Vaccine Recommendations for Bulldogs

If you have a brand new English Bulldog puppy we do not recommend vaccinating them at all.  Please read on to understand why. 

Bulldogs are like the unicorns compared to other dog breeds.  They are definitely magical and certainly unique, loving and cartoon-like creatures, due to the way they have been bred for the last few decades.  They are also notorious for health-issues  like autoimmune disease, allergies, interdigital cysts, dermatitis, cherry eye, dysplasia, which all contribute to a shortened life-span and health-span.  This is one of the many reasons that we don't recommend vaccinating them at all.    

Unfortunately, some of this is due to bad breeding, which has created health problems for the entire breed.  Since the year 1210, the breed has changed so much and has come far from their bullbaiting days in England.  They used to literally fight bulls, hence the name bulldog and were thought of as savages.  

In the last 50 years, major physical and temperamental changes have been made to the breed and have turned them into the love-able characters they are today, which is why they are so popular and a far cry from the savages they once were.

via GIPHY

In order to create these physical and temperamental changes and do so relatively quickly, breeders used a small pool of bulldogs with desired traits and bred them repeatedly. 

Unfortunately, this small pool, also referred to as a founder population, lacked and still lacks genetic diversity, which is needed needed to keep the breed healthy.  Most bulldogs can be traced back to the same grandparents or great grandparents.  Hereditary diseases are passed down to each generation, which is one of the reasons why they are predisposed to illness.   Again, this is one of the reasons why we don't recommend vaccinating them at all. 

In addition to genetic predisposition, they are typically born via c-section.  C-sections are used in emergency and elective situations to increase the survival of newborns and or to save the life of the mother or reproductive future.  As a result, they aren't exposed to crucial bacteria from the birth canal that help regulate the gut microbiome.  From birth, it is most likely that most, if not all English Bulldog puppies will be particularly sensitive to anything and everything in their environments, good and bad, including food, water, exercise, sunlight, vaccines and medications. Because of these sensitivities, we do not recommend vaccinating at all. 

Vaccines are not tailored to meet the individual needs of each breed, purebred or not, which is why a 4lb Yorkie gets the same amount of vaccine as a 100lb Saint Bernard. Vaccines also contain a whole bunch of adjuvants and preservatives to prolong their shelf-life.  If you continue to vaccinate each year or every 6 months, or according to how frequently most vets will say, the liver, the main detoxification organ in the body literally becomes bombarded and can no longer function optimally, which creates sickness like allergies, autoimmune disease, cancer etc.  The dose determines the poison and ultimately, the more toxins in the body, the more sickness. 

We believe that this toxic overload primarily from too many vaccines, poor nutrition if they are not fed a high quality diet, and limited genetic diversity in the bulldog gene pool is the driver of diseases we see today in bulldogs.  They are particularly sensitive to everything. 

As for protection against the diseases dogs are vaccinated for like rabies, distemper and parvo, it is probable they have natural immunity because the genetic line has been vaccinated so much.  Additionally, the occurrence of these diseases is quite low, especially if you live in urban and suburban areas. 

Due to the sensitivity of the breed and the unlikely occurrence they would contract these diseases without vaccination is low, we do not recommend vaccinating English Bulldogs at all.   The risks far outweigh any benefit.