Enzo seems to live in a little world all of his own – probably because his life is just so confusing. He is a four-year-old French Bulldog.
Enzo has a lot of change to get used to. His young owners live in London and have lots of friends. They pick him up, cuddle him and make a lot of fuss; he is taken on the underground and buses.
He will be left with different people in different places. He also stays with the parents and at the moment he is in their large, quiet house in the country for several weeks.
Enzo has problems. He will suddenly attack the two Springer Spaniels where he is now staying. The brother has a young Pug and he goes for him also. On walks he is kept on lead around dogs because of his behaviour. He obsesses with anything that moves, whether it’s leaves or bits of rubbish and will be constantly looking, pulling and pouncing. He chases cars.
He is a very difficult little dog to read. With no tail we get no clues from that end. With his flat face only his eyes give a clue. It is very likely that in the past he thinks he has given other dogs warning signs to keep their distance but they have simply been unable to read them, so now he goes straight into attack mode. The more activity and action there is around him, the more volatile he becomes. But it looks as if it’s out of the blue. Compared to Spaniels he appears inscrutable.
His body language is unusual. He does a strange little bow – see the picture. With most dogs this would be an invitation to play, but with Enzo he has his back to the people.
The parents want to spend the time he has with them helping him to become calmer and happier. With people he is gentle and obedient if somewhat disengaged; lots of pampering, being carried about and play fighting may be fun for the young people, but it’s not good for Enzo. After one day here he already seems calmer. They will work on his behaviour with their own dogs and dogs outside. They will work on his obsession with chasing things. With lower stress levels in Enzo, the poor Springer Spaniels will be able to relax again in their own home.