Mountainside IncomparaBULLS Education Center
Now that you have decided that the English bulldog is the breed for you, you can find all the pros and cons of the breed on this page plus how to find a reputable, ethical breeder. A good, knowledgeable breeder will be your life line to bulldog ownership. A reputable, ethical breeder will be the link to your bulldogs health and future.
This page under construction. Please come back soon.
Thank you!.
Welcome to Mountainside Incomparabulls Information Center. Please do a lot of research prior to making your decision on purchasing an english bulldog. I am in no way trying to steer you away from the breed but want you to be fully educated. I think there is no other breed like the english bulldog and cannot imagine not having them in our lives; BUT with this being said, please make sure you are dealing with a reputable breeder. There are many people out there who like to refer to themselves as an english bulldog breeder but they unfortunately think bulldogs are a quick way to make money. HUH!!!! If you make a lot of money raising these wonderful dogs, then you aren't doing something right. It is a costly breed to raise properly. So kick back, have a cup of coffee, tea or soda and do some reading.
AKC Bulldog Breed Standard
General Appearance: The perfect bulldog must be of medium size and smooth coat; with heavy, think-set, low-swung body, massive short-faced head, wide shoulders and sturdy limbs. The general appearance and attitude should suggest great stability, vigor and strength. The dispostion should be equable and kind, resolute and courageous (not visious or aggressive), and demeanor should be calm and dignified. These attributes should be countenanced by the expression and behavior.
Please visit www.akc.org/breeds/bulldog/index.cfm for more of their standard.
We breed to AKC standard. We DO NOT use any other registry.
Common Issues in the English Bulldog
Below are some common health issues with the english bulldog. Although some of these can actually just be congenital (something a specific dog is born with), I feel it is of the utmost importance to not have these problems in your breeding stock. I feel and some vets agree and some disagree, these problems can be lessened if your breeding stock is free from them.
PLEASE take great care with finding your bulldog's vet. He/she needs a bulldog specialist. Many vets claim to be knowledgable in the bulldog breed but you need to ask questions. Ask how many bulldogs they see a week. If they say 10 or so, continue looking. At any given appointment time, you should see bulldogs in the waiting room. Please take my advise on this. It could save your bulldog's life.
Cherry Eye
Cherry eye is where the gland beneath the eyelid protrudes and looks like a 'cherry'. It can start out small and enlarge to where it can obstruct vision. Although this is debated as to whether it is a 'genetic' issue, cherry eye is a very common thing in this breed.
TRAUMATIC CHERRY EYE is different. A puppy can have trauma to his/her eye from a scratch from a litter mate, running into something that pokes the eye & etc. This can cause the inner eyelid to swell. I actually had a puppy and at 8 wks old, was playing with litter mates and she 'cried' out...She kept rubbing at her eye and after about two hrs, the inner eyelid started protruding in the inner corner. With a hydrocortisone eye ointment it went away but only to return in a couple days. She required it being 'tucked' back in. Tucking is preferred over removing to prevent causing chronic dry eye. This type of 'cherry eye' is not genetic so therefore will not be perpetuated with breeding.
Entropian
Entropian is where the inner eyelid (top or bottom or both) rolls inward and scratches the cornia. This MUST be repaired to prevent ongoing, 24/7 discomfort to your dog and eventually blindness. Can you imagine that everytime you blink or move your eye, your eye lashes scratches your eye??!! It is agony just having an eyelash in your eye!! I have seen dogs that have not had surgery to repair this and their eyes are glazed over and constantly run, burn and hurt. It is pitiful. This is also something that I will not have in my breeding dogs.
Entropian is one of the 'bulldog things' that cannot be guaranteed against. Even though it may not be in one's breeding dogs, it is something that can come from several generations back. I have never had a dog with entropian but have seen it and it is ugly if not treated.
Elongated Soft Palette
All bulldogs have a degree of elongated soft palette; some longer than others. This is the soft tissue at the end of their palette (the roof of their mouth). The reason for this is that a bulldog is a brachycephalic breed (smooched in face) and there is nothing that can change this. If the soft palette is longer than 'norm', a very simple laser surgery can correct this. The cost averages $300-$400 and this is prices from a bulldog specialist. I would definitely ONLY use a bulldog specialist for ANY surgery on a bulldog.
Most of the time, an elongated soft palette is no reason for alarm but if it causes difficulty with breathing or eating and drinking and exercise, I would recommend the surgery.
Although it is debated amongst vets as to whether this is genetic or not, I personally would not breed a dog that has a severe elongated palette. This reduces perpetuating the problem. Not really a problem so to speak as it is a common 'bulldog thing', but again, in my opinion it would be better to be safe than sorry.
Small Trachea
Small tracheas are NORMAL for an english bulldog. Again, this is caused by them being of the bracycephalic breed. It is common for bulldogs to have a smaller trachea; especially puppies.
Many times I have heard where a vet has done an x-ray for some reason or another on a bulldog puppy (especially a puppy) and told the owner that the trachea was too small and they should have the puppy put down because they would live a very miserable life. The key word here is LIVE!! Give the puppy time for growth spurts and things will improve. As they grow, the areas grow . Again, this is VERY normal and may only cause mild symptoms until the puppies body matures. I recommend having the soft palette shortened and removql of the larangeal saccules if your bulldog has a 'smaller than normal' trachea. This will open the airway to its fullest.
A small trachea is not a genetic problem. It is normal in a bulldog.
A small trachea is different than a hypoplastic trachea. Hypoplastic trachea is discussed below.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION...PLEASE VISIT AGAIN SOON.....
Mountainside
IncomparaBULLS
