Question by the fire within: Should the English Bulldog standard be changed?
I’m not against the bulldog, just think the standard should be changed so breeders don’t continously breed for smushed faces, flab, and huge heads.

Problems:
1) It’s extremely dangerous to allow standard bulldog bitches to naturally whelp because unlike nearly all other breeds, bulldogs have tremendous heads which require C-sections. The pup’s head gets stuck in the birth canal, trapping other pups inside Mom.
2) Full of health problems. Skin problems, food allergies–what else? These are side effects of the smushed nose and wrinkles.
3) Does not seem to have a purpose. I know we shouldn’t decide whether dogs should LIVE or not just whether or not they help us, but the bulldog does not really get or do anything through existence–they sit, sleep, and eat. They don’t protect, they can’t run/swim cuz of their massive heads, and they can’t move as freely as other dogs cuz their heads weigh them down, literally.

So, should the breed standard be changed or not?

Best answer:

Answer by Lamborama
I would like to see that changed! Did you see the show Nature on PBS recently, it was a 2 part show about “Dogs that changed the world” and they addressed the issue of the bulldog’s changed image. It was a great show and will probably be on again this month if you missed it!

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Question by Matt: I think I changed my dog’s food to fast. Please Help.?
We recently adopted a 2 and 1/2 year old yellow lab. He is from Indiana and we are in New England. The dog came with a ziplock bag of food he was currently on (Prism by Eagle Pack). I found quickly that this food was not easy to come by at all so I opted to try a new food (Nutro Max). I knew that I was meant to stretch out the food over a week or longer during the transition process and I thought it was strange when I ran out of the old food after 4 days (It turned out the I was feeding him too much over all… almost double what he needed per day). I just continued with the food I had since prism was expensive and could only be bought online in a 30 lb bag, even from a specialty store. NOW, it has been two weeks to the day since we have had Bruce, our dog and he has been having scant amounts of bright red blood at the end of each stool.It seems to be no more than a tsp. worth of blood that is bright red and the stool is soft but mostly formed, not runny or frequent and no vomiting associated. I researched that this could be from a rapid food change, which turns out to be a problem when you cannot get the original food!
At the moment (being just today, I have started him on rice and boiled chicken mixed with his new food to try and ease him into the food we currently have).

We were just wondering words of advice, other strategies, similar problems. I also considered it to have the possibility of an allergy and trying to change the food all together (Eukanuba is my next choice). When should I start to see a difference in the stool? Does my plan of mixing the rice and chicken seem like a more positive approach?

Best answer:

Answer by Leslie Goudy
good thing to do but your dog’s digestive system might already be weakened and he might have giardia or coccidia i probably spelled this wrong but those are common bacterial infections in intestines and it is contagious and can contaminate your yard

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Question by p_wabbit: Has the pet food recall changed your opinion about some of the ‘premium’ brands?
I was personally more that a little shocked to find out that such supposedly premium and healthier brands like Nutro, Iams and Eukanuba apparently are serving the same content as several bargain and generic store brands. I was especially shocked to see Science Diet listed, as it has been recommended on more that one occassion by vets for my then-ailing pets.

For years I served Nutro Max to my late dog who had serious skin allergies – under the misconception that it was somehow healthier (it was, to the extent that it helped his skin)

I’m not knocking the nutritional content of “menufoods” per se, especially given that investigators are now speculating that the gluten content was contaminated with rat poison. I am not impressed however that such supposed premium brands are in essence the same food as the genric store brands.

Personally, now that I can afford it I feed my pets nothing but organic pet foods.
it’s not just that they are using the same gluten.. they’re using the same gravy and chunks.. “menufoods” is a rendering and processing facility

Best answer:

Answer by DP
The big named companies aren’t serving the same food as the crappy companies, just in a different bag or can. They happen to be using the same wheat gluten, which is what they use to make the gravy, bind it together. Just cause they use the same gravy binder doesn’t make the quality of the foods all the same.. It depends on where the companies get their other ingredients and the quality of those ingredients.

I never considered Iams or Eukanuba to be a premium food, so my opinion hasn’t changed.

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Question by luvsgoldens: dogs fur is coming out in clumps, skin looks like more fur is growing in, changed food 2 months ago.?
no irritation of any kind. Could it be allergies?

Best answer:

Answer by violet46
my cats shed a lot, so it could just be that. But I would take your pooch to a vet just to be sure.

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Question by Mandy: My dogs seem to have skin allergy.Vets said its their food,i’ve changed many times.Anybody know e cure?
one of my dogs is a maltese, the other is a schnauzer. They didn’t have this problem when they were puppies.Seem to have surfaced when they hit adulthood….Their condition looks like what a human skin allergy—eczema. Medicine and change in diet don’t seem to work very well.

Best answer:

Answer by libertydogtraining
Try feeding Fish and Chips or Lamb Millet Rice formulas from Flint River. These are free of wheat, corn, chicken, by products, animal digest, dyes, sugars, and artificial preservatives that are often the cause of food sensitivities and allergies.

Both of these formulas are made to be non allergic, and are made with human grade ingredients, so more is digested, they eat less and there is less waste.

Good luck!

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