5 month old Bull Terrier Food Aggression, Serious Behavior Problems

milymilymilyyy

I have to begin by saying that we, my family and myself, are first time bully owners. We currently have a 10 year old West Highland White Terrier and have owned a Labrador Retriever in the past. We have always admired the breed, but were sure to do thorough research before even thinking about taking on this challenge. Thus, we were prepared for the challenge that the breed presents. We spent close to a year trying to rescue a bully, but the dogs we were interested in were either adopted out from under us, not good with other dogs, or our applications were denied because we do not have a yard (we live in an 800 sq. ft. apartment in a small town that offers 3 parks, a dog park {that no one goes to except us for whatever reason} and several nature trails that we frequent with our dogs). We finally decided to go the puppy route. It was a very difficult process finding a breeder, but we were finally able to locate one in Michigan. While the breeder was eccentric to say the least, she seemed reputable (we asked all the necessary questions) and as though she genuinely cared about her dogs. We had the puppy checked out by a local vet before we left the state, as we live in Ohio, and had him checked out at our own vet in our town. He received a clean bill of health from both. 

He has, for the most part, been a normal puppy. He is very sweet, intelligent, and comical, and he is very loved. However, as time has progressed, we have noticed the development of several behavioral issues. Food aggression, in particular, has been difficult for us due to the small space in which we live. He does not care if we put our hand in his food, pet him, or otherwise mess with him while he is eating, but if our Westie is anywhere within the vicinity eating or there while he is eating, he goes mad. We have been avidly working with a local behaviorist who specializes in and owns his own bullies, and he had us working successfully with him for a time, but in the past weeks the issues has gotten so intense that we have stopped and are just feeding the two dogs completely separately. So far he has not had this issue with toys, treats, or bones for the most part. We can have the two dogs side by side while we are working with them both on obedience training and we have no issues. We recognize that this is a very difficult situation to correct/deal with, and are fine with feeding the two dogs separately for the better part of their lives, provided that unforeseen scenarios (someone dropping a piece of food on the floor, guarding of the kitchen, etc) can be alleviated through continued work with our behaviorist. For instance, yesterday I was sitting in the living room eating a bowl of cereal and the bull terrier was resting calmly in his bed. When our Westie walked by just to enter the room, he lunged at her from his bed and continued to bark and growl/snarl menacingly at her even after I grabbed her leash and pulled her away. Other than this, the two dogs love to play together.

This issue, however, is not the only one the bull terrier seems to have developed. He began by being very challenging to use, probably when he reached around 3-4 months of age. He would bite (no blood drawn) and become enraged when we would correct him. For the most part, though, we have remedied this issue and he very rarely exhibits this behavior anymore. However, recently he has taken to barking and becoming incredibly angry when we crate him, even though he has been sleeping and napping fine in the crate until now. He will actually nip at our fingers when we go to lock the crate. Also, just this past evening and into today, he has been going after my 19 year old brother if he even so much as walks by the dog. No one else, just my brother. When we contacted the behaviorist about this particular occurrence, he mentioned that after the dog had been to pack therapy with him, he was limping a bit and thinks that he may be acting out because he is in pain for whatever reason. We are taking him to the vet today to get him checked out.

The bull terrier is fantastic on walks and enjoys going with us and our other dog. We try to take them both on long walks at least twice a day (totalling 2 miles usually) and even do working walks, in which both dogs have to sit at intersections and any other times we instruct them to. We have particularly upped this practice, because our behaviorist has told us that we picked a particularly difficult puppy, one that is highly intelligent and thus can get frustrated very easily. He also goes twice a week with the behaviorist for nearly all day excursions with a group of other dogs to go hiking, walking, etc. As formerly stated, my family and I love this dog. But we have spent so much time and resources on him only to see his problems apparently get worse. At this time, we are so stressed out about the issues he has and how they are impacting my family, that we are considering, if we take him in to the vet and he gets a clean bill of health, giving him over to our behaviorist or a rescue. We would never just take him to a shelter, but if, in particular, the attack to my brother is proved to not be pain/discomfort driven we will really be at the end of our rope with him. Between ongoing effort on my mother and I's part (we are the main trainers int he household) and the money we have shelled out to the behaviorist, we just have no more to give to this dog, especially if he is now developing some form of aggression to humans. 

We would love to keep this dog in our household, provided the attack on my brother was driven by the dog being in pain, but we are all very spent at this moment. Has anyone else had similar experiences with a puppy or even a rescue? What worked for you, and how long did it take until the dog could reach some level of normalcy within the household, even if that level is that he doesn't attack another dog when food is dropped and doesn't attack humans? We feel very helpless and as though we have unknowingly accepted a challenge we were not quite prepared for.

philsergeant

Thanx for the comprehensive run down. He is still a puppy at 5 months, From what you describe the problems are very isolated, which is a good thing. It's hard to diagnose exactly from a distance so we will only be able to give you opinions. (and everyone's will be different, you'll need to make a goulash of them all and come up with a recipe of your own) For the meanwhile keep all food (catalyst) out of the equation, until you resolve the other issues. Even crate him while the family eats. Which brings first to the "don't like to be controlled and stuck-in-the-crate issue"..... He is rebelling against control, and you need to show him who is boss in no uncertain terms... no snapping tolerated. ALL bad behaviour needs be swiftly and consistently dealt with.  I could be very wrong but I am always weary of "behavioural specialists", especially leaving your dog with them... you don't know what's happening "over there", and it could be exacerbating things. The Majority of Bullies don't need much science... tons of love when they are good and tons of disciplining when they are bad.  The tricky mind games are best for other fru-fru circus dogs. Especially when thinking of your brother, remember they read minds better than a chinese crystal ball reader, he knows your brother is afraid of him and therefore tries to dominate. You have to be strong, quick and non-capitulating.  Hopefully once you get him to understand who is boss your brother's fear will subside... you could invite him to be part of the "control" process. But there have been owners who started off with MUCH bigger problems than yours and did wonders once they realized that you can't let them get away with the smallest bad behaviour... So I don't see you needing to lose him.... He is a lovely looking boy. I don't think the smaller space is such an issue if you are managing to give him the heavy workouts that you say.  Once you get him to behave as far as the nipping is concerned, the food issue should be easier to re-introduce and control.  As long as you are feeding him enough to not give him a cause to complain, he is just using food as an excuse to be a pain in the rump.

Quinnofhearts

I admire you for trying to rescue a bully and trying to prepare yourself for this breed. However, everything that I know about this breed and everything that I would tell someone considering this breed is that they are very challenging dogs, ESPECIALLY as puppies. My dog was cute as hell, but boy was I glad when she grew up. And for you to give up after only 5 months...maybe you weren't as ready as you thought you were.

I am also wary of behaviorists, especially since many of them do not understand this breed. (my own vet tells me she needs to lose weight every time we're there...since the first time she told me, she's gained 10 pounds ) There is a behaviorist here, who, after working a short time with a male bull terrier pup, told the owners that the pup was bad and suggested they put him to sleep -- and sadly, they did. Bull Terriers are not APBTs or Staffs, and unless the "bullies" you meant the behaviorist has owned are actually bull terriers, I would suggest you get a second opinion or search elsewhere for advice.

What young bull terriers are best at is challenging their people. YOU and everyone around you must take control. Very firm voice, I call it my "momma" voice," and you must use it every time and be consistent. I found timeouts worked as well, NOT in a crate, but in a bathroom or small space where he can be alone. Bull terriers (as much as they challenge their people) like to be with their people. He'll get the hint. I also don't believe it's the space either, because I live in an apartment smaller than yours, my bull terrier grew up with roommates, and we never had issues with food, treats or aggression toward other dogs. This is your dog's personality, he's turning into a teenager, and you get to teach him what is acceptable and what is not.

Take him to the vet and get him checked out, and if he's okay, keep working with him! You made this commitment. It sounds like you need to bond with him still anyway because you keep calling him "the bull terrier" instead of his name. You can do it!! and the pay off will be so great... Please keep working with him.