Inspired by Facebook Triggers

Sara shares her plans and vision for the Bulldog Broadcast podcast, offering insights and debunking Bulldog myths. We are set to explore beyond the adorable façade of Bulldogs to uncover the realities of owning, breeding, and caring for these beloved pets. 

• Challenge the Stigma: Sara challenges the stigma surrounding pedigree Bulldogs, addressing misconceptions about their health and breeding practices. She emphasises the importance of responsible breeding and ethical care for these dogs.
• Educational Insights: With over 36 years of experience living with Bulldogs and extensive involvement in showing and breeding, Sara offers valuable insights into the breed's unique characteristics, care requirements, and breeding considerations.
• Community Engagement: The Bulldog Broadcast isn't just a podcast; it's a community hub for Bulldog enthusiasts. Sara encourages listeners to join the conversation, share their experiences, and access additional resources on the Bulldog Broadcast website and community forum.
  
  Tune in to discover more about Bulldogs and join a supportive community dedicated to these charismatic canines. Remember to visit Bulldogbroadcast.com for show notes, recommendations, and exclusive extras.

===

IG: @thebulldogbroadcast

Transcript

[00:00:00] Have you ever found yourself enchanted by the irresistible charm of bulldogs, only to wonder what lies beyond the adorable wrinkled faces and signature snorts? Well, wonder no more.

[00:00:18] Welcome to the Bulldog Broadcast, the pure talk pedigree podcast. Join me, Sara Lamont as we delve beyond the pedigree propaganda and misinformation surrounding the beloved Bulldog breed. Together, we'll uncover the real-life realities of Bulldogs, sharing insights with admirers, owners and breeders worldwide.

[00:00:40] Welcome, welcome, welcome. Firstly, thank you for joining me today on the welcoming episode of the Bulldog Broadcast. I want to give you a heads up that As much as I've invested in some decent recording equipment, it's so sensitive that it's actually picking up the dogs in the background. So I'm not going to sit in the soundproof room and lock my dogs out while I'm recording these.

[00:01:05] I'm sure you're going to embrace the Minor dog barking in the background, maybe a bit of snoring, maybe a bit of playing. You'll definitely hear them clattering their nails along the floor. So please embrace the dogginess in the background. I'm sure people that are listening to it You're more than used to it and the people that are planning to get a bulldog, you'll soon get used to it.

[00:01:28] So I'm slowly transitioning you into those minor experiences of just having dogs loitering around the house as you're trying to get on and do things. So firstly, I wanted to explain how this podcast has come to be. Before I go into details about who I am and why I've pulled my finger out to get this podcast going, I'm going to put it out there.

[00:01:53] I probably will accidentally swear at some point. I'll get so passionate about something or other that I'll probably let some, some minor swear words slip out. So if I do, I apologise in advance. So how has this podcast come to be? It started before the pandemic, or maybe during the pandemic, I joined a Facebook group called Girl Brighton or Brighton Girl, who knows one or the other.

[00:02:24] I have no involvement in the group and I've never previously participated in any of the posts. It's mainly about people winged about toxic relationships, tattoo removals or trying to find a hairstylist. So, though I joined it, I have never really participated in it. However, this one day, recently, so however many years later after joining the group, because it's a little bit like EastEnders, like there's always a drama going on there, so I don't mind being in it.

[00:02:57] For once, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, and I actually saw a post that I thought I could comment on, and a lady in the group, Basically said, one of my friends has just had a bulldog litter, and considering having one of the pups, what should I consider? What do I need to look out for? So there's already quite a few responses, and some by people that already know that actually happen to be dog people, not necessarily bulldog people, but dog people.

[00:03:24] So I thought if there was ever a time for me to comment on a post, this would be the one. So I, I made my response, I was quite generic in, in what I said, but basically, you know, are the parents health tested, is quite important, given the breed, most reputable breeders will have a wait list you know, click here and find out a bit of information, of which a few people had responded going, yeah, listen to Sara, she knows her stuff.

[00:03:51] Okay, that's fine. Anyway, later on in the day, I get a notification on my phone and it's got a, someone had responded with a sad face. So I thought, oh, that's weird. Anyway, went back to have a look and someone has sad faced my comment. So I was taken from that. That was a passive aggressive way of them being disappointed that I bred probably dogs full stop, let nobody know.

[00:04:14] Pedigree Bulldogs even more so. And then I proceeded to scroll through the comments on the post and it seemed to have taken a turn for the worse, shall we say. And there was a lot of breed bashing and bulldog bashing and everyone saying that they're all on death's door and they can't breed and can't breathe and all of this kind of stuff.

[00:04:36] So at that point I did think, do you know what, I don't really rate this group anyway, so should I just go all out in a response, and if I get banned, I get banned, like I don't care, but you know, let's, let's get my point across. And then I thought do you know what, fuck it. Literally, I cannot be bothered to reply to a load of people that I'm never going to meet, never likely to meet, and basically don't really care about their opinion anyway.

[00:05:02] But then that did get me thinking that actually, maybe, a podcast would be the way forward. Why not put a podcast together, involves the audience? Bulldog owning owners and gather their thoughts, reflection on the breed and let's make it a bit more positive. I think at the moment there's a lot of stigma around pedigree dogs, even more so on brachycephalic dogs, so the flat faced dogs, and then even more so on the quality of those dogs and the type of people that are breeding them.

[00:05:40] And so there's been a lot of pressure. From above, from, you know, governing bodies like the Kennel Club, but also from activist groups outside of that as well. You know, nowadays there's certain brands of dog food that aren't allowed to advertise, use a bulldog in their advertisements and all this kind of stuff.

[00:06:03] So Basically I just got a bit pissed off and just thought, you know what, I've owned, I've owned this breed for 30 years and why would I, as a half sensible type of person, which I like to think I am, why would I knowingly want to sign up and breed dogs that aren't insured, I don't have any pet insurance on my dogs, why would I take such a risk in my life when they're all on death's door?

[00:06:28] Or they're all so ill that they can't walk to the end of the road and all this kind of stuff. So I'm just, I'm just a bit pissed off. Peed off being judged by people that don't actually know anything about the breed or probably anything about dogs in general. So here I am . I floated the idea with my community and I had a resounding yes, you must do this.

[00:06:55] So then I floated the idea with some dog people that I know with some bulldog people that I know, and with some close dog people, and they all said, yes, this needs to happen. And so here I am, in my office, I currently have two bulldog puppies running around the garden like lunatics and one laying behind me snoozing and I've sat down, I've put a plan together and I hope you like it, I hope you enjoy it.

[00:07:27] There is A community that's going to go along with this podcast, so please, when I give you the cues, go and join the community. Most podcasters, you'll hear them bang on about, please rate, review us, share us. All I'm going to say is, please just tell two people that are interested in Bulldogs about this podcast, that's all I ask.

[00:07:52] Don't even bother rating and reviewing it, though you should do. But. I don't care about that. I just want you to spread the word with other like minded breed interested people about this podcast. And we're going to cover tons in this podcast. So I'm coming from the aspect of people that have never owned a breed that are keen to make a puppy purchase and they're keen to get it right.

[00:08:17] And so I'm going to talk you through some ways to identify a reputable breeder, an ethical breeder, someone that's genuinely interested in the breed and its longevity and its future. But I'm also going to cover about if you already have a bulldog, the responsibilities, the care that's required, how they're different to other dogs as well, because I don't think necessarily people really appreciate that.

[00:08:48] I kind of say to people, bulldogs aren't a dog, they're a little person in a dog body. And yeah, they've got bugs of character that come with that. But also if you're expecting a well trained, easy to train dog that wants to please you, you're not going to get that with a bulldog. So hopefully there's some really good hints and tips to pick up for existing bulldog owners along the way.

[00:09:17] platform is going to vary, how this podcast is going to vary. Sometimes it will just be me having a rant. Hopefully you'll appreciate that. Sometimes I'm going to, I will have coerced or convinced some of my like minded proactive Bulldog friends to get involved. So they're going to co host part of the show with me.

[00:09:42] And I'm really keen to contact and interview some key stakeholders in the breed. So not necessarily Well, I want this to be the voice for breeders and there's some really good breeders out there doing some really good work, and I don't necessarily believe they get enough light shone their way. But also there's other people that are really pivotal to the breed, such as some of the people that run the Bulldog Rescues, and they're sort of picking up the unfortunate end of bulldog ownership and some people's lack of responsibility, and lack of care.

[00:10:22] So I'm really keen to talk to those type of people as well. And there's also some people that have done some phenomenal activities and achievements in the breed as well. So I think it's going to be a real mix and I think you're really going to enjoy it. I'm also really keen to interview anybody that's got a bulldog 10 years Plus, because the press will have you believe that these dogs don't exist and they're like unicorns.

[00:10:49] And I know they're not unicorns because I've had some myself. And even when I sent the email out to my community, I had a load of responses from people saying, this is my dog. He's already 11 years old, 12 years old. So I think it would be really good if I interview these in air quotes, normal bulldog owners and find out what.

[00:11:10] Routines. What care are they providing for their dogs that are enabling them to live to such great ages? Or is it just they found a really amazing breeder? Who knows? So we'll unpick that going forward. So I hope that sounds something that you'd be really, really interested in. If not, then you might as well tune off now, you know, close this up down and crack on with your day.

[00:11:34] Right. So about me. So you're wondering, Lamont woman? Why she thinks she can put this podcast together. So about me, I've lived with the breed 36 years and that's mainly because my brother, when we was a family unit, my brother kept on hiring from the library and it had a bulldog on the cover. So he wasn't actually interested with the contents inside the book.

[00:12:01] It was the fact that it had a bulldog on the cover. And the librarian one day bumped into my mum and said, Oh, when are you getting your dog then? She said, what are you talking about? What dog? Said, Oh, your son says, said you're getting a dog soon. So, of which my mum knew nothing about it. Hence the conversation where he'd been hiring this book and it had a bulldog cover on the front and it was because he wanted a bulldog.

[00:12:24] I'm not quite sure whether at the time, and this is going to age us all, but it was at the time when WWE wrestling was in and One of the wrestlers was called the British Bulldog, and he obviously had the braids, the tassels I had to Google him, apparently he was called Davey Boy Smith, sadly deceased now, but I do remember traveling all the way up to Birmingham with my family to go and see WWE Wrestling, and I did actually get his signature, so I think he had quite a significant impact on her family, so along with the wrestling and along with the book, My mum had a conversation with my brother and she agreed that we would get a bulldog if he agreed to save half the money.

[00:13:08] What she didn't realise at the time, what she didn't realise at the time and pretty much is the case now, is that they are one of the most expensive dogs to purchase. So, she had realised After agreeing to this, that her son would have to save up a crazy amount to be able to afford this dog, even all the way back 36 years ago.

[00:13:33] So ultimately what happened is that we ended up rescuing a few bulldogs and that's probably a reason why I, I like to think I'm very ethical in my breeding stance and I'm very proactive in making sure my dogs are fit and healthy in good condition and equally that the puppies that I breed are to the same merit because I've seen the flip side of that coin firsthand and also why I'm so keen to educate others to avoid those kind of situations and to identify if they're walking into a bit of a honey trap.

[00:14:10] Anyway, we purchased, or my mum purchased these rescue bulldogs well one, one at first, because they obviously were discounted because we couldn't necessarily afford the full price of a bulldog puppy at that time. And unfortunately, they, they didn't live more than a few years before, before passing. And they were all ex brood females, so ex brood bitches.

[00:14:33] I will say bitches quite a lot in this podcast, and it's not a swear word when it comes to dogs, so get used to that bit. So they're all ex brood bitches, and they just had a really hard life, but ultimately, meant that they didn't live particularly long once they were in our care, particularly mainly because they'd been overbred and slightly mistreated.

[00:14:53] And so ultimately what happened is that it got to the point where my mum thought, you know what, this is a bit heartbreaking on the whole family, let's go and buy a puppy. and had this puppy from young until it's old and decrepit and it will be the family dog. Of course, life never goes that straightforward, does it?

[00:15:12] But we did get a bulldog puppy and we was asked by the breeder whether we wanted a show dog or a pet dog. And we said show dog, obviously they must be better, which isn't the case, there should be no health differences between pet dogs and show dogs. However, show dogs will have some finer details that are imperative for them to be the best of their type.

[00:15:37] So like an ear shape will make the difference, a bit of eye pigment or nose pigment will make the difference, the shape of the foot will make the difference, the length of the tail will make the difference. Many of those things will have no impact on the actual dog itself. They are almost aesthetics that that, that are to perfection, a bit like a Vogue magazine cover without all the airbrushing or the photoshopping.

[00:16:03] So, we decided on the show puppy. And that's where I got involved because I got, we got dragged, I got dragged along to Ringcraft, which is show school with the puppy. And I sat there all moody, crossed arms because it clashed with me going to youth club until I think it was probably the second or third time the lady at the Ringcraft, one of the trainers said, Sara, do you want to go?

[00:16:29] And then the rest was history. And so for the last 29 years, I have shown dogs and yeah, got totally sucked into the whole world of showing dogs. So I show dogs under or show and breed dogs under the kennel name of Leroyal. In that time we've received and achieved some big accolades, including Top Bulldog, Crufts Best of Breed, Breeding Champions, Campaigning Champions, having CC winners and reserve CC winners.

[00:16:56] So, we've been busy in that amount of time, about 25 years ago is when we had our first litter. We decided to breed our first bulldog litter. So it was after a few, well, four years of showing. We did actually have a champion male and people were approaching us to use him at stud. And that's really how our breeding journey had began.

[00:17:18] I believe I'm on around ninth generation now. and there's still a very long way to go. I've got lots of plans, always trying to improve on the previous litter or at least maintain consistency and that's the really hard thing when it comes to dog breeding that the world can change around you but when you're breeding kennel club breed standard dogs and we'll, we'll come into that on another day, it's really hard to achieve a consistent line over a long period of time.

[00:17:51] I'm also an international confirmation judge. So I've judged across the UK, obviously, as far as Brazil, Spain, Finland, Italy and Holland. And I've got a nice, nice foreign appointment coming up later on this year, which I can't mention yet because it's not been announced. 

[00:18:08] So yeah, it's kept me fairly busy for the last 10 years. I have established my own business working with dogs and that's another reason why I felt this podcast was required because up until that point, I'd always had bulldogs. I have had other breeds, including French bulldogs. I now have a Labrador as well. She's my little rogue dog, but it's not really until you have other breeds that you realise how different bulldogs are.

[00:18:41] And so, though I knew the breed inside out, I didn't realise how different they were until, yeah, I've experienced other dogs and definitely run in my business for the last 10 years, as, help me realise the differences and yeah, why not share them with you guys and highlight those similarities and differences that exist.

[00:19:02] So that's it. I think I've talked long enough. Hopefully I haven't bored you silly yet, but. There is a website that sits alongside this podcast called Bulldogbroadcast. com. If you visit that website, you'll see all the show notes there. So when we get to the point of recommending products, talking about all sorts of grooming products, toys.

[00:19:30] Bedding, beds, there'd be tons, tons of bits and bobs that I'll end up recommending. It will all be in the show notes. So don't worry if you're on the road, listening to this and busy doing stuff, you can always just go to www. bulldogbroadcast. com and you'll be able to find whatever I was talking about there.

[00:19:47] Also, I will be sending out an invitation to join the Facebook community because it would be good if you have any questions from stuff that I said, even if you disagree with me, I'll take that one as well. And to be fair, I've, I've planned out some of these episodes and I'm like, do you know what? I know that this happens because I see it in the Facebook groups or conversation with people, but I've never actually experienced it myself.

[00:20:13] So I'm not necessarily necessarily saying that I'm always the best person, but I just know it exists and I need to raise the point with people. So I'm all for if you want to elaborate more on what I've highlighted or what I've discussed, then the forum is definitely going to be the place to be. I'm hoping over time it will expand.

[00:20:32] We'll have some, you know, episode extras on there, maybe over time, some discount codes and all that kind of stuff. So I'm hoping it will be a really beneficial podcast for you to listen to. That's it. I'm going to sign off for now. You're going to hear from me very soon. I'm really pleased that dogs have been fairly quiet on this occasion, but don't expect this going forward.

[00:20:56] So that's it. Ta ta for now.

[00:21:02] Before you leave, make sure to visit Bulldogbroadcast. com for immediate access to the show notes, community forum, recommendations, and episode extras.