and the whole dominance thing. It's making him not trust you, not trust your touching him and making him defensive/fear aggressive. Don't know where you learned to do that? He is your friend, your companion, not your enemy.

Please find a trainer in your area that uses positive methods of training, maybe do a class or a few private sessions. You can locate one at apdt.com. In the meantime, any book written by Ian Dunbar on raising a puppy is a great place to start. Dogwise.com has many worthwhile books.

I truly wish you and your pup a ton of luck.



Lynn King CPDT

weaned at 4 weeks which IMO is not all that early. But was the pup still allowed to socialize with mom?


Rhiann, Samson, Mia and Karma
If you breed then rescue
Northern California Bulldog Rescue

We have witnessed his growling in play and in dominance, completely different. Like I said, if you correct him for biting by just moving him away from the object or getting him to release, he growls. Today I picked him up from outside to carry him in and he looked at me out of the corner of his eye, growled and lounged for my face. We have been using scruff shaking and if necessary, alpha rolling him to his back and holding him until his submits (which takes sometimes up to 5 minutes). We also do quiet time where we massage and rub his feet. This growling is happening in light and dim lighting. He can hear because he responds to our clapping, whistling and calling his name. Please keep the suggestions coming. He is a cutie and would love to work through this.

perhaps being unfamiliar with this breed, the rough play was mistaken for aggression...bulldogs can make lots of 'heavy sounds' and they have strong jaws/sharp teeth...lots of little things can be misinterpreted here. Maybe a rescue group volunteer could "interview" the pup and provide some guidance on training/handling to this owner.

but did the pup remain with the litter? What do you do to "correct" this behavior? I don't know if you have experience with Bulldogs but they can make some terrible sounds/growling/snorting when playing.

Lynn King CPDT

Have any of the incidents happened in low lighting or in the dark by chance? The only experiences I have seen with an "aggressive" puppy at that age turned out to be linked to vision. I realized finally that every incident had happened in low light settings. I took her to an opthamologist and she did C.E.R.F. clear...BUT when the lighting was lowered it was obvious that she could not follow the feather duster the Dr was using the same way she did with the lights up. In essence she has night blindness and is fearful in low lighting when she can not see. The fear of not being able to see what is coming coupled with an unfamiliar environment led her to literally lash out. It can take up to 2 years to find out if this girl has PRA (progressive retinal atrophy)
Another reason young puppies act aggressively is they are deaf. They can't hear what is going on and you surprise them when approaching when they can't see you. The instinct again at that age to fear is to bite.
It is NOT normal in any way shape or form for an 8 week old puppy to be aggressive...ever, period. My advice would be to return this puppy to the breeder immediately. If you do keep him start with his vision move to the hearing and go through testing to figure out why he is acting the way he is. There will be a medical basis for why he is the way he is.

I agree he was taken away from Mom extremely early. Eleven to twelve weeks would have been best in my opinion. It sounds like he needs socialization. I would advise you to find a good animal behaviorist as well as a CPDT dog trainer.

of age its unlikely she can return it. We both know noone in thier right mind would let a 4 weeker go unless they are a miller or importer. And sadly the conditions it may go back to may are probably poor.

I would suggest to sign up for classes, ie a provate trainer and a class where the dog will sllowy be socialized in baby steps. this puppy has no socialization skills or boundaries. Sadly our rescue has been dealing with a few young "aggressive" pups being surrendered all under 5 months of age.

If you do not feel you can handle this issues and return the pup is not an issues i would suggest you go to the Bulldog Club Of America Rescue site recuebuldogs.org and look into surrendering the pup to your local rescue group. We are equiped to deal with situations like this and will find the best suitable home for the pup after proper training and such.

I wish you the best of luck.
Be consistant...take away all toys, and go back to basics. Make this pup rely on you. Feedings done with hand feeding kibble after a sit and wait command. No tug of war with toys what to ever. When the pup nips or bites use a command of your choice (most trainers will say to avoid the word no) and spray some Bitter Apple in the pups mouth. Or shake a Penny Can when this behavior is being exhibited. I wou;d also suggest the use of a crate for some much needed time outs so that you do not provoke a negative vibe between your pup and your Boxer. If this is not fixed and worked on now they will end up fighting and it will become a nightmare.



Rhiann, Samson, Mia and Karma
If you breed then rescue
Northern California Bulldog Rescue