I have a bulldog that’s sick. My 3rd bulldog in 2 years

[Hanajane]

Hi this is hard for me to be open about all this because it’s some what unbelievable and very hard to talk about. From the beginning I bought a English bulldog from a reputable breeder in October 2019, she was small but so healthy, got spayed didn’t need airway surgery, at 10month she passed away for no reason, from a heart attack. Had an autopsy done and they couldn’t determine the cause. My wine who was 3 didn’t quite understand. 4 weeks later we get another English bulldog to fill our void. Thinking it was horrible luck. He was 10 weeks old, we had him for two week and he stopped breathing 2 weeks after we got him. Talk about being crushed. Had another autopsy no leads. I have hired environmental engineers to access our property and pond. Well we’re at it again, my son is 4 years old and our now 8 month old bulldog fully spayed, is having these crazy breathing issues. This is my sons best friend and I am so scared. I don’t want to loose her but I can’t loose her for him.
so my question is we have free range chickens is there a possibility the poop is making these guys sick? The vet promises me it’s not but I just don’t believe I have this bad of luck. Any advice I would greatly appreciate.
hana

 

[HappyClucker7]

Maybe she has an elongated soft palate? Have the vets checked for that?

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Hi this is hard for me to be open about all this because it’s some what unbelievable and very hard to talk about. From the beginning I bought a English bulldog from a reputable breeder in October 2019, she was small but so healthy, got spayed didn’t need airway surgery, at 10month she passed away for no reason, from a heart attack. Had an autopsy done and they couldn’t determine the cause. My wine who was 3 didn’t quite understand. 4 weeks later we get another English bulldog to fill our void. Thinking it was horrible luck. He was 10 weeks old, we had him for two week and he stopped breathing 2 weeks after we got him. Talk about being crushed. Had another autopsy no leads. I have hired environmental engineers to access our property and pond. Well we’re at it again, my son is 4 years old and our now 8 month old bulldog fully spayed, is having these crazy breathing issues. This is my sons best friend and I am so scared. I don’t want to loose her but I can’t loose her for him.
so my question is we have free range chickens is there a possibility the poop is making these guys sick? The vet promises me it’s not but I just don’t believe I have this bad of luck. Any advice I would greatly appreciate.
hana

English bulldogs are very very poorly bred. They are brachycephalic, meaning their noses are smashed in and they cannot breathe normally. They also often have severe deformities in their skulls. The breed has been bred down so much that this is a common occurrence. As much as people think they're cute, they suffer as much as pugs and other flat nosed breeds do.

There isn't much you can do here. It isn't your fault, nor the vets. It's just how the breed is. Even with a quality breeder you run a very high risk of getting a dog that cannot, and will never properly breathe.

My only suggestion would be to look into other breeds, or look into getting a mix bully that has a longer snout if you ever buy/adopt again.

I'm so sorry you've lost your pets and I really hope things get better for you and your family. I hope this information helps.

Below I have provided images of an English bulldog skull so you can see how their noses and overall skull structure is.

 

[Hanajane]

Maybe she has an elongated soft palate? Have the vets checked for that?

Thanks for the response. About a month ago she had tissue removed from her elongated soft pallet.

 

[Hanajane]

English bulldogs are very very poorly bred. They are brachycephalic, meaning their noses are smashed in and they cannot breathe normally. They also often have severe deformities in their skulls. The breed has been bred down so much that this is a common occurrence. As much as people think they're cute, they suffer as much as pugs and other flat nosed breeds do.

There isn't much you can do here. It isn't your fault, nor the vets. It's just how the breed is. Even with a quality breeder you run a very high risk of getting a dog that cannot, and will never properly breathe.

My only suggestion would be to look into other breeds, or look into getting a mix bully that has a longer snout if you ever buy/adopt again.

I'm so sorry you've lost your pets and I really hope things get better for you and your family. I hope this information helps.

Below I have provided images of an English bulldog skull so you can see how their noses and overall skull structure is.

Thank you for the response.

 

[cassie]

The chicken poop has nothing to do with it. If it did all of my dogs would have been dead years ago.

 

[cassie]

English bulldogs are very very poorly bred. They are brachycephalic, meaning their noses are smashed in and they cannot breathe normally. They also often have severe deformities in their skulls. The breed has been bred down so much that this is a common occurrence. As much as people think they're cute, they suffer as much as pugs and other flat nosed breeds do.

There isn't much you can do here. It isn't your fault, nor the vets. It's just how the breed is. Even with a quality breeder you run a very high risk of getting a dog that cannot, and will never properly breathe.

My only suggestion would be to look into other breeds, or look into getting a mix bully that has a longer snout if you ever buy/adopt again.

I'm so sorry you've lost your pets and I really hope things get better for you and your family. I hope this information helps.

Below I have provided images of an English bulldog skull so you can see how their noses and overall skull structure is.

Just a comment on Pugs. My first Pug had an elongated soft palate. I had surgery done to correct it and he was fine. My other two Pugs did not have that problem. They probably could not have run a marathon, but they could breathe well enough to be very active and to live a normal doggy life. They would race around the yard and wrestle with each other and they died at a ripe old age. The only problem I had with them is that they did not tolerate heat very well, but then neither can I. On hot days both the Pugs and I stayed near the air conditioner. I love Bulldogs but I would never own one. Personally, I almost think it is irresponsible to breed them. Too many of them cannot mate unassisted, they can't whelp on their own, and they can't breathe normally.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've got 3 French bulldog Boston terrier mixes. They seem fairly healthy. The English bulldogs scare me because of all the breathing problems they have. I adore the brachycephalic breeds, but they can come with problems, especially the purebred ones, and those bred to the extreme.

My guess is you are just having a run of really bad luck. You aren't feeding grain free? That has been linked to heart problems. Nothing with solid evidence yet, but enough for me to avoid grain free and boutique dog food brands.

 

[chickentrains]

Do you have a facebook?

When you look for another dog, "hating brachycephalic dogs isn't a personality trait" is a great place with TONS of great resources for breeders and health information.

 

[chickentrains]

You might also look into different bulldog breeds with longer faces, as it is hard to breed away from health issues.

olde english bulldogge's come to mind.