Big boy Hugo arrived for rehoming on 28 January 2026. Hugo is an American bulldog or American bulldog cross. He is a big lad, weighing in at 46 kilos, and was 4 years and 9 months when arrived. Sadly for Hugo, someone in his past decided to cut his ears off.

 

He is a big baby at heart, and despite his size loves nothing more than nuzzling up against you on the sofa for a big cuddles, where he will often fall asleep on your lap!

 

The sort of home for Hugo is as follows:

• No dogs or cats in the home

• No children under the age of 16 years

• Access to his own private and secure garden (not shared or communal).

• No cages/crates in the home

• Access to the sofa for cuddles

 

Things to consider

• As we have limited history for him we do not know if he is house trained, although given his age we would like to think that he is, and he has been spotless in his kennel.

• We do not know if he is used to being left alone, and you may have to train him to get him used being left, up to a maximum of four hours.

• Hugo is a large, strong dog with a gentle, affectionate personality, but he will need an owner(s) preferably with experience of larger breeds, who can handle a large dog.

 

Handling

A big cuddle monster of a dog. He loves having a fuss, and loves giving kisses and trying to give hugs, though he may accidentally roll you over if you are down at his level.

 

He has shown us a docile, playful and affectionate personality inside this big body. He knows sit and paw, which is quite a heavy paw to receive! He can take treats nicely, though he can be keen taking them. Zero aggression or dominance shown in any of our interactions with him and he was so well behaved in the vets and being examined.

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Walks

Hugo has had several walks with us so far, including with our volunteers. Despite his size and strength he has proved to be a delightful dog to walk, with a nice steady pace, and has only ever pulled slightly towards things he wants to sniff. But, he is obviously very strong, so while he may not pull on a walk any potential owner(s) need to consider this.

 

He has not been bothered by traffic, and has shown interest in people but in a calm way. He has seen dogs, and so far is only showing a passing interest in them. He really enjoys a good sniff while on the walk, which helps to work his brain.

 

Play

At first it looked like Hugo was not sure what toys were, and things like a Kong wobbler were baffling him, but he has started to play. He loves snuffling, and sticking his big head in the snuffle box to hunt out the hidden treats or trying to work out a tied towel with treats hidden inside. He loves sofa time, and breaks off from play to have cuddles, and can quickly fall asleep in your arms/on your lap.

 

Health

As well as having his ears cut off at some point in his early life, Hugo arrived with some pink skin on his legs and around his mouth, and what may be calluses on his elbows. He has been in kennels for a few weeks before coming to us so it is possible these developed during this time, or may indicate that he was kept outside or on very ground for long periods in his previous home.

 

We feed Hugo a grain free diet in case any intolerances have affected his skin.

 

Hugo is microchipped and he has now seen our vet. He has had his first restart vaccination and will be having Malaseb baths every couple of days for a week or so, and some Surolan to help his skin recover. Hugo is not currently neutered, and this will done once he has settled in his new home.

 

 

It is not unusual for strays to arrive with Kennel Cough, though all our dogs are vaccinated against Kennel Cough at the earliest opportunity they may already be incubating this illness when they arrive/are adopted.

 

Please be aware that the profiles of new dogs can change as we get to know about the dogs the longer, they stay with us.

 

The adoption contribution is £250.00.

 

If you adopt a dog from Happy Staffie Rescue you could be entitled to five weeks free pet insurance through Agria (terms and conditions apply).