Bulldog Owners

[River Wood]

Do bulldogs have problems with slobber....or breathing problems with such a short nose? I always called is a smushed up nose. Not sure the correct term for that.

Also do they have good personalities around children?

 

[Jill]

We haven't ever owned a bull dog, but shih tzu's have short noses and we own / have owned six of them (our favorite breed). It's my understanding that due to their short noses, they are prone to heat stroke or heat exhaustion, so we do not let them be outside a long time when it is hot. If this predisposition is due to the short noses as I've read, it would be important to know since we horse people spend a lot of time outside in the heat. Our shih tzu's haven't had bad breath but they are prone to early tooth loss (so have to be cleaned, etc.). They don't slobber, either. As much as I love dogs, slobber is one thing that totally makes me feel like gagging (baby or dog slobber... ew!!!)

One bad thing I know about bull dogs is that they usually have very short lifespans

 

[Chaos Ranch]

I have a 4 year old Old English Bulldog. He doesn't have breathing problems, but he does snore a lot. You have to make sure you clean out their facial wrinkles, especially the ones that drain from the eye. My bully had itchy skin problems so I started giving him Brewers Yeast tablets and higher quality dog food.

Bud is good with the kids, and my cat, and my ferret. He doesn't mind most things. Well, he doesn't like my neighbor... but he likes my neighbors wife and 20 month old daughter. When someone wrestles, or slaps each other he gets upset about that, and he's bitten (not hard) the people scuffling. He doesn't like that sort of thing to go on. When someone knocks late at night he sounds viscious (sp?) and I wonder if he might bite when challenged by someone. He has nearly bitten my neighbor because he pesters him sometimes... but Bud is a far far cry from what I'd call a "mean dog".

Over-all, owning a bully has been pretty nice. He's a very personable dog.

 

[jrae]

We have a 7 year old bulldog and she is wonderful. She hasn't had any breathing problems or health issues. She does snore a lot! She is wonderful with our son, just one of the sweetest dogs we've ever owned.....very personable and sooo easy to live with!

 

[liltnt]

two pugs here. and no breathing problems to speak of. Neither of them slobber but they do snore and snot on you. Just something pugs do. I am very careful with heat as their short noses cant cool the hot air like a regular dog. I clean out wrinkles too. Both are over all very healthy .

 

[River Wood]

I guess I would have never thought to clean the wrinkles

 

[crponies]

Never had a short nosed dog, but I just had to say this thread reminded me of the Ingall's dog in the Little House books. His name was Jack and he was a bulldog. The descriptions of him that Laura gave make him sound like such a wonderful dog.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Here's our French Bulldog, T-Bone! He is the love of our life! His breathing is perfect, no problems at all. He has wide snares, and no palet problems. He comes to the nursing home to visit my mother-in-law with us every week, and he is welcomed there with open arms from everyone! Any Vet thats ever seen him loves him to pieces. I will absolutely die when I loose this dog....

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I have a Bullmastiff and they are known to both snore and drool. The drooling however is not from the flattened nose so much as the loose lips. The dogs who have the most extra lip skin seem to drool the most so if the dog you are looking at has loose lips that will likely indicate it will drool. I can't speak for Bulldogs in particular, but my Bullys have been excellent family dogs. Both mother and son have spent many hours with my challenged daughter and I have never seen even a curled lip. They are built to have a high pain tolerance (bull fighting is painful work) so are quite forgiving of unintended injuries. They do however require a firm hand to learn the rules of the household (and will give you those , "but I LOVE you" eyes and try to act tiny and cute, when they want something they aren't allowed. lol The Bulldogs I've known are very personable and I wouldn't hesitate to own one, then again the drool doesn't bother me so much.

 

[mininik]

I have nothing more to add except: Brachycephalic is what those short nosed dogs are called. And, for more information on whatever breeds you are considering, please refer to their AKC breed clubs: http://www.akc.org