What is happening to my bully?

Nadia

Hi! I'm new here don't know under which category this belongs to..
We have a 2 1/2 year old bully named Crash..He was a lovely dog up to 3weeks ago..then a weird thing happened that he had a go at one of us (family)..then it was quiet and on Monday he had another go at my parents and from that day on its been every day..it always comes out of the blue..usually he sniffs at you 2x 3x times then he starts growling tries to go up,towards your face..so far he hasn't bitten any of us but it's not pretty to look at..after we manage to calm him down he is back to normal..wags his tail,comes to you in a way like he's sorry..we called some breeders to ask about it,they said he is sexually frustrated and that we should castrate him..cos up to last week he did get along with every dog,never had a problem,he always went pass them even if they growled..but now he wants a piece of them too..and he wants to hump constantly..so yes we decided to cut off his bollocks..the vet told us it will take up to 6months for the body to get rid of testosterone and till then we should also get a behaviourist..so yes a called a few..one had no idea what could be the problem cos it started all of a sudden and the others said that he doesn't have boundaries(oh yes and the fact that as soon as you mention it's a bully they go erm erm erm)..but I think he does..yes he is spoiled like every bully ,but when we say don't go on the sofa or bed he won't go,if you say sit and wait he sits and waits,can take his food or toys anytime,if he has something in his mouth and I want it he lets go,we never had any problems with him..only problem so far with him was that he has a lack of interest in everything (he doesn't play for long)and stubbornness (if he doesn't want to walk you have to drag him)..some people told me to have a look at SOA which I did..thing that his outbursts have in common with SOA is that they are sudden (usually triggered by smelling) and pupils get dilated but eyes aren't glazed..he growls but doesn't show his teeth..wants to bite but doesn't..if we nip it in the bud,stop him from sniffing right away he is fine and once he gets started if we grab him by his collar and just tell him to walk it off (walking beside leg,sit,stay,walk,sit,heel) kinda getting his attention somewhere else he snaps out of it after few min..I really have no idea what's happening to my baby

philsergeant

Sounds distressing for sure. The parts missing from your tale ( that would aid in understanding) are; what about the first two & half years, how much doggy socializing did he get, how much human interaction. I don't believe that suddenly a testosterone fountain kicked in at 2 1/2.. But vet do like to ( bill for ) castrate. You should definitely try strict admonishment. I am assuming you practiced strong admonition when he was 3 to 12 months when he was tearing up the place. He needs reminding of the same pecking order and understand who is boss.

Nadia

He is meeting other dogs and people on walks as well as people that come visit us and we also take him everywhere with us if it's possible..he has some dog mates(mostly male dogs)..Crash was always a bit more gentle then I'm used to with bullies,he was never destructive,he has a lack of interest in everything, except that he wants to hump all the time (it's been like that for a while now but we thought it's just gonna go away like with all the other dogs we had)..and he's been very obedient so far(not like my previous bully which was a destroyer on 4legs but eventually turned out to be a great dog)..we do now try to be more strict then usual if that will help and of course his bollocks are off now..

BulliesofNC

You mentioned contacting other breeders but did you contact Your breeder? Did you spend any time with the parents of your Bull Terrier?

Having him neutered isn't going to change anything except make him weigh a few ounces lighter.

It does sound like he has some type of neurological disorder similar to SOA. Have you had him tested? I would explain to your Vet that this is not is normal behavior and there are certain things which are triggering dominance behavior and aggression.

I spoke to a woman almost a year ago that called me about a similar issue with her Bull Terrier which was around 3 years old. She was at wits end because she loved this Bullie but couldn't figure out what was causing these sudden acts of aggression. It had gotten to the point where she was scared of her dog because he had become unpredictable. She called me for with the intent to render him to me since she found out we conduct BT Rescue but before she rendered him I suggested she have her Bull Terrier thoroughly tested to ensure there wasn't an underlying cause which could be corrected. A few days later she called back saying the Vet ran some tests and said it was a neurological disorder but suggested she try giving him a medication that was actually meant for dogs that have epilepsy. The medication is called Zonisamide.  She said she was using the meds for the past couple days and so far he seemed fine so she wanted to hold off on rendering him. I didn't hear back from her for another 2 or 3 months but when I did she was on cloud nine explaining how well this medication worked. She said he never had another aggressive outburst.

I think it would be a good idea for you to have your Vet look at your Bullie. You could mention this medication to your Vet and see what he thinks about it based on the behavior of your Bull Terrier.  

philsergeant

Wow, that's a great story Steve, where there's a will there's a way!