Don't Stop Walking and You're Embarassing Me Methods of Walking

Ruki's been getting stubborn about walking again. I use two methods--one I just discovered today--to keep her by my side and trucking along. The first involves the Don't Stop Walking method--just keep on going and pull her along with you when she pauses. The second is the You're Embarassing Me method: I think sometimes she doesn't like being so close to me, but rather behind me, like an embarassed teenager. So I hold the leash behind my back, and she's a few steps behind me, walking at her own pace, happy as can be.

I wrote to our puppy-sitter about walking Ruki with the DSW method:

She *is* big and stubborn these days. Or, rather, she's tired, cranky,
and scared. I "treat" her out of the courtyard and off of the block--I
go through about 4-5 treats just egging her on and treating her for
walking a few meters. But once she gets going, she's OK. If she starts
to slow down or pull back, just keep on walking. Pulling her is OK;
just don't try and jerk her.

I put the leash around my right wrist, and hold the leash parallel to
my waist/belt, and hold the slack with my left hand--Ruki stays on my
left all the time. When she slows down or pulls to the side of
backwards, when my left leg goes forward--I don't stop--it pulls the
leash and her along. But it's one consistent motion, so it's not
jerking at her throat. She pulls for about a second, but then she
comes along, and then I give her a treat.

Then we battle it out that way about 5 more times, and then she's
fine--a couple more hitches along the way, but most of the time it's a
breeze. Every once in awhile I'll let her stop and sniff around. And
when she's trucking along I'll push a treat in her mouth--don't let
her bite! If she snatches at the treat, pull it away, and don't let
her have it until she's gentle!--just to keep her going.

Grading Commercial Dog Food Brands

From the BullDogDomain forums, I found a ranking system for dog food. Partially from this, and partially from recommendations from books and a pet food store owner, we switched Ruki from her breeder's Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy to Innova.

The ranking system mostly focuses on how transparent the dog food producer is about the quality of the ingredients, the amount of filler (e.g., corn which is indigestible by dogs), and how "natural" the ingredients are. The premises being that if you are vague about something, you're hiding something bad, and how well you pick and choose your ingredients.

Another highlight of the ranking system is deducting points from foods that contain ingredients that many dogs are allergic to, e.g., wheat or soy.

From my2bullies&BTBfoster, http://forum.bulldogdomain.com/index.php?topic=8832.0 :

How to grade your dog's food: (Some brands are done at the very bottom]

Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source,subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's
rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as
only one protein source but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
69 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. Dog Food scores:

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Good Raw Foods for Treats

So for treats--instead of treats we buy at stores--we've been using slices of baby carrots. Ruki loves 'em. And we see them in her poo a day or so later. I don't know if there's any nutritional value to them, but at least there's no fat, and some fiber content for her.

I recently tried chunks of celery. Ruki doesn't love 'em as much as the carrots, but she'll still do tricks for them.

I gave her a blueberry, too, and she almost died--in a good way. I think she thought she was in berry heaven. Apparently, though, we have to watch out for citrus fruits because they might be bad for her stomach.

Here's a quote I found on a web site:

http://experts.about.com/q/Dogs-701/ok-pup-3.htm

"Besides apples, most dogs also like banana slices, blue berries, carrot slices or baby carrots, peas, broccoli, green beans and cauliflower. My dogs LOVE Clementine wedges, but then who doesn't?

A couple of things to watch out for: DON'T give a dog onions, mushrooms or grapes, they can make your dog sick."

I've also started adding a fish oil pill to her breakfasts.

My Case for Biodegradable Poo Bags

So up until now we've been using the plastic bags we get at the grocery store--and using the self-checkouts and grabbing a few extras on the sly. This at the time was the best idea for us--we give a second use to something that is necessary and will be trash, and they're made from recycled products. Plus they're free!

But we started running short on our stockpile, and I was feeling environmentally guilty about grabbing new ones and about the amount of waste we're creating.

I explored other options--namely buying smaller poo-bags to reduce, biodegradable bags, and flushable bags. Smaller poo-bags make since because at least we're reducing our waste by replacing new, ganked plastic grocery bags with smaller ones. Flushable bags sound great, but honestly it's kind of gross to mix dog poo in the human toilet and anyways they're not guaranteed not to clog your septic system (and we live in an old apartment building). And biodegradable bags? We can't compost our poo and these bags probably wouldn't biodegrade any faster than regular ones in the landfill.

So I decided on biodegradable. Why? Well, at least we're reducing; we're giving them a fighting chance to degrade wherever they might, and if we can sneak the bag into a yardwaste bag, then even better! But mostly, if we're going to choose a bag, we might as well put our money into an industry that is working to save the world, and not one indifferent to it. So I went onto Greenfeet.com and bought us a few packs of the bags.

Check out my post on my confusion and eventual success in figuring out how to use the damn Biobags in the first place.

How to Use the Biobag Dog Poo-Bag

I am an idiot. I just bought two bags of Biobag Dog bags. They're environmentally-friendly, biodegradable, compostable bags made for dog poo. Unfortunately, they're made in Norway--hence the instructions aren't the clearest. Here are the instructions on the box and each bag:

1. Put your hand in the bag.
2. Collect the droppings.
3. Push the top-end through the hole.
4. Pull tip through the hole.
5. The bag is closed.
6. Put the bag in the litterbin.

OK. So I was fine with Steps 1 and 2. But 3? What does that mean "Push the top-end through the hole?" The box and a web site clarify this: "insert film through hole at top of the bag and pull down to secure dog waste." What the hell does that mean?

So now, after much fumbling, experimentation, and imagination, I figured it out.

1. Put your hand in the bag.
2a. Collect the droppings.
2b. Reverse the bag--just like you would when using any other bag.
3. Pinch the *bottom* seam of the bag, right underneath where all your poo is, and pull the pinched piece up and through both holes at the (now) top of the bag.
4. This cinches the lip of the bag through the holes, so now the poo is captured in the "middle" of the bag, and the bottom bit is what you hold onto to carry the bag and throw it away.
5. The bag is now closed.
6. Put the bag in the trash.

Whew. I hope that helps anyone who is as slow as I am!

Bulldog Crack: Rawhides and Booda Velvet Bimples

So we finally took the plunge and introduced Ruki to rawhide chews. I had heard so many cautionary tales about rawhides and bullies: you have to constantly watch your bulldog so that she doesn't tear off a bit and choke on it.

But she was getting too quickly bored with her other toys: the stuffed ones with squeakers, the knotted rope pull toy, the rubber bone, etc.

We started with a pressed rawhide from the breeder. She didn't mind it, but then I watched to see what kind of things she chewed on. Ruki loves sawed off stumps of shrubbery, and I realized she wanted something softer than pressed rawhide. I tried other Nylabones, and finally she found her favorite in a flexible, soft, rubbery chicken-flavored Nylabone.

That was a few weeks ago. Most recently, she's been chewing on the soft plastic corners of her crate. (Also, we just moved her from the small, puppy/cat crate to a larger, medium-sized breed crate. She took to it in a few minutes--no adjustment period needed here!) So I realized she needs something new.

The rawhide? It's like crack. She loves them. She even sometimes cries when I take them away from her--which I try to do so she knows that *I* commence playing and chew-fun, not her. I try to keep her chewing on them in one or two places--I don't want her chewing on the rug so it doesn't assume the smell and taste of the rawhide.

Recently, I picked up a Booda Velvet Bimple bone. It looked soft enough for her puppy teeth and jaws. Wow. She loves that one, too. But I really have to watch her with this. In about an hour, she stripped all the bumpies off the Booda--leaving little plasticy bits all over. I vacuumed those up. Then she really went to town. The Boodas are made of corn starch, so it starts getting white and foamy after a while. I heard in a discussion forum of a bulldog that chewed one of those down and then started puking up white stuff--the Booda corn starch.

Which, on a side note, is weird to put in a digestible bone because corn products, I thought, *weren't* digestible by dogs. Oh well. Right now, she has neither rawhide nor Booda in her mouth, and now she's just exploring...

Ruki-Monster with Her Stick du Jour

We took Ruki to the Boston Common for a play-date with some friends. Damn, she's cute. At least *I* think so... But what else can I do but think she's the cutest thing in the world?!??!?!

Looks Like a Pimple

So I just noticed a flesh-colored bump on Ruki's lip. I went onto the Bulldog Domain discussion forum, and it sounds like it's either a pimple or an ingrown hair. Apparently, puppies get acne when they get infections from, maybe dirty food and water dishes, especially ones not of metal.

Well, we wash her metal food dishes regularly, but I think that recently she's been chewing on her crate, and I wonder if that's what caused the infection. I have to remember to wash that down.

Treatment-wise, they recommended just to keep it clean and wash it with "Melesab shampoo diluted (5CC to 1/2 cup warm water in a picnic ketchup bottle)." Hopefully it just goes away on its own!

Update: She just got another pimple on the other side of her face! Oh no!

Update on the Harness Situation

So we decided in the end not to get the harness. This decision wasn't entirely thought-out: the local Petco didn't have any harnesses that we liked, and they didn't fit Ruki anyways. I went on-line and looked at the Sensations and Hightower harnesses, and didn't really go any further than that.

Because all of a sudden, our problems with Ruki on the leash started going away. Yes, she pulls occasionally when there's something she *really* wants, but since we've been treating her to come out of the courtyard, we haven't had much of a problem.

I treat her with these all-beef squares, ripped in half, so the pieces are like 1 cm x 0.5 cm or with slices of baby carrots. After about a week of this fantastic behavior, it takes at most 2 treats to get her downstairs and out the door. About 3 to get her out of the courtyard. And I usually burn about 10 or so for a 20-min walk around the block--sits at street crossings, jobs across streets, random treats while she's following, etc.

I think now that Ruki is about 4 months old, she's becoming more emotionally mature. It was almost overnight. She has her crazy times, but not as crazy as before. Her chewing is pretty manageable--as long as I keep my eye on her, she doesn't really chew things she's not supposed to, and if she does they're "soft chews" and not the voracious gnawing it was before.

She hasn't had an accident in the house for about a week. We can let her out of the crate and just let her play and hang around.

It's crazy. I think she's even developing her language to let us know when she wants out. Recently, she's just kind of gotten up and walked to the door. And hangs out there. Looks like a signal that she wants to do something outside!

I don't know if this is a change in her, a change in us, but probably both combined. So if anyone's having trouble with their bullie, the leash, and walking, the only things I can say are: take a deep breath, relax, and she's still growing up.

Some More Cherry Eye History

Ruki had her cherry eye 2 weeks after we got her, when she was 3 months. We waited for two weeks before we worked with our breeder to fix it. That was 2 weeks ago. And the other eye had not popped out.

My theory is that Ruki was mucking around in some dirt and then got "boxed" pretty hard by a particularly "fiesty" Boston terrier in the area. I remember vividly seeing the paw knock Ruki right in the eye.

So, all in all, 4 weeks and no other cherry eye!

As for the fixed eye, the flesh under the eyelid *does* look a little redder than the other one; and she still has daily "gunkies" (for lack of a better word), mucous, I suppose, that we clean out with saline. We're going to keep up with the antibiotic eyedrops, and if her eye's still gunky after another week, we'll consider taking her in to the vet--and after our insurance kicks in. :)

A Good Link on Training Bulldog Puppies

According to this article, Ruki's on her last month of tractable training! :(

But I found this article to be very helpful on the few basic commands, with an understanding of bulldog personalities, and with good guidelines as to how long to keep training sessions.

http://www.dogchannel.com/puppies/training/article_bulldog.aspx

Trying the Harness

So today we're going to pick up a harness and see if that works any better than the regular collar. I'll let you know if that works any better... I just don't like the look of the harness, but it might be worth it.

The recommendations seem to be the same type: Sensation or Hightower Harnesses:

http://www.softouchconcepts.com/

http://www.waynehightower.com/

(Update: I e-mailed Wayne Hightower about availability of his leashes, and I haven't heard from him in about a week.)
(Update: We decided not to buy the harness in the end.)

Also, here's a link to a YouTube video on leash-training:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Oy5AANTpw

Walking the Bulldog, Pt 2

So now I'm paying for my hubris. I thought I had Ruki all figured out on the walking part. Now she's worse than ever. I've tried everything, and walking has become more than a chore, but a *battle*.

Here's a good discussion on the difficulty of walking a bulldog puppy.

I've recently been treating her up and down the stairs with some all-meat treat strips (these 1 square cm bits, that I break in half), and sliced-up baby carrots on the walks outside. I wonder if different food associations mean different things--and whether this is a good or bad thing. I think maybe the best thing to do is keep on mixing it up.

Sigh.

On a somewhat similar note, Ruki is now averaging one accident a day, and largely b/c of our fault. In fact, last night, she peed on our bed. Awesome.

What it comes down to is that at 4 months, she's still too young to trust. She pees when she needs to--and so far has only learned not to pee in her crate.

No Paper in the Crate

One mistake I made early on was when we were first crating our new puppy. I figured, she's going to pee in the crate, so maybe the best way to make clean-up easy is to put paper in there.

But wouldn't that confuse her? Here's the create--don't pee where you sleep. But here's paper, and that's where you've been peeing your whole life so far...

It's tough, thinking that if there's no paper, then she'll just be soaking in pee. At least the paper should absorb the pee and keep it off her fur. But I read in SMART Puppy, that paper in the crate's a no-no. And that makes sense.

Maybe for the first day or two, it's OK. But maybe that's it, over the next few days when she starts figuring things out.

Excessive Barking

This morning, after crating, Ruki starting whining and then barking... But this time the barking wasn't just a yelp or two, but she kept it up! What was going on?

Then I realized that I had snoozed... For a little too long. I usually feed her around 8.30 a.m., and lo and behold it was already 8.30 a.m. My fault, Ruki. :)

Bulldog Cherry Eye Removal

I've been following and participating in a number of online discussions on treating bulldog cherry eye. The consensus seems to be that the modern techniques of "tucking" and/or "tacking" are the way to go, whereas the "old school" method of "third eyelid removal" is barbaric.

The modern procedure of tucking or tacking involves tucking in the third eyelid and stitching it down or even tacking it to the bone so it doesn't "pop out."

After speaking with our breeder--who is fantastic and if you're looking for a breeder, e-mail me, and I'll recommend her!--she strongly recommended removal. She would even meet with us halfway between Brooklyn and Boston to perform the removal for free.

We agreed. And now Ruki's cherry eye is gone, and so far she's fine--but I'll keep this blog updated on the progress.

Our main concerns with the removal were secondary infections and the later occurrence of dry eye. After three days, no infection, the eye is fine--but we've also been using antibiotic and steroid eyedrops on her. And for the dry eye our breeder assured us that the tear gland was not removed.

Our main concerns with tucking/tacking were expense and the effects of the procedure. Online, prices ranged from $90 for both eyes to $600 for one. I spoke with a vet tech who said that in our neighborhood, the procedure would cost at least $300, not including the cost of the visit, anesthesia, etc.

As for the effects of the procedure, it's not safe to anesthetize Ruki at her age--14 weeks. We'd then have to wait until she gets spayed at 5-6 months. And on top of that the surgery may be fairly invasive--especially with tacking to the bone.

Our breeder reported that she's seen tucking and tacking procedures which "popped out" and eventually ended up in removal anyways. And as for the dry eye? It seems that dry eye occurs in bulldogs who have had tucking/tacking, removal, and no cherry eye at all.

So maybe medically-speaking, tucking/tacking is the best procedure. But practically speaking, it seems that removal is not a bad option--and less barbaric than the complicated surgery. Literally, the removal took a few minutes--with the actual cutting taking a few seconds. They used topical anesthesia, and Ruki didn't yelp one bit from the cut. And when we were done, she was on her feet as if nothing happened. There was some bleeding, but that stopped in a few minutes.

I may get some hate from this post, but I'm just reporting our experiences. I'm actually more interested in any long terms effects, and we won't know those until much later on...

Setting the Mood to Listen

Training dogs is a lot like teaching children. I used to be a teacher in an urban school, and learned a lot about teaching as a science--more than just an art.

One of the most important methods of preparing a classroom is to get the students into the "mood" to learn. If you don't calm them down and get them focused and ready to learn, you're going to have trouble getting them to focus throughout the class. Many teachers who have problems with classroom control don't use techniques like this to set the tone of every class.

I'm learning that the same is with puppies. If I wake Ruki up, and she's cranky, well, I have to give her some time to wake up. And then when she doesn't focus on me, and pulls on the leash, or won't go where I need her to go, I get frustrated.

So I bring her close, I put my hand under her muzzle and calm her down to focus on me. I'll do a few "sits" and "look at me's," which turn into "comes," and then *sometimes* :) we can get walking.

Also, when she has her "crazy times"--when she basically goes ape-shit--it's like recess. I let her go for a few minutes, and then I set the tone differently with sits, look at me's, and comes; and some space games to get her to stop and sit if I get between her and something she wants. Then she's back to nice, chill Ruki--which is a recent but welcome phenomenom.

Why Doesn't My Puppy Love Me?

...That's the way I've been feeling lately. She loves everyone so much more--goes crazy--for anyone but me. I'm old news. She doesn't listen to me. She gives me the stink-eye instead of kisses. She shrugs away from my hugs.

We're working on a mixture of "demotion" and armed warfare. The armed warfare means more treats and lures for getting her off of our block. The "demotion" is less ground-level eye contact, more strictness in the house.

I'll let you know how it all works out.

But one thing that helped: Yesterday, I took her to a nearby park with a big field. I let her off the leash (which is OK for Ruki since she really can't run that fast or far). And then I jogged away. She could not *not* stay far from me. As soon as I started moving away, she started trucking along. The faster I went the faster she came. And when I stopped she's gallop up and stop near me.

So maybe she doesn't "love" me, but she definitely *needs* me. And I'll take that for now.

Also, check out my previous post on my moment of zen.

A Moment of Zen

I had a moment of zen today while walking Ruki. I realized that most of my frustration with her--trying to get her out the block--was because I was putting my needs *way* above hers: my need to make sure she pees and poos and gets tired and her need to wake up and be a bit of a puppy, sniff around, wander, etc.

I realized that we had to meet half-way. And it worked--at least for this morning. I fought with her to get her out of the courtyard, and fought her to get her past the trash alley. She chased after people, and pulled against me constantly.

(Though I have to admit I treated her down the stairs. But apparently that's not a bad thing b/c she's still a puppy. I talked to the dogwalker Mike and he recommended treating her all the way out of the block.)

But then I gave her slack and time to sniff around a bit. I thought, "This is going to take forever." But, really, it was like 2 minutes max. And then she was ready to go. We made it a few steps, and the same process--again. But she's a puppy. This is what she needs.

And after a little bit of give and take--she started walking with me. Then back to being cranky. And then back to being nice. Jekyll and Hyde.

But she's a puppy with no long-term memory, no attention span. One other trick I started using is that she gets distracted, and we need her to focus. So just get down and play with her and pet her, and her focus is back on you and not on whatever it was before.

And by the end of the walk, I really appreciated her.

Ruki Asleep

Over-Tired Puppy

I'm not sure if Ruki's getting enough sleep... I realized, and researched, that there's a "condition" called "over-tired puppy." Yesterday, I walked her... A LONG WAY. Let her play off-leash in the park with a ball and stick. And then, on our way back, she was just CRANKY.

I also wonder that when I pull her out of the crate--not literally, but I open up the crate door and "encourage" her to come out so I can take her out during her scheduled pee times--why she's so stubborn. I think she's just cranky because I woke her up. And she's tired. And then when I take her out, she's still stubborn and cranky.

I think maybe I have to figure out how to readjust her pee schedule to her nap schedule.

Keeping Myself Disciplined

I started loosening up on her schedule when I'm at home all day with her. But I've quickly learned that--no matter what--when she wakes up from a nap, and I let her out of the crate, she *must* be let out. Twice, I decided, "Oh, let her play a little bit--she needs to wake up," and lo, and behold, there was a spot of pee that I had to clean up in a few minutes.

Walking the Stubborn Walker

I've started adjusting my techniques in getting Ruki to "walk well" with me.

First off, I have to understand that she's just a puppy--and on top of that a bulldog. She can't walk that far. So when I go around the block, I should expect that every quarter block she's going to stop and stand--to rest--or stop and sniff around a bit. It's not her being stubborn, it's her being a bulldog puppy.

So it all takes some time to go for the walk.

If she pulls, I only resist--I don't pull back. And once I feel that she's no longer pulling but just standing with the tension of the leash, I let go and give her slack. When she wanders off to the side, and I think it's not a good time, I keep the leash tension tight; and then slack when she's no longer pulling. At that point, she's usually at attention, listening or sniffing; I give her a few seconds--I even count up to 5--and then pulse or call her to "come" and she'll trot right along.

I'm also working on training her to walk either beside me or slightly behind me. I don't want her to walk me. If she gets ahead of me the leash is taut; whenever she's being good by being beside me or slightly behind me I keep the leash slack and upright--right above her head so there's not pulling at all.

Bulldog Won't Walk - Just Sits There

Ruki, at 13 weeks, can definitely get cranky about walking. When I bring her outside of the courtyard of our apartment, she goes right for the shrubs or, worse, will just sit and not budge. Here's a mixture of techniques that seem to work in getting her to get going:

1. Keep on walking. Once I get her going, I keep up the momentum and don't stop. If she turns or stop I keep on going. I also don't make eye contact, don't look at her, give her the silent treatment. After a few stops, she picks up and just follows.

2. Keep on walking. If she stops, I walk back to her, circle around her--she'll usually turn with me--and then turn back in the same direction I was originally heading. If she doesn't get up after a turn or two, I'l start shuffling into her, and then turn and go.

3. If she sits, I put a hand under her belly and ask her to "stand." This gets her up, then I have to figure out how to keep her moving.

4. If all else fails, I hoist her up and take her about a block away. (We live in the city.) I think being too close to home is too distracting to her. But when I get her far enough away from home, she trucks along just fine--presumably just so she can make it back home. :)

Over-Excited? She Needs a Nap!

Puppies go crazy nuts a few times a day, just because they're puppies. But I've noticed that later in the night, maybe around 9.30 - 10 p.m., Ruki will go a little more extreme on the nuts side. Play-stance, pouncing, running around, chewing everything, tossing things, and sometimes even growling and barking.

And then she'll pause, put her cheek down, head to the side, and rest. And then back to crazy.

My theory is that when she's really tired, she'll have these crazy bouts. When she's crazy enough late at night, it's time to hold her tight, and "pet her down"--pet her and sooth her until she's calmed down. And then crate her for the night.

House-Training Update

So house-training seems to be going well. At 3 months (as of yesterday!) and with her being ours for two weeks, she can hold it for at least 3 hours and pees almost immediately when she gets outside.

So if you were as frustrated as we were last week, things improve drastically over a week!

She still has problems if I don't walk her after 10:30 p.m., or for the afternoon stretch from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. So today we started having a dog-walker to come in for the 12.30 - 1.30 p.m. stretch.

Links on Crate-Training

• American Dog Trainer's Network - How to Successfully Crate-Train Your Puppy.


• Housetraining Tips - curiously, recommends scolding a dog to prevent barking in the crate.

Links to Conversations on Bulldog Cherry Eye

• Cherry Eye


• Some discussion on the costs of cherry eye surgery and "popping" it back in - from $90 to $1200 for two eyes.


• More discussion on the costs of cherry eye surgery

Keeping on Schedule

So we're learning that she's starting to keep to her schedule now that she's 3 months, and we've had her for 2 weeks. I can't yet tell if her barking is signal that she has to go--sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. But I've resolved to "allowing" her to have accidents. It's OK. I just take a deep breath, clean up, and keep on sticking to schedule. I can't let her rule our lives based around whether she's having accidents or not.

No Soy for Bulldogs?

So I seem to recall--and have found a few small mentions on some pages--that bulldogs must avoid soy products.

From the best I can discern, it appears that bulldogs are susceptible to soy allergies.

I was curious about this because several bulldog pages mention that they shouldn't eat kibble with soy; you shouldn't use soy oil to add to their food (use canola or corn). (See the Bulldog Club of America.)

But there's a chewing toy from Nylabone--the green ones I think?--that contain soy product in them. I don't know if this enough to warrant avoiding them.

Update: There seem to be stories about dogs dying from choking on Greenies... And bulldogs, specifically, choking on them and barfing them up in chunks. So definitely avoid those!

Link Suggestions for English Bulldogs

Here I'll keep a running list of links that I visit and read often to learn about care of our English bulldog:

• The Bulldog Club of America (BCA) - Basic Care for Your Bulldog


• Bulldog General Discussion Forum


• http://thnlnk.com/bulldogdomain/General.Health.Discussion/543


• http://thnlnk.com/bulldogdomain/Immediate.Health.Issues/408


• http://thnlnk.com/bulldogdomain/Bulldog.Feeding.Issues.and.recipes/408


• Fantastic post on bulldog temper tantrums. Read Reply #3 from Lynn King.


• Good post on a bratty bulldog.


• The Human Society on Crate Training - we don't follow the "feeding in the crate" advice, but some clear tips on handling whining in the crate.


• PetLovers.com Question and Answer Forum


• Training the Bulldog Puppy - I wish I would have found this a bit sooner! Or maybe not--maybe I wouldn't understand the wisdom the article contains before going through a lot of the trouble myself!


• Another good article on leash-training a dog called Shut up and walk away!.

Barking in Her Bed

Ruki has an artificial sheepskin bed where we put all her toys and towels to wipe her off when she's wet from rain or drink. She loves it there; that's her "safe space." She gnaws on her toys, pulls at the sheepskin, pulls at her towels.

She also loves to bark and growl there. While I know it's fine and natural for dogs to bark when they're excited, I don't want it to become habit, get out of control, or get her "too excited." And I don't want to reward her with attention by trying to get her to stop.

So I came across part of a technique in the My SMART Puppy book. When she starts wildly barking, move towards her and stand in her space, which is just to stand very close to her, or even step right next to her in the bed. Don't make eye contact. Just stand there and show her that you're in her space. And she stops.

I'm not sure if this is "right"--if it's behaviorally proper, or if I'm following the logic of the space treatment right. But it seems to work over the past two days.

Raising Hell

I have to admit today and yesterday I've fallen a bit off her schedule. I chalk it up to trying to figure out what her "signals" are: whether her barking means she's got to pee, or she's just bored.

Today was the second "false alarm." Off-schedule (11:30 a.m.), she woke up, started whining, and then resorted to some furious barking. I started thinking, "OK, barking means immitent pee-age." So I waited until she stopped, and then swept in and opened the crate door.

She leaned out, and then rested her head on the edge of the crate. No mad stumble to do business. Fooled again.

I think that even at 3-mo and having her on a schedule for almost a week we might have the schedule down. She'll go on schedule and the occasional accidents really are that: accidents.

First Vet Trip, Update on Cherry Eye

We took Ruki to the vet this morning for the first check-up. Total bill? Over $400. We got most of her second round of shots. We also got heartworm medication and Frontline (though I initially resisted this--I wanted to try a natural solution, like tea tree oil). Lastly, we got the microchip implanted since female English bulldogs are a high risk for dog-napping. (For $400, she's a real princess! Though a princess would react more to the pea-sized chip we implanted between her shoulders...)

I have to say I was proud of her in the doctor's office. Only one or two yelps, even with all the shots.

Regarding the cherry eye, the doctor basically said that it's fine and normal. Even though this morning Ruki held that eye shut until she was totally up. He mentioned the surgery options, but that we wouldn't explore them for at least 10 days.

He told us that we can irrigate the eye with regular human saline solution to remove mucous and keep it clean. It's OK to clean with a paper towel for wet mucous, and the dry stuff with the irrigation above. He then gave us an eye solution with antibiotics and steroids--to bring down the swelling--to administer three times a day for the next 10 days.

We're still worried because there's some blood; I'm worried that she's scratching. But, again, he said that this is fine. I wish there was more we could do!

Bulldog Cherry Eye

Though the bulk of this blog in the beginning will be retrospective, the latest news is that Ruki has cherry eye!

Cherry Eye is Not as Scary as It Looks!

I called the vet this morning, and the office manager seemed to say that it's not that bad a thing, either. I asked if it was something that we had to worry immediately about, and she said, no. Most people freak out about it because it looks weird, not because the dog is in danger.

The vet doesn't treat cherry eye, but can give us a referral to someone who may or may not do surgery. In the meantime, the doctor will probably give us some antibiotics, probably eye-drops.

For now, we're just clearing any mucous build-up when we see it. (It was green this morning! But now it just gets sticky and white.)

I tried a warm compress--by wetting a paper towel and putting it in the microwave for 8 seconds. Ruki doesn't like it, but at one point I inadvertently pushed the swollen tissue back in! It was pretty amazing; I put the compress on, and all of a sudden the cherry eye was gone! But then when I put the compress on again, it popped back out. I'm not trying it again.

The Ride Home and the First Night

We've had Ruki for almost two weeks now. We picked her up in Brooklyn and drove her to new home in Boston at night. We had her in a crate with a papered bottom. She had a rough ride. Whining, crying, and barking, eventually poo-ing in the crate. We managed to stop just north of New York City, stopping at a K-mart to buy cleaning supplies and get some new paper. After that, I think we were pretty clear up until Boston.

The first night, we crated her in our bedroom with paper on the bottom. She cried and cried and cried. We initially resisted her, but I'm pretty sure I took her out for a walk around 3 a.m.

We let her sleep in our bedroom for about 5 days, after which we moved her to the living room, which is where she has been since. We've also since removed the paper from the crate, as well as any t-shirts or blankets we used to put in there.

The Value of Crate-Training

One of the cutest moments: We were playing a "trick" on Ruki. We left her out of her crate. We went through all of the motions of leaving the apartment, and stepped out and closed the door. Then we listened. All was quiet for about 3 seconds, and then...

Gnaw, gnaw, chew, chew.

We had left her by a chair, and that chair leg was quickly becoming her replacement parent. This is one of the values of crate-training: preventing destructive chewing.