Do you need a bulldog at all?
Different people get Bulldogs for different reasons, but what all of us should always keep in mind is that we are responsible for those whom we tame. Before buying a puppy, try to be frank with yourself and think about the reasons for your wish to have a dog and a Bulldog in particular.
You always yearned for a Bulldog
Since your childhood you have been dreaming about a dog, but your parents were always against it. When you became an adult, you still couldn’t get a Bulldog because the circumstances were not right. Now, at last, you have the time and the means you need, and the desire is still running high...
If the above applies to you – wait no longer, a Bulldog is the dog for you. He will bring a new wave of joy to your home. A Bulldog is practically never in a bad mood, he is self-confident, reliable and calm. Though a Bulldog has a fierce and menacing appearance, he is more affectionate than a kitten, easy to look after and has a simple diet. He does not need long walks, but even the short walks will enrich your everyday life, bring your relationship with your pet to a whole new level and even help you make new friends. With the puppy around the house, conflicts will be settled much easier. The Bulldog’s loyalty and reliability will help you overcome difficult situations in your life.
Your children will become more tolerant, attentive and kind. Like one dog owner, an elderly beginner, once said: “What do you know! I’m almost at the end of the road now and I never knew that having a dog could be so awesome!”
Bulldog as a pay-off
You are busy at work all day long, you have no time, strength or will for anything at all, but your child keeps on begging you to buy a dog. In hope of compensating the lack of attention to your own offspring you decide to buy him a Bulldog because you have heard somewhere that it is a dog for the lazy and does not demand much care. Now, what will become of the dog when the first wave of delight subsides and the child will have played with the new toy to his heart’s content? Will you be able to explain to the child that a living being is not a toy, that life is to be respected in all its forms and that the responsibility for a living being is not just an empty phrase? You are lucky if the child feels the responsibility and his wish to have a dog is not merely a whim. But what if it, as it usually happens, is a whim? Then, in the best-case scenario, you will end up having a “baby-sitter” appointed to look after the dog, and in the worst-case scenario the dog, with his psychology mutilated by his first owners, will be placed in “good hands” of the new owners. The further destiny of the dog is unpredictable, but usually it is sad and gloomy. The first owner, as a rule, never forgets to name the sum of money that was paid for the puppy, and it is self-evident that the “benefactor” with the “good hands” will look at it as a real bargain. The new owner, knowing nothing about dogs in general and Bulldogs in particular, tempted by the free dog, grabs greedily at the “fat wallet with ears and a tail” and puts the unlucky dog through the wringer in order to improve his own financial situation.
Bulldog as a pedagogical approach
Your child is not as serious and responsible as you would like him to be and out of pedagogical considerations you decide to buy him a cute little Bulldog pup.
Unfortunately, as is often the case, parents fail to objectively evaluate their offspring’s capabilities at the given age. The question that the parents need to ask themselves is: can the child take entirely upon himself the responsibility for bringing up and training the dog? However, more often then not, the parents think only about the potential beneficial influence of the dog on the child. It would help develop sense of duty and responsibility and other positive qualities. They imagine the idyllic picture of the magically transformed child with a clever, beautiful and perfectly schooled dog at his side taking the first place at the young handlers’ competition. But in reality the task of taking care and training the dog can be too difficult for your child. As a result he will only receive additional reproaches on the grounds of being light-minded and not appreciating the parents’ gift. As a consequence your child may become irritated with his new dog and may even develop suppressed hatred towards the source of his troubles. And so, having decided to buy a dog for your child, you must remember that in fact you are buying a dog for yourself and only you will be responsible for bringing up both the child and the dog. But the pleasures the dog will bring to your home are worth all the troubles.
Bulldog to restore one’s peace of mind
You are on a streak of bad luck. Everything falls apart. Troubles at work, loss of income, your friends are not what you thought they were and everyone around you is annoying. Everywhere you look you see only mercantile interest and dishonesty. Not to fall the victim of depression you decide to buy a dog. Best of all – a Bulldog because he is reliable and trustworthy, he will become your guardian and a beloved friend. Besides, he has a respectable appearance and a cute face...
It is true that Bulldogs, being a “humanized” breed, will help you not to get mired in depression. At a certain stage your dog may literary save your life. You will find in him everything you fail to see in the people surrounding you.
However, as it often happens, everything in the world changes, difficult periods give the stage to better ones, there appear other priorities and values, new friends are found, bad luck becomes success, and all the colors appear bright again. Will there be a place for your Bulldog in your renewed life? Will he not become a heavy burden and nuisance? Consider all the pros and cons before buying the dog. Do not just grab it like the last lifebuoy in the stormy sea of human passions. Take a clear-headed view of yourself, your life and the dog’s place in it. And if you are thinking not only about your own well-being but also about the well-being of the creature living at your side, if your intensions are unselfish and your thoughts honest – we wish you and your dog the best of luck; you will always be happy in each other’s company.
Bulldog as a burglar alarm
Apartment burglaries are becoming more frequent in your neighborhood. You fear that it might happen with your apartment, too, and your imagination obediently paints unpleasant pictures one after another. After having installed the additional door lock, at the family council you decide to acquire a dog for guarding the apartment while no one is home. Choosing a dog for such purposes, remember that children tend to be like their parents. Take into consideration the dog’s hereditary qualities and determine if they correspond to your requirements. Moreover, no training will make a Sighthound guard a warehouse or a St.Bernard catch hares. The fighter past and general characteristics of Bulldogs make it possible to create good watchdogs out them. Incidentally, there was a case in Riga when two 7-month-old Bulldog puppies caught a burglar. Remember, however, that a watchdog and a show dog are, as they say, two great differences.
A watchdog needs the appropriate upbringing without which it will not be able to fulfill its duty successfully and the owner must be ready to suffer some inconveniences at the time of the dog’s training. Please, keep in mind that a dog is not a specialized security device. Sometimes it is better to confide in the appropriate technical equipment and a security firm instead.
Bulldog as a financial investment
Regrettably, many people are sure that together with a purchase of a Bulldog they acquire a pass to the financial paradise of “millionaire dog breeders”. As a rule they realize their mistake quite quickly.
First of all, to make at least some profit you must invest a very considerable sum of money into the purchase of a good dog and the correct upbringing of that dog. Add to that also the payment for the vet, the cost of which may sometimes throw you into a fever. Then there is the health examination without which the dog will not receive the breeding permit, plus the cost of taking part in dog shows and other breed competitions and the cost of the C-section (unfortunately such are the specific features of the breed). Do not forget about sleepless nights and restless days which you will spend next to the puppies from the moment of their birth till they are 3 weeks of age, for Bulldog mothers, being clumsy heavy-weights, can sometimes squish their offspring to death. Besides, Bulldog puppies often suffer from the so-called congenital pneumonia. Its treatment is expensive and the results may vary. You must also remember the obligatory eyesight check for the puppies, plus the costs of microchip implantation, two obligatory vaccinations, payment for mating and the cost of qualitative food for the dog and more so for the breastfeeding mommy Bulldog. Add to this the cost of litter certificates for the puppies, sum it all up and you will get the approximate notion of your future expenses. Bear in mind that everywhere in the world dog breeding is an expensive hobby and by no means a business, and that the most famous kennels in the world are supported by their owners’ income from other sources.