New Puppy and I have some concerns

[BrooklynStar]

Hello Everyone,

I recently took home an 11 week old English Bulldog named Dozer (he was born on 11/23/2011), and I love him so much!!! However, I do have some concerns that I would like to address and possibly get some feedback on. Please note that we are first time dog owners.

When we first took him home this past Thursday everything was great...he slept a lot and was very calm and submissive. He learned to use the Wee Wee pad after a whole day and we are so proud of him for doing so. But then I noticed that he had a lot of mucus coming out of his nose at all times, especially while he was sleeping. The mucus would dry up on his nose and we would take a moist wipe and try our best to wipe it away...the Vet said it was fine and he said he didn't hear any congestion or anything. He said that his stomach does have parasites and gave us Amoxicilin to give to him for the next two weeks. Does this sound right???

Starting Sunday, he would wake up in the middle of the night bugging out and scratching like a mad man at himself, he would drag the side of his head on our tile floor and would growl and snip at us. This happened only a few times, but I am worried that maybe something is really troubling him and that is why he is lashing out at us (I live with my father, mother and myself. My girlfriend practically lives with us since she is here every day too.)

We have been trying our best to develop the pack mentality and show him that we are boss but as you know bully's can be stubborn. For example, he would defecate in his crate and would try to defecate in other areas of the house. We always watch him like a hawk so when we catch him we try to corral him towards the wee wee pad...sometimes this is a hit or a miss but is usually pretty good about it.

Also, sometimes he growls at us and today took all of his toys and brought them into his crate, I guess this is normal? For those interested we have him on "Fromm Family Puppy Gold Chiot" food. Here is a link to the exact food http://www.amazon.com/Fromm-Puppy-Gold-Food-11557/dp/B002CSIFTQ Should we change it? Maybe he is having some type of reaction to the food which is why he is scratching and has mucus coming out of his nose? Please help.

Anyway, any tips would be appreciated and without further a due here are pictures of my new best friend Dozer!! Thanks for reading!

 

[MissPennyLue]

Congrats on your new buddy & welcome to the board!!

We fed Penny the Fromm puppy gold for awhile. She did ok on it, but not great. It sounds like he may be itchy with the dragging his head, etc. Other with more experience dealing with allergies will chime in, I'm sure! He little face does look pink to me.

Are you taking him out to potty at all or just using the pads? If you are able to take him out (or put him on the pads) on a schedule maybe that will help with the issue in the house. Remember LOTS & LOTS of praise and treats when he does where you want him to. Puppies do best going out on a schedule (after waking up, before playing, before bed, after eating, and I always took Penny out every 45-60 minutes or so when we first brought her home).

What are other examples of when he is growling at you?? Over toys? Food? Being handled? That info might better help us help you.

 

[BrooklynStar]

Congrats on your new buddy!

We fed Penny the Fromm puppy gold for awhile. She did ok on it, but not great. It sounds like he may be itchy with the dragging his head, etc. Other with more experience dealing with allergies will chime in, I'm sure!

Are you taking him out to potty at all or just using the pads? If you are able to take him out (or put him on the pads) on a schedule maybe that will help with the issue in the house. Remember LOTS & LOTS of praise and treats when he does where you want him to. Puppies do best going out on a schedule (after waking up, before playing, before bed, after eating, and I always took Penny out every 45-60 minutes or so when we first brought her home).

What are other examples of when he is growling at you?? Over toys? Food? Being handled? That info might better help us help you.

Thanks for the reply! He needs one more shot before he is allowed to go out so we have been using the pads. I cant wait for him to get that shot already since I want to house break him ASAP. We have been praising him a lot and giving him treats so I hope over time he learns to always use the pad, although accidents do happen.

As for the growling it was only a few times. One time he tried to bite the stair case and when we told him "NO" he growled. Then he made eye contact with my mother and growled at her, and the last time we didn't do anything he just sat there and growled as we were watching TV. I hope he isn't one of those dogs with the Alpha male personality.

Also if his face looks a little pink what does that signify?

 

[BruceP]

First, to EBN. We'll get your baby straightened out for ya... LOL.... Glad you joined. There are some real behavior experts here to help you with that.
Amoxicilin is a broad spectrum antibiotic and works on both gram positive and gram negative paracites.... in other words is should work for his tummy issues. What are you feeding Dozer now? A LOT of bully issues can be traced to food allergies and many of there issues can be resolved with a diet that works for them. I suggest you read all the info here on EBN about foods and look at the food rating chart as well. We have no food sponsors so the info comes from experienced use with bullies. Dozer sure is precious... Thanx again for joining us.

 

[Sherry]

Hi, and welcome to EBN, check the temperature of Dozer's ears, just by touching them. If they feel warm or have gunk in them he could have infection or mites. Your vet should have seen this though. He sure is a cutie.

 

[Poppy]

Thanks for the reply! He needs one more shot before he is allowed to go out so we have been using the pads. I cant wait for him to get that shot already since I want to house break him ASAP. We have been praising him a lot and giving him treats so I hope over time he learns to always use the pad, although accidents do happen.

As for the growling it was only a few times. One time he tried to bite the stair case and when we told him "NO" he growled. Then he made eye contact with my mother and growled at her, and the last time we didn't do anything he just sat there and growled as we were watching TV. I hope he isn't one of those dogs with the Alpha male personality.

Also if his face looks a little pink what does that signify?

Does he let you take toys out of his mouth without throwing a fit?

To me it sounds like the growling while you were watching tv is because he was bored and wanted to get your attention. What kind of mental stimulation do you provide? You can stuff Kongs for him or do basic patience training. By this I mean it's not really about getting him to sit, but getting him to "stay" and "wait" before getting a toy or treat. This will tire out his brain.

The other growling instances could be interpreted as disrespect, or, depending on your tone, he may have thought you were engaging him in a game. This might happen if you said "No!" in a high pitched tone. Either way once a routine is set and your boundaries are clear, he will soon fit in and behave better. Just because a puppy is naughty does not necessarily mean he will be an aggressive dog. Give it time, be consistent and patient and clear with your rules. I also suggest familiarizing yourself w. Caesar Milan's teachings on body language and energy. Make sure everyone in the household is just as consistent as you are!

And exercise the heck outta the little bugger he sure is cute and mischievous looking!!!

 

[BrooklynStar]

First, to EBN. We'll get your baby straightened out for ya... LOL.... Glad you joined. There are some real behavior experts here to help you with that.
Amoxicilin is a broad spectrum antibiotic and works on both gram positive and gram negative paracites.... in other words is should work for his tummy issues. What are you feeding Dozer now? A LOT of bully issues can be traced to food allergies and many of there issues can be resolved with a diet that works for them. I suggest you read all the info here on EBN about foods and look at the food rating chart as well. We have no food sponsors so the info comes from experienced use with bullies. Dozer sure is precious... Thanx again for joining us.

Thanks for the welcome! We are feeding home the Fromm Puppy chiot, the one I linked in my first post. Although I read good thing about Nature's Variety Instinct Beef and Lamb Meal so I guess we'll try that next.

 

[BrooklynStar]

Hi, and welcome to EBN, check the temperature of Dozer's ears, just by touching them. If they feel warm or have gunk in them he could have infection or mites. Your vet should have seen this though. He sure is a cutie.

The vet tested him for mites and a fever both of which yielded negative results, but we are going back on March 2nd for a check up and his last shot.

 

[BrooklynStar]

Does he let you take toys out of his mouth without throwing a fit?

To me it sounds like the growling while you were watching tv is because he was bored and wanted to get your attention. What kind of mental stimulation do you provide? You can stuff Kongs for him or do basic patience training. By this I mean it's not really about getting him to sit, but getting him to "stay" and "wait" before getting a toy or treat. This will tire out his brain.

The other growling instances could be interpreted as disrespect, or, depending on your tone, he may have thought you were engaging him in a game. This might happen if you said "No!" in a high pitched tone. Either way once a routine is set and your boundaries are clear, he will soon fit in and behave better. Just because a puppy is naughty does not necessarily mean he will be an aggressive dog. Give it time, be consistent and patient and clear with your rules. I also suggest familiarizing yourself w. Caesar Milan's teachings on body language and energy. Make sure everyone in the household is just as consistent as you are!

And exercise the heck outta the little bugger he sure is cute and mischievous looking!!!

He never growls when we take the toys away from him, he always let us have them from him with no issues. As for mental stimulation we have been basically playing with him with his toys and trying to teach him to "sit" at the moment and walk with the leash in the house with us.

Actually, it was watching The Dog Whisperer which inspired us get a dog, I have seen every episode and am trying my best to teach my family those techniques. My only worry will be in two weeks when we all have to go back to work. These are our schedules:

Myself: I leave the house at 7AM and return at 6PM M-F
Mother: Leaves at 8:30ish and gets home at 7PM M-F
Dad: Leaves at 3AM and returns anywhere between 1 and 3 PM...he works every day except Saturday and Wednesday.

We are currently feeding him 3x a day 3/4ths of a cup of the Fromm Puppy Chiot @ 6:30AM, 2:00PM & 6:30 PM

EDIT: yikes he just peed by my door lol...I dont get it sometimes he goes to the wee wee pad with no problem and other times he just go wherever he wants. We currently wash the floors everyday with "Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor remover"

 

[MissPennyLue]

Also if his face looks a little pink what does that signify?

The white on Penny's face gets pink when she is itchy...I always attribute it to an allergy of some sort. It could just be because he is all white! He is too cute.

When he has all of his shots, I would look into puppy classes. Penny is the first dog we have done classes with, & I think it really made a difference for us. She tends to be on the bossy side, and it helped us with consistency at home. Plus, she loved the classes. As another poster mentioned, give him some mental situation.

Be consistent & he will soon learn where he fits into your family. We loosely practice "Nothing in Life is Free" (you can google it & find good explanations, but he will need to know basic commands to implement that.

Best of luck with the little guy!

 

[Poppy]

As long as you can freely take his toys from him I don't see a problem with him bringing them into the crate. I'm no expert though so maybe google that one.

Your schedules actually work out well cos' he'll only be alone from 8-2ish. He may have some accidents until he gets old enough to hold it for that amount of time (usually 6 months). Set up some sort of schedule for everyone to follow and it'll be fine

 

[Poppy]

EDIT: yikes he just peed by my door lol...I dont get it sometimes he goes to the wee wee pad with no problem and other times he just go wherever he wants. We currently wash the floors everyday with "Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor remover"

I might get flack for this but in my experience boys are sooo much harder to potty train than girls!! They are terribly gross and messy too, Bunk used to step all over his pee and poop and walk around the playpen. We eventually had to just crate him instead of the playpen. He finally became fine to roam the house at about a year old. On the flip side Poppy was potty trained at 8 weeks, lol!!

 

[Cooper11]

The growling may just be him playing and or telling you he wants something...When I am on the couch Cooper use to growl at me because he wanted up, not the tank can get up himself If I have a staring match with him he will also growl. If you don't feel it is threatening I wouldn't worry about it or if he hasn't attacked or bit you when he was growling. He might just be a spunky little guy! He is cutie .

Well the peeing by your door get use to it. My cooper is pretty much potty trained and knows he needs to potty outside but randomly he will take a squat right in the living room on my carpet and then run knowing he was naughty! I guess when you gotta go you gotta go. Just be happy it wasn't .
As for the rubbing his head I would think ears also, but if the vet checked it out I'm not sure what it would be. There are a lot of people on EBN with lots of knowledge so I am sure some one will help you out with that. Did you get him from a breeder??? You really have to be careful buying bullies and making sure you get them from a good breeder because they can have so many health problems and temperament problems.
Keep us posted!
O and be ready for the...these bullies can be real stink bombs when loaded

 

[agingermom]

First of all welcome to EBN. My lovely fabulous Arnold would leap at me when he w puppy if I stared at him and growl but it was just a game. He is the sweetest dog ever unless you are a shoe. Hang in there and this forum will show you the way

 

[BrooklynStar]

The growling may just be him playing and or telling you he wants something...When I am on the couch Cooper use to growl at me because he wanted up, not the tank can get up himself If I have a staring match with him he will also growl. If you don't feel it is threatening I wouldn't worry about it or if he hasn't attacked or bit you when he was growling. He might just be a spunky little guy! He is cutie .Well the peeing by your door get use to it. My cooper is pretty much potty trained and knows he needs to potty outside but randomly he will take a squat right in the living room on my carpet and then run knowing he was naughty! I guess when you gotta go you gotta go. Just be happy it wasn't . As for the rubbing his head I would think ears also, but if the vet checked it out I'm not sure what it would be. There are a lot of people on EBN with lots of knowledge so I am sure some one will help you out with that. Did you get him from a breeder??? You really have to be careful buying bullies and making sure you get them from a good breeder because they can have so many health problems and temperament problems. Keep us posted!O and be ready for the...these bullies can be real stink bombs when loaded

We didn't get him through a breeder. We went to our local pet store and got him...I instantly fell in love with him and his personality. I knew he was the dog meant for me after all these years of wanting one. I know they have their share of problems but if he stayed there who knows what could of happened to him (I later found out that place is a shop of horrors and has horrible reviews and law suits against them). I do know some people who got their dogs from there and don't have any problems. Either way, we bought the best insurance plan for him and if he does end up getting something he is in good hands and it would have been an honor to give him such a loving and good home. I don't want to jinx it but I really love this little guy and he just melts my heart.LOL on the farts! He can really clear a room!