Natural History

Posted in dog breeds | Tagged bulldog | 7 Comments

7 Responses

1. on November 14, 2009 at 1:57 am HTTrainer

   Some how Sam developed issues with something or somebody in his face. The timbre of those growls do not seem friendly so I suspect one day Sam may catch his owner offguard and go for the camcorder.

   
   
   • on November 14, 2009 at 2:14 am retrieverman

     I can’t read bulldogs.

     Their mannerisms are that much different from other dogs.

     
     
     • on November 14, 2009 at 6:10 am JenniferJ

       Umm, not really. Just get past the squished face. :-)

       This is not a happy dog. He feels threatened or irritated by that camera and the nimrod doing it is setting him up to go after the camera, or a something/someone else. And they think it’s funny. :-(

       The mannerisms you are seeing are a combination of an unhappy dog who is also confused by the evident approval of the human involved over his attempts to tell the human and camera to get out of his face.

       I agree with HTTrainer, not happy sounding growls at all, not play. He’s upset and confused and being encouraged to act aggresively towards something that he does not find comfortable. Baaaad idea.

       And if he ends up escalating the behavior, out national network volunteers will most likely get the call. While it’s easy to dismiss bulldogs as mostly harmless, they can do a lot of damage like any dog. Consider the 7 year old male I pulled from a shelter last year. He was not aggressive, but he was spoiled and a five star brat. He was not going to be confined or crated. He ripped through a chainlink fence and destroyed a wire crate in the space of an hour.

       4 weeks of rehab, and then another foster home for a month with oodles of experience with working dogs, he turned out OK.

       Bulldogs will put up with a lot of crap. This dog has been pushed pretty hard to get to the point of being this pissed at the camera. Aughh!

       So far as otherworldly noises go, I had a bitch who was infamous for “gargoyling” She would talk, loudly, in a cadence that sounded all the world like she was having a conversation. No barks, just chortles, wines, growls and assorted indescribable vocalizations. If she wanted your attention and did not get it, she could keep it up seemingly forever.

       The tail is what we call a spike tail. It is still naturally short and has a few kinks in it. Spike tails are preferred by many of us. A tail like this is not a fault if you want to show the dog. The high set and the way he’s carrying it up would be.

       That tail being carried up and still like this is another sign of his arousal and unhappy state of mind with this little game.

       
       
       • on November 14, 2009 at 2:20 pm retrieverman

         I am much more accustomed to more wolfish dogs (which includes golden retrievers)

         I also have a hard time reading rottweilers, especially if their tails are docked.

         
         
       • on November 14, 2009 at 8:41 pm Pai

         “He ripped through a chainlink fence and destroyed a wire crate in the space of an hour.”

         Pretty impressive for a breed that’s routinely accused of being universally crippled and asthmatic. =)

         
         
         • on November 15, 2009 at 1:19 am JenniferJ

           Oliver was a five star PITA and everyone fell in love with him. He thankfully ended up with a couple who were down sizing from Anatolians and Mastiffs so they were not bullied or intimadated by his bluster.

           As for crippled and asthmatic, I’ve fostered those too.
           My first bulldog in fact was what I would politely term a “genetic cesspool” Makes one very picky about health to go through that.

           When bred right, they are sometimes distressingly agile and active.

           One of the reasons we get them in rescue is that people figured they were getting an inactive, lazy, canine pet-rock. Then the bored, untrained bulldog eats a room in one afternoon(Dry wall, door frames, cabinet doors, couches).

           It’s extraordinarily frustrating to see the vast number of “strictly for the pet market” dogs being bred with zero health screening and people happily swallowing the “they’re supposed to be that way (crippled, airway challenged)” load of crap and paying three grand for a dog you could not give me. ‘Course I’ll end up fostering some of them anyways!

           My current foster is a bulldog/boxer mix who pretty much got screwed genetically from both sides. Bad eyes (now fixed), sub par airway despite the fact that he has more muzzle than most pitties, bad, long straight stifles. Sweeter than all get out and going to a nice home with a chihuahua and no stairs. I’m sure he was originally marketed as a healthy alternative to a purebred, but there is no substitute for health screening.

           
           
2. on November 14, 2009 at 5:50 pm Viatecio

   I feel as though I have to apologize for the following opinion, but…that was gross. Sounded like he was pissed at not being able to hock up a loogie as well as the dolt trying to film him doing it. Or maybe it’s just that I really have no good things to say about such a disfigured breed, whose physical faults that make its life miserable (for both dog and owner) are seen as “cute” by so many.

   I agree though, those were not friendly growls. On the other hand, this is what I consider good training, albeit controversial in more than one way.

   
   

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