Exercising American Bulldogs

 

Our American Bulldog, Wyatt, has an incredibly strong prey drive, which comes from his ancient breeding. He can sleep all day in the house and keep my feet warm, but give him something to chase, and he'll go after it until he drops. It's that wonderful American Bulldog "on and off switch." Because I was ill for much of the summer, I was delighted to discover a great way to exercise him without having to leave the yard. If you know American Bulldogs, you might be wondering where he gets his looks: He's an Old Southern White. (The American Bulldog has three breeding lines: Scott, Johnson, and Old Southern White).

Here's what you do:

1. Go to your local IFA and buy a horse buggy whip and a few empty burlap bags. The buggy whip costs about $12.00. The burlap? Cheap. (If you're in New York City, then you may have to just read about this and call it good.)
2. Cut the burlap into foot-long strips, about three inches wide. (I just cut it from one edge to the other, then halved those)
3. Stack a bunch (five or more) strips on top of each other
4. Tie them in the middle with the end of the buggy whip. I use a tent hitch so I can really tighten down the knot

Here's an example of the knot I use:

Voilà. Now you've got your "Flirt Pole." Now, find yourself a good spot of lawn.

• Bring the Flirt Pole with you.
• Stand in one area and command your dog to sit
• Walk off a few feet and hold the buggy whip handle in one hand
• You're going to be standing in one place and dragging the burlap around you on the lawn for your dog to chase
• When you're ready, say "OK!", or whatever you say when you release your dog from a sit

It won't take any more coaching from you. As soon as your dog sees the burlap moving on the grass like something to catch, he or she will start chasing it with everything they're worth. American Bulldogs were originally bred in England to catch wild boars. They're from the Mastiff line, and because of their weight, you don't want to fling the burlap in the air for them to jump at. It could cause ankle injury. A Golden Retriever? Yes, but not an American Bulldog.

After several rounds of chasing the flirt, your dog will learn to start cutting a tangent--in other words, running past you more and more closely. As you circle it around you, zig-zag it, or tease him with it, be prepared to move out of the way or you could get the surprise of your life with a 90-pound train coming right for your knees.

This next picture is of Wyatt, just after chasing the flirt for a good 15 minutes. That is a lot of tongue! As a final note, when they catch the flirt, they actually don't need praise from you. Their reward, and it's part of their breeding once again, is to have caught the prey. They love to chew and pull on the burlap and tear it apart. You'll need to start with fresh burlap strips every so often.

Remember to have your dog release the flirt and sit each time you have him chase. Burlap works great, because it has a texture unlike anything in your house, most likely, so your dog won't be prone to chewing anything similar indoors.