relatively young you were to start with) is to think who's dog this is going to be. If yours, what will happen when you leave school, get a job (or go to university) and eventually move away from home. If he is going to be yours and go with you, are you prepared to give up nights out with your friends etc. to look after the dog - it would be very, very unfair to leave him alone while you were at work and also when you went out with friends as well. If he's to be the family dog, are your parents prepared to look after him if/when you do move out?
Hi there, the dog is going to be mine, the family will look after it too, but essentially its mine. So if i do leave the house, the dog will come with me and i am prepared to look after it properly if it means some sacrifices! I cant plan far ahead of my future, for the next 2 years i will be staying on at a school very close to my house...but if i have a dog, i will make sure it gets looked after right.
