Bulldogs World

Sorry it is so long, but I want everyone to understand exactly what is happening and what we are going through!

I am writing this to see if anybody else has had any of these experiences with their bulldogs. I love my bulldog, Baxter, very much and he is my world. He has just turned a year old and he is very aggressive and possessive towards toys, food and people. I do realize that this is somewhat my fault because I haven’t taken him to training yet, but now I am thinking basic training might not cut it. He has attacked the 3 other dogs in my household (2 puppies, 1 adult) over food. He has bitten my daughter (Baxter is her dog) while giving him a treat because one of the puppies was near him. Baxter is great when he meets people and other dogs outside but he is constantly going after the other dogs in the household and on the rare occasion he will growl at new people coming in the house. His aggression towards people in the family is also alarming. He has bitten my oldest daughter and my husband in the face several times, and his teeth have broken the skin. If we call him to come in the house he has and will hide under tables and growl and bite at us if we go to touch him and he will chase after you and bite the back of your legs. Also, he will not allow anyone to clip his nails. My daughter, who is a dog groomer in training, is having a very difficult time to cut them, he growls and bites her. On average he bites her approximately 20 times while she attempts to cut them. We all adore him and show him unconditional love and affection and I’m worrying that may be part of the problem. We have let him get away with basically everything and as he gets older he is getting worse. On one occasion my daughter was playing on the ground with him and he got too excited and ended up biting her throat and would not let go until I pulled him off of her. The slightest thing seems to upset him, for example he cries for one of us to pick him up and put him on the couch and when we do, he growls at us and sometimes tries to snap at us. Other times he is an angel! He sleeps with us every night and constantly wants our attention and we give it to him. He is very playful and full of personality. He gets very jealous when any of the other dogs want to come near us; he has been living with the puppies and older dog for many months now. I believe that some of Baxter’s behaviour may be caused by the loss of our beloved chocolate lab, Bear. Baxter was attached at the hip with him and even though they fought as well Baxter did not leave his side for the last 2 days of Bears life and he has not been the same since. Baxter did not have a good start at life and I’m sure that is some of the cause. When I went with my family to go pick out our bulldog the conditions of where they were being held was disturbing to say the least. Baxter was the runt of the litter and there was 5 puppies per cage and had to fight for food and I’m assuming that’s where his food aggression came from. He also was sick and had 3 heart murmurs and we weren’t sure how many days we would have with him, but a year later he is now down to 1 murmur and in good health!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and any tips or information would be greatly appreciated!