hucklebutting on leash

bully

Hey guys hope all is well I dont know how to post pics on here but would love for u guys to see our baby bully he is sooooo handsome cute just a lil sweetheart having him is truly the light in my life he is very smart knows sit..gimme five...down...off and alot of just things I am home 99.99percent of the time and my hubby and I both are the boss....not him I play with him alot let him run free in our decent sized fenced in backyard...yes totally supervised at all times(of course) and I also take him for a walk everyday sometimes a few times...he does great most of the time he walks next to me will stop...but tonight he started hucklebutting and he was a psycho refused to listen this is the second time (first time hubby was with us he had the leash I thought maybe bully was just testing his daddy)....anyways bully is teething he is just only 4 1/2 months old I do understand this and everyone says I have the patience of job with him...lol....but this hucklebutting on leash scares me to death I told him stop I then stopped and waited for him to knock it off (a good 15 minutes)...acting as if I was ignoring his lil schananagin but my question is....how in the world if god forbids this happens again what is a proper correction...I dont know exactly what to do in this situation.....any and all advice trust nqe is sooo appreciated..im scared to death he will get hurt...he is so strong as he gets bigger what if he breaks his leash??? (bully already weighs 47 pounds not fat at all very muscular his mom was 70 plus pounds and his dad is around 67 pounds..mom is from england dad uk)....I keep his leash around my wrist and also death gripped while its wrapped around my ae arm always...but I hold his leash loose unless a correction is needed if he tries to run I will stop he has learned no pulling if he does it just takes that much longer to get wherever he is trying to race off too..... but im stummped what do u do when ur ebt hucklebutts on a walk on his leash.....sorry I know I talk alot...oops...lol but real talk thanks alot in advance sarah harkness

bully

Ps hope I posted a pic...tried tooo

philsergeant

Sarah,  I understand that he has the big yard etc. but it sounds like he needs a good workout, at least every couple of days, to get rid of that excess energy.  If you've given him the avenue to release the energy then it is going to be a matter of stern discipline to rid him of the bad behaviour. If he likes his walk, and starts this soon into it, then he should be taken home if he refuses to respond to admonishment. (careful not to destroy his love of walks if you need to do this often).  Don't let him feel your frustration (fear) when he misbehaves... he'll feed off that. You must be totally in control and he must back down. Try taking him on walks with a neighbour or neighbour plus dog to provide distraction.
Take him somewhere wild on a 50ft rope and let him dive through the grass like crazy... if he finds a method of release you'll find him easier to handle.  But don't back down or stop the walks.  Also try a longer leash and tie it around your waist with enough left for hand control... Hey, at least he is saving you the gym fees!

apollosmama

Hucklebutting..... Bullies favorite pastime, Humans worst nightmare! Apollo would hucklebutt on the leash so bad, I was scared he'd snap his neck. He'd do it in the house and it was so rough he'd knock over the couches. He flung himself so hard once, he hit the window and fell flat on his back on the hardwood floor. I do not stand for hucklebutting. It's the difference between healthy and broken bones. To handle the situation, I pinned him. It would be nothing for my neighbors to drive by and see me wrestling with Apollo on the front lawn. It may have taken up to 4 times of pinning in a 5 minute span, but after a few months (yes, months) it stopped. They're bullies and it's in the nature but we have to show them there's a time and a place. I could run Apollo all day long and he'd still hucklebutt. Try reeling him in on the leash and then pin until submission. Don't chase them, it makes it worse. If he gets up and tries again, pin him again. Make sure he is fully on the ground. Apollo would try to keep his butt in the air like "haha! Can't get me down." LOL! We also bought a shock collar. Only really had to use it about 2 weeks. He still has it on at least once a week, but all I have to do is show it to him and he lays down! Smart puppies they are! Good luck! And may God bless your furniture! LOL!!!!!

apollosmama

oh and leash breaking...... yup, make sure you have a nice thick collar and leash! weive broken out of 2 collars and 3 leashes!

philsergeant

Sarah, how's he coming along?

Djammy

I see this discussion is a little older, but maybe my post can still be helpful.

I totally agree with philsergeant due to the long rope. Hucklebutting is something you just can’t get out of an EBT. Even an old Bully will do it every once in a while.

I love the joy in their face when they do it, but faced the same situation with Djamila as others have described here:

She started very abruptly on the street when I had her on the short leash. More than fearing that she could get loose I was afraid that she might hurt her neck in that action.

I think it must be a real funny sight for others to watch an owner desperately trying not to let go of his dog when she’s going nuts and trying to stop her to avoid that she is hurting herself.

As I generally have to be very creative, because of our personal situation here, I have a lot of things im my bag of tricks meanwhile.

One of them is a 25Ft. “emergency” rope, I use to tie to Djamilas harness and then play with her on a field nearby, fetch balls and let her run or do obedience or trick training with her outside in unfenced areas.

The next problem was that she would not go crazy when I walked with her outside on that rope or long leash - BUT she would do it as soon as we were back inside. Tackeling furniture and walls, us and … ouch.

Of course, we are stopping her then. She has a rug, where she is allowed to go crazy, every other area is tabu. 

Well, we’re still working on this “agreement”

At some point I realized there are 

a) certain times when she would hucklebutt and 

b) I can not only stop, I can also trigger it.

The first potty session of the day outside is usually calm, because she is still tiered, the second one not so much - her chance for hucklebutting. So for this second time I now pack the long rope or the lunge lead and walk in areas where I get the chance to give her the space for her antics. OR I walk to the nearby field and even trigger the hucklebutting myself to give her a chance of getting rid of her excess energy - which to my mind is one reason for hucklebutting.

Djamlia seems like she is bursting from energy in the morning once she is completely awake.

I have learned that doing nothing and just staring at Djamila makes her go crazy. She can’t handle that, because she does not have any facial expression or voice from me to know what I am up to. So she will start a lot of displacement activity - among others hucklebutting - just to rid herself of the uncomfortable situation. 

If staring alone is not doing the trick, I will take a “fighting” pose, similar to a boxer about to attack, but without the raised fists and my upper body bent a little lower, making short, quick, jerky moves, just like a Bully does to incite you.

THIS WORKS! But watch your face and jaw with that! Don’t let your teeth get smashed by your Bully suddenly lunging up to your face to kiss you. It happens.

I have also found out that high grass - especially when it is wet - is favored for hucklebutting. Also when she is wet herself, she is more prone to hucklebutting. Meanwhile I can also sense when she is in the mood.

 

Once she is loose, I allow her to run off her fuel and even encourage her until I notice her getting exhausted. We are living in Florida. So the climate helps a lot with that. Even a Bully will surrender at some point.

I also do longer walks with Djamila. But she does not like walking very much unless we are doing something fun on the way. 

You can’t just walk a young Bully like you can walk other dogs. She will look at you like: “and when is the fun starting?”

To my mind walking is not in any way sufficient to rid her of her energy.

Find a way for her to chase after ball - thrown, on a flirt pole, in the water, whatever. That, of course is a different story. 

Give her the chance to run short distances often, quickly and furious. That’s what drains your Bully and reduces the hucklebutts.

All of these measures together help me to manage her energy and hucklebutts. I don't care, if I look like a crazy person to pedestrians, when we play our games on the field.

Enjoy the remaining hucklebutts. I have never heard of another breed doing this. And if it weren’t so destructive, I could honestly laugh my **** off, every time she’s doing it, no matter where we are.

bully

Thanks guys been awhile he keeps me busy but he is doing amazing now...he hasnt hucklebutted on his leash in months I walk him daily and we spend alot of time playing chase fetch he loves hide and seek...we have puzzle games etc....a sleepy tired bully is a good bully...lol...