Puppies due soon!!!! Eeeek! Day 53 update...

Hi guys!

As you may know, I have been away for a little while as my hands have been so full. My girl, Ellie Bear, is expecting a litter of puppies in about 10 days!!! So exciting...

This picture is from my previous litter, with Fiddy (my other girl that I kept) and Ernie their brother.

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I am a Bulldog Breeder in the UK. My ethos is that I strive to produce healthy, happy puppies from health tested parents ONLY.

Bulldogs have been badly bred over the years which has resulted in some major health issues and I wanted to make a difference in the breed, so I decided that I would set myself a very high standard of breeding practices. But I have come to firmly believe my 'rules' should be the norm for all breeders, it isn't that hard to stick to.

My Breeding 'Rules'

I health test all my girls if I am thinking of breeding from them and if they don't pass the veterinary tests, they will not be bred from.

I also choose only the best studs who are also health tested and try to make sure their COI (inbreeding scores) are as low as possible, to widen the gene pool. Bulldogs in this country tend to be very closely related, so any health issues are easily passed down through the generations and can become widely spread, so it is important to try and widen the gene pool as much as possible.

Here is Ellie on the right with my chosen stud Stanley on the left. This picture was taken by Charles Bradbury, a good friend of mine who is also Stanleys owner.

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Colour Breeding Issues

I only breed standard colours. These so called 'rare colours' ie blues and Merle's etc are not in the bulldog genes, which basically means if you see a Merle bulldog, it has another breed in it so it is not actually a pedigree bulldog.

Mixed breeds in themselves are not a bad thing. In fact I have owned a few mixed breeds in the past myself. What I disagree with is the stupidly high prices that people charge for these colours and state that they are pedigree bulldogs, when they are not. People are being lied to and fooled out of huge amounts of money. We are talking 10's of thousands of pounds in some cases!

Merle Bulldogs also have another quite scary issue which is even more important that the extortionate prices charged. A high percentage of Merle bulldogs are born with defects. Heart murmurs, deafness, blindness, organ failures and neurological diseases. These are not always picked up straight away so the puppies are sold for their cute colour, then 6 months later, they die. Some don't even make it to 6 months and are discarded at birth.

So there you have it, my breeding 'rules' if you like.

Ellie Update

Ellie is currently Day 53 of 63 and is coping really well. We had a couple of scans done and she is carrying a large litter, so I have been extremely cautious with her. She has regular checkups at the vet and she has 24 hour observation.

She is getting rather large now so eating is becoming more difficult for her. I feed her small amounts throughout the day so it is easier for her to digest. She also has a little nutri-gel to make sure she is getting all of the nutrients that she needs as the babies will be taking all the 'good stuff' from her.

Picture taken on day 50...

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I had an Xray done the other day to determine an exact number, however the calcification wasn't far enough along to determine a definitive figure, but we think she is carrying between 8 - 9 from previous ultrasound scans.

Ellie will be allowed to attempt to self whelp as she is a good size, fit and healthy and there should be no reason to do an elective c section. If there are any signs of her struggling however, she will be immediately taken to the vet for assistance. I work very closely with my vet, she is also a good friend, and has agreed to be on call for me if i need her during the night. She doesn't usually offer this to clients so I am extremely grateful for this offer. I think I have to pay my additional fee's in expensive chocolates

I can feel the babies wriggling at this point which is so magical and has to be my favorite part of the pregnancy! If you watch very closely, you can actually see them moving around too!

Keep watching for updates, I will be posting regularly and can't wait to show you all her beautiful babies when they arrive!

Thank you so much for stopping by, much love Cheryl & Ellie

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A huge thank you to @zord189 for my bouncing bullies signature!

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Hi Cheryl ohhhhhh she is so adorable roundy pregnant ( I was like that to hahaha ) Stan has bigger hanging cheeks is that always with males?
We have Gordon setters and the breading line come from Scotland. For the blog Maybe add the tag dogsofsteemit to the blog it’s so nice. I will resteem these adorable babies and mum and I will put you on my watchlist, like Meghan delivered today I hope that Elly does too and gives birth to royal beauties aswell
Good luck grandma haha haha for you it’s exciting too
Love Britt

Sounds like an exciting few days coming up hope all goes well and no complications. I just noticed your REP at 25 ? What the hell happened or is it just a infamous steemit error? Looks like it was an error , I refreshed the page and it was back to 65. Scared me for a minute.

Fiddy and Ernie...their puppydog eyes are to die for!! <3

How exciting! Baby Bullies!

Congratulations on keeping the breeding up to par. I am so disappointed in what is the standard for breeding nowadays. Your Ellie looks so very elegant in the picture of her and her intended, Stan. Everyone wants a healthy, happy dog, but few will go the distance.

She looks so ready to deliver! I guess I didn't realize they had that big a litter! That sounds like a huge little! You said it was large, but, what is the normal amount they have?

Good luck with her delivery!!

!tip

These are the cutest things. Little Taurus babies coming. How appropriate. Poor Ellie is enormous. (Do you think she'll ever forgive you?) And if Stanley doesn't look like Winston Churchill ... so ponderously dignified ... you'll never find one who does.

They really are so cute! <3
I hope she does forgive me, I will be bribing her with treats and even more cuddles if now lol I am sure she will be an amazing mummy, she is such a gentle soul!
Stan the man is amazing isn't he!

Stan the man is amazing isn't he!

He absolutely is!!!

Oh wow... totally cute! I'm not such a fan of the older bulldogs... but those puppies are so adorable! So, breeding is a job that is possible to live from? I guess if purebreeds are going for tens of thousands of pounds then that would definitely possible... although, i can't imagine people paying that much for a dog! (that said... I know people can't believe violins made of old wood go for something similar or more....).

I'm pretty excited for you and Ellie! Puppies are just so cool.

I don't know exactly how EKC works, but AKC is very near to 'self regulating' when it comes to colors. Breeders do their own record keeping so 'off colors' come into being. White German Shepard and Blue Doberman come right to mind.

I obviously like the hybrid vigor of mixed breed dogs, Sam is a great example. I've also owned a few purebred dogs, too. The truth is, I'm not interested in breeding so most are neutered early. The exception was my Springer who had a field trials winning mother and a 'companion dog' winning father with AKC national champs on both sides. I rented him out twice....

Great post! Good to see you. Looking forward to puppy pictures. Lots of puppy pictures.

Hey Big T! Great to see you too! :D
The KC here in England does register non standard colour, but does not register (or *should not) register merle bulldogs as they shouldn't even be in the genes and they often come with horrific illnesses. Non standards are registered as NRC (Not recognised colour) but often advertised here in the UK as rare, which they most definitely are not. It is amazing the lengths people will go to for money. Sad but true.
Lots of puppy pics on the way when I am able to see straight through the lack of sleep! hehe

hey there, not sure if you are still around or on steem but i just started to follow this youtube and he has a bulldog, you might like his content, he's a van dweller in canada! cheers!

Good luck with the upcoming arrival of all the puppies, sounds like Ellie has health on her side, a doting mother on standby to assist her.

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