Sleep apnoea ,Inbreeding and other bulldog updates

Through routine and hard work ,the training of a three year old bulldog seems to be working.
Everyday she goes for a walk with the other dogs and will walk to heel on a lead right next to the main road without her previous frozen awareness.
True the secret of this sudden improvement  can be put down to some simple mirroring of the pack's behaviour, but I think that "hiding" Constance away from the traffic next to the ever cheerful George has helped immeasurably!
Toilet training has improved tenfold too. OK accidents continue , especially when routine has been breached, but generally things seem a great deal better.
However, the very fact the bulldogs are undeniably inbred, means that Constance does suffer from obvious breathing problems.Sleep apnoea is her most common complaint ( for those that do not know, this is where the upper airways are effective closed by a physical deformity when the animal is asleep) and as in humans ( I am a sufferer) she suffers from broken sleep and I am sure over tiredness when awake.
Subsequently, when she does sleep, I suspect she occasionally sleeps very deeply and sometimes will actually wet her bedding without knowing it....Having said this...a strict bedtime routine has helped minimise "accidents"
(I have to say that although I suffer from sleep apnoea I have never wet myself in bed!)
Mind you I once peed on the radiator after taking two dihydrocodeine for a bad back!

Inbreeding in any animal species to achieve the "perfect" standard is wrong when it affects the physical well being of the animal concerned. Constance may have the typical look of a bulldog that ticks all the boxes, but she will be prone to entropean (ingrowing eyelashes), airway problems,tear staining, wrinkle infections and wetness and the more serious hip displacia,

I knew all this before we accepted her. I knew she would be more difficult to care for and to train compared to the others, but for me, her rambunctious  personality, her innate need to be fussed over and her "enjoyment" in being a part of something, all outweigh the odd pile of steaming poo in the kitchen

Albert giving Constance the "evil" eye

Having waxed lyrically over the virtues of bullsdogs, there is someone in the cottage that has not quite been won over by a set of piggy little eyes and a somewhat musical length of bowel.
Albert still remains unsure of Constance and still makes a point of not rubbing his face against hers when he greets the pack after their walks........
There is time yet........