Hi, im pregnant (yay!) and Tank my 8 month old English Bull Terrier is acting very odd around me.

He follows me everywhere (has never done this), crys at the baby gate when i go upstairs for anything, till I come down and show him Im here and ok.

My DF and I were playfighting the other day on the bed and Tank jumped up, crinkled his nose up at my partner and wedged himself between us! It was if he thought DF was attacking me and was protecting me!

TBH it is getting very tiring as I feel like im being stalked, wherever I turn he is there, likes to sleep on me during the day and is just generally very annoying lol.

Is it common for males to become fixated on one owner, or could it be (and I know this sounds daft, but i've heard cats can smell cancer) can he "smell" or "sense" im pregnant. If thats the case then I can cope as when I have th baby this should hopefully stop, it's just he seems to pine constsntly to be near me, smell me and stop others from getting too close.

As always advice greatly appreciated

I think that he can sense that you are pregnant. My friends dog was exactly the same when she was expecting. Take him on a long walk and knacker him out.....it might give you an hour to yourself! :hihi:

Hia,

My English Bull used to try and lay over my best friend's stomach or just get as close as possible to her when she was pregnant but she was a bitch (the dog, not the friend!).

She wasn't like it with her any other time so we put it down to the pregnancy.

Oh & congratulations!!:bigsmile:

Congratulations on your pregnancy :)
Tank may or may not sense that you are pregnant, but either way he is displaying behaviour that has to stop and must be taken seriously now well before the baby is born.
Do not allow him to follow you around the house, just calmly with your body usher him back inside the door calmly close it and do what you need to do and come back,I understand that Tank was being protective but no more getting on the bed with you, Tank must stay on the floor now and you must be the one to insist on this again calmly say bed and put him in his own bed...provide one if he doesn't have one, if this won't work within a week or so he may have to sleep out of the bedroom .
I wouldn't let him sleep on you either.
I am rushing this a bit as I have to get moving but I think that you get the gist of it, I am sure that others will be along soon to add to it :)

Thanks, he doesn't sleep in my room but during the day if he's not playing outside (which he wont do know, he wee's, poo's etc then back in to me) he has run of the house.

I have tried putting him in his cage then cover the side so he cant see me but he yaps constantly, which is not only annoying but must drive my elderly neighbour mad. So (not being very cosistent i know) i let him out and he comes straight back to me.

It's like seperation anxiety or something he cries and howls and gets himself in a right state, What im struggling to understand is, he has never been a fussy dog, very independant, would never dream of sitting with me and ignored all my commands, now im pregnant, he sits with his paw up all the time, will only listen to me and is acting like a clingy toddler which i was hoping not to have for at least a few years yet!

He sleeps lovely in his crate at night, no bither whatsoever, it when he wakes up and see's me that it all begins AAAGGGHHHH!!!!

I'd say that this is part doggy teenage changes and part pregnancy. It's very likely that he would have some challenging behaviour at this age, whether you were pregnant or not. This is being brought to a head by your hormones, which yes, he can smell.

Is Tank neutered? If he isn't then I think that it's perfectly understandable him trying to guard you- you're his bitch and you need looking after. It's a very primal thing, but lots of animals have been shown to do it during human pregnancy so it's not something that you can discount.

As well as the hormonal changes there's also lots that you can do in behavioural training. Practice leaving him and then rewarding him for calm behaviour when you come back. Go through the process of putting your coat on, picking up your bag etc. and leaving the house and coming back after a few minutes and rewarding him with a fuss once he's calmed down, then you can extend this after he's calm with it.

From my point of view being followed round and being the focus of attention at all times is normal because I've got a German Shepherd, who is like furry velcro given the choice and does her damnedest to stop anyone (human, canine or feline) from coming too close to me unless we're very firm with her. You get a break from it normally because Tank isn't a personal guarding breed, but all dogs are capable of that sort of defensive behaviour when they think that they need to do it.

I'd also persist with the crate- he'll get used to it soon enough.