My name is Duke!

THE PERFECT ONE-ON-ONE CUDDLE BULLY, Duke!

Hey there, I’m Duke! I’m a healthy 6-year-old English Bulldog. I’m neutered and up to date on all my shots. I’m tall, dark, and devilishly handsome and I keep my weight at a very healthy 55 pounds. I still carry quite a bit of fear and anxiety from my very first home. I wasn’t treated all that well there, but luckily after about 3 years a nice couple from the southwest suburbs took me in and tried to work on my fears and gave me a pretty good life. I had another bully brother when I lived with them, and I liked going on errands with my dad. Well, this family had a baby, and I wasn’t all too thrilled about my safe calm haven being disrupted, so they thought it be best if Chicago English Bulldog Rescue could find me the next perfect home.

I came to live with my foster mom in the city 5 months ago, and she has been loving all over me, which I absolutely love. Our cuddle time is the best! I have these very warm brown eyes and when I get to rest my head on any body part, I look at her endearingly. I just love to chill out in the peace and quietness of the day, but I like to have fun too. I’m super smart and I play all kinds of “doggy enrichment” games, I do very well. I had learned some basic manners from my previous parents and my foster mom has been working with me on more these past 5 months. CEBR let us work with an excellent veterinarian, behaviorist, and trainers. I learned that freeze-dried treats are my “high-value” favorites and I focus well for those. I can sit, come, give paw, and lay down on command for those. My foster mom lets me on one part of the couch, I have a comfy bed in her office, and she does let me sleep with her, it’s pretty darn cozy. I don’t take up too much space on the bed, I prefer the foot of the bed, where I can rest my head on her legs, hee, hee, hee! Lately I’ve been getting off the bed and sleeping on floor where it’s cool on my belly, or I’ll hop into my own doggy bed. I sleep well.

As far as walking, I thought I might like it, but the urban city life is not for me. And since moving to the city my anxiety and fears have heightened. I’m really scared and get really worked up from all the neighbors and other dogs in the high-rise/condo building I’m living in. I don’t really like other people or dogs in the elevator or common areas of the building. If my foster mom keeps me focused on those delicious treats, I do pretty good ignoring them. I feel safest once we get outside and feel safe again once we are inside. I’m trying hard not to lunge and get snappy with anyone, but it can be hard for me sometimes. Like I said, I have a lot of fears and I fear if someone comes too close to me, in my territory, I think they might hurt me, so I learned to protect myself by barking, lunging and snapping. It’s hard for me to forget some of the abuse I endured from my early years. Our walks are brief, I go out, I know where to go, do my duties right away, then my foster mom found a safe space for me to sit outside and watch the world go by. I do love to feel the breeze in my face, I just wish sometimes I could be sitting in a quiet suburban backyard. It’s necessary to continue treating me and not let anyone come too close.

With all that being said, the work we have been doing over the past two and half months with my behaviorist and trainer, includes a new medication regimen of Sertraline and Clonidine and these have definitely improved my reaction to some of these scary situations, and has helped me to calm down quicker if a situation happens to push me over my threshold. I do feel less stressed and have gained more security. I really believe I can get better if I found that special single someone that wants to continue working with me and has a compassionate heart for what I’ve been through. I truly just want to be happy and forget about my past traumas. I’m really the perfect bully if I have that one special person to unconditionally love and be super loyal to.

The funny thing is, I do kind of like visiting other homes, even homes with older kids and other dogs, only because I’m still a bit fearful, but not brave enough to protect that new space. I’m also not so keen on having visitors in my permanent space, so I must have a separate “safe-haven” when visitors come over. I’m still working on that in my city foster home and hope to overcome that someday.

I’m not a fan of my face, fold, and ear maintenance. I don’t get aggressive, I just run. My foster mom has cornered me a few times and I submit and it’s not really all that bad. It’s best that she catches me when I’m still sleeping or just waking up though, lol!

I did start a new healthy diet and I’m loving it. My foster mom makes me homemade fresh food with all natural, organic beef, veggies, fruit and all the extra added vitamins and nutrients my body needs. I had some inflamed intestines, but we calmed that down with some probiotics and digestive enzymes from Glacier Peak Holistics. I’m feeling great!

I honestly think my perfect forever home would be one with a single person who really wants their world to revolve around me. A quiet home in the suburbs with a nice yard where I can chill outside on those beautiful sunny days sounds so ideal for me. I have no problem being alone, even up to 8 hours, and I’m perfectly potty trained. I don’t have any major separation anxiety, although I do like you to be home often. I like any kind of calming music playing in the background if you are going to be gone and maybe leave me a sticky pad with some cheese.

Right now, I’m rather agile, so stairs are fine.

Well, I think that about covers it for sweet little old me. Again, this is Duke and I’ll be dreaming of the day we find each other and live out our happiest life ever! XO

MANDATORIES
-No kids under the age of 13 and no future babies.
-A quiet, Zen-like home in the suburbs with not a lot of visitors.
-A single person willing to continue working with Duke on some of his behavior issues.

If you would like to donate to Duke's care, please go to our website at http://shopcebr.com/products/donation.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR A CEBR BULLY- To determine if you qualify to adopt one of our adorable bullies start by viewing our Adoption Area Map. If you fall within the boundaries and are interested in our bullies the first step is to complete an application by visiting www.ebullymatch.com