Description:

Kari looks like she belongs on the cover of a puppies calendar, in fact, she’s so cute, she’d probably have a great career as a puppy centerfold if she wasn’t so busy licking your neck and soliciting belly rubs.  She is friendly with everyone, and one of her favorite things is waiting for all the kids to come tumbling through the school gate and crowd around petting her belly.  She loves to play also—tug of war, chase, or chase the ball.  Her favorite ball is a whiffle ball that skitters away from her when she pounces on it on the wood floor.  She also loves to run around the backyard, chasing the kids, or roughhousing with another puppy, or just exploring.

Housetraining:  The spirit is willing, but the bladder is small.  Kari knows “go potty” and will go immediately when you take her out.  She doesn’t go in her crate or pen, and when she does have an occasional accident, it’s usually because we didn’t get our shoes on fast enough to get her out the door.  One thing we’ve learned is to tell her “go potty” again before coming inside after she’s been playing in the yard for a while.  During the day she needs to go out every few hours, and at night she can hold it about 7 or 8 hours.  She whines in her crate when she has to go.

Puppy proofing:  Like any puppy, Kari loves to chew.  She hasn’t chewed anything up in our house, but we’ve taken a lot of things out of her mouth!  Every time she runs through the house she comes up with a shoe or sock in her mouth.  It’s quite humorous, but also lets us know she’s not ready to roam around unless your house is really puppy proofed.  We crate her when no one is home and overnight, and if she is well exercised, she doesn’t mind the crate.  When we’re home but not playing with her, she stays in a 2 ft. high pen in the main living area where she can see all the action.  We’ve discovered that she can CLIMB out of the pen if no one is looking—literally up the side of the pen like a little monkey.

Daily schedule:  

6 am—wake up and go potty

6-7:30—stay in pen, watching everyone get ready for the day

7:45—breakfast (1 cup Costco Puppy chow), then potty again

8:00—1 mile (total) walk to school and back

8:45-11:00 nap, quiet rest

11-12 play in the yard

12-2 stay in pen, snoozing off and on

2:30—the same 1 mile walk to school and back

3-4:30—resting in the pen, watching homework get done

4:30-5:30 play in the yard

5:30 or 6—dinner (1 cup Costco Puppy chow), then back outside to potty

6-7 playing inside with the kids

7-10 —she falls asleep in her pen.  She seems to like to fall asleep with a little bustle and noise around her, then I wake her to go potty one last time, and I put her in her crate for the night.

 

Exercise:  You can see, she gets a lot of exercise, and she really needs it.  When she doesn’t get enough exercise, she whines for someone to play with her and tries to push her whole pen around the room to get to what she wants.  She’ll tip over her water, start chewing on her towels, climb the side of the pen, etc.  She’s a very strong, determined girl, and although she is submissive and a smart, fast learner, if she doesn’t get enough exercise she can quickly become a handful!

Commands:  She knows “go potty,” “uh-uh,” “come,” “sit,” and “down.” She’s very reliable with “come” in the yard or in the house, but I haven’t tested it in a strange location or with distractions.  We always do, “come--sit--down”, in a row, so she knows when you call her to come she should come and sit in front of you.  Down she only does with the hand signal—she hasn’t perfected that one yet.  She’s working on “gimme the ball.” 

Kari was found as a stray. She is very affectionate. She's going to be a big girl, because she's got these big ol' bulldog feet. In fact, her feet are out of proportion to the rest of her--it's like she's wearing clown shoes. We think it just adds to her charm.

According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, early Bulldogs were used in the bloody sport of bull bating. Some of these dogs emigrated with their masters from England to America. Eventually the English Bulldog was bred down in size and his personality was softened, but the American version remained a larger, fiercer dog. The American version has longer legs and more speed and agility than the English show dog. Thanks to the efforts of John D. Johnson of Summerville, Georgia the American Bulldog exists today. After he returned from WW II he was disappointed to find that, like the English Mastiff, they were almost completely extinct. He then decided to gather the best he could find from all across the rural south and bring them back from the brink of extinction. He has been breeding these dogs longer than anyone else in the world and his father bred them before him. He is an old man now (in his 80's) and these dogs have always existed in his family. He is the sole reason why they exist today. If it were not for his efforts they surely would be gone. He has been breeding them non-stop since then. The American Bulldog has also been used as a guard and in hunting bear, wild boar, squirrel and raccoon. They have even been trained to drive cattle and guard stock from predators. Farmers prize these dogs for their stamina, protectiveness, intelligence and working abilities. Some of the American Bulldogs talents are hunting, watchdogging, tracking, weight pulling, and guarding. An American Bulldog should never be confused with uniquely different breeds such as the American Staffordshire Terrier or the American Pit Bull Terrier. The American Bulldog is a brave and determined, but not hostile dog. Alert and self-confident, this breed genuinely loves children. It is known for its acts of heroism towards its master. These dogs have fought wild dogs, bulls and even fire. It is said "fighting off one of these dogs is like fighting an animal that possesses an alligator's head and a python's body." Yet when called off by their handler, they immediately obey. No wonder they are said to have "true grit, true devotion and true love." Because of its strong protective instincts, the American Bulldog should be well-socialized and obedience trained at an early age. Some may be aggressive with other dogs and reserved with strangers. They need to be around people to be truly happy. This breed tends to drool and slobber. They have a life expectancy of up to 16 years.