Taz 
Breed: French Bulldog
Sex: Male
Age: 3 years old
Weight: 34 lbs.
6/26/2018 Update:
Taz was ADOPTED!!!! It is with great pleasure we are able to announce Taz has found his match and is officially off the market.
Taz joined the NBBR family as an owner surrender. Taz’s owner purchased him on Craigslist and only had him a few months but soon realized he was too much for her laid back lifestyle. Taz was too rambunctious for her Bulldog, who prefers relaxing on the couch while Taz likes to play. His owner thought it best to find a family more suited to his energy level and reached out to NBBR to help. When Taz joined his foster family, it was determined he had several “issues” that would require a unique adopter. Taz’s adopter would need to be a previous Bulldog owner, patient and be able to handle Taz and his unique requirements.
Taz’s new forever Dad actually applied to be an adopter before Taz joined NBBR, he was hoping to be able to adopt a Frenchie but knew NBBR gets only a limited number. Taz’s new Dad has had previous Frenchie experience, he is very patient and has had another dog with the same behavior issues that Taz has. It seemed they were a great match, but we still needed to make 150% sure. So, an extended Meet and Greet was scheduled. Taz’s Dad lives in Houston so everyone wanted to make sure this was the right match. Dad came up and met Taz and spent time with him and his foster parents. They were able to show him how to feed Taz (without aggression) and they got time to “hang out” and bond. The match was the one we were all hoping it would be. Taz and his Dad bonded almost instantly and will no doubt be the best of buds. Congratulations to Taz and his new forever Dad.
6/4/2018 Update: Taz made the big move this week with his foster family with no problems at all! He figured out the new and improved doggie door faster than any of the other dogs. Probably because he doesn’t like to be outside and can’t get back inside fast enough. 😂. I have decided his name should have been “Shadow” because that’s what he is. He just wants to follow and be with his people all the time. In the evening if you sit down he likes to curl up next to you or if possible will drape himself over you. At night he is still a snuggle buddy.
As of last night we discovered the smell of bbq puts him on high alert for scraps. He got a little mixed into his food and gobbled it up. He is still being hand fed and that is still working great. By the way, when I say hand fed, I mean he literally eats out of my hand.
With the move we are having to re-establish where each dog eats. At the previous house he knew when a bowl wasn’t his based on its location. So now he is having to learn again what bowl isn’t his. Even though he doesn’t get a bowl on the floor anymore, he still wants to guard a food bowl if it isn’t “claimed”. This time the training is going faster and is less drama filled. Now I just repeat “no, that isn’t your bowl. That is xxxxxx’s bowl (filling in the name of the dog who eats there). He then backs away. If he isn’t letting another dog get to their bowl, I use a broom to set between him and the bowl while telling him “no”. All of this needs to be done with calm words to avoid escalating the situation. When I initially used the broom this way he would attack it, but now he just backs away. I am so proud of him!
5/28/2018 Update: Well it’s has been a busy couple of weeks and not getting better any time soon as Taz gets ready to move with his foster family to their new home. Taz continues to reveal his personality especially now that he is being hand fed and doesn’t have to defend his bowl. He still has a tendency to hover around the other dog bowls but knows now they aren’t his. For the most part he just has to be told gently that “no that is not your bowl” and he will back away. With all the added action of the house being shown for sale and boxes getting packed he has gotten a little off track and last night had a minor tussle with one of the other dogs over their bowl. When we stepped in to ask him to back down he growled at us and came at us. His foster dad grabbed him by the scruff and held him a moment to contain him while saying “no” very firmly and loudly. Taz immediately went into submissive mode and was very, very subdued the rest of the evening. Even tonight when he wanted to guard a bowl and I told him gently that it wasn’t his bowl he immediately came to me with his head down. It is almost like he is embarrassed at his lapse last night. I wanted to share this to show that Taz isn’t perfect, and does have food aggression, but it can be managed by someone with strong but kind leadership.
On the flip side Taz has such a great playful side. This week we discovered he LOVES empty water bottles. He found one a few days ago and you would have thought it was the most expensive toy. He had a ball attacking it and running round with it. Then “keep away” ensued and he had us all playing! We HAD to win at first to get the cap off, so it wouldn’t be a choking hazard, but after that it was all in fun. He doesn’t chew them up, but we still keep watch to make sure. Now a “capless” bottle is a regular part of his toys. Taz is still a snuggle bug. He is always first in line for attention, but will share your lap with the other dogs. He is continuing to improve on using the bench to get into bed so he doesn’t have to be lifted.
Overall, just a wonderful fellow who is full of love and ready for a forever home.
5/20/2108 Update: Hello from Taz! This fellow continues to be so sweet and affectionate. He will want to be with you 100% of the time. He will follow you everywhere and I mean everywhere! Going to the kitchen? He’s in! Going to the closet? He’s in? Bathroom? yep, you guessed it. He’s in. He happily does whatever is going on. I will say that he still isn’t an outside dog. He really doesn’t like hanging outside very much.
Feeding time has fallen into a rhythm of just feeding him from my hand. I just scoop some in my palm and he eats it right up. I repeat until his 1 cup of food is gone which only take a couple of minutes. It is the most time efficient, and least drama filled method. It was working somewhat to put only a small amount of food in his bowl at a time, but he still wouldn’t eat it right away and it was taking quite a bit of time to get him to eat. Amazingly, he is now very good about not touching the other dog bowls even when they have food in them. I do have to brag on how smart he is. The very first time he was made to sit for a treat, he learned the routine. Now he keeps his tail on the ground waiting his turn for a treat no matter what the other dogs are doing. Taz still has food aggression, but it is very manageable. However, he is not a good fit in a home with young children as they could inadvertently try to pick up something that he considered food and get bit.
So this weeks discovery is that he doesn’t like his head held while you kiss him. It seems that in general he is picky about his head. He snapped a warning snap but didn’t leave even a slight mark. He loves to kiss you and to be kisses back, but doesn’t want his head held.
This week there were two other dogs in the house temporarily while their owner was gone. Taz got along well, but did get in the face of the male at first. When the other male snarled at first he barked back and ended up getting in a short dog fight. After that when snarled at he ran behind my legs 😂
Taz alternates between sleeping in the humans bed and sleeping on his dog bed right by the people bed. He is slowly learning how to use the bench to get up and down out of bed, so there is less of having to get up to lift him into bed. It is still a problem to have bones down as he will fight for a bone, so best to not have any.
Taz still likes to play some but isn’t overly active. He loves tug of war and keep away. He is just playful enough without wearing you out with playtime.
Overall Taz is precious as long as his food aggression and pickiness about his head are managed. If you are an experienced dog owner with no children and want a devoted companion you have found your match!
5/14/2018 Update: Hello from Taz! He is so sorry he missed Strut your Mutt, but his human sibling had a birthday and all his people were busy doing people stuff instead of dog stuff. The nerve, right?
Taz continues to be such a sweet boy. He is extremely affectionate and loves to give kisses. He is jealous of the other dogs getting attention, so will try to push himself between you and the either dog to make sure you know he is available for attention. Each time we come home we gets the same frantic greeting whether gone for 30 minutes or several hours. He lets you know he is HAPPY to see you.
He still gets along with all the other dogs as long as they don’t come near his food. The other dogs all know how he is now and so there aren’t any fights over food any more. All the dogs have their bowl in a separate area and they all respect that and only go to their bowl even when bowls are down for a while. Wish I had that kind of self control….. but that’s a whole other conversation 😂
The only irritating habit he has formed is that he has become obsessed with his German short hair fur sibling and frequently stares at her and barks at her until she growls and then snaps to back him off. Once she gets annoyed and moves to try and get away from him he smells the spot where she was. If I am petting her he will small her obsessively while she is distracted. We now have the spray bottle back out to teach him to leave her alone when he barks at her. It is a work in progress but he seems to be getting it but the boy is seriously in love like a little boy and showing it in all the wrong ways.
Last night I made a new discovery. Taz is scared/or defensive about having his ears cleaned. When I came towards him with the ear cleaning pad he snapped at me. More of a warning snap than a biting snap, but enough that I realized I needed a less direct approach. I let him sniff the cleaning pad and then gently swiped his face. The. I started rubbing his ears and slowly working the pad into his ear while rubbing. I managed to get one ear pretty good but he never would let me do his right ear. I don’t know if it is because that is the side of his cloudy eye or because his ear hurts. I have petted and rubbed his ears plenty of times with no issues, so this is a mystery that is yet to be solved. I will be paying more attention to that ear to make sure nothing is going on there.
This week things have also evolved over bed time accommodations. Taz won’t jump up on the bed as I have mentioned before and asks to be let up. I put him on the bed but then he almost immediately jumps down. Then a few minutes later asks to be let back up. I get out of bed and lift him up again. This repeats over and over… I think it has something to do with his obsession with the German short hair. She sleeps on a dog bed in the room. Finally I had the bright idea to move another dog bed in the room right next to the side of the bed and he settled in. He still asks to get up some but when told to lay down he does and sleeps the whole night on his bed. Whew! I had some pretty bad sleep until I figured that one out.
Taz hates vacuums. They are evil and must be barked at until they turn off! He does ok with the iRobot vacuum (he barks at it some but will stop when told to) but a full sized one is the devil!
Taz isn’t much for the outdoors unless his people are with him. He goes out to take care of business and that’s about it. He is an inside boy for sure. Even when the other dogs run the fence to bark at people going by, he hangs back. He isn’t much of a barker either (except when barking at his obsession). When he does bark it is a low volume woof and not a piercing bark.
So that’s the weekly update on Mr. Taz!
5/5/2018 Update: Taz has had a great week. He continues to be extremely affectionate and loves to snuggle. He can jump up on the couch or chair to sit with us as long as it isn’t too high. He IS a white dog after all. Wink wink. 😂 At night when it is time to go to bed he cannot jump up so we have to lift him. If all his people and fur siblings aren’t in bed he then jumps down to go check on them and then comes back to bed and has to be lifted up again. This sometimes occurs multiple times before he settles in. It also tends to occur at least once during the night…Overall he is a good bedmate.
We have been taking him for some walks and he does seem to enjoy them as long as it isn’t hot. There are ponds on the way where we can let him cool off but he is very cautious and will only go in paw deep for the most part and lay down to cool his belly. That really translates into him laying in the mud at the edge, but it’s ok because he doesn’t mind getting a bath.
He finally trained us to only give him a small amount in his bowl at a time so the burden of guarding is lessened. For some reason if the bowl is full he feels compelled to guard it. If only a small amount is in the bowl he may still guard some but will tend to eat it faster. Then a little more is added until he ears that and then repeat until all his food is gone.
He is still getting over excited when new people come over. We continue to try and work on his not jumping on people as his claws scratch their legs. It settles down fairly quickly but the initial rush to get attention is a bit much for most visitors.
That’s it for Taz this week!
4/30/2018 Update:
Greetings from Taz! Sorry for no update last week but foster mom was really busy and somehow the whole week was gone in a blink! Taz filled his week with lots of tennis ball “keep away” which seems to be one of his favorite games. If he does give it up so you can throw it, then he makes sure he is the first one there to retrieve.
Taz continues to be extreme affectionate and is a very “licky” dog. He will stop when pushed away and told no. Taz is definitely a bed sleeper amd wants to be as close as possible to his people at all times. He still likes to sleep by your feet but will also come up by your head and lay his head on your shoulder, or head on your pillow, or just flat out lay right on top of you 😂. He does like to burrow under the covers some until he gets too hot. Taz loves walks, but is quite the puller. It takes a fairly strong person to keep up. He does get over heated on walks very quickly (even faster than his fur sibling frenchie) which surprised me a little since his snout is slightly longer than average. Now that it is in the 80’s he has to be mostly in the shade on walks or allowed to stop frequently in the slate to cool off.
Taz is a very energetic greeter and pretty much jumps all over anyone new in the house until he gets the attention he wants. Definitely still needs work in the manners department. Taz continues to be great with other dogs as long as no food bowls are in the picture. The food aggression continues. In corporate America it would be praised as resource management but in a dog it is a challenge. He has learned that the other dog bowls aren’t his. With a gentle reminder that the other bowl isn’t his he will walk away. However he takes his bowl very seriously. There have been a couple of tussles between the two frenchies over food but for the most part they have grown to respect each other’s bowls.
This weekend a new strategy is being tried of giving him an empty bowl and them spooning in his food bit by bit. He will allow us to reach towards his bowl, to add more food with no issue. He will also allow us to use the spoon to move the food around in his bowl as well as allow us to add more food to the bowl. He tends to eat a little better if given his food in smaller amounts, but still doesn’t eat completely. We are starting to take up the bowl after 15 minutes if he hasnt eaten because otherwise he will literally guard it for hours. If not picked up he will typically guard his food until it was time to go to bed amd he realizes he cant be in bed and by his bowl at the same time. Yes, bed time is a major attraction and motivator for him.
So Taz is definitely manageable is the right environment. Once again younger children are not going to be a good fit for him. Having children that could accidentally get too close to his food or have a friend over that accidentally made him feel like his food is threatened would end badly for everyone, including Taz. A home with dog savvy people that can control how environment and continue to work with him is a must.
The rewards will be huge for the family that can provide that type of environment.
4/15/2015 Update: Taz has settled into foster life and enjoying lots of snuggles and kisses. Apparently his favorite games are tug of war and keep away but also like to chase a tennis ball. He does well with all dogs and people except when it comes to food. Taz likes to sleep in bed ( or where ever his people are) and even likes to burrow under the covers. He tends to like to sleep by feet so it can be interesting contorting to get your feet around him 😂
The food aggression is still a real issue to handle. It is kind of sad to see how it consumes him defending his bowl. It can take hours before he will eat. Once the food is gone, the playful Taz shows back up.
The best solution so far is to hand feed him. He does great taking food from a hand with no aggression at all. It can even be poured on the floor a little at a time and he will eat it. It is the bowl with food in it that is the tipping point. He is very aggressive once he has the bowl and does not like being fussed at. He will come toward you aggressively if you spray him or fuss at him when he has his food bowl. If one of the other dogs gets too close to his bowl he will fight and we have used the spray bottle to break it up, but it angers Taz. On the other hand he does not like being locked up away from the other dogs.
So that is the reality of Taz. However, he can be handled by a very dog savvy owner. He is precious if you just know how to deal with him. His foster Dad will not put up with his behavior and backs him up with the spray bottle until he gives in. He is slowly (emphasis on slowly) learning not to mess with Foster Dad. It is not going to be a fast process or an easy process but definitely worth it. He is good with foster Mom too, but mainly because she feeds him by hand. He will let us walk by his area as long as we don’t give an indication we are headed towards his bowl.
We are still trying to figure out how to help him relax more with his food. He definitely seems better and his personal space is smaller now, but there is still work to be done.
4/9/2018 Update: It has been a big week for Taz adjusting to his foster home and getting to attend his first event. Taz is a precious fellow, but has severe food related aggression. It has been a week of trying to figure out what works for him and what doesn’t.
So here is a summary of the good and the “not so good”.
Good:
1. Taz is extremely affectionate.
2. He is house broken.
3. He is great with other dogs.
4. He loves to play tug of war and chase tennis balls. He has no aggression with any toys that aren’t “food” related. aka/NO BONES!
5. He likes to take naps on your lap.
6. He likes to sleep under the covers when allowed on the bed.
7. He will take treats gently from your hand and wait his turn as each dog gets a treat.
8. He loved being at the event and meeting everyone so he seems to be a a social fellow.
9. He is extremely playful and would love another dog and/or person to play with him quite a bit each day. He currently plays with his fur sibling frenchie every day. Tug of war and chase are their favorites.
10. Taz is a healthy boy. He does have a cataract in his right eye and it is always a little more red , but the vet check confirmed that it is not infected.
Not so Good/ aka Challenges to face:
1. Once he is given food OR a bone, no person or dog should approach or even think of touching him or they will be bit. Food or treats are not an issue until he has taken possession and then he WILL NOT give it up without a fight. We have been trying to work on this issue, but it must be assumed that is is not ever going to fully go away. He is put in a laundry room by himself so he can eat in peace. Unfortunately now he has become so concerned with protecting the bowl that he won’t eat. 😫. In order to try and help him, I have started feeding him his food by hand. He takes it very gently when hand fed as long as the bowl isn’t on the floor and in “his possession”. He needs to be left separated until he is ready to come out, as he can feel threatened by a person just as much as he does by a dog. Not sure why he thinks the people want his food, but he takes defending his bowl very seriously.
2. We have removed all bones to avoid issues with that. Taz would stand guard over a bone for days if they were left out. It is really debilitating for him to feel like he has to protect any food, so it is kinder to just remove that responsibility from him by not having bones around.
3. As the week has progressed we have been able to work on him realizing he is not the boss. He will need a dog savvy owner with strong leadership. A spray bottle has worked well with him so far as a reprimand along with being firm and staying with a schedule.
4. Small children around Taz would be very concerning as they could unknowingly approach him when he has food. Taz will need to be in a home where his environment can be controlled.
Taz is a great fellow if his environment is controlled and he has firm leadership. He has a head like velvet and loves attention. He is very energetic and will need a home where he can get plenty of play time and/ or walks.
4/4/2018 Update:
Please welcome Taz to the No Borders Bulldog Rescue family. Taz is a 3 year old male French Bulldog that weighs 34 lbs.
Taz joined the NBBR family as an owner surrender. Taz’s owner purchased him from Craigslist several months ago but soon realized he was too much for her laid back lifestyle. Taz was too rambunctious for her Bulldog, who prefers relaxing on the couch while Taz likes to play. His owner thought it best to find a family that was more suited to his energy level and reached out to NBBR to help.
Like all NBBR Bulldogs, the first stop they make after joining Rescue is the clinic. Taz was up to date on all vaccines and is Heartworm negative. Taz has had “eye issues” in the past and does have a cataract on one eye but is otherwise in great health.
When you first meet Taz you realize that Taz is the perfect name for him. Just like his namesake, he is a bundle of energy and likes to play and explore. Taz does calm down (eventually) and is very sweet. Taz is food aggressive with other dogs and must be fed separately. He joined his foster family and is settling in nicely. Stay tuned for more information as we learn all about Mr. T.
