I have 2 girls both in season at the same time! As a Bulldog Breeder, I am used to this.
What most people don't realise is that when you own 2 female dogs that have not been spayed, they tend to come into season together. This can cause friction as they are both raging with hormones and want to dominate their space, so I have to keep a close eye on them at all times to make sure there is no fighting going on.
My girls are currently 15 months old and according to the KC rules, I could breed them as they are older than 12 months. I choose NOT to breed them yet because I feel they are still too immature and I want them to enjoy being a puppy for a while longer.
Since they were born, they have had a number of health tests to see if they are suitable to breed from in the future. My ethos is to only breed from health tested girls, and with the aim to improve on the parents. I am very selective on who I mate them with to make sure I am doing my very best to produce healthy happy puppies.
It is important to have good breeding ethics, especially when past breeders have done so much damage to them. For the last 20 or so years, the Bulldog Breed Council has worked tirelessly to try to educate breeders and give them the tools and knowledge to reverse the damage done by bad breeding in the past.
The breed has come on leaps and bounds since all the hard work put in by the ethical breeders. Bulldogs have been tested for breathing, eye issues, HUU status (bladder crystals). Patella scores(knees) and many other optional tests.
By using these tests, breeders can choose breeding pairs responsibly and improve the future health of the English Bulldog.
I will not be looking at having a litter for another 10 months or so, but when I do look at breeding the girls, I will only do so if I can find a stud that compliments them and also has the same or even better level of health testing.
I want to say that there are so many dogs out there in need of a home already, so if you are in a position to do so, please adopt rather than buy a puppy. We do need ethical breeders to ensure the health of future generations, but the dogs in shelters need you now.
Thank you for reading. Much love, BB xx
