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Breed guide · Dogs
His ancestors were bred never to let go. I've let go of the midday walk.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Wherever you sit, they flop down on your feet, and they settle best when they are touching you.
What's going onBulldogs were bred for company once their old job was gone, and they want to be close to you. That is normal. Distress when you leave is something else, and worth a conversation with your vet.
At home
Keen at the door, then they plant themselves on the pavement and will not move.
What's going onA Bulldog who stops like this is often out of breath or too hot, not stubborn. Let them rest in the shade, get them home, and tell your vet if it happens often.
At home
Snoring through the night, snorting when excited, a grunt every time they lie down.
What's going onMany Bulldogs snore loudly, and you get used to it. It is still air forcing its way through a narrow airway. Snoring while they are awake and resting, or snoring that is getting louder, is worth an airway evaluation.
At home
Calm with children and visitors, and in no hurry at all to do what you ask.
What's going onThey are famously easy-going, and they were never bred to take orders for a living. Short, cool sessions and food rewards work. Pushing them in the heat does not.
At home
A short burst of silliness round the living room, then flat out on the floor, panting.
What's going onThe burst is fine. How long they take to get their breath back is the part to watch. If it is slow, noisy or getting slower, tell your vet.
At home
A little food comes back up after dinner or a game, with no retching, and they look surprised by it.
What's going onIt is easy to blame greed. Reflux (food coming back up without effort) is common in Bulldogs, so note when it happens, after meals, after excitement or after a hot walk, and tell your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their build
Built for: A heavy body and a broad head, from the baiting days.
In Dubai: Heats up faster, and cools down slower, than a lighter dog.
Their cooling
Built for: Panting, through a short nose.
In Dubai: A summer that runs from May to September.
Their brief
Built for: Company, once their old job was gone.
In Dubai: Company on a cool sofa, which suits them.
The stopping on walks, the loud sleep and the long flop afterwards are their body coping with that gap.
You cannot change how they are built. You can build their day around it, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for an English Bulldog at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Heat-related illness is common in the breed, and a heavy, flat-faced dog can overheat on an ordinary walk.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Heat-related illness is common in the breed, and a heavy, flat-faced dog can overheat on an ordinary walk.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark only. Keep it short and slow, and stop in the shade when they ask. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. In July and August, some days are indoor days. Never leave them in the car.
Extra weight narrows their airway and loads their hips, elbows and knees. That is why keeping them lean matters so much for a Bulldog.
Every age, most of all 2 to 7 years
Why
Extra weight narrows their airway and loads their hips, elbows and knees. That is why keeping them lean matters so much for a Bulldog.
What to do
Measure their meals and take treats out of the day's amount. From above you should see a waist, and you should feel their ribs without pressing. Weigh them every month and write it down.
A collar presses on their throat, the part of them that already struggles.
Every age
Why
A collar presses on their throat, the part of them that already struggles.
What to do
Use a harness that sits across their broad chest, fitted for their shape. Keep a collar for their tag if you like, and never clip the lead to it. Refit the harness as they grow, and again if their weight changes.
They will keep going after their airway has had enough, and hard, twisting play is rough on their joints.
Every age, most of all under 2 years
Why
They will keep going after their airway has had enough, and hard, twisting play is rough on their joints.
What to do
A few minutes of gentle play, then a rest. Skip games with sharp turns or jumping. Stop while they still want more, and before their breathing gets loud.
Loud sleep and waking with a start are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs of BOAS (the flat-faced breathing problem).
Every age, airway grading as a puppy
Why
Loud sleep and waking with a start are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs of BOAS (the flat-faced breathing problem).
What to do
One night, film two minutes of them asleep, sound on. Note snoring, pauses in their breathing, waking suddenly, or sleeping propped up, and show your vet. Their airway is graded as a puppy, and if corrective airway surgery will help, it is best done before lasting damage sets in.
Many Bulldogs cannot swim. Their head is heavy, their legs are short, and they tire fast.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Many Bulldogs cannot swim. Their head is heavy, their legs are short, and they tire fast.
What to do
Fence the pool or keep them out of the pool area. Near water, on a boat or at the beach, put them in a dog life jacket with a handle, and keep your hand on it.
They shed heat slowly, and a warm room leaves them nowhere to put it.
Every age, more so every year from 7
Why
They shed heat slowly, and a warm room leaves them nowhere to put it.
What to do
Keep their room air-conditioned from May to September. Leave them cool tiles or a cooling mat, and water in two places. Their bed goes where they choose to lie.
Skin-fold and tail-pocket infections start young, and cherry eye (a red lump in the corner of the eye) and entropion (an eyelid that rolls inwards) can too.
Every age, eyes most of all under 2 years
Why
Skin-fold and tail-pocket infections start young, and cherry eye (a red lump in the corner of the eye) and entropion (an eyelid that rolls inwards) can too.
What to do
Every day, clean and dry their facial folds and the pocket under their tail with a vet-approved wipe. The tail pocket is the fold people forget. If they squint or an eye weeps, contact your vet. Do not wait for it to settle.
Hip and elbow problems, a slipping kneecap and cruciate ligament damage (a key ligament inside the knee) are common in Bulldogs.
Every age, most of all while growing and from 7 years
Why
Hip and elbow problems, a slipping kneecap and cruciate ligament damage (a key ligament inside the knee) are common in Bulldogs.
What to do
Put rugs down where they turn on marble, and a ramp up to the car and the sofa. Keep them off stairs where you can. Steady walks, not sprints. A stiff start in the morning, a skipped step or reluctance on stairs is worth telling your vet. An orthopaedic evaluation (a joint and bone exam) is in your plan at their puppy visits, with their growth watched.
They are patient and unhurried, and long sessions in the heat leave them panting.
Every age, easiest under 2 years
Why
They are patient and unhurried, and long sessions in the heat leave them panting.
What to do
Two or three minutes indoors, paid with part of their dinner. Teach them early to have their folds and tail pocket cleaned and their teeth brushed. They will need both every day of their life.
Three of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
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Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
One dog, three names
English Bulldog, British Bulldog and Bulldog are the same breed. What differs is the breeding. Careful breeders have their dogs' breathing formally graded and breed from the dogs who breathe and move best. Others breed for the look, so a British Bulldog puppy from one breeder can breathe very differently from the next.
Colours
Bulldogs come in red, white, fawn and fallow (a pale, sandy fawn), on their own or together, often with brindle, white patches or a black mask. Whatever the colour, the question that matters is how the parents breathe.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with early airway grading and an orthopaedic evaluation of how they are growing. Start cleaning their folds and tail pocket now, while treats are easy, and keep play to a few minutes, indoors in summer.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Give them an air-conditioned room with cool tiles or a cooling mat, and water in two places. Put rugs down where they turn on marble, a ramp up to the sofa and the car, and a gate across any way to the pool.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder how both parents breathe, and whether their breathing has been formally graded. Ask about their hips and elbows too. It shapes the whole life of the puppy you take home.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
They'll still ask for the midday walk. Take them before sunrise instead.
Before they were yours.
Until 1835
The Bulldog's ancestors were bred in England for bull-baiting, to grip a tethered bull and hold on. The sport was banned in 1835.
What they still carryThe heavy build and the big head. Little of the old temper survives.
1835 to 1875
With baiting banned, the breed had no job. Fanciers kept it going and bred out the ferocity, and in 1875 the Bulldog Club wrote the first breed standard.
What they still carryThe patient, easy-going dog on your sofa.
1886
The American Kennel Club recognised the Bulldog in 1886, and the breed's life moved to the show ring and the sitting room.
What they still carryA dog kept for company and for how they look, not for work.
In recent years
The Kennel Club and the University of Cambridge now grade how well Bulldogs breathe, alongside Pugs and French Bulldogs, so careful breeders can breed from the dogs who breathe best.
What they still carryBulldogs who vary a great deal in how well they breathe.
Today
In the UAE a Bulldog lives as company, in a flat or a villa, in a city where summer runs from May to September.
What they still carryA heavy dog who handles heat badly, which is why their day is planned around the cool.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Bulldog suits you, so might these.
French BulldogThe same kind of dog: a flat-faced bulldog, half the weight, with bat-like ears.
PugAnother flat-faced companion who needs the same care in the heat, in a much smaller, wrinkle-faced dog.
Golden RetrieverThe same gentle, easy-going way with people, in a bigger, longer-coated dog that copes a little better with heat.
Chow ChowA similar size and a calm pace at home, in a thick-coated dog that is far more reserved with strangers.
