Why are Bulldogs the Perfect Chill Companion? - Ep 10

Sara attempts to decode Prey Drive to help understand why many Bulldogs don't (and won't) chase Birds or Balls!

• Understanding Prey Drive: Explore why Bulldogs typically exhibit low prey drive and how it's linked to their evolutionary history as companion animals rather than hunters.
• Behavioural Observations: Appreciate the distinct mannerisms of Bulldogs, a breed that stands out with its relaxed demeanour in the garden and limited interest in typical doggy activities like fetch. Understand how these traits contribute to their unique charm.
• Pros and Cons: Uncover the advantages and challenges of owning a Bulldog with low prey drive. While they may be a breeze in multiple dog households, their potential for limited interest in stimulating activities can be a point to consider. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Let's unravel why some breeds are instinctively wired to chase, while others prefer to leisurely lounge. We'll look at the complexities of breed evolution, from hunting companions to cherished couch potatoes, and discover the mysteries behind the misunderstood Bulldog psyche. It's more than a walk in a park. It's a deep dive into the canine mind. 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 uncover the real-life realities of Bulldogs, sharing insights with admirers, owners and breeders worldwide. Hello. It's great to have you back. I hope you're having an amazing week or this week I will say that we're going to discuss. Sometimes, I think I'm not discussing it with anyone. Sara, you're sat in a room by yourself. But this week we shall look at Prey Drive. And now typically the words prey, drive and Bulldogs do not come into the same conversation, and rightly so. But the whole point of this podcast is to highlight the differences, well, similarities and differences of a Bulldog. And there is a huge difference when it comes to prey drive. My observations of whenever my Bulldogs go out into the garden to toilet or just to relax, they have a wee in a poo and they generally don't bend their neck and look upwards. It wasn't till I had the Labrador that I realised the Labrador.

[00:01:47] She's very different in her mannerisms. She's constantly on high alert of looking and seeking food, so I had to change my bin and sugar into the garden. She'll just do a routine check of, you know, down the side of the fence panels. She'll sit underneath the bird table, see if there's anything off of there. They've knocked anything off she could eat, and if she's out there for any significant amount of time, she'll end up just watching the birds. I do actually get a lot of birds in the garden. I actually hacked all the trees down in my garden when I moved in, because I had to put the fencing in to make it dog-safe. There are a lot of trees around me, and so there are a lot of birds constantly flying past and stopping and, you know, pecking at the grass or so-called grass. I do have a really cute little Robin that comes all year round as well, which is quite cute, but still, if I see the Labrador, just sit out there and she'll sit and bird watch and one when one lands on the fence panel. She is a Labrador retriever. Her DNA is it's in her genetics that she wants to retrieve stuff and and birds being one of those. So she would happily she was a working dog, which she's not. But there's many a Labrador out there that go out on shoots, and they retrieve the birds and they bring them back to the people on the shoot.

[00:03:05] And so her natural instinct is she goes out and she's just always constantly surveying. And I'm sure that only times I've ever seen a Bulldog look up is when they're sat down sunbathing and and when they're looking out, it's because they're looking at the sun. So they have their eyes firmly shut. So it just makes me laugh how both the dogs and two are totally different. What's ultimately ended up happening because Spice's the oldest dog I have here. Younger dogs are copying her behaviour because they think that that's what dogs should do, and they don't necessarily know that she does that because she's a Labrador and they are Bulldogs, so they don't necessarily need to do that. It's not in their DNA to do it, but it just goes to show it's a learned behaviour. And now is one of the Bulldogs she will. She sees a bird that lands on a fence panel. She she'll jump up to try and get it, or to get at least get his attention. And ultimately the result of that is her puppies now do that. So if the pups are in the garden by themselves and they see a bird, then they're heading over towards it. Where previously I've had litters, they just totally ignore them. That's a totally learnt behaviour because they're copying a dog that isn't the same breed as them.

[00:04:21] It'd be interesting now if I took spice out of the equation whether those behaviours would carry on, or whether they would slowly die out, because it's not innate in a Bulldog to necessarily do that. So what is prey drive? So this refers to a natural instinct or motivation in a dog to pursue or capture prey. It's deeply rooted in a dog because of their evolutionary history and a survival mechanism. Because of their ancestors closely connected to the wolf. Way back when that they are hunters and scavengers, so they are constantly looking and a Labrador even more so. It's in their DNA as a Labrador to always look for food, and that's why you see so many fat Labradors. I hadn't realised this because you very rarely see a super skinny Bulldog. I think I've already mentioned this. Bulldogs were never say no to food, but they don't really go and look for it. Where a Labrador will constantly look for food. And now I understand why you see so many fat ones. And it's not because they're greedy it well they are, but it's because it's in their DNA to have a good fat coverage because of their original purpose that they would be swimming in water that would be really cold. So they need to keep warm and need to have energy and the double coated compared to a single coated.

[00:05:38] So if anyone ever. This is a total side note if anyone moans about a Bulldog moulting, trust me, just live with a Labrador. Or even more so go and live with a Golden Retriever and you are never ever moan about a Bulldog moult ever again. But side note. So. They are scavengers. Dogs are scavengers and hunters because they need to find food. That makes total sense, doesn't it? Obviously nowadays we feed them generally. Well, I'd like to hope so. I hope you are all feeding your dogs, but they still have this instinct in them. It depends on the breed. And I've talked about different categories of breeds before. There will be some categories of breeds that have this trait more prevalent than others because of their purpose as a breed. So typically you would see terriers. Hounds tend to have a stronger prey drive compared to other breeds. Bulldogs are in the Utility breed, which doesn't need a prey drive to be in the utility group. Nowadays, most owners feed their dogs, which is amazing. That's a very sensible and responsible thing to do, but this instinct is still in them because of their purpose. Generally, what happens nowadays is that it can be used as play. You can have items such as flirt poles, which is like a really long pole with a like a bit of cord, and at the end of the cord would be like a fluffy looking something or other, and you could sort of drag that around the floor and you could wear the dog out, because it's just going to chase that.

[00:07:12] Its instinct is that it's looking for prey. It's no different to if you were ever to go dog racing at greyhound track. When they open the traps, they let the hare go, which generally is just a black something or other just running down the side of the track. But because of the breeds instinct, they want to just chase that hare because of that prey drive, they're just going to run after it. So they're almost mimicking a natural behaviour of hunting. You'll see dogs out and about that are interested in Squirrels, Birds. I mean, you see it all the time like horrific livestock attacks on Sheep. And it is their natural instinct. But obviously times have changed. So you shouldn't be letting your dog happily attack a sheep. That's not acceptable in any way, shape or form. It needs to be channelled in the right way and there are breeds that have the higher prey drive. So I've already said about greyhounds and dog tracks, you've got other breeds like border collies. Obviously they're really good farmers dog. They're really good for herding to organise in and putting them all in their place. You've got other breeds like the Jack Russell Terrier, another useful breed compared to a Bulldog that just sits and looks pretty.

[00:08:25] And there's tons of breeds like I've got a list of like Weimaraners, Basenjis, Fox Terriers, Belgian Malinois, Siberian Huskies. So there's loads of breeds. I would hope the people that own these breeds know that that's what they're getting into, so they can manage that correctly, and hence why most Bulldog people won't be aware of prey drive, because you don't need to be because they generally don't have it. And why don't they have it? Because it's been bred out of them. Because they are a companion breed. And now that is their purpose, their sole purpose is to be a human companion. What are the pros to having a dog with low prey drive? Well, it's good because they don't. They're not interested in chasing stuff. So you can take them up the park. I mean, my Bulldogs might stop and look at a cat if they see one out and about, but generally they're not running off to chase after it. My French Bulldog was more likely to do that, but French Bulldogs way back when were crossed with terriers, so they are a lot more terrier than what a Bulldog would ever be. Yeah, they're not going to chase stuff. This kind of makes sense, doesn't it? Because if you've ever had a Bulldog and you've got a ball and you've thrown the ball, it might go and get it once and bring it back, but it probably won't do it a second or a third time where I could do that with my Labrador all day long.

[00:09:44] Again, she's a retriever. She likes bringing stuff back to me. Not saying that that's the right thing to be doing, because throwing balls is not good on animals joints if you're doing it for a significant amount of time. So that's not. And they become ball obsessed, which is a whole another category. So it's not something that is a good solution to a problem, but you'll see a lot of people unknowingly doing it and not realising the damages they might be causing the dog in the long run. Bulldogs generally won't run off anywhere, so you shouldn't lose too many dogs over the park in that instance. They have a low predatory aggression. They're not overly aggressive to animals that are smaller than them. So which is good for multiple dog households. If you're introducing a new puppy that's a lot smaller or just a different animal, such as a kitten, you've got an adult dog. Do you need to worry about predatory aggression? Generally? Bulldogs? No, they're easier to train. Well, I've got a little list here. It's quite funny. This is easier to train off leash now. Yeah, technically they're going to be easier to train because they're not going to run off.

[00:10:51] But a Bulldog is really stubborn. So they're not going to listen to you either. So I wouldn't necessarily agree that a Bulldog would be easy to train off leash. I'm going to talk about long lines in the episode where I talk about leads and collars, because as owners, we probably could use long lines more than what we're doing. And yeah, there's a discussion around that, but a long line is just is just as it is a really long line, which means you can effectively give your dog freedom to roam without them being off lead, and you still have control of them. And what are some of the cons to having a dog with low prey drive? Sometimes they have limited interest in activities. Again, I've already said they're not. Probably not going to be interested in playing fetch with a ball, and which ultimately I think means they're harder to train. You're going to have to engage their interest in a different way. Now, food obviously is a good one. But generally, you know, when people have toys and stuff and they're like, oh yeah, look at this. And you only have to watch the flyball and Crufts on TV and stuff and agility, they always get a nice like their favourite toy at the end of doing the course that they've done. Always think that's slightly harder with ball dogs. That's why the the harder to train because they don't really care, they're not really interested and if they're well fed then they're even less interested in treats.

[00:12:15] There is a potential for boredom. You've got to learn a different ways of stimulating the dog because some of the obvious activities would not be fruitful. I think Bulldogs are interesting, actually, because I find that some are really heavy on the toys and they're real chewers and the others just literally don't pay attention whatsoever. I always think you need good, interesting toys. Again, I'm sure we'll cover that in another podcast that are breed friendly and robust enough, but also engaging when we think about toys is part of their enrichment. The good thing about good enrichment is that it helps you wear your dog out. I think I've talked previously about you don't need to take your dog. You know, nowadays, even the most energetic of breeds, you don't need to be taking them for two-hour walks a day. There's other ways to stimulate their brain that would wear them out mentally because they're actually using the cognitive function of their brain. And so interest in toys is one way to do that. I think in the scheme of Bulldogs and activities, you don't see that many of them. I've got a really exciting interview actually coming up with somebody that has done amazing things with Bulldogs, but generally they're not really feeling it, they're just not really into it.

[00:13:31] And I guess it comes down to that drive. They just don't have that drive to want to chase something, run fast, catch it, return it. There are Bulldogs out there that do have that and people have achieved great things with it, but as a massive generalisation, they're just not interested in that type of fun, that type of typical doggy fun, I guess you would call it. Yeah. You just think they're typical things that all dogs want to do, but Bulldogs are not in that category. I think you just need to be aware of the more dogs you own, the more likelihood you're going to have one of them that's a bit rogue from all the rest of them. And even most people that I talk to, you could have four Bulldogs and you've always got one. That's the naughty one. And is that the one that's just got a bit of higher prey drive? So they're just more interested in things and doing more typical doggy stuff compared to the rest of them that makes their character stand out different. Could be one reason. I mean, there could be loads of others as well, but that dog isn't the nightmare dog just because it's different, it's just showing different behaviours and characters. But why is that? That's my conclusion to Bulldogs and their beyond low prey drive. I guess that's how they can get the perception of being lazy, because they're just not interested in that kind of stuff, and it's because they've been bred that way.

[00:14:55] It's not that they are stupid or not interested, it's just that it's just not in their DNA. It has been bred out. And when you think back to the days of when the Bulldog was baiting balls, there was a huge rebrand, almost of the breed. It had to. It wasn't. Who would want a dog that baits Bulls sat in your house? I mean, we only have to look at the recent XL bully ban to see what a problem that's been. And that's centuries after the Bulldog was established. You can see how the fanciers at the time had to significantly change the breed for it to exist today, and it was to remove all of those associations and elements of wanting to bait a ball. Did they do it to the point of an extreme? And then I sure over time that's been exaggerated because people have realised, oh, this is the type of dog that I like. And that's the whole point of pedigree dogs. And that's why I get a bit pissed off when they get a lot of negative press, because the whole point of having a pedigree dog is that you have a dog with a predictable personality and traits that fit into your lifestyle, so there's plenty of people that even if they wanted to exercise dog an hour a day, they couldn't do it.

[00:16:09] Whether that be because of time restraints, because of disability, there's tons of reasons. It's all well and good saying, oh, let's have this like generic dog. That's the perfect dog that never has any health conditions. Needs an hour walk a day, only eats this amount of food. But that's still not going to be right for some people's lifestyles. And I think that's one of the benefits of a Bulldog is that they just want to be with humans. And yeah, they like their exercise. They are a dog. They're an animal at the end of the day. So they should be cared for in that way. But they don't seek a massive demand from you in that way. And that's, I guess, what makes it, you know, one of the top ten breeds in the UK, in fact, probably in America as well. There's a big reason why somebody would want these type of breeds. Is it a bad thing that Bulldogs don't have prey drive? No, I think not. And sometimes the owners don't even realise how lucky they are in getting that type of dog. Until you own something different. So I think that's a big enough rant on prey drives. I'm sure there are many Bulldogs out there that like chasing the ball and bringing it back, and and people are doing some amazing things with them, but the majority of them aren't interested, which equally is great.

[00:17:25] So that's it. I'm signing off. Don't forget to tell two people about this podcast if you haven't already, and to join the community. And I wanted to let you know that the I'm calling it the OAB. So it's a play on OAP old age Bulldog guest application is now open. So I said before, I'm super keen to talk to anybody that owns a Bulldog ten years plus, technically a dog is a veteran from seven years old. Some would say eight, but the Kennel Club class at seven. But I want to hear from anyone that's got a Bulldog in double digits. I'm really keen to have really short, informal chat for everybody to listen to, to find out if you've got basically any secret tips that has resulted in your Bulldog living such a long and fruitful life, and let's share that and give them a bit of a profile. I might even end up putting a little gallery on the website of all the dogs that that feature as OAB guests. So if you've got one then please go to Bulldog Broadcast.com fill out the form because I would love to chat to you. Okay. That's it. Signing off on this episode and I'll catch you soon. Before you leave, make sure to visit BulldogBroadcast.com for immediate access to the show notes, community forum recommendations, and episode extras.