Common questions › Health
Are Mini English Bulldogs Healthy?
The short answer
They can be, if they're bred for it. Health in a bulldog is mostly genetic: it comes from the parents and grandparents, so it's bred in, or it isn't.
Check the head and the stance: big open nostrils so it can breathe, clean eyes that have never had surgery, a real skull shape (not just fat), no underbite with the mouth closed, ears folded back, and a natural, straight stance when nobody is posing the dog.
What to look at on the head
Start with the nose. Those holes are called the nares, and the bigger the better: the better the dog breathes. A lot of people breed just for a look and don't care about the nostrils, and you get a dog that can't breathe well. DaChamp has big, open nares, so he can move, run, jump, play and live longer with you.
Next, the eyes. DaChamp's aren't folded over, you can tell he's never had surgery, they're clean and he doesn't have crazy tears. That's genetic, it's what we breed for, and it saves you from expensive procedures that can hurt your dog's life and quality of life.
Then the head shape. A lot of people get their adult bulldogs extra fat so the head looks bigger. DaChamp's head is his actual skull, it's genetic. What you see is what you get.
Then the bite: no underbite, especially with the mouth closed, which is how people trick you. And the ears: folded backwards, not hound-dog style, which is better for hearing and for avoiding infections.
All of these are bred into the dog from the parents and grandparents. You're investing in a best friend for 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 years. Don't hurt that by buying a dog that wasn't bred properly.
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The stance test: nobody posing him
This is Smoke Man, our mini English bulldog, a son of Fury. He has a perfect, natural stance. Too often people position their dog, hold it, and teach it to freeze in a stance that isn't really its own.
Watch him move: feet straight, a nice athletic, functional stance. Not bred to be crazy wide, which is bad for the dog's health, movement and function. The natural stance is genetic, and it's directly tied to how well the dog will move and stay healthy as it gets older.
Nothing against people who stack their dogs for competitions. But if a dog's feet turn in or out and you pose it to hide that, that's false advertising, and you're getting a dog that won't move well and may have health problems later.
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Small, without giving anything up
Everyone sees the finished puppy. What they don't see is the years of breeding decisions before it was born. DaChamp is 11.5 inches tall, and he's exactly where we're taking our mini bulldog program.
One wrong breeding, with the wrong male, can set a program back years and produce unhealthy, unfunctional, badly built dogs. That's why it's about the parents, the grandparents, how they move, and how consistent each line is.
We want the thick, well-built bulldog look in a smaller package without compromising anything: not the thickness, not the movement, not the health, not the temperament. DaChamp has good eyes, no cherry eye, crazy speed and athleticism, and no dog or people aggression. That's generations of work in one dog.
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Cute things and healthy things are often the same things
Almost every bulldog puppy is cute. But a lot of what makes a puppy look good is also what helps it function and stay healthy. When I look at a puppy I'm looking at the foundation: the top line, the shoulders, the face, the back, the hips.
This is DaMilkMan as a puppy. Now he's a little over four years old, and he's exactly what we said he'd be: super healthy, functional, good temperament. He's never been to the vet for any problems. We've seen every second of his life, so we have the data.
It takes a trained eye to see those little things on a puppy, because they get exponentially better or worse as it grows. That's why it's so important to get from a program whose adults already are that health, structure and function.
Keep reading
Ask me to show you the parents: their eyes, their breathing, their stance.
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