Is a Bulldog Right for You?

Temperament
Both the French bulldog and English bulldog are wonderful breeds. They are very intelligent and possess unique individual personalities. They make great companions and are wonderful with children. They consider themselves to be part of the family, so much so, that they get offended when not included in daily family activities. Bulldogs prefer to be with their people! The key to a great bulldog is to ensure that they are well socialized from birth.

Activity Level
The exercise needs of both French and English bulldogs is not complicated. Light daily activity is all that is required to help discourage obesity.  This can consist of a leisurely walk or a few laps around the yard. Avoid exercising your bulldog in hot weather. Bulldogs are very sensitive to the heat and can develop heat stroke very easily.  If you are looking for a dog to take on long hikes or bike rides this is not the breed for you. 

Cost
A lot goes into raising a litter of bulldog puppies. The cost of a litter starts well before the breeding (acquiring your foundation dogs and performing all the necessary health screening tests)  

Bulldogs need to be artificially inseminated.  We inseminate our bulldogs three times per heat cycle.  This involves getting progesterone testing to help pinpoint when the female is ovulating. Once we have a good idea of her cycle, and the timing is right, we collect from the male and inseminate every other day for a total of three inseminations OR we may opt for surgical implantation depending on the situation (if we are using an outside stud that we only have access to once, or using previously frozen semen, etc.)

Then we wait. We rest the mom and place her on nutritional supplements. If we are lucky, in 38 days we will take her in for a checkup and ultrasound, and the vet will confirm that she is pregnant.  However, this is not always the case.  There are times when unfortunately you find out that all your efforts have been in vain and that you will have to wait for the next heat cycle and try again.

If we are fortunate enough to have puppies on the way, we have to start planning for the big event. Bulldogs require c-sections as they cannot deliver naturally. There are always exceptions to the rule (more so in the French bulldogs than the English) but in my opinion, it is far safer to perform a cesarean than risk letting the female try and deliver naturally. If a pup gets stuck in the birth canal, not only do you risk losing that pup (which is almost guaranteed) you also risk losing the entire litter and the mother as well.

Once the puppies are born they are constantly watched to ensure that mom is being attentive and gentle with her pups. Every feeding is carefully monitored to make sure that the pups are getting enough milk. There have been many times when we have had to supplement a litter of puppies every 2-3 hours with bottle or tube feedings because the mother simply does not have enough milk or is not interested. We schedule time off work for every litter so that someone is around 24/7 to keep an eye on them.

Health
Bulldogs have very special needs, so if you're thinking of owning a bulldog it is imperative that you find yourself a veterinarian who is experienced with the breed. Dealing with a reputable breeder should reduce the chance that you will face any serious problems, but you should still familiarize yourself with some of the more common Bulldog Health Issues.