Aggression in 7 Month Old Male

Amanda18

Hi! My name is Amanda. My EBT's name is Patches O'Houlihan. He is a 7
month old male. I have been all over the site researching aggression.
From what I read, it seems common for a bully at this age to start
showing aggression. Patches is definitely showing resource guarding. He started a few months ago with a little high value guarding such as Bully Sticks or Raw Bones. So we do not give those to him anymore. The only chewer we have found that works are Antlers. He doesn't guard them and they don't make him sick. Now he has graduated to guarding our bed, his crate, his toys and still his food.

This seems to be worse at night. I swear he is the sweetest dog during the day and at night any little thing will set him off. Mt fiance and I recently moved in with his parents to save money but in doing so downsized our space. Patches may be feeling anxiety from that. The crate is in between the wall and our bed. He will go into full blown attack mode if we approach the crate to do anything other than let him out. He will even growl with us moving the covers. Should we move the crate into the other room? Does this help to establish leadership if he sleeps in another room?

I sent a message to Bullies of NC and it was recommended we start feeding him a little at a time so that when he is done he looks to us for more instead of it all at once. We will start this and see if it helps the food guarding. Has anyone had success with this? As for the toys we have removed all toys except balls. He seems to be perfectly fine with those.

We tried the pinning method last night when he started to get in the growl-y stage and it took a little while but he submitted and seemed to respond to it. He wasn't happy and definitely pouted a while. How long have some of you had to do this strong behavior correction until the dog responds?

Attached is a pic of our little devil... its so hard to hate that cute face.

Thanks
~A

philsergeant

If you are going to complain about aggression then you must at least post a photo of a dog that could possibly be aggressive! That little pumpkin couldn't hurt a fly! ) I am sure the move/ change in environment might have effected him.... more from reading your emotions about the move than being bothered himself. The possessiveness is always understandable (but also not tolerable) if regarding another dog, but never as far as you are concerned... you need take the treasures away until he will share them with you readily. He must know you are boss... I think this is the biggest problem. He should be able to chew a bullie stick while it's between your toes without you worrying about it. You must teach him respect... you are his god, everything comes from you as a gift that he must value. Moving the crate shouldn't matter, but he hasn't earned being in your room.  We only let our kids on the bed when they became two years, when they enjoyed the snuggle, got off when told, and didn't jump on un-invited.  They need earn everything.  If you give without commanding respect they will "eat you for breakfast".
Remember they read your mind, if you allow him to intimidate you mentally for a split second he has won.   You can be tough and still love him. You should work toward climbing in the crate with him, you smothering him in there and him loving it.  Can happen.

jcurtis

No not really. I was thinking if I had a male it'd prob PIN ALL THE OTHER DOGS DOWN. I've thought ABOUT THE MALE FORCE. BUT ITS HOW THEY ARE TAUGHT. SO SO U HOLLER HUSH OR HEY HEY HEY THEY'LL MAKE ALOT of noises when playing or eating bones. Some bull terrors SEEM VOCAL. and at first IYS startling. STAND UR GROUND

BulliesofNC

Oh the notorious adolescent stages of a Bullie! If I only had a dime for every time I heard about a Bull Terrier showing alpha dominance or aggression during their early stages of maturity.

After reading your post it's apparent you are now on the right track to correction and I guarantee the methods you are using will be effective. You and I both know that your Bullie is actually a very lovable dog that doesn't hesitate to give you all the proper love he can dish out. Unfortunately right now there are times in which he doesn't act accordingly because he knows he can get away with it. Unfortunately dogs of all breeds still carry natural wild instincts that are often unwarranted behavior for a domicile dog. It's up to you to correct them and prevent them from gaining alpha behavior with you.

The pin method works excellent. Continue this method throughout his current stage. Trust me, his behavior will change. It just isn't in the Bull Terrier breed to be mean dogs and they really don't want to lose their loving relationship with their owners. They only want to please and be loved. Become the boss of Patches and he will not only continue loving you but he will respect you and realize you are the alpha. Once he fully matures you will see a big change in his temperament and personality. His loyalty will shine through and you'll be more proud of him than you could possibly imagine.