Winnie's First Trip To The Vets

On the way to the vets this morning


Winnie fell off the bed this morning and banged her mouth on the ancient floorboards of our bedroom   floor.  It sounded as though the roof had come in but she did nothing more than half knocking out one of her stubby canines. Winnie seemed unconcerned with the whole thing even though the tooth hung over at a crazy angle and after a few minutes of trying to free it
I thought it prudent to take her to the vets.
I need not have bothered for as we sat in the crowded  waiting room, she nonchalantly spat out the offending tooth in front of an over friendly jack Russell.

It was Winnie's first trip to the vets, and as usual she took the whole thing in her stride.
It was the Spanish vet who was running the clinic and she took one look at Winnie's over serious face and lisped " Is she aggress-ive ?" 
Winnie opened up her mouth to show the vet her bleeding gum.
" Help yourself " I told the vet, " she won't bother you "

Bulldogs intrigue people. 
With their over serious faces that can effectively mask any emotion , they often wrong foot people that cannot read the more subtle signs that flag up bulldog happiness.
Old Bulldogs don't generally wag their stumpy tails in greeting. 
They don't lower their heads, or pull forward in a playful acquiescence when they want to say hello.
They just stand, and they watch, and they snort like bullocks do when they meet you at a farm gate



I love watching the public reaction to Winnie when we go walking along the local public walk and cycle way, for it's very like watching a tense gunman standoff from a very superior Western. 

Winnie will amble alone and at her very own pace.
When she spies a stranger off in the distance. She stops for a moment with her head held high and she will stare at the figure carefully. 
This can be somewhat disconcerting to those of a more nervous nature.
Then, rather slowly she will line herself up with the stranger, and stop again, her change of position meaning that the stanger's path, if continued, will coincide with exactly with hers.
It's this behaviour that gives her the look of a gunslinger.
Think Yul Brynner from Westword with Buster Keaton's face and you'll get where I'm coming from. 

In the past more intimidated walkers have become all a bit of a dither with the thought of a confrontation so now I am in the habit of calling out " the old bulldog is friendly" when people appear. The word " old" seems to placate nerves more than the word "friendly" and the subsequent crossing of paths when seemingly miserable bulldog strains her head up to a stranger to be petted or preferably kissed, always feels rather sweet


72 comments:

  1. glad the old girl didn't hurt herself too bad. hope albert is feeling better. and don't YOU clean up nicely! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Poor Winnie! I don't think I would assume she was aggressive. But then my dad kept bulldogs for several years so I know they're pretty genial creatures in general. Ours were, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A friend in Holland had a Bulldog. A much younger, energetic one. Who liked to take flying leaps at things. I visited for a week or so and slept on the sofabed in the lounge. They had to install an extra baby gate so I wasn't pinned down and winded first thing in the morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are surprisingly agile for a big dog ...Winnie ribs like a baby hippo

      Delete
  4. I'm so glad Winnie is OK. I like the facts about bulldogs. xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Poor girl. You may need to get soft sideboards for the bed :) Lots of love to Winnie!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The only bulldog I have met was very excitable and loved to jump up against your legs. As someone who is nervous around unknown dogs, I would appreciate your reassurance that "the old bulldog is friendly". -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  7. This would not have happened in an ordinary household where dogs are not allowed on the bed! Nice pic of a gun-slinger's arse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yadder, yadder, yadder

      Delete
    2. That wouldn't be an ordinary home, just a sad one

      Delete
    3. Yul Brynner was born in Vladivostok.

      Delete
    4. ... and ended up in Westworld...

      Delete
  8. Nice to hear more about Bulldog mannerisms.

    Pugs have a similar stare and attitude when they meet strangers but the frantically wagging curly tale tells most folk that all is well. The snuffly greeting noise back foots a lot of folk though, especially children as they can mistake it for a growl. The only time someone asked if she jumps up at children and we said no .... she did!! She had never done it before and has never done it since ... that's dogs for you, as bad as kids ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a new pug in the village who I adore. He's 9 and I swear he smiles all day long

      Delete
  9. I am not surprised that Winnie is a gentle one having heard your comments about the kisses and snorts she laid upon the carpenters at your home. I did appreciate some Bulldog info . . . Happy she fared well at the vet, spat the tooth out at the Jack Russell and carried on without a scene. I am wondering if your vet expenses are equal to ours in the states . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She can get over excited with us occasionally but with strangers she is rather dignified

      Delete
  10. I hope Winnie is going to get a reward from the tooth fairy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 14 miniature cocktail,sausages from the co op in St Asaph

      Delete
    2. Bless your heart, what a good dad you are to all of your furbabies. Winnie is so special and I'm glad she's ok.

      Delete
  11. I'd not met any bulldogs face to face until the other day. I was working in the garden which has a small stream at the back which backs onto the neighbors behind me. I suddenly noticed a brown bum going down the stream in the long grass. It was a rather tall bulldog. He spotted me and came out of the long grass and stared at me. He then came right over to me and was clearly very stressed as he was lost. I was a bit intimidated at first as his face did not read "friendly" He had a massive overbite so he teeth we showing. I found his owners and they promise to bring Alfred by to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do get stressed chania,Megan winniearrived she hyperventilated at the sight if anything new ( chicken, grass, road, car) I thought she would collapse

      Delete
  12. I do hope she is feeling better after her nasty fall. When I was about 5 I was scared witless by a bulldog and avoided them for decades. In recent years I have met several older ones and they are the sweetest things - one you get past the bark. Kind of like some people I know.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous11:11 am

    I ain't no Winnie. Thank the Lord. Neither has anyone ever had the charity to say of me "they often wrong foot people that cannot read the more subtle signs ...".

    Thing is, and it's not easy to break this to dog owners, that a stranger can't second guess what a dog is like. One of the friendliest dogs I ever had the misfortune to encounter was an Hungarian Shepherd. Think calf size. Beautiful white curly fur. He was so overjoyed to see me when I came through the door that he stood on his hindlegs, pinned me to aforementioned door, put his front paws onto my shoulder, crushing me (ever so slowly) to the ground under his weight. Till a member of his family delivered me from my misery. On the other hand there was that little bastard of a Spitz, chasing me pedalling my bike, biting through my shoe's leather. I think my foot won.

    Hope Winnie won't miss her tooth.

    U

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's bring everything down.
      I am fully aware of my dogs Ursula
      George is put on a lead whenever someone comes along, he cannot quite be trusted.
      Winnie however can be

      Delete
  14. Anonymous12:01 pm

    I've never met an aggressive bulldog in my life. Glad Winnie is ok.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I met a cute bulldog puppy last week, called Burt; the lady owner told me it was short for Richard Burton!
    I'm glad Winnie was not hurt, pity for the tooth though.
    Greetings Maria x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For an old dog, Winnie has been remarkably healthy so far.....this was her first vet trip

      Delete
  16. poor Winnie, did she roll over and fall off the bed in her sleep? or like Eric, did she slither off the bed and miss and hit her face? Eric isnt allowed on the furniture, so in his shame slinks away. Slithering is slinking vertically to him.

    ReplyDelete
  17. p.s. I hope she feels better

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's just had some cheap cocktail sausages after her painkiller and is now happily asleep

      Delete
  18. How kind of the Tooth Fairy to bring Winnie a little treat. How did the other dogs react to her accident?

    Thank you for the interesting info about bull dog traits, too.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Poor old Winnie. She always looks beaten down with life. I have to have a tooth extracted next week. I am rather hoping that I fall off the bed like Winnie and then spit out the tooth in the dental surgery waiting room!

    ReplyDelete
  20. It is funny how people are with them isn't it, because they are really not an agressive breed at all.
    I love them and really would still like them but they have rocketed in price since I bought my pug pup (a sort of miniature bulldog!!!) Presumably all went well with the tooth.

    ReplyDelete
  21. If it is her first trip to the vet it makes me wonder if you get innoculations for your pet family, especially rabies shots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She has not had shots.....We don't have rabies here in the uk
      All of the others have had their shots.......as they go into kennels

      Delete
  22. I'm glad it was nothing more serious than a loose tooth.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have never met a bulldog that I did not love instantly.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I just love that squishy Winnie face.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I promised not to tell you but I can't help it ... winnie sent me an email and told me that she hates it when you call her "old" ... just thought I would let you know .

    Did I tell you about my friend in Scotland ? her bulldog is named Winston.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I wonder why they are called bulldogs anyway? What have they got to do with bulls? They do not look like miniature bulls and I doubt that they would be any use in rounding up bulls...So I went over to The Oracle:-

    Over the course of 350 years, until bull-baiting was banned in 1835, bulldogs were bred for aggression, and an 80-pound dog could easily bring down a bull weighing close to a ton by corkscrewing its own body around its neck, tossing the bull over its own centre of gravity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they were more bred for their bravery which is still a trait in bulldogs

      Delete
  27. Canine capers - and a Spanish vet in Wales. All the ingredients of a TV hit.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Is her vision poor? Every bit of posture you describe would lead me to believe she can't see much more than a few feet ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I think her eyesight is pretty good...her posture is normal for bulldogs

      Delete
    2. Old ones...Mabel and Constance were just the same
      ( our previous rescue Bulldogs)

      Delete
  29. Hope she is feeling okay, sweet girl. She might need some extra loving today, call over a workman! :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh the poor darling ! So glad to hear that there was nothing seriously wrong with her. She's done very well if that's her first ever trip to the vet. Of course she took it all in her stride - she's Winnie !
    Took one of our Labs to the vet this morning, and had a bill for over 350 euros ! That didn't include the cost of her bath and grooming.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Poor Winnie, my mad doggy lodger, also called Winnie, but short for Winston, is trying to persuade me to play tug-of-war with an elastic band, I'm refusing as I'm too fond of my fingers. He will settle down soon on my lap under a blanket, he and my legs will both go to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I am not quite sure of your description of bulldogs as "serious faced". I've never met a bulldog that did not produce in me, if not a belly laugh, a full ear to ear smile. Winnie is a lucky gal.

    ps. Great pic :P

    ReplyDelete
  33. I agree with Linda deV ... Bulldogs always make me smile just at the sight of them.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Bless that old girl x

    ReplyDelete
  35. So did the root come out with the tooth? What happens now? Just curious. I know that baby teeth don't have a root when they fall out but I would expect permanent teeth to have one. Poor Winnie! But I bet she enjoyed those cocktail wieners.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Winnie has for the most part baby teeth which are few and far between ..she also has one hole where the entire canine came out

      Delete
  36. Nice to hear of an animal that takes a trip to the vet in her nonchalent stride.
    I wish our cats did. I so wish our cats did.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I've never been afraid of dogs. I always assume that if I don't bother them, they won't bother me. That assumption has stood the test of time so far.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I offer my head up to random strangers to be kissed. Never got a smacker yet.
    *Sighs sadly and wanders off*

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'm terrified of all dogs, whether they look scary or not! I know I'm a real wuz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Winnie would desensitise you.....in under one hour

      Delete
  40. My brother has 3 bulldogs all under the age of 2. He went to pick up a miniature bulldog and when he arrived, her brother got between him and his sister to protect her, so my brother ended up with two miniature bulldogs. His vet asked him if he was sure that they were miniatures and he said of course. When they were turning 1 years old and were 55 and 65 pounds each, the vet told my brother he needed to realize they weren't miniatures. The vet then convinced him to adopt an 8 month old bulldog puppy that needed a new home, which he did. All of them are playful and friendly.

    I have a pug that rules our house. He is always happy to see us and his tail wags so much his whole body shakes. He is spoiled and we wouldn't have it any other way.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Matty (rescued greyhound) recently lost one of his front teeth and now looks goofier than ever! I think it was karma, as the little devil had helped himself to a whole pack of Dentastix earlier that day ;)

    ReplyDelete
  42. She has an amazingly sweet face. Get well soon, Winnie!

    ReplyDelete
  43. I worked at a vet's office many many years ago. One of our patients was a sweet old bulldog named 'Ralph'. The minute he came in the front door his owner would drop his leash...he'd run around to the back of the counter to greet us all with kisses. Oh, how we loved that dog !!!
    Poor Winnie...glad it was only a tooth, though. Wish I could give her a big old kiss. :)

    ReplyDelete
  44. I've never got to meet a true Bulldog in the flesh, so thanks for the hints (they are really not a suitable breed for our hot West Oz climate) but when and if I do. I'll be better able to understand, and it might apply to my friend's rescue pitty cross, who tends to be very unexpressive in the face too. Generally I know ordinary dog (and horse) body language really well, as is shown to me every time i try to understand what a llama or alpaca is thinking or feeling! Them I do not understand AT ALL!

    ReplyDelete
  45. We had good friends in San Francisco who had a bulldog. He was the first bulldog I got to know well and his temperament (sweet and inquisitive) always surprised me. You of course describe it perfectly. I've been in love with bulldogs ever since (OK, except for the slobber).

    ReplyDelete
  46. Awww. The other night i put my hair in pincurls and a net over it. joking with MrC about going to bed with Ena Sharples,the subject turned to what kind of dog she would be. "A bulldog of course," he says, "like Winnie." I read him bits ;-)

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes