Was funny once or twice but not any more..

MiniJax

Its very interesting for me to read these character traits you guys write about that I assumed were one off's that my dog does and then see that some of the things are clear breed traits. Some are funny like "hucklebutting" and the fact that they are so determined that if I sit at my desk in my home office and Jax brings me a ball and I throw it I am stuck until I cut it off. He would do the same thing for two hours if I kept going. One of the things I thought was funny at first was out of nowhere when you walk by him after being out of the house or in another room he jumps straight up in the air as if to say hi but he then nips at your shirt on his way down and he has no joke ripped about 6 shirts between me, my wife and my son. Its not aggressive in any way but not funny anymore. We are working on it. He also loves to pick up his water bowl while it is still half full and walk away with it and then drop it on the floor. I am still amazed at some of the things he does and it is clear to me he will be a handful and he is only a 28lb "so far" mini. I can't imagine what the average person that would buy one of these on a whim from a pet store would think. The difference I have experienced between him and the french bulldog has been night and day. I look forward to learning more about the breed and catching up on your forum!   Jeff

philsergeant

First thing is to eradicate those early bad habits, if he gets away with those he'll develop more. Try and catch him on the way up to nip you (timing is everything) and grab him by the neck and take him straight down to the ground and pin him, shouting NO! and holding him there until he stops squirming.... It'll probably hurt you more than it hurts him, but I guarantee you won't have to do it more than 10 times.  I'd start with a heavier ceramic water bowl that he can't pick up... no rim lip... but if that doesn't work, repeat first process.

MiniJax

We are on him and I work from home so spend tons of time with him and have him in obedience class as well. He has been responding fairly well. I would say at this point my biggest issue is that he is fairly timid or even scared of new people,mainly men. He warms up fairly quick and we live at the beach and take him around as many people as much as we can but it is still an issue. He has not shown any aggression to people or dogs which is good but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about him getting over a fear of new people. Don't know if that is common with the breed as they are more cautious than others or if this is just mine.

philsergeant

That is decidedly unusual behaviour for an EBT... To start off timid toward other people. There is little alternative but to conclude that the ( male ) breeder was a shit, interested only cash... If someone has a more logical possibility let's hear it.... But, water under the bridge, you need to get every male you know to come and smother him with love.... It'll quickly go away.

MiniJax

I don't think it was the breeder. I got a lot of positive feedback on the breeder and he has a very good FCI pedigree and they were very helpful with the whole import process. I think he is just a very "cautious" pup but like you said at this point we are just trying to socialize as much as possible. After the initial few minutes he is good to go but def not warm and fuzzy to a complete stranger like our Frenchie is.

BulliesofNC

Often when a puppy shows signs of timidness it isn't because they were abused or anything. However, it's most often because they were never provided ample attention and your puppy is just now getting used to the presence of someone else holding and interacting with them. Puppies well socialized with people will have boundless courage and spunk. They will wear you out at 8 weeks old and beg for as much attention as possible from anyone that shows affection. If this isn't the case the puppy lacked attention.
Regardless, his personality will change based on how you train and raise him. He's young and learning every day. I look forward to seeing him progress.