A 6-year-old English Bulldog named Chowder has become a social media star for his skateboarding skills. According to his social accounts, the “cool little dude living his best life” has 1.6 million followers on TikTok and 175,000 on Instagram.
@chowderthebulldog A fun skate sesh at Chowder’s new favorite skate location. Awesome to see him so happy & doing what he loves😎. NOTE-he is an experienced pro and we take MANY safety precautions. NOT for dogs new to skating. Please see important dog skate safety notes in pinned comments. #skate #dogtok #weekend #skateboarding #surf #family #petsoftiktok #familytime #weekendvibes #skaterboy #friday #bulldogsoftiktok
A Different Kind of Bulldog
Chowder lives with his family on Fox Island in Washington state. His mom Jani Delperdang adopted him when he was just eight weeks old. She’d had Bulldogs in the past and expected Chowder to be a cuddler like the others had been.
“He was just really different,” she said. “We’ve never had a dog like him before, not super affectionate.”
But Chowder always wanted to play.
“He just had to have a lot of physical activity,” said Delperdang.
Because she worked remotely, Delperdang took Chowder out several times a day to play with toys, but even with all that activity, Chowder seemed bored.
“Almost like he didn’t like doing the dog stuff, “ said Delperdang. “Quite honestly, for the first two years, we really weren’t sure what to do with him.”
She worried that Chowder was depressed.
“I was literally looking for neighbors to play with him, because, again, he just looked bored. You know, you can tell a happy dog from a not happy dog, and he just wasn’t.”
Chowder as a pup. Photo courtesy of Jani Delperdang
Chowder’s Chance Encounter
When Chowder was about two years old, he was at the beach in Oregon with Delperdang and her daughter, and there was a boy with a skim board.
“Chowder had never seen a skim board,” said Delperdang. “We just happened to be walking by when [the boy] flung it and Chowder hijacked it, and he jumped on it and started riding.”
“It was just the craziest thing ever,” she said.
A crowd gathered on the beach to watch Chowder as he skim boarded for another 20 minutes.
“It was just instinctual, you know?” said Delperdang.
When she got home from that weekend trip, Delperdang got Chowder a skateboard right away.
“Within five minutes, I could tell he was just obsessed,” she said.
Chowder had found his passion.
@chowderthebulldog Hi TikTok friends! Wow! Where did 4 years go? So many special memories with the pups🥰. We’re so happy Chowder found his joy! Pls see dog skate safety info in pinned comments. #thisiswhatdreamsaremadeof #family #familytime #joy #love #skateboarding #skater #skate #dogtok #petsoftiktok #memories #weekend #shredding
“He completely changed, like he needed that,” she said.
Chowder began by rolling around the driveway on his stomach.
But Delperdang said he soon got bored with that.
“So we thought maybe take him to a parking lot or something,” she said. “So it was immediately after we did that, that he just started standing up and then riding hills.”
On a Roll
@chowderthebulldog A chill skate session with his hoomans doing what Chowder loves the most. #lifeisgood #chillin #dogdad #brother #hooman #fypシ #skate #createkindness
“He loves hills and he loves speed,” said Delperdang. “We have to be careful of that though. We don’t let him ride anything too fast. You learn you can’t take your eye off away for even a minute.”
And he’s skilled at adjusting his body to take a corner.
“He really likes the turning part, that’s like his fun,” said Delperdang.
Chowder is now a skateboarding perfectionist.
“If he has a run where he fell off, we have to go back up and have a good one before we leave,” said Delperdang. “He understands the concept of practice.”
@chowderthebulldog Hi friends. Chowder lives for his skating time. A mini-vlog about our practice session today. Our focus is on making sure he is safe & having fun. Please watch our skate safety video & this video about how Chowder stops. @chowderthebulldog Additional safety notes in pinned comments. #skate #skateboarding #practice #familytime #adventurevibes #puppiesoftiktok #dogtok #weekendvibes #vlog
Safety is a priority so Chowder only skates in empty parking lots and areas where there are no cars.
“We’re really very limited in the places we take him,” she said. “And there’s so many fun places we’d love to, but it’s just not safe.”
Want Your Dog to Skate? Don’t Push It
Delperdang said she doesn’t have any particular advice for people who’d like to teach their dog to skate.
“I don’t want to tell people, don’t do it or whatever, but we kind of think it’s like [the dog] kind of wanting to or not,” she said. “I mean, we definitely helped Chowder improve and everything, but we’re more like his assistants.”
Delperdang moved the board around for Chowder to get him to a good starting place and let him spend a lot of time practicing.
“But we never had to incentivize,” she said. “Our big thing was trying to get [the skateboard] away from him because he never wants to quit.”
“It’s just kind of like don’t push them, make sure they’re having fun,” she said. “Keep the training sessions short, you know, make it a special thing.”
Up Next: Surfing
Chowder was able to try snowboarding last winter and now his goal is to learn to surf.
“My daughter is a surfer and we’ve been down on the Oregon Coast and Chowder’s trying to follow her into the water,” said Delperdang. “And everybody who goes by with a surfboard he’s trying to follow in the water.”
So Delperdang ordered Chowder a wetsuit.
“And obviously his life jacket,” she said. “We’re going to teach him this summer.”
More Pups Who Shred
Because of their stocky build and low center of gravity, Bulldogs are well suited to skateboarding. Walter and George are two other superstar Bulldog shredders, but there are other speedy breeds.
Walter & George
Breed: English Bulldogs
Age: Walter 2, George 8
Home: Bainbridge Island, WA
Instagram: @skateboardk9
Fun fact: Walter is one of the stars of an upcoming feature film called “Powder Pup,” about a snowboarding Bulldog and his friends, scheduled for release in 2023.
Darrel the Doge
Breed: Mixed
Age: 3
Home: Edmonds, WA
TikTok: darrel_the_doge
Fun fact: Darrel plays hockey and is the office dog and advocate for the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Darrel is also an ambassador for the Walk To End Alzheimer’s.
Rowdy
Breed: Miniature Dachshund
Age: 4
Home: Hollywood, CA
TikTok: rowdy_dachshund
Fun fact: Rowdy skates in skateparks and has been a competitive runner since she was 4 months old, winning multiple Wiener dog race titles.
Hilo
Breed: Dachshund
Age: 2
Home: Bay Area, CA
Instagram: @hilothedachshund
Fun fact: Hilo loves going hiking and adventuring in the woods and on the beach.
