Bob has a temper at 3 months

Bob

Hi all. Am new here. My wife and I got our first EBT when he was 7 weeks old. He is not neutered yet. As he got older he became more aggressive. He is 3 months old now and is biting us more so. We have lots of toys for him. But he is always biting our pants, fingers and wrists. I try to take him to work as often as possible. But he is almost impossible in the car. He is more aggressive indoors than outdoors. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Bob

philsergeant

Hi Bob, Welcome. Looks like you have a wonderful looking boy who lives in seventh heaven.... Nothing new with the behaviour issue, means you have a 3 month old Bullie who hasn't been taught any discipline yet. You need to search the site (above your name on the top left) with the words "pinning method" and research all the strings started by similar new Bullie owners that began the disciplining process a little late. Follow all that advise faithfully and you will have him under control in a month or so,,,, Lots of reading required.

Bruiser

Hey Bob,

Recently new Bull Terrier owner, this actually first forum post. With Bruiser we deliberately trained him to be pet without biting and play without biting, at 3 months he was a land shark. Now he only nips when overexcited, at that point I pin him like philsergeant mentioned. 

Get something like a bully stick and get him chewing on, he will be way too distracted to care about you petting him. That's step 1, he's learning the feeling of being touched without biting.

A few days of that should progress to treats he likes, being rewarded to him for a single pet stroke without a bite. you can see where this is going. you need to desensitize him to your touch, and teach him that being touched without biting will bring good things. Eventually graduate to full petting sessions before you treat him. 

philsergeant

Bob,
P.S. Do a lot of research before you commit to neutering him.
Please

erikashea

3 month stage, wait till the 6-7 month stage lol! ) all joking aside my bianca just turned 9 months and she is growing into such the beautiful sweet loving little lady! Manners are still in the works (begging,jumping on people when excited and such).we went through an exhausting nipping phase at the 3 month and 6-7 month marks. I am a firm believer in the pin method, it truly was the only thing that worked for her. I also believe that it will make a truly huge difference when you do it with love. I ALWAYS make sure once she is calmed in the pin that i end it with kisses loves and strokes telling her "good girl no biting" in a soft voice. I can't even remember the last time we had to pin her. she is at the end of her first heat cycle and she has truly come into her own the last couple of months. Hang in there he's more than worth the reward!

philsergeant

I totally love your summary... I swear there is no creature on earth, human or animal, with which a loving relationship is more greatly rewarded... Even if Bullies don't exactly understand what you want them to do when you lovingly give them a command, request or gesture, they let you know that they would LOVE to know how better to please you.

Bob

Thank you all for all the tips. I'll be pinning him from now on. The only thing is he is like this a lot. I'd have to pin him at least 15 to 20 times a day. I'll give it a try.

erikashea

It's true phil i was literally almost bald and at my wits end at moments but boy was this little gem worth the wait and work! @Bob i WAS pinning that much the first few days! As the pins go on the amount of time between the initial pin and him calming and excepting you're not happy and only trying to help him understand will get shorter and shorter. It was good for me as well because i would get so upset with her it was a calm down moment for the both of us, not just her. You MUST give love kisses and praise at the end once he let's out that giant sigh of "ok you win". This way he knows it's out of genuine love and for the best. Please keep us updated i am confident you will see a big difference over a week of consistency

philsergeant

It's all a matter of teaching them who is in charge... If they find out that they have a loving master who is firm but fair, they are happy to join your pack... Until they reach that conclusion they will continue to see whether it's possible to start their own pack with you as a follower. It's instinctive. They learn fast, you'll only be pinning 3 or 4 times a day inside a week.  (Trouble is your boy is soooo good looking he thinks he should definitely be in charge.... come'on, so would you if you looked like that as a kid!)

erikashea

It's so true, once she learned i wasnt allowing her to rule the house she was like "ok ok mom you win your the queen and I'm just the princess". Don't get me wrong she still likes to see how far she can push me but she 100% knows the tone and look on my face. She quickly comes straight over and rams her big ol head into me saying she's sorry :x they learn incredibly fast and are super smart! Phil is right you won't be pinning much after the first couple days. Please make sure to type it in the search field on the correct way to do it so you have successful results

Bob

So I did the pinning method and it did work. But it seems like he forgets within 5 minutes. Last couple of days he has been very angry and growls very viciously. After I pin him he calms down but his body goes red and so do his eyes. So I put him in his crate and he starts humping his cushion. Also he does not poo or pee out when we go for walks or dog parks. He only does his business in the back yard. Also what is a good toy for him to play catch with? Thank you all for such great support. And we are thinking it over to not neuter him.

BulliesofNC

The are so darn stubborn while in their adolescent stages. He is so young right now and his behavior is not abnormal. I wish I could say it was but many Bull Terriers go through the same thing. However, with proper training, discipline, and patience he will get through this stage a lot faster. The Pin Method is a technique in which they naturally understand and relate to by nature. It works but it's not an instant fix and takes some time. One thing is for sure, once matured ALL antics of this this kind will come to a halt and he will mellow out considerably. Once fully matured you'll rem amiss his devilish puppy stages and smile about it knowing he's the most lovable, loyal dog, free from any form of aggression and unwarranted antics.

the4thmonkey

Birdie would not do her potty business anywhere but at home at that age also. She eventually figured out that she could go at the dog park and on walks. And at about 3 months old she would attack me when I told her "no".  Nothing worked except pinning her and I had to do it for about a month. She is 13 months old now and very sweet. 

I would advise that you do not use the crate as punishment.

giovitas

You have to be consistent with the pin method, as many said, they are really smart but stubborn and are always pushing the boundaries. Also, is a matter of time, you will notice the difference as time past.

I had the same problem with my bull (Trica), she didn't want to poo or pee when she walk outside. Her trainer told me that this happens because she's a bit anxious to be outside, she wasn't confortable to do her business in the open where other dogs can track her. Eventually, Bob will be confortable enough to do his stuff outside.

For toys to play catch, well, Bulls love balls, at least mine loves balls. When my Bull was younger she played with tennis balls. But nowadays, tennis balls don't last too many days. I bought her a kong squezzer and she's loving it, playing catch and fetch, and so far (one week) is intact.