Please someone tell me if this has happened?

ITZheida

Have any of your Bullies at around 9 months or in general the puppy stage, tried to bite ANYONE?

Leslie

Yes my male was a nightmare, I suggest submitting them on their side with a loud sharp NO!!!!

Xtracho

Nope...

Boyda

Was it in an aggressive state?

BulliesofNC

Older BT puppies entering maturity will often show unwarranted aggression for reasons unknown. There are plenty of threads on this Forum talking about their BT puppy showing signs of aggression to include nipping, growling, and biting. Many go through a nasty phase as they learn and test their aggression levels and dominance. It is often a phase and shouldn't be judge of their future temperament and character. 99% of the BT's grow out of this and mature into very lovable dogs that wish only to love and please than nip and bite. A Bull Terrier between the ages of 3-10 months is often like a tazmanian devil. Amped up and rebellious. This changes as they mature and can be greatly curtailed early in their youth with proper training.

philsergeant

Do young Bull Terriers try to "bite" people? Do teenagers smoke pot? ... Not if they are brought up properly. But then that depends on the definition of "bite" . Bullies like many dogs make dexterous use of their mouths to do many things.... And some could be considered "biting" when, in truth, they are merely communicating.... Marco often gnaws my fingers as a sign of connection & communication... Mostly it's just a light "chewing" but every now and then it HURTS LIKE HELL, and I yell, and when I do he sidles up and kisses me to say he is sorry... Isabella often nips at my wife, ( never me) if she feels she is giving someone too much attention, like Marco, or rarely me :-), just to say " you are mine" ... And sometimes she gets more than clothing... Our previous Female Bullie once jumped up and "bit" at a jogger's T shirt and ripped it when he came too close when passing my wife on the jogging trail. But typically, if properly brought up, a Bullie will never "attack" a person ... I was going to say... Unlike a pit bull... But that would be unfair to pit bulls.... Unlike a dog brought up "allowed to be" aggressive.

ITZheida

I do think it was her form of telling the woman to not hold her back from playing with her dog in our house.. Since she can't hear she nips. The woman wasn't mad -we are good friends. I think I'm over thinking it now because I just want her to be trained properly. I want what's best for her. My definition of bite is a nip. I have never been bitten by a dog.

sally62

ZoE will nip me if I get up to something and she is lying beside me. My guess is she didn't want me to move her!

philsergeant

Oh great! As long as we are talking "nips" ... That's nothing... You can train those out. When we lived in Africa a "guy" climbed over a 10ft wall into the yard where our Bullie slept at about 2 in the morning.... The Bullie tore his calf muscle near right off... That's a bite! My wife had to drive him to emergency, ( burglar or not ) ... ( I was traveling overseas) .... I don't know if you want to train that type of family loyalty out.... I could be without a wife and kids if he got over the wall unattended.
P.S. I love your catch phrase!

TeKnowledgE

I am McKenzies dad. Her "nipping" is definitely not in an aggressive manner. It's more so a mouthing gesture to say she don't like what's going on. I've noticed since she was young that she mouthed more than other dogs I've owned. I assumed this was due to her being deaf. My main concern is when my Chihuahua gets aggressive with her. 3 times now she has pinned him with her mouth and feet and i in response pinned her until she released him. All 3 times it was somewhat difficult to get her off of him. However, she has never caused damage (the one time he yelped and was shaking his head a little bit afterwards) but it seems like she was just holding him still or "pinning" him. I am worried that one of these times she will seriously injure him. Since the incidents I have maintained 0 tolerance for aggressive behaviors between the 2. I am hopeful that one day I will be able to trust the 2 dogs together without supervision.

Leslie

Great job to pin her she needs to know she cannot at anytime put her mouth on that little dog and that you are not happy and do not accept her behavior. However everyone in the house has to be on the same page because she will also learn who's a pushover.

THOR

I would agree with everyone here my baby Thor still nips at other ppl besides me but its not in an aggressive sence but as a hay wonna play or supper excited... I do feel bad and tried to get him out of this habit but when he goes to lick a face he nips really hard before he licks so sometimes he catches ppls faces... and the only time iv seen Thor really aggressive is when he wasn't feeling good and was taking down dogs 3 times his sive and ripping up every dog that came in contact I right away corrected it... but just that once and never again he loves ppl and all animals alike he even tried playing with the neighborhood possum he thought it attacking him was play lol

BulliesofNC

The only problem I ever have with giving people the reassurance that their Bull Terrier will become a good tempered adult without aggression is when I'm unfamiliar with their bloodline. Due to this I can't give you all the confidence you wish for by saying this is only a phase that will pass. However, 90% of the time it is. Bull Terriers are known to be very affectionate and loyal not just to their owners but also to other animals they are raised with.
Many BT owners have their dogs living with other dogs and even cats without any problems. BT puppies can get on any dogs nerves and your chihuahua is mostly trying to discipline her when she's out of line.

philsergeant

TeKnowledgE....great job... Timing is EVERYTHING, if you can nab her as you appear to have done "in the moment" that's critical! If you come along 45 seconds later, you may as well talk to her about it next week. One almost has to get anticipatory .... We sense some bad behaviour is in the pipe and get the wooden spoon out of the drawer a few seconds before it starts... Then, if you just show the wooden spoon ( or tool of your choice) at the right instant they back down from the planned bad behaviour. (Just a word on our tool of choice.... You can swat the backside with your hand and that always hurts you more than them, we find the wooden spoon hurts them no more but produces a loud "wack" / "slap" that communicates better than the pain. You just have to be sure they are not moving at the time ( difficult) so as not to wack the wrong part by mistake.

TeKnowledgE

Thank you everybody for your experiences! I am glad to hear that I've been taking the right steps with her.

Thor, we have that same exact problem with McKenzie!.. When we have company over there is certain people that she gets "over-excited" to see and she does the same nipping as you described when she starts licking them. Weird. Please, let me know if you ever come across a solution to that issue. I feel at a loss when she is that excited.. For now I just keep her on a leash when people are over and keep her at her boundaries.

THOR

Not a problem at all always feels good to help a bully lover but now I can say one thing my vet has told me to try multiple times I tell is is to apply pressure on the ruff the the inner of the mouth and it shows somewhat good progression but its still there but not as bad now that just might help for you give it a try and best of luck to you and ill let you know if I find something eles out that has a better outcome

philsergeant

Remember she will do "anything" to get the connection with those visitors. So, with the help of some willing neighbours or relatives, and a good strong leash, ( pinch collar is best) ... Let her get close, and as soon as she misbehaves or over reacts, pull her back.... Let her get close, calm her and repeat pulling her back until she calms down.... Eventually she'll understand that the only way she is going to get the contact with the strangers that she desires is to calm down and behave. Not that this will happen in the first session... But repeat, repeat until she gets to understand... Jumping, nipping and lack of control = no love or attention from strangers.
( the worst you get are those annoying visitors that run to your pup with outstretched arms saying, " Oh what a darling, I love dogs, here, bite me in the face will you".... Hit THEM in the arse with the wooden spoon).

mmchu2

lol I love your methods, Phil! My bigger problem with this is that people are often afraid of my puppy. EBTs are so rare here (I had never laid eyes on one before my own) and so people are really apprehensive about approaching him. To be honest I don't care what people think or say ("wow, your dog is really ugly!"  "uhm, your a doll yourself" ...it has happened), but I do care about how they treat Thor. I try to educate people but mostly they just want very little to do with him. This worries me because I know it's so important for him to be socialised with people. I find that pulling him back over and over again and also pinning him in front of people only causes them to be more fearful of him. He gets so excited about seeing other people (and dogs) that he is too intense for people to handle and I've resorted to running him ragged with exercise if I know a visitor will be coming shortly. lol the things we do for our doggies!

philsergeant

I know... I hear you loudly! If only we could have friends the same quality of our Bullies.... Just this past weekend we had dinner guests where she was really wonderful, and only wanted to hug and cuddle the kids.... But as much as she squealed in a high voice, and kept on outstretching her arms, the more it disabled our kids from being able to remain calm. As much as her husband kept telling her "talk in a deep, slow voice, dear! " she kept getting them totally overexcited .... Best is to prep your visitors, assure them of no need for concern and instruct them on the does and don'ts ..... As long as they REALLY listen, you'll make progress.

Stoges_mom

We have a friend with the same high pitched squeaky voice! She squeals and laughs and squeals and wonders why Stoeger jumps at her. Her boyfriend tries to correct her all the time because she can't handle the stooge but she never learns, and I think she's missin a couple screws....... 8-}

philsergeant

Same lady.

xchairity_casex

It sounds to me like re-direction of pent up excitment-which is EXTREMELY common in most Terrier breeds.

You must understand that this is NOT somthing that can be trained or worked  out.

You must understand that Bull Terrier's (key word "TERRIER")

were bred to to have high prey drive for hunting rats and other small vermin.

The dogs that did best were the dogs who  would become most excited and highly attuned to the rats while ignoreing EVERYTHING else around them, humans, other dogs, loud sounds, pain,etc.

All they wanted to do was to go for that rat and kill it.

Now days, while the "Kill" instinct has been  mellowed- That high level of excitment and focus has NOT!

When they become focused and excitable,  holding them back, touching them or grabbing them can somtimes cause them to redirect all that pent up energy into a bite

They rarely notice WHO or WHAT they are biting because all the focus is on whatever they are focusing on (in your case-another dog to play with) when she was being restrained getting more and more excited- she released that onto whom ever was holding her back.

This can also cause dog fights, when you see dogs snap  at one who is overly excited, the other one suddenly redirects and causes a mild fight.

xchairity_casex

I suggest you remember this and keep it in mind hte next time you notice your bullie becoming excitable and fixated like that again- before you attempt to grab her, slip a looped lead around her neck and very gentle pull her her away

philsergeant

My dogs have never bitten at me or family or friends any other dog, and they meet many... the only occasions that have involved teeth have been when they were 2 to 10 months and, when playing boisterously, they sometimes bonked a hand, foot or face with open mouth. So I don't believe a blanket position could be held that all Bull Terriers bite at things naturally. Even now when they come across a possum or armadillo or rabbit they stand over it, play with it... but no bite or attack is involved..... Actually I lie, they do grab lizards, shake them and drop them, they rarely survive, but are intact, not bitten apart.

Quinnofhearts

Nip or bite, doesn't matter, it shouldn't be allowed. My dog has not bitten/nipped with intent since she was a baby. And it was trained out of her. She is not allowed to use her mouth on humans. And she knows when she bites me accidentally (I have a toy or a treat and she accidentally catches me or something) she'll actually stop and get bashful. Nowadays it more me taking no action or just petting her lightly so she doesn't think I'm punishing her during play, but it was harsh punishment for biting when she was a baby. That kind of jaw strength? Nope, not gonna happen.

I think it's important to acknowledge what xchairity_casex has said as well, as I have had to calm down my bullie on several occasions because she will nip or bite (usually clothing or hair) when she is excited. It scares a lot of people! I know she means no harm, but they don't and I have to protect everyone. So nip the nipping in the bud.

BONC_Jacksonville

It is so hard to keep young pup from nipping and biting.  Constant supervision, correction, and all members of the family must be on the same page to correct the action when it happens.  If not, the behavior can continue because they smart little creatures that realize what they can do with whom. My wife can sometimes be a pushover but my children and quick to correct the action.  Too bad they don't learn it for themselves!!