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Category: Bulldog Breeding

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Bulldog Breeding Pregnant Bulldog

How to Care for a Pregnant Bulldog

how-to-care-for-a-pregnant-bulldog
how to care for a pregnant bulldog

There’s a lot that goes into breeding a dog of any breed, but because bulldogs must be bred through artificial insemination, breeding a bulldog can be particularly complicated. Careful planning and education, as well as the time available to devote to caring for your bulldog before and during the pregnancy is vital.

While the best person to go for advice is always your veterinarian, here are a few tips to get you started:

Caring for a Pregnant Bulldog: 4 Tips for First-Time Bulldog Breeders

1. Take her to the vet before you begin the breeding process

If you want to start breeding your bulldog, you should be aware of any health and nutritional needs before you begin. Start by taking her to a trusted veterinarian to get a preliminary health check-up and make sure she is ready for motherhood. Next, set up a care plan for your dog that you can easily refer to during her pregnancy. You want to be sure to outline what kind of nutritional meals and health check-ups she is going to need.

You can mix up her diet a bit and feed her hamburger, eggs, or skinless white chicken meat. Just be sure that they are cooked thoroughly. Adding garlic to her food may be a good idea as well, as garlic is high in amnio acids, zinc and potassium. It also assists the liver and is a good detoxifier.

2. Thoroughly research the stud beforehand

Before breeding your bulldog, you want to research what kind of male dog to match her with. Take the time to get pedigree information on the dog and review his health records as well as the health records of his parents. Ideally, it’s best to find one that has sired healthy pups in the past.

You can find bulldog owners online or at dog shows. Once you have found a good match, you can start planning the breeding process with the dog’s owner. There are several breeding options to consider: trans-cervical implants, artificial insemination, or surgical implants.

3. Think strategically about what to feed her during pregnancy

When you’re preparing your dog for pregnancy, it’s important to keep her diet consistent so she remains at a healthy weight. Feed her only high quality premium dog food with an added daily supplement that includes folic acid. If you already use a high quality brand, stick to feeding her what she is used to.

After you confirm her pregnancy, begin to steadily increase her food portions. It may be necessary to split her meals up into 3 or 4 small meals per day so that she doesn’t get too full after one big meal. If she ends up carrying a huge litter, this will become important as she will need extra nourishment throughout the day.

You can mix up her diet a bit and feed her hamburger, eggs, or skinless white chicken meat. Just be sure that they are cooked thoroughly. Meat-flavored baby foods also make a good substitute. Mixing garlic in her food may be a good idea as well, as garlic is a detoxifier and assists the liver with waste processing. Garlic is also high in amino acids, potassium and zinc. You can read more about the health benefits of garlic here, though as always, make sure to consult with your veterinarian before devising a diet plan.

If at any point she stops eating, take her to the vet right away.

4. Keep her healthy

Be sure to stay on top of her vaccinations and preventative heart worm medication throughout her pregnancy. If she lives in an area where ticks or fleas may be present, administer the proper medication monthly. There are specific medications that are best for pregnant dogs. You should talk about these with your DVM before you begin the breeding process.

When she first begins to bleed, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. They will examine her and give her a progesterone test to make sure that the pregnancy is going smoothly. The DVM will also likely measure her hormones during this visit. You should request a luteinizing hormone test to make sure she is ovulating normally. Most clinics will be able to do these tests the day of your visit.

About Cascade Bulldogs: Cascade Bulldogs is a website that provides info on caring for, training, breeding and showing bulldogs. It stars three celebrity bulldogs: Wildflower, Snow White and Declan.

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Bulldog Breeding

9 Important Questions to Ask Your Bulldog Breeder

Bulldog breeder in Seattle

If you’re looking to add a bulldog puppy to the family, it’s important you choose a breeder who is honest and reputable. This will help ensure that whichever bulldog puppy you go home with, he or she will be healthy and well tempered. Because even the most virtuous and well-intentioned bulldog breeders might not have the right amount of breeding experience and bulldog knowledge to be able to guarantee your bulldog meets AKC quality and health standards, which is particularly important if you are looking for a show-quality dog.

Here are nine questions to ask your bulldog breeder before you make your decision:

1. How long have you been breeding bulldogs?

While an experienced breeder is usually better, a lack of breeding experience doesn’t necessarily mean you should rule them out. However, a first-time or inexperienced breeder should have done their research and be extremely educated on all aspects of breeding, raising and showing bulldogs. If they’re new to breeding, ask them where they got their information and if they consulted with other breeders beforehand.

2. Is breeding a full-time business?

Unless your breeder owns several bulldogs, breeding shouldn’t be a full-time business. If it is, this could be a sign they’re over-breeding their dogs. For most breeders, the business is merely a hobby or at most, a part time job.

3. How old are the puppies?

It’s important that puppies remain with their mom and brothers and sisters for at least seven weeks. If the breeder is selling them at five or six weeks age or younger, go with another breeder.

4. Do you think a bulldog is the right breed for me?

A bulldog isn’t for everyone and an honest breeder won’t hesitate to tell if you they think you’d be better suited with another breed. A good breeder will care about his or her puppies and will want to make sure each of them go to a loving home. They’ll be honest about some of the pitfalls about owning a bulldog (for example, their shorter life span and plethora of health problems) because their puppies’ happiness is more important than making a sale.

5. Can I meet the puppy’s parents?

You should at least be able to meet the mom. This is a good idea because you’ll want to make sure she is friendly and confident; this is a sign she’s been well cared for and has a good temperament; which your puppy will hopefully have inherited. You want to try to avoid choosing a puppy whose mom acts overly shy or aggressive.

6. Where are the puppies kept?

bulldog drinking

 

Where we keep our bulldog puppies

Bulldog puppy pen

If puppies are kept outside, they should be in a shaded area with access to water. If it’s hot or excessively humid out, however, puppies should be kept indoors.

You want to make sure the puppies are kept in a clean kennel area that allows for access to food, water, toys, and a comfortable sleeping and play area. If the breeder won’t show you where the puppies were raised or will only bring out the puppies one at a time, this a sign the puppies may  not have been well cared for.

7. Do you have the pedigree and registration forms?

This is particularly important if you’re looking to show your bulldog. Even if you aren’t, however, if you’re paying for a purebred dog, you want to verify that the puppy is indeed purebred before taking it home. A pedigree will be able to confirm this.

8. Can I see the puppy’s health record?

A health record will show you important information about the puppy’s health status as well as a record of what vaccinations he or she has received and when he or she was wormed.

9. Can I return the puppy if I change my mind?

While you should hope that this isn’t the case, you may decide that a bulldog just isn’t the best breed for you or that a puppy is more work than you can manage at this point in your life. If this is the case, you want to be able to return the bulldog to the breeder. A good breeder will care about their puppies enough to want to see them go to the best homes possible and will be willing to take back their dog at any time if its deemed that you and the puppy aren’t a good fit.

About Cascade Bulldogs

Cascade Bulldogs is a bulldog blog featuring celebrity bulldogs Snow White and Wildflower. Their owners are Eddie and Gail, two breeders and bulldog lovers who live in Seattle, Washington.