Bulldogs World

Alot of bullies die each summer from 2 things 

1) Heat

2) Pools (drowning)

However - there are some that are the exception to the rule - My Wife had a bully when her kids were toddlers (they are adults now) and Brenda would swim all the time in their pool -  however - a word of caution as 'most' tend to sink as they arent designed for swimming -

now what type of Life Vest ....  I think we gotta get Shannon's attention on this, cause 'Winston' is her swimming buddy, and has a life vest

Hopefully she will see this subject, if not..look for her, and private message her -  she goes by  SHANNON and WINSTON  :)-

Here is MacKenzie sporting his Ruffwear.  These are nice fitting lifevests for bulldogs and yes she will still be able to swim in it.  She looks about 40 lbs  so a medium should fit her nicely.

Many bulldogs can swim.  I have a friend that lives in Hawaii and her bulldogs are/were great swimmers, but for the most part they will sink. My Esters brother drowned in a pool.  All of mine have been able to swim, if they can they will tire quickly so it is very important to be right they if they need help.  Never leave them unattended around a pool.

My Stella went off the end of the dock at my uncle's cottage and was heading right for the bottom of the lake.  Her little legs were paddling like crazy but just couldn't generate the jet propulsion needed.  Luckily, my dad was right there.  After that, she was never without her life vest when she was around anything deeper than a puddle.  I would definitely invest in one for your girl...  I'd just be too scared.  Ours was from Outward Hound.

Here she is in her vest - dressed up for Halloween  :)

Winston is a water bully at heart.  If he is near a pool (doesn't matter if it is a kiddie pool, real pool, or an inflated pool full of ice and water acting as a cooler...) he JUMPS in.  I cannot, for the life of me, keep that dang dog OUT of the pool (surprisingly, he HATES baths...but that's another topic all together). 

We have a "Bodyglove" life jacket.  Petsmart carried them one summer and I bought it for him after the first experience at the pool (he chased a tennis ball to the edge of the pool and without pause jumped in after the ball).  Fortunately we were right there and my boyfriend jumped in right after him and got him out of the pool about 15 seconds after he lept in.  Of course we were terrified, but Winston LOVED it and turned around and jumped right back in.  Nut.  That afternoon I went on a hunt to find him a lifejacket.

Here is what I look for in a lifejacket for a bully: a belly strap, or "band" around the belly as well as a couple straps to help keep the lifejacket on and in place around their roly-poly bodies.  You will probably want to try on a couple, you don't want one that is too long for the length of her body, otherwise she'll have a hard time keeping her head above the water line.  You also want a strap around the chest under her head, that'll keep the jacket in place and prevent her from "swimming out" of it (their short little legs move so much to try to move them around the pool that jackets without the belly and chest straps will slip off them).  Most have a handle on the top of the jacket, while it's a nice feature, don't count on it in an emergency.  Winston's handle is just attached to the cover fabric, not the actual foam, so if were in a situation where he was in trouble and we tried to pull him out with the handle alone it would just tear and he'd fall back in to the water.

The most important thing is to ALWAYS be with your bully when you're close to water.  Especially since she's shown an affinity for the water.  Even though he loves the pool, he does get tired quickly and eventually stops kicking with his back legs.  Even with the life jacket on if he doesn't kick with his back legs he begins to slowly sink...so if he's in the pool, we're in the pool.  No exceptions. He'll throw a dramatic fit if we're in the pool and he's NOT in the pool, but we do enforce regular "breaks" for him so he doesn't get too tired/hot/thirsty.

Have a blast with your new bully!  She's a real beauty!! :)

Here's a decent picture I have of Winston and his life jacket:

And here he is in a baby pool IN the big pool being pushed around to his hearts content by my boyfriend (yes, I know this makes us dorks):

Mine sunk!   Terrifying!    We never put them in the backyard without accompanying them because we have had accidents that happened out of nowhere.   We have had to jump in fully clothed to rescue them a few times.     The bulldog we have now has never fallen in though, thank goodness!!! 

I have a life jacket for Riley, although she never challenges the tanning ledge.   She walks back and forth along her safe area and never attempts to get in.    Other bulldogs have tried to join our 3 labs... unsuccessfully.    The life jacket doesn't work 100% though, as their upper body is so heavy that the head can be dipped into the water.   I have a new one this year that has more lift under the chin... hoping Riley will give it a try.

On a very sad note... we know someone who recently lost their bulldog in their backyard pool.    It happens FAST!

Our little bulldog girl is a well loved family member and we actually bought a home with a pool for her since she loves to swim so much.  We even lucked out and have a saline pool which is much better for her eyes and skin! She has been swimming in pools, lakes, and at dog beaches since she was a pup.  It helped that when we were at the beach once when she was a pup we met a rotweiler breeder who had her six dogs there and our bulldog swan with them in the water and the dogs were very nice to her so it wasn't a problem:)  Casey is a great swimmer but a with a few caveats.  She will swim for so long she actually falls asleep while swimming and her eyes start to close so we take her out and put her to bed.  She also has a very annoying habit of barking at the ripples in the pool and barking at you when you are in the pool!  We have a life jacket for her which she doesn't need but use it as a precaution and so she doesn't get tired so quickly.  The life jacket we have has a belly band and float piece under the neck to keep her chin and face above the water.  I agree with the previous poster about the handle.  We have used it in the past but the handle tends to tear. The brand is outward hound and the model is deisgner II.  I highly recommend it. In this picture you can see her floating frisbee we play in the  pool with.  It's great because it doesn't tear her mouth because it is a soft cloth material.  If you have a home with a pool and can afford it I highly suggest converting to saline.  It is cheaper and better for the whole family.  I have a fence around my pool which is alsways closed except when I am supervising swim time.  Never leave your bully alone near a pool or water!