Argus
OK, before you start thinking the wrong thing, I’m a PUPPY MOMMY again. Last Tuesday, I picked up a 9 week old English Bulldog from a breeder in San Diego. He went for an entire day without a name as I wanted to get it just right. I have 3 other dogs and I had names picked out for 2 of them that I ended up changing after getting them and observing their personalities and I didn’t want to do the same thing this time.
After many hours of observing him, I decided on Argus. It has both Greek and Scandinavian derivations and means vigilant one as well as bright, shining one. In Greek mythology, Argus had 100 eyes that became the spots on a peacock’s feathers. Argus is also the brand name of a device on a parachute that should you become incapacitated or lose consciousness in freefall (or like a dumb-ass, lose altitude awareness), will deploy your reserve parachute for you automatically.
Argus is definitely a bulldog through and through. He is sweet and loving, yet stubborn as can be. He is extremely smart and already knows sit, but getting him to walk on a leash has been quite the challenge. Like any puppy, he wants to put everything in his mouth, including me. I’ve learned that for about an hour and a half in the evening, I need to keep a toy in my hand at all times and encourage him to chew on it or else he is trying to chew on me and those puppy teeth hurt. He is starting to understand “no” but is selective in choosing when to heed it. I am hoping that he learns from my other dogs and ends up being as trustworthy and well behaved as them. I have a long year ahead of me with him and he may be more of a challenge than my French Bulldogs, but I don’t think he’ll be as challenging as my Pit.
I always go through some anxiety when I get a new dog. I just want to do everything right and find a way to deal with any challenge that comes up. My challenge for this week: getting my body used to getting up every few hours to take Argus outside…..whew, am I tired! 
Hi Nicole,
Congrats on the new pup. English bulldogs are so cute and Argus is a great name. I have 3 Rottweilers. My female Rottweiler is my most difficult one. She bit me when she was a puppy too. And at 3 mos old, her bites were sharp. I thought to myself she’s just going to get bigger and stronger. Her bites are going to crush my hand, so I had to figure out how to stop her from biting me.
I learned that I had to bite her like a momma dog would do with her pups. So with my hand I squeezed her head not real tight just enough pressure where she released my hand. I made sure I was calm, but assertive when I did this. I didn’t say anything, I just communicated with Daisy with my energy of calm/assertiveness. About a week of this and she stopped biting me.
Another thing I learned to help pups with teething was ice cubes. My pups loved chewing on ice cubes, during this time and it stopped them from chewing on anything and everything for a bit.
I understand about the lack of sleep with a new pup. Boy dogs take so much longer to sleep overnight. The vet never explained why this is, but I hope you can take naps throughout the day.
Take Care,
Kelli
Hi Nicole,
Congrats on your puppy, my nephew had a bulldog and he was quite naughty but most of that was due to them working all the time and not teaching him anything. While they were at work he would be tied up in his kennel mainly because he was always trying to fight with their bull mastiff, my husband and i felt sorry for this dog but they ended up giving him to one of their friends who have a female bulldog and he is so much better now because he is getting the attention that he needed. He’s a completely different dog. Some people should not have dogs like my nephew. So happy puppy training and good luck he looks gorgeous.
Kim