Common questions › Growth & puppies
The short answer
Bulldogs reach their full height and length at around 6 to 9 months. After that they keep getting thicker: they're fully developed at about 18 to 24 months, and males often keep thickening until about two years old.
The four stages: newborn (0 to about 3 weeks), cute puppy (about 4 to 16 weeks), the lanky teenager (about 4 months to 18 months or 2 years), and adult. The best age to bring one home is 8 to 12 weeks.
Stage one is what I call the larva stage: from birth to about three weeks. They get cuter and cuter as they go. Stage two is the super cute puppy stage, from about four to sixteen weeks. They get their wrinkles and finally turn into what we call a bulldog. They're like toddlers: walking, and you start seeing their personality and their structure. This is where you really bond.
Stage three is the lanky teenager stage, the second longest: from about four months to about 18 months, possibly two years. They get better every day, but it's my least favorite stage: you know they're going to be pretty, but they're going through their awkward phase.
Stage four is the adult stage, where you finally get what you've been waiting for: the head develops, the thickness develops, the functionality. They're normally fully developed between 18 and 24 months. All of these are give or take, depending on the line.
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Bulldogs reach full height and full length between six and nine months old. Here DaDope is about four or five months: from here everything just gets thicker and nicer and better, but they won't grow much more in height.
We take all our puppies out with the kids, the wagons and the big dogs, and get them used to all kinds of scenarios. A confident dog thinks instead of reacting out of fear, so it's less likely to run off and get hurt, or hurt someone.
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What age should you get a bulldog puppy? I recommend eight weeks: don't take a puppy home younger than that. Eight to twelve weeks is the best age.
You can get an older bulldog, and some people have amazing stories with older dogs. But the younger they come home, the more they adapt to you, your kids, your family and your lifestyle, calm or busy, and grow that bond all the way to adulthood. It also makes training a million times easier.
Quick clips on the same question. Tap any one and it plays right here.
This is DaMilkMan at seven weeks, and at fourteen months. I predicted he'd be amazing as a puppy, coming from these bloodlines, and it's so rewarding to see it come to life. He's still going to get better: males usually don't stop getting thicker until about two years old.
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Stage one, from birth to about three weeks old. As they go through it, they get cuter and cuter, normally all the way up to three weeks.
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This is DaChamp's progression through all the stages. Stage three, the lanky teenager, is my least favorite, because I'm like, "be pretty already." Then stage four, the adult, where you get what you've been waiting for.
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