Hi all!
I've been reading the forums extensively over the past several months to prepare for bringing our new bulldog pup home. We got Calvin at 7 weeks old and he was the adorable runt of the litter. He has what sounds like a pretty typical bully personality--complete with being stubborn and loving snuggles. He's really such a love. BUT, we have one problem. About 3 or 4 weeks ago he started occasionally snarling at us when we go to pick him up. It's not all the time but it's becoming a little more frequent. There are times where he refuses to walk out of the house to go potty or walk back inside (like I said, stubborn) and when I or my husband or daughter pick him up he snarls and bears his teeth. This is NOT the same as his puppy-ish growling like when he's pulling on our pants legs or a toy. This is mean and aggressive...or at least it sure looks that way. We are all very careful to pick him up in a gentle yet firm way to hold him securely--there's not undue squeezing of his stomach or hurting his legs or anything that could be the problem. I'm posting because tonight he snarled and got so angry it was the first time I wasn't able to pick him up at all. We were outside and he wanted to lay on the grass and not come in. Usually I pick him up anyway, give him a firm "NO" and then he calms down. Not tonight.
I'm stumped and I certainly don't want to be bit...or worse, have one of our kids be bit by him.
Any thoughts?
Really appreciate it!
I've been reading the forums extensively over the past several months to prepare for bringing our new bulldog pup home. We got Calvin at 7 weeks old and he was the adorable runt of the litter. He has what sounds like a pretty typical bully personality--complete with being stubborn and loving snuggles. He's really such a love. BUT, we have one problem. About 3 or 4 weeks ago he started occasionally snarling at us when we go to pick him up. It's not all the time but it's becoming a little more frequent. There are times where he refuses to walk out of the house to go potty or walk back inside (like I said, stubborn) and when I or my husband or daughter pick him up he snarls and bears his teeth. This is NOT the same as his puppy-ish growling like when he's pulling on our pants legs or a toy. This is mean and aggressive...or at least it sure looks that way. We are all very careful to pick him up in a gentle yet firm way to hold him securely--there's not undue squeezing of his stomach or hurting his legs or anything that could be the problem. I'm posting because tonight he snarled and got so angry it was the first time I wasn't able to pick him up at all. We were outside and he wanted to lay on the grass and not come in. Usually I pick him up anyway, give him a firm "NO" and then he calms down. Not tonight.
I'm stumped and I certainly don't want to be bit...or worse, have one of our kids be bit by him.
Any thoughts?
Really appreciate it!