What do you wish you knew?

[messiecake]

If you could go back to when you first got your Bully,what do you wish you knew then that you know now ?

Im sure theres alot of things you wouldve liked to have known so please share!!





(With a dog like my Rambo I need all the advice you have to share!)

[Lord Goliath]

Well my first thought is that I wish I had known how great it was going to be to have Goliath -- I would have gotten a Bullie muh sooner. 

But my real answer is that I wish I hadn't been too concerned with teaching him obedience when he was very young -- less than 2 months.  Goliath is not a very cuddly Bulldog.  He loves people but really doesn't want to lay on us or let us put our feet our arms on or around him (he just gets up and leaves).  We still love him, but my wife and I both wish he was a bit more affectionate.  He loves to play and rough house a little.

I cannot be sure of this but I think if we had just spent more time holding and laying with him as  a pup, he may have turned out differently.  Then again, who knows 

Great question messiecake!

[buddylover]

Oh James that is so sweet.  You know I wouldn't put my puppy down and he can't stand being held or cuddling with me now.  I think it's just in their personality.

I guess I wish I would have known that with all of bulldogs little health issues that come up not to stress out so much.  I would lose sleep when panic Buddy would get sick but he was always ok.  I think I stressed him out since I was always stressed with his problems.

Another thing I learned from some friends here is to take advantage of everyday.  They aren't with us long enough and it's hard to let them go and wish you could have had more time to do things you always put off.  I guess that's true with a lot of things in life.

[ilovejj]

I think it is their personallity too, when JJ was a puppy, we never put him down (except to go to the bathroom, ha ha ), and he still is the biggest cuddler. It is funny when I sit on the couch, he has to be sitting on top of you or at least close enough to touch you.....I don't mind one bit, but our company gets annoyed.

I wish we would have been prepared for how long it took us to "potty" train JJ.
It was just about a year before he had it down......not fun.

[buddylover]

Oh my gosh I thought we were the only ones who took a year to potty train!!  It was a long year! 
By the way I LOVE the little picture of JJ you have next to your posts.  So cute.....I mean cool

[MyDogsMom]

You guys are so cute I love all the stories.  I think just like Buddylover that i wish i would not have stressed so much in the first year.  I was a train wrek waiting to happen.  But after the passing of my breeder,  I had to stand on my own two feet it was scary but I did it with a lot of good friends here on the forum.  I would have been lost with out all of you.

[theherdof3]

Well, now adays you can get all the info you really want from the internet about bullies, but when we picked up Bogie, there was no internet. OK, no laughing you youngsters!! LOL. In the first year alone, we spent an additional 1200 on vet costs. From an abcess on his neck, to a testicle not dropping. I am thankful for that now, because I might have become a backyard breeder myself. Who knows, that was 13 years ago. If someone you are looking at their dogs says they come from champion stock, check out the credentials. ASK for references, and make sure they aren't friends. I personally don't even care for show stock now, due to the Money making that brings so many dogs into the world, just to try to get that one future champ. I don't have use for that now. If I get a puppy again, and not a rescue (yeah right!!) it is a hard choice, so I will search all over the states to find a very reputable breeder that truly loves the breed. The fads of larger heads versus keeping a good healthy look, that does not stress the bitch really fries my backside! 

I think realizing that the cost of buying a bulldog can be, very often, only the down payment, and most people don't realize that, especially if they buy from a back yard breeder. So many dogs are in rescue now due to this, and it is sad. They just want the most popular dog, and have no idea what the bulldogs personality is like, or the health issues that arise due to the poor breeding. I sit here now with Charlie at my feet, with hip dysplasia, and a degenerative spine, probably from that, or maybe from something else. I rescued him knowing about the displaysia, not the spine, but that does not matter to me, he has his forever home, for as long as he is healthy, and I can control the pain.  It will be a hard choice, but like with Bogie, i know that I will know when his time is. 

Being the cool breed for the moment has put to many bullies at risk. Someday I would love to have a farm where I could take in all the babies that have no where else to go, so I applaude everyone that takes in a rescue! They are a part of the family, and when a breeder has a dog that someone has bought, and wants to return becasue of the health problems, it makes it sad they still charge the same price, or at best ask you to return that dog and pick a new one. I had that option with Bogie, and believe me, there was no way I woul dhave given him up, but I think in retrospect, and reasonable rebate in the contract for any health issues that makes a dog an expense that is not anticipated would be nice. I am sure there are breeders here that would argue that. Some bad breeders that get them back just take them to ASPCA, if they even get past that, or pass them on to another unsuspecting buyer.
OK, I will get off my soap box now!! LOL, just please if you are reading this, and wanting to buy, take every precaution you can to get to know the dogs habits before just looking at that cute face, and buying before being informed. Knowledge is power in anything in life! I say more power to the bullies!!

[Lord Goliath]

Great post and wonderful advice.

[brumzoo]

Thank you for posting that, Sue. That is what I tell the rednecks that come up to Lumpy and me in Petsmart. 

[messiecake]

EXCELLENT POST! THANK YOU!!
I could spend hours talking about the scary people I met or spoke with on the phone who consider themselves "breeders" in our intial Bully search. 
And the prices they charge!!!! Oohh dont get me started!


Meanwhile theres beautiful dogs like our Rambo who are unwanted because they're "taller than standard" or because theyre fixed they're "of no use"

After adopting I cant imagine buying a Bully now-no way!


My sister does Dalmation rescue and like Bullies theyre a misunderstood and misused breed and its just heartbreaking how people will churn them out for profit to uninformed people who think theyre getting "101 Dalmations" to only abandon them a few months or a year later when the "puppy honeymoon" is over .
I really wish the laws were different in regards to pet breeding and ownership!