Q: What is NCL disease?

A: NCL is short for Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis.

This is a serious and fatal neurological disease that is found in several breeds including the American Bulldog. It is passed on genetically from dogs that are affected/carriers to their offspring. Research is currently being undertaken at veterinary colleges in the United States and in Germany and a blood test is available to determine if a dog is afflicted or not.

If everyone blood-tested their dogs, NCL could be completely eradicated.

Presently many vets are unaware of the existence of NCL, so it might be helpful for you to print out some information on the subject and give it to your vet.

Here are some relevant links:

NCL Page

Canine Gentetic Diseases Network

Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine

University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover

NCL Testing at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover (this includes translation notes very kindly provided by Glyn Andrew of Churchills American Bulldogs, England).

German NCL Test Submission Form

According to the NCL test result, a dog will be "Clear", "Carrier" or "Affected".

Clear: The gene responsible for causing NCL is not present in the dog.

Carrier: One copy of the NCL gene is present. The dog will not display any symptoms of the disease but can pass the NCL gene on to it's offspring.

Affected: Two copies of the NCL gene are present. The dog will go on to develop symptoms of the disease and will ultimately die as a result. The NCL gene will be passed on to it's offspring.

Breeding anything other than "Clear" to "Clear" will produce a percentage of pups with the NCL gene.

Q: Do I need to feed my dog any supplements?

A: If you feed a good quality balanced diet, I don't believe many supplements to be necessary.

However, I do use the following supplements:

I give a 500mg glucosamine tablet daily to pups from 8 weeks up until one year old. Dogs over one year get 1000mg glucosamine three times per week.

My dogs all get a 1000mg cod liver oil capsule three times per week from 12 weeks onwards for the rest of their lives.

Many researchers believe glucosamine and fish oils are beneficial, particularly in relation to skin, hair and joints.

Apple Cider Vinegar has also been shown to have many health benefits.

The really important things are to give your dog a good well-balanced diet combined with plenty of exercise, mental stimulation and regular grooming: this will keep him in good shape.

Q: What books about American Bulldogs are available?

A: Several titles are available, some are better than others.... here are some examples.

(There are also articles/chapters in many general dog books and in books about bullbreeds, but I won't go in to them here. You'll have to take a look around and see what you can find).

"American Bulldog Stories, Facts and Legends" by Pastor Lemuel Miller. 

This very readable book is full of stories and factual information along with input from some of the famous old names in the breed.

Available to order from Lem at Joshua Kennels.

"American Bulldogs" by John Blackwell.

In my opinion this is probably the least useful book that is available on the subject. It is also the cheapest....

Published by TFH Publications ISBN 0-7938-2369-2

"American Bulldog" by Abe Fishman.

This book is worth adding to your collection. Whilst not perfect by any means, it is sensibly written and it considers the breed's origins in a thoughtful way. Worth reading.

Published by Pet Love ISBN 0-9668592-4-3

"The Working American Bulldog" by David Putnam.

I met Dave at a dog show when he came over to England some years back; he is an intelligent, and articulate man. Every bulldogger should have this book in his collection, it is an interesting read and full of colour photographs. However, it is written from a very personal standpoint. I understand that this book currently out of print, but the it may still available if you look around.

Published by Bulldog Press ISBN 0-9672710-0-2

"American Bulldog" by Gesa Fenge

This book was written by Gesa Fenge, one of the proprietors of Chestnut's Little Indians kennel in Germany. The book is written in Gesa's native tongue (German) and since my German is pretty much non-existent I can't really comment meaningfully on the text. However Gesa is a person who does all the right things with her dogs when it comes to testing and evaluation, so I would expect the book to be a worthwhile read. Or you could just look at the pictures!

Published by Rinty Press ISBN 3-936335-00-1

Q: What is the natural life span of an American Bulldog?

A: On average, a good ten years plus. Some will live longer, some shorter. All other things being equal, a well cared-for and fit dog will obviously live longer than an overweight and unfit animal or a dog that is a structural wreck.

Q: I'm considering importing a dog from the United States. How difficult is it? Where can I find more information? How does the Pet Passport scheme work?  How much will it all cost etc?

A: Below are some links.

For up to date information consult DEFRA and your DEFRA-approved Quarantine Kennel. It won't be easy or cheap: by the time you've flown out to America and bought your dog, paid for shipping, vet's fees, kennel fees etc you may not get much change out of £5000.

A cautionary note: When any dog arrives in the UK from abroad it is subject to vigorous inspection before it is released. If an inspector believes that an imported dog has characteristics which he feels may fall within the definitions of physical "type" laid out under Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 legislation, the dog may be refused entry and you might even find yourself subject to prosecution. Whatever pedigree papers and other supporting documentation you may have will probably be of no help to you if a dog is refused entry under the terms of the DDA because this legislation is based on physical "type" rather than on specific breed names: in other words, it is irrelevant what breed a dog is, it's legality will be judged purely on it's appearance.  This is one of the absurdities of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. At best you will have to pay to send the dog back to where it originated from (and this has happened); at worst the dog could be destroyed and you might even earn yourself a criminal record.

Importing a dog in to UK Quarantine

Licence application to import a dog in to UK quarantine UK (as of Feb 2006)

Importing a dog from the USA without quarantine under the DEFRA "PETS" scheme

DEFRA PETS Travel Scheme

DEFRA Dangerous Dogs Leaflet

Q: I'm considering importing frozen semen from a stud dog in the United States.

     Where can I find more information and who do I contact about it?

A: Below are some links.

For up to date information consult DEFRA

Import Requirements

Import Application

Q: How much will it all cost?

A: Read on....

This is the basic rundown of approximate costs, at the time I did it and using the American vet that we used....

Stud Fee to dog's owner= Whatever he wants. (Make sure you are both 100% clear if the stud fee is for the whole batch of semen or if stud fees will be due for each breeding that gets done using the frozen semen).

Cost of collection and six months "quarantine" storage in US vets= $250

Rental of liquid nitrogen filled shipping vessel from Synbiotics= $250 (+ deposit)

US vet's fees for packing/processing/paperwork= $200

Cost of airfreighting shipping vessel to UK= $230

Cost of airfreighting empty shipping vessel back to USA= £175

Cost of storing frozen semen in UK per year= £45

Cost of artificial insemination procedure, including multiple blood tests for progesterone levels= £300

And probably some more charges/expenses that I've forgotten to include!

Obviously all the above charges are subject to change (probably upwards).

You need to be dealing with someone in the States that you can 100% trust not to let you down. It is all quite a lot of hassle and stress both for you and also for the people in the States whose dog you want to use.... and there is the potential for things to mess up at all stages right up to the time when the AI procedure is done. There is no guarantee that it will be a success, so do import enough semen for more than one breeding. Depending on the quality and quantity of the ejaculate, one semen collection may be enough for around three surgical artificial insemination procedures on average. The collected semen will be frozen in "straws" by the vet in the States and you can expect to get around a dozen or so straws per collection; each surgical artificial insemination procedure will normally use three or four straws.

Artificial insemination is a specialised technique and at the time that I did my semen imports there was only one veterinary surgery in the United Kingdom who were able to store frozen canine semen and carry out the AI procedure.

A brief outline of the procedure (as carried out by the vet I used) is as follows:

From day seven of the bitch's season daily blood samples must be drawn and sent to the vets who carry out the AI procedure; they have their own in-house lab and will monitor the progesterone levels in each daily blood sample. When they feel the progesterone levels are right, you will be summoned to bring your bitch in on the following day.

The vet will then perform the surgical artificial insemination procedure which involves giving the bitch a general anaesthetic and then making a small incision in the lower abdomen to expose the uterus. A cannula will be passed through the wall of the uterus until it enters the inner cavity of the uterus. The thawed semen will then be injected into the cavity. The abdominal wound will be sutured closed and the anaesthetic reversed. You will be given a course of antibiotics to take home. After five or six weeks the bitch can be ultrasound scanned by your own vet to confirm the presence of pups (or not).

The surgical AI technique has been found to have a slightly higher success rate than the "turkey-baster" technique which involves introducing the thawed semen via the vagina. On the other hand, the vaginal technique is less invasive and would not always require a full general anaesthetic etc and (being less invasive) it is less prone to complications. I understand that the vet I used has now switched to using a vaginal technique as the surgical method was frowned upon by senior figures in the British Veterinary Association.

No surgical procedure is without risk, including adverse reaction to anaesthetic agents, surgical complications or postoperative infection. There is a lot that you should carefully weigh up before you consider importing frozen semen.

Q: How long is the gestation period for a dog?

A: On average, 63 days from the date of the tie. Follow this LINK to my handy calculator.

Q: I heard someone say that the American Bulldog is little more than an over-sized pitbull. Is this true?

A: No, this is definitely not true.

Like many of today's bullbreeds, the American Bulldog shares some common ancestry with other bullbreeds such as the American Pitbull Terrier but it is most certainly not the same dog. Read about the breed and it's origins here: American Bulldog History and the Different Types of American Bulldog