1. Check puppies temperature. Healthy pup should be 96 and 97 degrees F (35.5 and 36 C ) - if they are below make sure they go on the heating pad.
Take care not to overheat the puppy or warm it too quickly; this can be fatal in a weak puppy. If the puppy is to cold do not feed. their digestive system shuts of and this will be fatal to the pup.

2. Check puppies suckling reflex by inserting your finger in their mouths - puppies that seem weak and unable to suckle and or have milk come out their noses as they nurse - check for cleft palate. ( some healthy puppies overeat and have milk come out of their noses so do not stress over that)

If you notice cleft palate ( opening at the roof of the mouth) make a decision to euthanize a pup or to save the pup) Saving a pup means feeding your puppy with bottle or syringe every 1-2 hours in first week of like 2-4 hours until a pup is 4 weeks when they can learn to eat dry food and water. Cleft puppies cannot eat canned or mushy food. Click here to learn more about cleft palate : http://hennwood.tripod.com/cleft_pup_info.htm

3. Hydration - check if puppy is well hydrated by pressing skin between your fingers. If the skin stays in the position after you let go of your fingers or is slow to go back to place puppy is dehydrated. You need to give fluids under the skin. Get your vet to show you how to do it.

4. Take puppies weight for first few days - healthy pups should be gaining weight.

5. Bottle feeding.
Do not use powdered formula from the vet it is not good and puppy will not get adequate amount of calories.
This is a formula that I found on Leerburg’s site and I use and recommend:

# 10 oz. (300ml) of canned evaporated milk or goat’s milk (not pasteurized cow’s milk - this will cause scowers - dogs cannot drink normal cow’s milk) Goats milk is by far the best to use. Wall Mart sells it.

# 3 oz. (90ml)sterilized water (baby water or boiled water) this is not needed if using goat’s milk

# 1 raw egg yolk

# 1 cup of whole yogurt (avoid skim or fat free if at all possible)

# 1/2 Tsp Karo Syrup or Corn Syrup (NOT HONEY !!!)

You can keep it for 7 days in the fridge. Discard any unused formula do not keep in the bottle for longer the couple hours.

Make sure the formula is warm dogs are 101 degrees, do not feed cold formula to the puppies. Use baby bottles. Make larger hole in the nipple so when you turn the bottle up side down the milk will slowly drip out of it.
Feed often and in small amounts. Burp a pup after feeding by holding it upright on your shoulder and gently tapping on its back.

6. Make a puppy eliminate after you feed by gently massaging it’s belly and rectal area with a warm,wet towel. If a puppy fails to eliminate for a long time and you suspect constipation do an enema with warm water. You can use 4-5 cc’s in the small syringe. Then massage the belly.

7. Make sure that the room temperature is high and that it is not to dry you may use humidifier to make it easier for a pup to breathe.

8. Hypoglycemia can develop in puppies that are not nursing frequently. The sign is that the puppy is weak and depressed. Without treatment it can develop muscle twitches or seizures. You can place a drop of caro or corn syrup on tongue

9. If you hear that puppy have problems breathing or it is sneezing you need to give antibiotics - clavamox is the most popular one.
If you need to take the pup to the vet make sure you transport it in the box with heating pads. If the temperature drops it can be fatal for a young pup. They cannot regulate their temperature on their own.

Stage One of Labor:
During the first stage of labor the cervix begins to dilate and uterine contractions begin. These contractions are painful and perplexing to the dog. She will appear quite uncomfortable and restless - pacing, shivering and panting. She probably will not eat and she may even vomit. Some dogs whine persistently. Others occupy themselves building a nest. Uterine contractions, although occurring, are not as easy to see as in humans. This is the longest stage of labor. It generally lasts six to eighteen hours. By the end of this period the dog’s cervix will have completely dilated for the puppies to pass. During this period keep the mother’s environment quiet and calm. I usually shut them off in a darkened area such as the bathroom.

Around the age of 7 american bulldogs enter their ‘golden years”. The decisions you make about your american bulldog’s nutrition and exercise will have a great impact on your older american bulldog. You can help make the rest of your pets life healthier and happier. Although your american bulldog may not appear different at the age of seven, his or her nutritional and physical needs have changed enough that the feeding and excerise routine you have grown used to may not longer be ideal. You can reduce the risk of health problems and help your older pet live longer with regular vet care and nutrition that’s specifically designed for older dog.

Reduce Risks to your American Bulldog’s health

Some signs of disease may escape your observation or require sophisticated testing in order to be detected. Other signs are more easy to notice in the pet’s normal environment. To help your american bulldog to avoid the disease it’s a good idea to understand the signs associated with those disease conditions that are common in older american bulldogs.

SIGNS OF KIDNEY DISEASE:
-Loss of appetite
-Increased thirst
-Frequent urination
-Rare/no urination
-Poor hair coat
-vomiting

SIGNS OF HEART DISEASE:

-Coughing
-Difficulty breathing
-Shortness of breath
-Reduced exercise tolerance
-Noticeable weigh gain or weight loss

SIGNS OF OBESITY

-Joint problems
-Heart disorders
-Breathing difficulties

SIGNS OF URINARY TRACT DISEASE

-Frequent urination
-Straining to urinate
-Blood in in urine
-Weakness
-Loss of appetite
-Vomiting

Sometimes when you try to have a nice garden and an american bulldog the conflict is created. But there are some steps that you can take to make having a garden and a bulldog a possibility. Dogs have specific needs - reading breed description will give you a hint what your dog may do with your garden. Working Group dogs which american bulldog is a part of were historically bred to perform draft work like pulling or to guard. Some of the most basic questions concern american bulldogs are lawns. Turf is a toughest ground cover available, but even grass can’t withstand too much paw traffic in to small space. If you have little ground and american bulldogs your lawn will probably suffer. All you can do is to use good organic practices to keep the lawn as healthy as possible, and over seed frequently. And don;t expect to have that perfect lawn so popular in North American landscapes. Another problem are yellow spots created by dog urine. this one has some solutions. One effective solution is to rinse the spots with water after your american bulldog eliminates. Diluting urine changes it from the harmful substance to nitrogen reach fertilizer. You do not have to add water immediately you have several hours to do so before damage occurs. Humans learn to potty in particular location and dogs can do the same.Choose an area which will be your american bulldogs bathroom. It could be lawn, wood chips or any surface that your dog will accept. It should include some vertical surfaces for males to mark.A scented long blooming bush can be good and can mask the odors. If your dog was free to pee anywhere in the yard some retraining will be required. As when you were house training you need to take your dog on the leash go to designated area and wait for results . Remember to reward any elimination in the desired location.
Next problem is digging - from our experience american bulldogs are not diggers but if yours is try to give them space for digging. You can provide actual digging pit, choosing an area to fill with a combination of sand and dirt. Make this area as at least twice as long as your dog. Make sure it has good drainage and provide the shade. You need to make digging in the box reinforcing. Bury treats and toys in the sand. With your dogs observing go to the box and dig out the toy and share with the dog. If you ve been yelling at your dog for digging it may take some time to encourage him to dig in designated spot. If you see our dog digging anywhere else go to the sand box and dig out a treat.. Encourage and reinforce a wanted behavior.
Other potential problems like rolling in the plants may be avoided with a better choice of the plants
Good Luck and have fun in your garden with your american bulldog.

Based on

If you are going camping with your american bulldog it is important that your american bulldog is well behaved. Your american bulldog should be well socialized. You should know your american bulldog and recognize which situations will provoke aggression.
If you did not take your american bulldog to classes make sure that you change that. Training will make your american bulldog more obedient and will make you a better owner.

If your american bulldog is friendly to other dogs and animals it will make your life easier.
It’s not easy camping with american bulldog that is dog agressive, but it can be done, through a great deal of caution, sensitivity to surroundings and responsibility on the part of the owner.

CHECKLIST:

1.American Bulldogs have to VACCINATED - your american bulldog will encounter wildlife while camping - making sure that s/he has all shots is your responsibility before you go camping

2.Training classes - know your dog - know what makes him bark, what makes him scared, what makes him agressive - know the body language of your dog.

3.Keep your american bulldog on the leash at all times. Even if s/he is friendly they may come across an agressive animal

4.harness (for the seat belt)
You may be a wonderful driver, but many people aren’t. Plus, driving on poor and/or curvy roads can send your dog all over the insides of the car, if not through the windshield. I put my dogs each in a dog body harness, then run a seat belt through each harness. American bulldogs can sit or lay down, but can’t be thrown around the car. It also keeps them in the back seat, which is the coolest place in the truck, when I have to run into a store or something.

If you have a truck with a bed and don’t allow your american bulldog in the cab (which, in my opinion, is ridiculous, but…), please purchase a dog carrier and put your american bulldog in it when he or she travels with you; the carrier should offer your dog just enough room to stand up and turn around in, but no more. Dogs die from falling or jumping out of the bed of a truck, from being thrown against the cab during a sudden stop; even leashing them to something in the bed of the truck is no protection, as dogs have also hung themselves while trying to jump out. A dog carrier is the ONLY humane way to travel with your dog in the bed of your truck. Padding the floor, ceiling and sides offers even better protection.

You may have taken your american bulldog in the bed of your truck, unprotected, a dozen times, or even a hundred times, and never had any problems. So have all the people who now have dead dogs from riding unprotected in the bed of their trucks.

Pet photography is not as easy as people think - it is hard work. There is few rules that if followed will make your pictures to stand out. In photography lighting is very important - watch the lighting if you want to make good photographs.

OUTDOOR LIGHTNING:
The bets time to make a picture of your bulldog outdoors is early in the morning or in the evening - that’s when lighting is best for outdoor photography. Full sun in the middle of the day creates very heavy contrast and shadows. If you have to photograph in the middle of the day watch for overcast days or work in the shadow - this way you will avoid the dramatic shadows and pictures being overexposed.

INDOOR LIGHTING:
A lot of people uses flash when photographing their american bulldogs - this often makes eyes to appear red or green. Try to locate your dog by the natural light source and take pictures then - the results will be a lot better.

Even with great equipment and lighting conditions getting a good shot of your american bulldog is challenging - dogs move and do not hold their ” beautiful” positions for as long as we need them to. I shoot as many pictures as I can and do not try to frame it perfectly for to long because u may never have a chance to get it again. There is a lot of “chance” in photographing pets.

Patience is huge - if you get frustrated with your dog s/he will become nervous and will move even more often or their expression will say - look I am not sure what u are doing but I don;t like it

The pros needs assistants to handle all sorts of things. If you can get somebody to hold a squeaky toy your dog will have a great ” alert” expression and will look the way you want it to look.

if you will take a picture from dog’s eye level it will create more intimacy and the dog will look more proportional. Also make sure you zoom in this creates intimacy as well.
have fun and good luck getting great pictures … and hopefully sending them to us to post on the blog

Few of my favorite photos:

Based on Article by Jeff Grognet, DVM Dogs in Canada 2008

Heart worm was recognized in North American over hundred years ago.Since then a lot of progress was made but vet’s still find patients with this disease. Some dog owners do not implement prevention programs.If their dogs become infested then the whole dog population is in danger.
Heart worm are eight to ten inches long spaghetti like worms. they feed of nutrients from blood. The larvae are found in mosquitoes - they are ready to infest the next mammalian host. The larva then enters the bloodstream and starts migration process eventually becoming a heart worm in a blood vessel. They can live up to six years. Only few heart worms are actually living in the animal’s heart most of them live in blood vessels in the lung and heart passage. They do not completely block the blood flow but they are obstacles - the heart has to work harder to pump the blood so the result is a heart failure.

A few worms in the artery do not normally trigger symptoms, however if the number rises the dog can have a cough, be reluctant to excersies, may fatigue easier. A heart worm infested dog is thing and has poor muscling and scruffy coat.
Vets use blood tests to determine if the dog is infested with heart worm. If the dog does have a heart worm treatment is complicated and expensive. The options for heart worm prevention are tablets that are give monthly. We used Revolution - that also works well in the light Demodex cases.

* Topical once-a-month parasiticide for dogs.
* Provides systemic treatment against a broad spectrum of external and internal parasites.
Approved Uses
Revolution® (selamectin) is approved for:
* Use in dogs 6 weeks of age or older against the following parasites: adult fleas, flea eggs, heartworm, ear mites, sarcoptic mites, and American dog tick.
* Killing adult fleas and preventing flea eggs from hatching for one month, and indicated for prevention and control of flea infestations (Ctenocephalides felis).
* Prevention of heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis.
* Treatment and control of ear mite (Otodectes cynotis) infestations.
* Treatment and control of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei).
* Control of American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) infestations.
Key Features
* Revolution is a prescription-only medicine, not a pesticide.
* Broad-spectrum protection against most internal and external parasites.
* Kills adult flea and their eggs.
* Fast, simple and easy to use.
* Because of the low-volume dosage size, the solution can be applied in one spot.
* Non-greasy, quick-drying preparation.
* Bathing pet 2 hours after application does not affect efficacy.
* Available in 6 convenient dosage sizes in no-drip disposable tubes