American bulldogs are larger and much more agile than their English Bulldog relatives. They’ve become popular pet dogs in the United States throughout the years. They have made their way into the hearts and houses of so many individuals in the UK and worldwide due to their appearances and gentle natures.
The American bulldog is frequently confused with the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull. However, the breed is vastly distinct in many aspects from both. It, therefore, is exempt from the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. This breed is not the greatest choice for first-time pet owners because they must be managed and instructed by someone knowledgeable about the breed. Here’s what you need to know:
Temperament
They are known for being persistent, strong, and fearless. They are never extremely aggressive or frightened dogs by nature.
As a result, they are dominating dogs by nature. Because they are so strong physically, they are not the best choice for first-time dog owners because they require proper socialization and training. Other than that, they are a joy to be around in the right hands and environment. They have fun-loving, funny attitudes, which indicates they regularly play social games with their pet parents.
American bulldogs are self-assured, energetic, and gregarious dogs who create significant ties with their owners. Puppies get more extroverted as they grow older. Still, they are always eager to participate in whatever is going on in the house. Learn more on this link https://www.softschools.com/facts/dogs/american_bulldog_facts/2315/.
When sharing a household with an American bulldog, the quality of effective socialization cannot be overstated. They are enormous, strong dogs when fully grown, making them difficult to handle if they’ve not been adequately socialized and taught at a young age. The issue is that bullies frequently underestimate their own strength, particularly when playing, which can be a concern in households with younger children.
As previously said, your potential pet is a fantastic, loyal, and devoted family pet in the proper hands and in the right environment. They must, however, understand their place in the pack and who is the household’s alpha dog. In summary, they are happier when they have someone to whom they can turn for direction.
As a result, they are not the greatest choice for first-time dog owners, preferring instead people who are aware of the requirements of this high-energy, intelligent breed. It’s worth noting that this breed is known for having a high pain threshold. This can make it even more challenging to detect when an American Bulldog is unwell.
Because they are so bright, they are simple to teach. They are considered extremely obedient if their training begins early enough for the pet to grasp what their owners want from them. Since they are known to be somewhat demanding canines by nature, they do well in houses where at least one individual remains in the house when everyone else is out. Click here for more.
As a result, they dislike being left alone for long periods. If left uncontrolled, they can rapidly become bored, which can lead to various behavioural concerns such as anxiety issues and bad behaviour in the home.
They are capable of leaping large distances and have been observed to clear over 3 feet with ease. As a result, garden fencing must be not only extremely secure but also quite high to keep these sporty and muscular dogs safe.
Health Issues
Obesity is a problem for American bulldogs. They must not be allowed to eat freely. Their quantities must be kept to a minimum. When given a chance, the American bulldog will gorge himself.
Moreover, hip dysplasia is a hereditary disorder in which the hip joint weakens due to improper growth. This is a typical problem with huge dog breeds.
Another thing you should know is that bulldogs have a hard time with heat and humidity. Even though it’s a warm day, keep an eye out for signs of overheating in your pet. Choose a cooler spot for your pet to lie down as soon as you notice any indications of overheating. If you plan on spending lots of time outside on a hot day, many American Bulldog owners will invest in little kid’s pools for their dog to cool off in.
Intelligence
American bulldogs are susceptible to “voice.” Yet, they are also domineering by nature, making them better suited to those who know how to teach and handle them. The education and socialization of an American bulldog must begin as soon as the pups are placed in their new homes. Training and managing must be continuous throughout the dog’s life to learn what is required of them.
They are bright canines who delight in pleasing their people. But you should know that American bulldogs are powerful and self-assured dogs, and if they are not properly socialized, trained, and handled early on, they can develop a more forceful and dominating side to their personalities making them wilful and difficult to control.
They do not respond well to severe corrections or a heavy-handed attitude towards training. Positive reinforcement, on the other hand, works wonders for these dogs, bringing out the best in them and resulting in a happy, well-behaved, and obedient dog. They must be taught boundaries and limits from a young age to learn how far they may go. They may push these limitations at times, hence why their training must be persistent throughout their life.
Some things in life are inevitable. For a while, that inevitably was a new Shrek movie with an updated pop cover like “I’m a Believer” from Smash Mouth. These days it’s a new Despicable Me movie, this time in the form of spinoff Minions The Rise of Gru. And just as we all predicted, the new Steve Carrell led film comes stacked with a loaded soundtrack headlined by St. Vincent.
For her contribution to the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack, St. Vincent covered “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. Her version was produced by Jack Antonoff and continues a run of luck for the musician that earlier this year saw her win a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.
Antonoff also gave St. Vincent a shout-out for her album Daddy’s Home when he won Producer of the Year at the Grammys.
Announcing the release of her funky cover, St. Vincent took to Twitter and wrote, “Excited to say the @Minions (including @jackantonoff) and I have just released our version of ‘Funkytown’ from #TheRiseofGru soundtrack. Shout out to Gru and them…” Included with the post was a graphic of St. Vincent as a minion.
Joining St. Vincent on the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack are Tame Impala, Kali Uchis, Brittany Howard, Thundercat, Caroline Polachek, Diana Ross, and Weyes Blood, just to name a few.
The album will be released on July 1, coinciding with the film’s theatrical release. You can listen to St. Vincent’s cover of Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” below!
Back in October of 2021, Parmalee released ‘Take My Name’ as the second single from their third studio album. It was written with and produced by David Fanning, producer of the massive hit ‘Carolina’ that introduced me to the band back in 2008, Ashley Gorley and Ben Johnson. Robyn Collins of ‘Taste of Country’ described the song as “a musical marriage proposal” and lead singer of the band, Matt Thomas, says it was inspired by the marriage of brother Scott; he says “it made me think about what I would want to say to my future wife.”
Some songs almost become bigger than themselves when they tap into the lives and moods of everyone and this is very much one of those songs. It’s not difficult to see why this song has been adopted by fans all over the world irrespective of their taste in music; its words conjure all the romance and love that you’d hope to feel when you ask someone to marry you. It’s lyrically a shopping list of everything you feel at the moment you realise you’ve met the one, even if that’s after only a short time. I remember proposing to my wife after just 8 weeks and if I try to remember what I was feeling at the point I proposed and tried to put it into words I would hope it was very similar to this song. Now over 31 years later and still happily married I listen to this song and it brings all those feelings back in a rush so why wouldn’t it be the perfect song to overlay a proposal, sing at the wedding or just be part of the moment; it’s how I’d love my sons to feel when they propose to their partners.
Parmalee are very aware of their fans needs and were quick to record a wedding version for such occasions with a less catchy percussion and a softer piano focussed vibe than the original version. There have even been brilliant occasions where the band has turned up to “crash” a wedding and sing this song to the happy couple reminiscent of Maroon 5 and their song ‘Sugar’. None of those guests will forget that wedding in a hurry!
With all the interest in the song and the brilliant videos and messages the band have received, they felt the time was right to make their own narrative video to accompany the song as an addition to the previously released visualizer. The ‘Wedding Version’ video of the romantic song was filmed in Gallatin, TN and directed by Shane Drake. The heart-warming story follows the journey of the protagonist through middle school and all the way to adulthood featuring kids from a local school, an original 1968 Mustang Shelby GT350 and appearances from the band with the lead being played by frontman Matt Thomas.
Matt says:
“From the jump, the fans have really latched onto this song in such an amazing, life changing way- our fans have been the reason for so many of our own major milestones, so it means that much more to us that folks are using our song for their proposals and weddings and allowing us to be a part of those major moments in their lives. We wanted to pay tribute to the fans who have been on this journey with us since the beginning so in the music video you’ll see a story of love and loyalty unfold across the years-but don’t expect to see any weddings or proposals – the fan created videos far exceed anything we could depict. We love watching them.”
With over 135 million global on demand streams, the song has raced up the Country charts, outpacing the band’s previous single, the multinational Number 1 smash ‘Just The Way’ with Blanco Brown and has been popping up all over TikTok with creators playing the song over proposal and wedding videos and even sparking a trend of using the sound of the song and writing “if your man doesn’t make you feel this way then what are you doing?” over the video.
Coming from their recently released album ‘For You’, an album that has garnered critical acclaim with American Songwriter calling it “authentically real, genuinely inspired” and Billboard saying that “Parmalee find itself in the enviable position of being able to tap into multiple audiences”. What is very clear is that Country music is slowly starting to find a new, younger audience in the UK to stand alongside the existing fans of the genre. Zack Bryan has recently found himself high on the Spotify album charts and UK stars like Ed Sheeran have appeared alongside Country stars like Luke Combs at the Country2Country festival. Even Tom Odell has found himself headlining the British Country Music Festival in the Summer. Parmalee may be the band to really break down the barriers between Country music and the UK Charts with this song as the musical genre of this release is far less important than the honesty and emotion of the lyrics and Romance will always break down all of the barriers, or at least I would hope it would.
‘For You’ is out now and can be streamed and downloaded here. Find out more about Parmalee and their music online on their official website.
This Copenhagen DIY pop artist has managed the difficult task of mixing her soulful voice with vibrant dreamy production and lyrics with real streetwise attitude. The result is something that has given her the hit single ‘Obvious’ which Danish radio loved and the internationally acclaimed single ‘Back to Business’. Now she is releasing the excellent lead single ‘Summer’s Already Gone’ which sounds very modern Bond in its lo fi production but tells an unusual love story. Not a story about falling in love with a person, but about the love affair that always ends; the affair with Summer.
She says:
“I wanted to write a song that could represent both the fearlessness of the magical Summer days and the truly blue sadness of the re occuring love story it actually is when Summer eventually comes to an end. I know it’s a heartbreaking, melancholy feeling but it’s also everything I love about Summer.”
The song was written in Mercedess’ living room with Danish indie superstar Goss and the guitarist Søren Breum and is produced by the critically acclaimed artist Vera. It allows the velvet of the artist’s voice to tumble over the muted trumpets, break beats and flirty acoustic guitars and strings bringing to life the seasonal heartbreak.
The fact that it is about the love and anticipation felt for Summer is almost more poignant this year as we embark upon the first free Summer for a few years. The affair with Summer this year promises to be a torrid passionate affair as we’ve been apart so long but the heartbreak of its end will be felt more keenly. This song will be the soundtrack to the affair for sure.
The single is released on the same day as the debut album from this exciting new talent. Mercedess says of the album: “Casa Fantasia is an album about longing for closeness and honesty. These songs are an escape from reality-a place to feel free and be yourself. Writing it was a personal journey and process to me that hopefully will make space for creativity, art and emotions for others too”
The album promises to do just that with the artist’s melancholy and yet warm and dreamy vocals and marks an exciting new chapter for an artist destined to find international acclaim with this collection of music. Summer may come and go but I’m sure the appeal of Mercedess will be perennial.
