Adoption Facts
You’ve just had a baby!!
Congratulations!!! Here are the Adoption Facts that I go over with you when you complete the contract with me at my home. Please take the time to read this information and make sure you have the best experience possible with your new family member.
All your puppy’s internal organs and joints are guaranteed until they are a year old. If you have a serious issue get it verified by TWO vets from different clinics with tests, provide me with the documentation and you get a free puppy of equal value. We don’t pay vet bills but we will give you another puppy. We start with only the healthiest parents and don’t want to give away our puppies so every effort has been made to only breed the parents who will produce the best quality puppies. DNA and Mother Nature being who they are, a puppy can still have an issue even with perfect parents so you’re covered for that first critical year of development.
Keep in mind all bulldogs have odd looking hips and knees. This is part of the make up of a bulldog. Many vets will diagnose hip issues simply because it’s a bulldog. A guarantee issue involves severe problems that prevent the bulldog from walking normally or having the ability to move without pain. This is a good reason to see a bulldog specialist. They will know if it is a serious issue or not.
You have two business days to get your new puppy vet checked. After this vet check is complete and the puppy is found fit for adoption by your vet, you need to notify me via email, text or phone call of the outcome. From this point on you accept full financial responsibility for the puppy and the breeder is no longer liable for any and all conditions that are not covered by the guarantee. If the puppy is found unfit for adoption during this first initial exam by your vet you can exchange him or her for another puppy of equal value, no refunds are offered. If you live out of state it is your responsibility to return the puppy to us and all transportation costs are yours. Owning a pet involves taking care of their needs and possible vet bills. The breeder is not responsible for the care and maintenance of your puppy.
Make sure the vet you’re seeing is a bulldog SPECIALIST. A vet who is familiar with the breed will know that bulldogs have hips and knees that do not look “normal” like other dogs. Vets can sometimes scare you or tell you your puppy needs expensive surgeries when a bulldog vet will know if that is truly necessary or if what they are seeing on the Xray is normal for the breed. The guarantee only covers hip and joint issues that affect your bulldogs ability to walk and get around normally.
Your puppy can not go outside to use the potty until they are FULLY vaccinated with 3 sets of baby shots. Shots can be spaced apart from 2 to 6 weeks depending on your vet’s recommendations. If your puppy has had one or two sets you are looking at potty pads in the house for at least a month until they are safe to go outside. If it is too cold outside for you to be barefoot it is too cold for a baby dog. Please do not take them outside until it is warm so they don’t catch a cold that can quickly turn into pneumonia in a puppy.
*Potty training is more about training YOU than the puppy. They will let you know when they have to go. Typical times to go are right after eating a meal, drinking water or waking up from a nap. They will circle fast sniffing the floor looking for the perfect potty place. If you have a designated area for them, place the potty pad there and put them on it when you see this behavior. Be positive and praise them with love and kisses when they do it right. Affection is often times more effective than food treats for good behavior. Be careful not to confuse the puppy about potty in the house. Let them know it’s okay to potty and potty is a good thing it’s the “place” you want them to learn. If you get upset with them over going to the bathroom somewhere you don’t like they will think it’s the potty itself that is wrong not the “place”. Bulldogs are highly sensitive and can become very depressed and upset if they think they have upset you and might refuse to eat and it will cause behavior problems if they are constantly in “trouble” for going to the bathroom so pick your battles with them and try and be positive as much as possible. Limit the area they have access to. If you let them have full run of the house you would need to constantly be watching them all over the home to make sure they are not peeing everywhere so use a puppy pen or designated area for them at first. Keep the pads handy and in a place they have access to and then gradually increase the area they are trusted in. If they go potty in an area you don’t like take the pad and soak up the tinkle and put it in the right place for them to connect the dots. Also take some of their #2 and leave a smear on the potty pad so next time they understand where they are supposed to go. A common mistake is cleaning up too well after them and they don’t know what to do the next time. When you start training outside, after they are fully vaccinated, take the potty pad right out and set it into the grass so they know this is where they are supposed to go from now on. Reward good behavior and ignore the bad, be positive and pay close attention. Please be patient with your puppy and don’t expect them to train for you overnight. This process sometimes takes months for them to get it right. Remember they are babies and can’t control it so be kind and loving toward them during this training period.
Puppies are not supposed to be left in their crates longer than two hours a day. Be careful not to break this rule or your puppy will be anxious, depressed and you’ll have more trouble training and correcting behavior. A two hour nap in a crate is acceptable but longer than that is not okay for a puppy.
Please stay in contact with me if your puppy develops an issue. I would much rather know about any problems when they are small then when they become serious. You can call me night or day I’m available 24/7 at 303.653.1437
At three months old your puppy will need some sort of immune boost from a vitamin supplement. That is when the natural immunity tapers off that the puppy got from their mother. Please purchase the vitamin of your choice and begin giving them to your little one. Without this support they can have skin issues with mites or be more susceptible to colds or virus’. I give my dogs Melaleuca Koala Pals which are actually for children but were cleared by my vet for puppies at 12 weeks old. Here is the link to purchase them on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Melaleuca-Koala-Chewable-Multivitamins-Children/dp/B0084DXAE8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=367R9HL2IGKL6&keywords=koala+pals+vitamins&qid=1564080101&s=gateway&sprefix=Koala+Pal%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-1
Never put anything around your puppy’s neck. Harnesses are safe for bulldogs and you can put their tags on them. You get better control and it can save their lives because bulldogs have small tracheas and strong necks, if they get the collar caught they can strangle in a matter of seconds. Please don’t take that risk. Check out the clearance bin of your favorite pet store and chances are you’ll find a harness on sale.
Safe toys for your baby are rope toys, deer antlers, Kong brand toys, things they can’t bite pieces off of. With any toys supervise your puppy to make sure they don’t swallow stuffing in a squeaky toy or choke on pieces. NEVER under any circumstances give a bulldog a pig ear or rawhide chew. They will choke on these.
Large stuffed toys or “cuddle buddies” as we call them can help them sleep at night and feel like they are cuddled into a dog pile. Get a large one that fills their crate and has lots of lumps they can lay in-between. Make sure there are no hard pieces for eyes or nose or anything they can choke on if they chew on it.
Use a white baby soft wash cloths to clean your puppy’s wrinkles and face every day. Baby soap on a warm wash cloth gives them a quick little spot bath and they get used to being cleaned. Always use white so you can find any problem areas on your baby. Dry the folds well with something absorbent after cleaning to keep the skin from developing dermatitis or yeast build up.
Don’t over exercise your puppy. Long walks can actually damage their joints and hips. Play with them around the house naturally or take them for a short walk outside and let this be all the exercise they need. Bulldogs are a non physical breed and sleep half the day. Puppies grow while they sleep and need lots of time to themselves. Over stimulation is not good for a baby bulldog. Allow them time to have their naps. If you want to walk your adult bulldog short trips of 10 or 15 minutes in the cool of the evening or morning are best.
Bulldogs are inside dogs and should never be kept out doors. They can overheat in the shade because of their small tracheas. The middle of the day heat can be deadly to a bulldog and the freezing cold can make them sick quickly. An even 75 degree environment is ideal for a bulldog’s comfort.
Brushing their coat once a day to help cut down on hair loss is very enjoyable to most bulldogs. Mine absolutely loves this ritual. You can use the brush of your choice but I stay away from wire brushes because their hair is short and their skin is sensitive.
Don’t over feed your bulldog or allow them to be overweight. This puts undue strain and stress on their hips and joints. A nice average weight is the goal.
This is the setup I use in my home for the puppies. It’s a Northern Super PlayYard from Walmart found in the baby section. It snaps together easily, this particular one is four panels. I protect my floors with two utility rugs I bought from Lowes and I covered that with a heavy duty tarp that gets folded under the rug around the edges. It’s about 6 feet by 9 feet. Visit your local thrift store and pick up absorbent King size sheets to place between the tarp and the puppy. Also pick up some inexpensive towels there. Changing the sheets is easy too, the PlayYard slides off the rug and you pick up the sheet and put it in the wash then lay down a new one. I always mop the tarp with a disinfectant spray cleaner so that it’s nice and fresh before putting down a clean sheet since they tinkle on the sheets too.
My favorite place is Goodwill to get the sheets. They always have a nice selection of linens. I pick up their #2 potty with doggie bags and put them in a diaper genie so the house stays clean smelling and they have a safe place to play, sleep and potty. This setup is ideal for a baby dog. It lifts easily so they can run underneath it and to the back door to go outside once they are being house trained. They will instinctively choose one side to use for potty and one for sleeping and playing. There’s no need to get up in the middle of the night to let them out since little puppies don’t have the ability to hold it through the night as infants anyway. I wash the sheets and lay down new ones whenever it gets dirty, about two or three times a day.
This also collapses easily and stores in the closet if you need to put it away. This way they have their own “room” while they learn to respect your home and potty where they are supposed to. Crate training is good but I would start it after they are house trained so you never run the risk of them going potty in the crate and creating a bad habit that is very had to break. You can also build this with three panels instead of four and it’s half this size, if you have a space concern.