Creekside Bulldogs
Is a Bulldog right for you?
If you are looking for a running companion or someone to hunt ducks with than you've come to the wrong place. If you are looking for a sweet and mellow pet whose good with children and only needs regular moderate exercise than you've come to the right place. Summer walks are best done in the morning with summer afternoons spent in air-conditioning. During the summer months, our dogs are crated in our semi-finished basement (when we're not home) where it stays nice and cool so that we don't have to worry about air-conditioning the house or woundering if a storm has knocked the power out. Bulldogs make excellent companions and will happily live in an apartment or a home with a large yard.
A vererinarian who understands the breed and their unique charisteristics can help you maintin the health of your dog and reduce the risk of potential complicating problems. For example, Bulldogs can have an adverse reaction to certain anesthetics. Your local Bulldog club will be able to provide you with a list of the veterinarians in the area that are used by their members. We highly recommend Harmony Vetrinary Clinic in Ballston Spa, NY and Dr. Paul Bookbunder with Upstate Veterinary Surgical Center in Canastota, NY.
FOOD
A healthy Bulldog is not only one that has been well bred, but one who is fed well. A good dog food plays an extremely important role in many facets of every dog’s health. Your bulldog’s diet will affect his muscle tone and energy, joint strength, coat and skin health, digestive wellness and even the ability to fight off and prevent sickness. Bulldogs do not do well on your typical "supermarket" or vet formula dog foods. They do best on either a RAW (BARF) diet or one of high quality kibble. What ever is fed there must be NO corn, wheat, or soy in it. We have found that our dogs do best on a chicken and rice formula. Our prefered food is Holistic Health Extension Orginal Formula. We feed our pregant bitches Canidae All Life Stage Dog Food, this food is also suitable for most dogs. Other brands that we like are Fromm 4 Star, Taste of the Wild, Diamond Natuals Chicken and Rice, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. For puppy food we recommend Fromm 4 Star, Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Puppy. We do NOT recommend feeding Royal Canin Bulldog Formula as it contains wheat, corn, and soy. Just remember what goes in must come out!
Wheat, corn, and soy are one of the number one causes of allergic reactions in dogs and cats. Not only do they cause allergies they are also harder for dogs and cats to digest as well act as fillers for products to cut costs for them.
Wheat
Wheat and Wheat by-product is a very common allergy for dogs and cats. Dogs and cat’s can not digest wheat as well as humans can. What has also been linked to epileptic seizures and celiac disease’s in dogs. Wheat is a Gluten and is very cheap for the manufacture which allows them to use less real meat in their dog foods. Wheat can make your dog itchy and cause yeast problems.
Corn
Corn is not easy to digest for dogs stomachs, as well as it being a cheap carbohydrate for manufactures. Corn also has no biological value for dogs in fact its just right above wheat gluten as far as biological value. Corn can also make your dog itchy and cause yeast problems. It is purely a poor filler.
Soy
Soy is another common dog food allergy and is also known to cause gastric upsets in the dogs stomachs. Also plant proteins are less expensive to the manufacturers than meat proteins, so they use them to increase profit margins. If your vet cannot find the root cause of loose stools read your dog food bag, it more than likely contains soy (we speak from experience here). Eliminating soy from the diet will probally fix the problem.
We love supplimenting our dogs diets with "people food". Afterall there is no dog food tree and dog food comes from "people food". Our dogs get the scrapings of our plates! They enjoy meats (with merinades, without sauces), vegetables, and potatoes. The do not get to enjoy lasagna, alfrado, or meatloaf. Our dogs enjoy the raw trimmings of the foods as I am prearing the meals for our own family. The love to snack on carrots and green beans! The following is a list of foods that should NEVER be given to you dog:
COCONUT OIL
We love coconut oil! It has many uses for both human and Bully. It has the power to destroy viruses, bacteria, and fungus. Dermatitis, yeast infections, hot spots, dry skin/dandruff, parasites, immune system deficiencies, warts and fungal infections can all be reduced, remedied or eliminated with the simple, twice a day application of coconut oil! The oil also works as a healing agent for minor cuts and wounds and it helps to moisten dry noses and paw pads when applied directly. It can be added to food, licked off a spoon, or rubbed directly to the spot to be treated.
Be sure you purchase Virgin, Extra Virgin (same as virgin) or Un-refined coconut oil. Add 1 teaspoon for every 10lbs or 1 Tablespoon for every 30lbs of your Bulldog’s weight. This means most of us will then be mixing in 4.5 teaspoons directly into our Bully’s food, but it’s recommended to use a smaller amount for those Bulldogs that are new to the oil. We feed a maintance dose every few days in summer and daily in the winter.
DAILY MAINTANENCE
When properly fed, Bulldogs require much smaller amounts of maintenance than other breeds. They do need to have their wrinkles cleaned daily or yeast will build up and they can get infected. We clean with a tissue or baby wipes (NO alcohol). Some bullies will require their tail pocket to cleaned as well. To ward off moisture we use corn starch baby powder in the wrinkle / pocket. This is especially important in the summer. Be sure powder is pure corn starch. Acne can be cleaned with hydrogen peroxide and can be prevented by a quick wipe of the chin after eating. They loved to brushed, especially when shedding. Baths should only be performed with gentle shampoos and only as often as needed. Oatmeal based shampoos are a great choice. We like Plush Puppy's Herbal Shampoo / Conditioner. You'll also need to clean ears about once a week.
CHEWING
A Bulldog wouldn't be a Bulldog if he or she didn't chew. Bulldogs need to be given apropriate things to chew on or they WILL chew the legs on your favorite table. Even with the right things he still might find the leg on the diningroom chair just too tempting... at the ripe old age of 9. Do NOT be tempted to give your Bully cheap sweaky toys as they will be destroyed in mere moments. Pig ears tend to be eaten whole and then choked on. DO NOT EVER give your Bully (or any other dog) RAWHIDE. Rawhide is a choking hazard, it can can cause digestive blockage, it can cause gastrointestinal problems, they can be made from toxic chemicals and deadly poisons including arsenic and formaldehyde. So what should your Bully chew? While they still have their puppy teeth they should be given strong products from Kong / Nylabone. A kong filled with peanutbutter is great fun (just becareful that your peanutbutter does not contain xylitol). Rope toys are great too and act as floss as your Bully chews and pulls them through their mouth (with suepervision). Ours love a good game of tug of war! Once your Bully looses those puppy teeth it's game on! Our favorite is to give them RAW beef bones from the butcher. They are often sold as soup bones. Do not do anything to the bone, just give it to your Bully streight from the package. Not only will this help satisfy the never ending need to chew but they will be cleaning their teeth too! Since we feed RAW beef bones, we have never needed to have their teeth cleaned by a vet. They have never even had them brushed! We will refill the part where they have eaten out the marrow with peanutbutter. Chew hooves are good too, but not as good as a beef bones.
