Wordless Wednesday

So sweepy!

Are we the pharmacy?

We have an even more extensive routine right now at feeding time...mostly at dinner. I've started Hudson on herbals for his skin, though its looking stellar right now. Erm, maybe not stellar, but vastly improved. Regardless, he now has echanacea and fish oil with dinner. We've also added coconut oil and now are back to puppy food to help pack on the pounds.
Meanwhile our foster is being treated for possible causes of his diarrhea lsat week, so he gets two and a half pills hidden in your standard grocery store cheese balls. We also concoct a probiotic and deworming powdered medication in yogurt he eats every night.
Dinner is quite a production at our house. If you need free entertainment, come on by!

39 days til Lenape!

Hudson and I are strongly against cold weather. We prefer not to have to go out in it. Though I will admit, it does make his morning potty break go a lot faster. ;)

We've been a little consumed with our foster lately, he had a nasty bout of diahrrea. That's right, bulldogs are not all glamour. (Just mostly!) Poor Hudson tries so hard to do things for him that when there were accidents in his crate, he would look very guilty, but it wasn't his fault! Silly Hudson! I'm not sure how we got to have such a good little boy.

Hudson has been improving on his lead. We've been back to our nylon one, and he tends to listen pretty well with that one. He fights me a lot less when we're outside, so hopefully it'll continue to be better and better.

Yesterday, Chris made a fabulous cheese soup. It had 2 and a quarter pounds of cheese in it! We gave Hudson some (a very small amount). I hope it stuck to his bones! He's gained a little weight. He's up to 54, but we still need more. His proportions are good, but he needs to be just a little bigger. He definitely doesn't mind the extra food and treats.

We're also are about to finish our first 6 weeks of Atopica. After that we should be able to tell if its working and we can go to every other day. I think it has helped to a certain extent, but I'm nervous it won't be enough. I'm not entirely sure all his hair will be back in 39 days from now. As long as we don't get any new infections, it should.

I'm waiting anxiously, hoping that the local contact gets back to me about some practice in the ring. Official handling classes don't start until Feb for the Celtic Classic, so I might not get any "professional help" until after Lenape. *sigh*

Also, stay tuned about our family growing.... but don't start any rumors! :)

43 Days til Lenape!

I was disgusted with myself at nationals this year. Try as he might, my husband could not get me off my pedastal and I was sorely disappointed. Going in a little nervous is much better than thinking things will be great. Don't get me wrong, by the time I got there and was waiting to go on, I was shaking, nervous, and totally messed up Hudson's game. I'm finally going to suck it up and take some classes to improve myself. And keep working at my stacking.

So in 43 days is our next venture, The Lenape Bulldog Club's show. It's not too far from home, so that's good. It will be one of our last opportunites to participate in the 15-18 month class, so I want to try to get a point or two before we move to open, or our time might get even harder.

I wish I had jumped on this bandwagon a lot sooner. It will definitely be different with the next one, that's for sure.

My next bully is going to be coming from Kaigan in Virginia. The breeder, Laurel, is absolutely fabulous, and her dogs are beautiful. She's originally a Mastiff breeder (also beautiful), but she told me she's considering going exclusively bulldog. Her last litter was picture perfect, each one was show quality.

I'm also getting a lot of great advice on Hudson and how to better him for the ring. He needs to gain some weight, probably about 6 lbs. Thankfully, there are sometimes boys that mature this slowly, as bullies can take up to 2 years to come into their full grown status.

I need to get some pictures up here soon! I have yet to even look at the ones from nationals that Chris took. We did get fourth place (of four), so we got a ribbon and some other fun goodies, but I plan to do a lot better in 43 days!

Nationals...only 6 days left!

When I decided to enter the BCA Nationals show (Bulldog Club of America), I promised myself it was just for fun, there was no pressure, and there was no way Hudson was going to win anything. I wanted the most stressful part of the day to be the traffic and how Hudson looked. Until I got the judging program...

I decided to enter the Amateur Owner-Handler's class thinking it might be a good way for me to show along with other people who were as shaky in their showing as I am after only two tries and no training or classes. I expected this to be a pretty big entry since the president of our rescue group and a long time bulldog owner, breeder, and judge told me there are some pretty...interesting...entries at nationals. Out of 457 entries, we are competing against...4.

There's five in our class. Which means a better chance of a win and a point. Pressure's on!

I am feeling confident in Hudson's looks. We've changed him to an all raw, home-made diet (yes, cutting up the meat and veggies ourselves from the people grocery store) and he's bulked up in all the right places. He looks fantastic! But we did just start him on atopica, which has had his mood a little weird. He's more hyper, and I'm hoping I can get him to focus in the ring, something that's not normally an issue for him. I guess the only way to find out is to go and do it and see what happens.

I also found out there's going to be streaming video live and then a video done afterward that will show Hudson's name, mine, breeder etc. I'm sure I'll look oh so beautiful after a 2 hour car ride that will take at least 3 hours.

Despite everything that will probably go awry that day, I'm very excited. It'll be good to get Hudson back out in the show ring, and I'm going to be meeting up with a lot of people that I never met in person/haven't seen in a long time. But that's kind of the point of nationals for any breed.

In other news, one of our fosters finally has a new home. He's going there on Friday, and we're very excited both for him and the new owner. It'll be his first bulldog, so he's doomed for life now! ;) I had to laugh when he found out we only had a year of bulldog experience. Apparently, we've taken this thing way too seriously.

I'm dog people.

Maternal Instincts

A lot of people give us a hard time about Hudson because he requires so much care and because we treat him like our child. But if you really knew...

Even my mother-in-law, who used to make her own colostomy bags for her younger son when he was under a year old, is blown away by our regimes for Hudson.

So, to all the moms out there, you tell me how I (we) rate.

Hudson had his first check up at the doctor, but has been back at least 6 times for his skin, once for an ear infection, and once for a viral cold. Minus his wellness check, he has gotten at least one course of antibiotics each time. He is 15 months old.

Hudson gets a bath every other day. One of those per week is with a special medicated shampoo followed by a medicated lotion/leave-in conditioner.

We try to clean his ears 2-4 times a week. Sometimes every day. It falls in line with his skin problems, though he has healthy ears for a bully with skin problems.

EVERY DAY we:
Clean his facial folds with a baby wipe and apply Balmex in the creases to deter moisture and yeast growth.

Wipe his puppy "weiner" and butt after EVERY potty trip.

Clean (with a baby wipe) his "hot spots" on his skin and spray with Vetricyn (a topical antibiotic). When he's not on steroids, we apply a topical one like cortisone.

Give 2 tabs of benedryl with both meals. (Side note: With our fosters, we use 12 tabs of benedryl a day in our house!)

After EVERY time he drinks water, we wipe his chin. (This is more for our house and clothing than him, but it does help with his puppy acne!)

Now we're adding a raw food to his feeding schedule. It should help with his skin and to bulk him up while he's growing. We want to really make sure we make the most out of those broad shoulders. So we have to thaw that in the fridge when we feed it. Every other day for now at dinner time.

So if you, or any of your friends, are looking for a bulldog, they are the best pets ever and I do all this without really thinking about it, but you have to keep in mind that they do consume your time. ...And my bulldog is still considered relatively healthy compared to how he'd be were he poorly bred.

So when we had our puppy check when Hudson was 9 weeks old and I was holding him against my chest rocking him without realizing it, and our vet said he'd be our child, I didn't quite realize to what extent.

And I wouldn't give him up for the WORLD!

-Jacki

Busy Bully!

Well, I stink at updating this. I pictured it almost like a baby book when I started it with tons of updates, pictures, and all the bells and whistles. But we've been busy!

Since I last blogged, we've been on hiatus from the show world for many reasons, mainly Hudson's skin problems. Just my luck, Hudson has an immune deficiency of his skin, and is unable to fight off the normal bacteria carried in his fur and on everyone's hands. We've had several bouts of yucky skin, but this one has been the worst. Finally, with steroids, and antibiotics, and antifungals (oh my!) we're making some progress.

I plan to rejoin the world of dog shows on the 22nd with an all breeds show to practice up for Hudson's entry in the BCA (Bulldog Club of America) Nationals in November. It'll be right near DC (ka'ching on the hotel) and it's a 2 day for us. Sweeps on Monday, Open on Tuesday. I got a brand new leather show lead a couple weeks ago that I absolutely love. I have potential entries I want to make through May of 2012. I'm going to be busy show woman shortly.

Hudson has also learned to be a foster brother to 2 bullies that have come to join us. Balou is a year old, only 2 months younger than Hudson, and a wild man. Hudson taught him some rules and which trees in our yard are good to poop on. This week Elvis came to join us, a 7-year-old who is spunky...for five minutes then goes and lays down in his crate. He can really shake his hips, just like his namesake. He keeps us laughing. He makes the best "MAKE ME" face ever! Typical bulldog.

We've had our hands full between rescue, Hudson's health, and regular life, but off I am to earn Hudson's 15 championship points, the ultimate goal. Then coming shortly after...a baby "sister" for Hudson. But she shouldn't be called his sister...because they're going to make baby bullies and that's just weird! So it'll be his lady.

I am having a bully-ful life and so is Hudson! We love it!

It's Showtime!!!

We have another one coming up, so it's well overdue to post pics from our very first show!

We traveled to Edison, New Jersey for a specialty show - all bulldogs. It was our first one, so we weren't expecting anything special. We did leave with a ribbon, since there were only 2 in his group - himself and another bully. Now don't be upset that we got 2nd, the other dog showed better and was closer to confirmation. AND a gracious winner.
Anyways...on to the pics!!!

Hudson travels well. I just can't say anything more...take a look...

When we got there, we had to get some shut eye - I mean, look how hard he was working above! ;) We got a king sized bed, since that's what we have at home. We knew it might be tough for Hudson to transition to a night without his normal crate. Yup. Tough....

After some rest, it was showtime! As I tell everyone, Hudson wasn't used to a nonsocial situation with other dogs. He was very interested at first to get to know the other dog. "I'm gonna be in the show. Are you gonna be in the show? I hope it starts soon so we can be done and eat!"

We had sweepstakes (a for fun match where you can win money! 9 dollars! Woot!!) and regular show, so we lined up twice!

Going round the ring....

Gaining some focus...

Up on the judging table!

Waiting for our numbers...

We're number 2!!!!!!

We had a great time! I was so proud of Hudson. Even though it was his first time and he's still just a puppy, he did it like the champ he'll soon be!
We'll be competing again in an all breeds show on Sunday! Pics to follow!

Champion Heritage

If you know anything about me, it's certainly not that I'm always on time with things. I'm such a procrastonator. So before our move in October, I put Hudson's AKC paperwork in a safe place. Last week when I went to look for it, it took a few attempts to track down that safe place. But, finally, we sent everything in for him. A standard after a dog is registered with the AKC is to get a three generation pedigree.

With the help of google, I was able to track at least 10 generations back on Hudson's dad's side. Most of his paternal side is Hugarian or Spanish and are international champions. In fact, one of his great (a couple greats) grandfather was a WORLD champion in 1999.

I had no idea that Hudson had such champion bloodlines, though because he has such good confirmation, I'm not really surprised. But just because he's a champ child doesn't mean he doesn't have a huge personality.

Here's how he felt about his face cleaning routine before bed last night:

soooooooooooooooooooo sleepy! This wrinkle cleaning's for the birds...

-Jacki

A Big Boy

Wow, it's been forever since I've updated.

Well, let's see. Our little puppy that was put on the scales at the kennel for a final weight before left at 10 lbs is now over 50 pounds! He's all muscle and still lots of extra skin.

I think there are a lot of exciting things coming up for Hudson. We're going to be joining a local bulldog club. I'd like to pass the canine good citizen test. We'd like to have Hudson become a therapy dog, so he can bring happiness to hospitals, nursing homes, and children's...everything! The bigger goals are confirmation (dog shows) and studding a litter. (Aww, little Hudson's!)

So far, Hudson's been very good at being a bulldog. We've been to the vet at least once a month. He's had an upper respiratory infection, a hefty ear infection, and he's working on some skin problems right now. Hopefully they end now. I can handle all those things, they're minor (take a lot of time, but not a big deal). I don't want to have hip dysplasia or any other structural problems. Then he can't be a Daddy.

I will try to be more regular with my posts. Hudson is the center of my world (sorry Chris), but I often have too much fun playing and don't take the time to post.