My pups temperament is in question?
Hey, sorry guys i havent posted any updates on my boy Tyson havent had internet access from a competer in a while, Im sure youll be happy to know that he is healthy and getting pretty big. 6 months and roughly about 45 lbs! My question today is his temper has been very random. Im going to lay out the facts and everything going on as best as i can.
So i recently moved a few weeks ago with my two dogs to a slightly smaller living space but i take them to the dog park all the time! Recently tyson has been getting aggressive at random moments with my other dog and very rarely with me and his mom but its to the slightest extent with us. He will be fine playing with us fetch, or tug-o-war with my other dog who is 5yrs and a sweetheart. but all the sudden there will be moments and tyson will stop what hes doing and put his ears down and if my dog looks at him he gets huffy and growls lightly the closer my dog gets the louder and more aggressive he gets even if shes just coming to say hi to me while me and him are playing. he has tried to attack my dog thats the only time she has snapped at him back i always break it up because id hate to see my dogs hurt but does that get in the way of dominance or would that be me gaining dominance over them since i forbid them to continue. Besides this random aggression hes doing great hes not food aggressive hell sit and wait up too a minute until i say its ok to eat. could it be hereditary from his parents i just want to find a way to get rid of this aggression. I was told about NILIF dog training and am going to implement that into his training which most of it is already done. i know they can be a stubborn breed and i figured you guys would know whats best to help him out!! also he does fine with other dogs that aren't mine hes always excited to meet them almost two excited and doesn't want to listen could that be tied together as well. any advice will help. Hes a great pup and i feel im failing him as an owner!! these fits have been happening more often atleast once a day but only for 20 mins or so and he usualy will walk himself to the crate to get away from the problem. but then he can fine the rest of the day! very confused
Comments
There are a few others as well but the advice provided is about the same for each case and what would be recommended for your Bullie as well.
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com
Bull Terriers are a breed who are quite possessive and domineering in general.
Aggression can be quite common in this breed-most often towards other dogs, and sometimes owners when it comes to resources.
Your boy is going thru puberty-and is testing his boundrys towards you as well as other dogs.
I would very much suggest beginning NILF.
HOWEVER-I strongly suggest doing NILF MY way, which is rewarding a dog for being CALM and RELAXED as oppose to sitting or lieing down.
Bull Terriers will go thru puberty between 6-18 months before the lessons finally get into the brain and they begin to listen (that's considering you've done your work correctly)
Also, I suggest, the more rules in place-the better. and by rules, what I mean is-the more restrictions to his behavior.
So, my male Cesar was a complete butt-hole from the ages of about 8 months till nearly 2. he had issues with food guarding towards people (everyone but me) and other pets.
he would snap and lightly nip anyone (but me) who got to close to his food while eating, including my 7 year old nephew who lived with us at the time.
otherwise, he was sweet and happy-go-lucky.
What I did to curb this behavior and completely cure it (cure as in I don't worry about it and random strange children can freely walk up and take meaty bones from his mouth without issues)
I set extremely strict rules with him that-really didn't seem to have anything to do with the food guarding, but in fact had EVERYTHING to do with it.
our day would go like this:
he was not allowed to leave his crate unless I invited him out in the mornings-I would open the crate and make him sit down and wait till I called him out, we would go to the front door to be let outside where he uld again have to wait with the door open until he would give me direct eye contact, and then I would give him the okay to walk outside and go potty.
when he came back inside, he would have to calmly sit down and allow me to unhook the lead from his collar.
then I would offer him water, I would fill the bowl and ask him and my sisters poodle to sit, allowing the poodle to drink her fill FIRST while he waited his turn. if he tried to push his way in or stare at her, I would remind him to wait by using my hand to make him back up and blocking him, or stand directly in his line of vision so he could not see her. then I would let him drink his fill AFTER she walked away, when he was done I would pick up the water bowl.
then we would go for a long walk, he would sit and wait till he was calm and I would put on his lead, both dogs had to be calm before would touch the door and open it-sometimes I would deliberately make them wait up to an hour while I would talk holding the leads at the door.
I step outside first then invite outside. while we walked, no one was allowed to sniff the ground or pull.
the reward was being let off lead in a safe place to run around.
he was NOT allowed to interact with other dogs unless I gave him the OK, if other off lead dogs approached us, I would walk over to him and use my body to block him and make him step back away from the other dog while I chased it off.
if he and another dog were playing and I noticed him playing to rough, I would go over and block him making him leave the other dog alone and the game was over-not allowing him to ignore me.
we would walk home and I would make both dogs again wait before coming in the house, I would unclip the leads on the door step with the front door open and make them wait and watch me inside the house till I invite them in.
then I offered water-in the same way.
then I would prep the food. dogs HAD to stay out of my space, no one was allowed to whine, no one was allowed to fixate on me prepping food and no one was allowed to become excited. I would stand in the kitchen and mess with the food in the bowls for anywhere from 30 mins-2 hours just waiting for them to relax.
when both dogs basically gave up the idea of being fed and went to go to sleep, I would call them to me to the couch, sit down-one food bowl on my right, one on the left and feed them.
both dogs had to give me direct eye contact calmly before I set the bowls on the floor.
the rules for eating:
NO dog is allowed to look up from the food bowl or at each other. if they did I would remind them "eat yours!" while pointing to the dish.
no dog was allowed to sniff or get into the other dogs dish. when the first dog was done, I would walk them out of the rom to wait and pick up that dish.
toys were all kept in a toy box in the living room, however-NO ONE was allowed to get toys out of the box except me, no matter what. if I asked for a toy-it was mine, no dog was ever allowed to take toys away from the other-ever. if anyone tried to dodge me with a toy, I would go over with food and ask for the toy, take it, play with it right in front of the dogs and NOT allow them to touch it or have it till they were ignoring me.
I would take all toys away and put them back BEFPRE they became bored of them-if I put them into the box I would not allow any dog to go and remove them or even sniff them in the box, if they did I would just use my body to block them.
Cesar was put on the treadmill daily for 2 hours also.
at be time I would say "bed time" and put the dogs to sleep at night.
no dog was allowed out in the kitchen when we were cooking or prepping food, we would block them and show them out.
no dog was allowed on furniture unless invited. and they were only invited when they were calm and STOPPED trying to get on the furniture.
dogs were not allowed to pass us on the stairs, and were not allowed to touch anything that fell on the floor.
dogs were not allowed to bother the cats or get on my bed.
I had a TON of rules and every day for 10 months-I enforced those rules no matter what, I never said 'screw it" I got my butt up and enforced the rules calmly and deliberatly-no yelling, no screaming, nothing.
I had my family enforce the rules too.
I can safely say the because of that dedication-Cesar is SOUND PROOF, last summer before getting Chimera, we took him to a friends BBQ, Cesar met 3 rowdy children he had never met before, a 2 year old, a 6 year old and a 10 year old.
they gave Cesar a pork rib to gnaw on-it was raw.
that little 2 year old walked over to sit beside Cesar while he ate his rib.
i felt safe, Cesar was chill and relaxed. but i DID explain to her and the other kids how, whilei t was safe to do with Cesar-it wasnt safe to do with other dogs.
As your dog becomes moreand more conditioned to listening to you, the more slack you can give and the less rules you need.
water is now out freely, it only takes me about 10 minutes for prepping food before feeding, we can simply snap on leads and leave
and i no longer expect Cesar to wait when i open the crate door.
i HIGHLY suggest watching some Cesar Millian-even if you dont like him, watch it with the sound off, watch the dogs behavior, watch youtube videos of dogs interacting, dogs playing, differant breeds interacting, big dogs interacting with tiny dogs
dogs interacting with kids, nervous dogs, dogs fighting, dogs guarding toys, even wild dogs or feral dogs.
learn to read the body, things like pupils, the fur on the back, the sounds they make,
lip licking, ears, tails, head movement, these can all give very clear signs as to how the dog is feeling.
this will also help you to learn to read your own dog.
NILF is simple concept, every rule you make, is another opportunity to reward your dog.
Bullies are in general a hyper breed, an excitable breed who gets into the most trouble when they are excited and not paying attention. teach them they get nothing unless they are calm and relaxed and paying attention to you-and you will have an amazing bully with amazing manners.
@ Apollosmama- I set an invisible line (for me its easy, its the doorway into the kitchen) I walk into the kitchen, if a dog follows me past that invisible line, I walk towards them using my body to block them and move them backward like that (without touching them) and say "out of the kitchen" as soon as they get past that invisible line, I turn around and go back into the kitchen to what I was doing.
everytime they cross that line I go back and move towards them to back them up out of the kchen while saying "out of the kitchen"
with a Bully, the first week you will be doing this about hundred times before your able to get dinner done or to even get a glass of water-but it works.
once they understand they will attempt to be sneaky and lie closer to that invisible line and inch across it, just don't let it fly! keep backing them up everytime and before long simply saying "out of the kitchen" they will turn around and leave.