Family Integration With an English Bulldog
Family Integration With an English Bulldog
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with English Bulldogs is giving them too much freedom too early.
Bulldogs are funny, loving, laid-back dogs, but they are also incredibly strong-willed. If you give a young Bulldog the opportunity to make all of his own decisions, I can almost guarantee he is eventually going to start making some decisions you don’t like.
That is why I am such a big believer in structure with our puppies.
Structure doesn’t mean being harsh with your dog. It doesn’t mean your puppy can’t play, cuddle on the couch, or be part of the family. It simply means that your puppy understands there are expectations and routines within the home.
When our puppies are young, I want a lot of their day to be predictable. They eat at consistent times. They go outside on a schedule. They spend time in their crate. They go on walks. They have periods of play and interaction, but they also have periods where absolutely nothing is happening and they are expected to relax.
That last part is something I think gets overlooked.
You do not need to entertain a Bulldog puppy all day long.
In fact, I think constantly entertaining puppies can create problems. They never learn how to shut themselves off. Then suddenly you have a six or eight month old Bulldog that expects someone to play with him, touch him, or entertain him every minute he is awake.
I want our puppies to learn that sometimes life is boring. And that is okay.
The crate is a huge part of this for us. I know some people look at crate training negatively, but I see it completely differently. Used correctly, the crate teaches a puppy how to be alone, how to calm himself down, and how to sleep without constantly needing someone beside him. Those are skills that become incredibly valuable as that puppy gets older.
Daily walks are another huge part of structure. Bulldogs might not be marathon dogs, but they still need exercise. More importantly, walking gives you an opportunity to work with your dog. They learn to follow you, pay attention to you, experience new environments, and understand that they don’t have to react to everything around them.
And yes, Bulldogs can be stubborn.
That stubbornness is part of what makes them Bulldogs. It is also why consistency matters so much.
If your Bulldog learns that refusing to walk means you pick him up, he is probably going to refuse to walk again. If barking gets him attention, he will bark. If whining gets him out of his crate, he quickly learns that whining works.
Dogs are constantly learning from us whether we realize it or not.
A lot of the behaviors people eventually struggle with didn’t start because they had a “bad dog.” They started because the dog learned that a certain behavior worked.
This is why I tell families to decide what they want their adult Bulldog to look like and start creating those habits while the dog is still a puppy.
If you don’t want a 55-pound Bulldog jumping on people, don’t allow the 15-pound puppy to do it.
If you eventually want your Bulldog to sleep independently, teach independence while he is young.
If you want a Bulldog that can calmly walk past another dog, start teaching neutrality instead of allowing him to greet every dog he sees.
The habits you allow when they are little usually become the habits you deal with when they are adults.
The goal isn’t to create a perfectly obedient robot. I don’t want that. Bulldogs have huge personalities, and that is one of the reasons I have loved this breed for so long.
I want them goofy. I want them affectionate. I want them to have personality.
I just want that personality living inside some boundaries.
In my experience, Bulldogs actually become more enjoyable when they understand what is expected of them. They are calmer, more confident, and easier to take places because they aren’t constantly trying to figure out where the boundaries are.
Give your Bulldog plenty of love.
But give him structure too.
He needs both.
-Mitch
For more information about our breeding philosophy and available puppies, visit BruiserBulldogs.com