The least expensive French Bulldog I could find was more than $2K. My cousin told me she would drive 50 miles and kick my ass if I bought it, so I got a $500 Boston Terrier.
They are not cheap, I’ll give you that. If you ask me I think it’s mostly nervous breeders using cesarean section birth because other breeders do it, not necessarily done on a case by case basis. The breeder I got Buddy from mentioned “all his dogs were delivered by c-section” as though it was a proud badge of honor for his dogs or something. Then again, if I were a breeder trying to make money off champion lineage dogs, perhaps I would be nervous too.
Unregistered pups or those by non champion dogs can be much cheaper though, as are “Limited registration” pups whereby you can’t breed or show them after purchase. The best way to find one though is to rescue one in need.
What’s funny Lorini is I’ve run into several owners around my area and a lot of them have a Boston Terrier as well. I think their temperaments are pretty similar.
You should post a pic of your Boston!
Are, unfortunately, usually from a puppy mill.
Yeah, I have seen pups for around 1k around here. But, I would try to rescue one, it is way cheaper.
I thought they almost always had to be delivered by c-section due to the exaggerated shape of the dog? I love those little guys though! They’re such characters.
Also, yes let’s see some pics of the Boston!
Oh I just spotted this guy on the French Bulldog Rescue site:
Oh man I LOVE the lazy ear. He’s got a great expression.
So on Saturday we picked up Buddy (likely name). He’s an English Springer Spaniel (of the field type, I believe). Full waggly tail - yeah!
I’ll probably post pics later. Dog has been adorable and fun so far, until…
This morning - kids are at school, wife is off somewhere, and I’m in my home office, trying to concentrate. Dog is in cage in kitchen, barking, whining and crying. The home office is upstairs, but the sound carries well. It’s heart breaking that the Saddest Puppy in the World ™ is letting me know he wants to play. I tried having him roaming loose in the office, but it didn’t really work. I may try again at some point.
Congratulations on the pup!
The first night we crated our poodle this summer she wailed like a banshee. The second night she howled like a werewolf. The third night she slept quietly and ever since then she’s been thrilled to be in her crate, even going in there unbidden. Same thing happened with our German Shepherd when he was a pup nearly eight years ago. Crate training is essential and rest assured they eventually will love their little dog cave.
Congrats!
Don’t give into the whines. In fact, even if you were to head down there for a snack or lunch or whatever, its best to wait until he stops crying before entering the room. After a while, the will begin to see the crate/cage as their own little den and love being in there.
There are tricks to getting your dog to be calm in the office, mainly tethering him to a chair as part of a greater training program.
I’d highly suggest taking the puppy to some sort of training. There are plenty of humane and gentle dog trainers out there that can really help make the dog a happier, less destructive member of the household. If you get the puppies young, you can rely on positive reinforcement rather than resorting to harsher techniques like the Dog Whisperer does for problem dogs.
You’ll have an adolescent in the household in a few months, and if you can learn to communicate through the training, it’ll be far less stressful.
Trainer search:
http://www.apdt.com/petowners/ts/default.aspx
Its also good to ask around if you know anyone with dogs.
When whining got the best of me long after my first week I got a sonic dog bark training device. A plug in model that I sat about 5 feet outside of Buddy’s crate. About two weeks later he had settled down and stopped the nightly or unattended crying and I was able to remove it from the area. It worked wonders and I would recommend it highly. It has to be tuned just a bit, you can’t hear it, but they usually display when they are going off. So you have to wait until your dog is going at it and adjust the threshold to the appropriate point that it goes off. They are usually time delayed, so they don’t go off for a gentle bark, but will go off at incessant whining or barking.
I’m at work and don’t have the brand name of the one I used but again, it worked wonders for me. My dog is now well trained in the house though, so it’s no problem letting him come with me when I work upstairs, or crating him if I’m gone for a short period.
Congrats on your new dog Phil.
Grr now I want a french bulldog as well.
I would like to see pics when you get a chance, I feel flattered that you seemed to go with my suggestion on a dog.
Congrats on the puppy!
I cannot reiterate how important it is to get your dog proper training. You and your family will love your dog, but you’ll love your dog even more (and your dog will love you) if you invest time and effort in training the little guy. Even better, other people will admire the dog and enjoy being around it. Plus, you get admired for having such a well-trained dog.
We adopted a 4-year-old Border Collie from the local shelter. He’d been dumped, and while he’s a very nice boy, he does have some problems. We’ve taken him to the local Petco for basic obedience and we’ve contracted with a local trainer who uses operant conditioning, a positive training method with its roots in Skinner. While it was $100 for the 6-week Petco course and $45 per hour (but only if at least 2 lessons are booked for and paid for in advance) for the private training, I’d say that the private trainer has been nothing short of amazing. When she starts offering classes after the new year, I’ll definitely enroll Loki.
When we got Loki, he walked okay on a lead in the sense that he didn’t pull, but every time he saw a bicycle, he’d want to chase it. He barked his head off. Every time he sniffed a dog, he’d go into an alert stance; then when he saw the dog, he’d lunge forward, straining at the leash while barking. We couldn’t get him to listen to us. We’d be stuck holding the leash while he barked.
He still wants to chase bicycles, but I am convinced we can desensitize him to that stimulus. He still barks at other dogs, but for the most part, we’re able to distract his behavior. Additionally, he doesn’t bark at them when they’re at a distance. They have to be within 20 feet. This is a huge improvement. Petco didn’t teach us how to control him; our private trainer did. Instead of teaching us how to make the dog sit or lie down or stay, she first taught us how to get his attention, and how to help our dog change his response to the stimuli. Before we worked with the trainer, our dog would ignore what we wanted because he was more fixated on what he wanted. By rewarding him when he pays attention to us, we’ve helped our dog to associate doing what we want with a pleasurable outcome (treaties at first, then pets or other attention later).
Our trainer offers puppy classes, and I know from experience with puppies that early training does make a big difference in how they behave around both people and dogs. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get your puppy off on the right track with a reputable trainer who uses positive training methods. You may need to repeat the puppy training, or, if your trainer (like ours) has a problem-solving class, you may take your adolescent dog to that training. Adolescent dogs have a tendency to chew pretty much everything. Training can help you and your dog work through those awkward stages.
The payoff is a dog that everyone can enjoy. :)
–ceolstan
Phil, where are your dog pics!?
(Bumping this up because I have dogs on the brain at the moment, I am starting to do my own search for a doggy, and am probably taking my own advice and getting a Springer, I just need my SO to get on board with the idea as well.)
probably not thread relevant, but since this thread is full of dog lovers anyway:
Metro Dogs in Moscow
I’m a bit late I suppose, but everyone reading should also consider adopting a greyhound (or two, they come in pairs usually).
Here are a couple recent shots of mine.
This is Muenster, coming…
and going.
This is Mint. Note the very warm wool sweater.
Nice, they look happy. :)
Ezdaar has a jesus dog!