Tips and Advice on Training a Bulldog Puppy

Face

• Sadly, the cute face of a bulldog comes with a price: the puppy and adult dog cannot clean its own face. It is vital that bulldog puppies get used to having their face wrinkles wiped clean as soon as possible before they are big enough to struggle. This should be done gently and with a reward of food or a toy. Also, because of the way bulldog faces are constructed, they will be prone to snoring. They also will have problems getting enough air on hot, humid days, and should not be allowed to exert themselves too much on such days.

Feeding

• Bulldogs average 45 lbs., but they love food and can put on weight rapidly, even as puppies. Too much extra fat can damage growing bones, strain the heart, make breathing more difficult and predispose the puppy to developing diabetes as an adult. Be sure to get everyone in the family involved in keeping the bulldog puppy on a diet and not letting it overindulge. Bulldogs are excellent scavengers and will tear into garbage in order to get food, so be sure to keep garbage locked up. Keep all harmful chemicals out of reach, too. Their love of food means that food can be a great incentive to help train bulldog puppies.

Protection

• English bulldogs do not make good guard dogs. The puppies are especially vulnerable to being stolen. Never leave a bulldog puppy unattended in a car or a yard, and never tie the puppy out in front of a store. Never let a bulldog puppy meet other dogs without your supervision and with the other dog leashed. Some dogs have never seen a bulldog and will not recognize that this is another dog, so they will attack. Bulldogs--even as puppies--will defend themselves with a powerful bite.