Just adopted a 1.5 year old female and need some experienced advice
Hi everyone, my life long dream finally came true and I adopted a sweet 1.5 year old female bull terrier. I am still learning on how to take the best care for her but I have a few concerns maybe some of you with experience can help.
About her: I've had her for a 3 days now but from the moment she came in my home I was able to hug her and put my face close to hers. I can touch anywhere on her body and she doesn't flinch. I can grab her food while she eats with no problem. She really is a true sweetheart in the home so far who seems to just want to cuddle, be coddled and be around someone. She has only barked 3 times inside the home and that is the first night when she was startled waking up in an unfamiliar place, the other 2 times was from hearing noises from the windows. She slept in bed with me and woke up at 5:30am laying on her back for belly rubs. She may have been abused in the past as I was told she was once spanked and cowled/cried. So I make sure to be as gentle and non aggressive as possible. She was panting and heavily drooling for the first day and a half. She didn't sleep much the first night but caught up on sleep the last couple days.
Concerns/questions:
1: Barking/whining/leash pulling when passing certain dogs and charging for the door. These are two things that have been her biggest challenges so far. When I first got her she would PULL on a chain slip collar but it didn't stop her. I have been working on getting her to walk on my side with a loose lease using an Easy Walk harness and it she has been getting a lot better walking at a slower pace. The biggest problem is when she pulls, people on the street and my neighbors look at it as an aggressive dog. They think she is going to charge or attack when really she is just young and excited to be outside. When there are other dogs across the street, down the street, she does not care unless they start barking at her. But today a small dog passed by and also a small dog was in my building elevator and she went CRAZY barking and crying as I held her back. The second time she started shaking after they were out of sight. I believe she wants to say hi and play but I do not trust her around small animals. There is NOTHING that will distract her while she is outside except other people willing to pet her. She ignores treats, toys, pets, ME. She is just really excited and amused and everything going on around her. I understand this is natural to some degree with a young dog but it just is amazing at the personality change between inside and out. She would charge for the door the first couple days but has calmed down a bit as she started to relax more.
2:She lived with a 10month old bull terrier puppy for the last 2 months and got along until the puppy would constantly try to hump her or annoy her to the point where she would snap and fight. I was told that she needed to get rid of her because having both of them is too much and they fight for her attention. I was told they both went to the dog park 1 time and when another dog started getting aggressive with the bull terrier puppy, she charged over and started getting protective/aggressive. This is one of my biggest worries because its only been 3 days but I have not seen any aggression come out of her, only growling at a group of drunk men late night passing a bar. My neighbors are mostly small dog owners are not too happy with my new roommate. What is the best way to handle this? Right now when I walk her I just will avoid directly passing by other dogs. I want her to be aloof to all dogs around her and very calm, well behaved and tame like she is indoors. She is 100% angel indoors!
3:There is usually either me or my brother home but she follows both of us everywhere. If she is sleeping and I go to another room she will jump up and come with me. If we are standing and talking she will stand close. If we are sitting she will sit. I am assuming this is common behavior with a bullie? Can this lead to separation anxiety? She has been so happy and tells me all the time by climbing on my lap with licking attacks on my ears, face and gently nibbles on the tip of my nose.
4:Sometimes after long hours of sleep she will limp on either her front or rear paw. I think her foot falls asleep from all of her body weight pressed against it. Anyone else experience this?
Any tips, links, suggestions, comments is appreciated. I have fallen in love with her and can see how she is a truely loyal, well behaved, cuddly breed. I want to nip the barking/howling/excitement in the bud before people complain and they tell me I have to get rid of her. My building management was already hassling me about a breed policy.
Thank you!
About her: I've had her for a 3 days now but from the moment she came in my home I was able to hug her and put my face close to hers. I can touch anywhere on her body and she doesn't flinch. I can grab her food while she eats with no problem. She really is a true sweetheart in the home so far who seems to just want to cuddle, be coddled and be around someone. She has only barked 3 times inside the home and that is the first night when she was startled waking up in an unfamiliar place, the other 2 times was from hearing noises from the windows. She slept in bed with me and woke up at 5:30am laying on her back for belly rubs. She may have been abused in the past as I was told she was once spanked and cowled/cried. So I make sure to be as gentle and non aggressive as possible. She was panting and heavily drooling for the first day and a half. She didn't sleep much the first night but caught up on sleep the last couple days.
Concerns/questions:
1: Barking/whining/leash pulling when passing certain dogs and charging for the door. These are two things that have been her biggest challenges so far. When I first got her she would PULL on a chain slip collar but it didn't stop her. I have been working on getting her to walk on my side with a loose lease using an Easy Walk harness and it she has been getting a lot better walking at a slower pace. The biggest problem is when she pulls, people on the street and my neighbors look at it as an aggressive dog. They think she is going to charge or attack when really she is just young and excited to be outside. When there are other dogs across the street, down the street, she does not care unless they start barking at her. But today a small dog passed by and also a small dog was in my building elevator and she went CRAZY barking and crying as I held her back. The second time she started shaking after they were out of sight. I believe she wants to say hi and play but I do not trust her around small animals. There is NOTHING that will distract her while she is outside except other people willing to pet her. She ignores treats, toys, pets, ME. She is just really excited and amused and everything going on around her. I understand this is natural to some degree with a young dog but it just is amazing at the personality change between inside and out. She would charge for the door the first couple days but has calmed down a bit as she started to relax more.
2:She lived with a 10month old bull terrier puppy for the last 2 months and got along until the puppy would constantly try to hump her or annoy her to the point where she would snap and fight. I was told that she needed to get rid of her because having both of them is too much and they fight for her attention. I was told they both went to the dog park 1 time and when another dog started getting aggressive with the bull terrier puppy, she charged over and started getting protective/aggressive. This is one of my biggest worries because its only been 3 days but I have not seen any aggression come out of her, only growling at a group of drunk men late night passing a bar. My neighbors are mostly small dog owners are not too happy with my new roommate. What is the best way to handle this? Right now when I walk her I just will avoid directly passing by other dogs. I want her to be aloof to all dogs around her and very calm, well behaved and tame like she is indoors. She is 100% angel indoors!
3:There is usually either me or my brother home but she follows both of us everywhere. If she is sleeping and I go to another room she will jump up and come with me. If we are standing and talking she will stand close. If we are sitting she will sit. I am assuming this is common behavior with a bullie? Can this lead to separation anxiety? She has been so happy and tells me all the time by climbing on my lap with licking attacks on my ears, face and gently nibbles on the tip of my nose.
4:Sometimes after long hours of sleep she will limp on either her front or rear paw. I think her foot falls asleep from all of her body weight pressed against it. Anyone else experience this?
Any tips, links, suggestions, comments is appreciated. I have fallen in love with her and can see how she is a truely loyal, well behaved, cuddly breed. I want to nip the barking/howling/excitement in the bud before people complain and they tell me I have to get rid of her. My building management was already hassling me about a breed policy.
Thank you!
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Comments
Its tough to say any of these "issues" are actually issues yet, 3 days is not enough time for her to get used to the major changes of a new home, new family, new surroundings ect.
She may settle down once she adapts to your routine, and comes to know the other 4 legged buddies in the neighborhood.
The way that her past family was so quick to pass her on "suggests" ( I could be wrong, but went through the exact same thing this past year with introducing a puppy to a 2 year old family bully and with effort, was successful ) That there was no firm leadership, and
no plan of action to integrate a new puppy into an already occupied, one dog home.
The first thing I'll point out, which I'm sure your aware of.
She will pick up on your mood instantly, and as quick as your temperament changes, as will hers. If your nervous, anxious, scared when around other dogs, so will she be. Introduce her to other dogs, be sure to be absolutely calm and reserved yourself, but giving constant praise while they interact.
As far as leash pulling. Others here swear by using a prong collar. The public perception on these in no way represents the reality. It will not hurt them. But does give them instantaneous correction.
Bullys are extremely affectionate and always need to be as close to you as possible.. I have 2 shadows that follow me everywhere. This is normal. She was just givin up by her last family, so it may be temporarily exacerbated until she knows that you to wont abandon her.
Stiffness after sleep ? Chooba has his own yoga routine every morning. He refuses to do anything until its complete. Nutritional additives help, but in my experience its expected.
Use the search option on this forum, the answers to almost any question can be found here.
We are only on day 6 and she is doing a lot better on our walks. The easy harness has helped, as she now walks on a slower pace. What I have noticed is that she will only go crazy is the dog gets near me or my brother. If there are dogs being walked across the street, she looks out of curiosity but she does not act in the same crying/whining/squirming as she does if the dog were to be within 10 feet. Yesterday at the vet, she was in the car waiting as and a woman walked by with a poodle and she did not make a sound until she realized I was a few feet away then she started jumping around and barking/crying. A local trainer told me she is look at my brother and I as equals and is going into protective mode. He told me with proper training she will understand who is dominant and it will phase out. I was considering the prong collar but my fear is that when she is outside she loses all connection with me. It's almost as if I am not there because she is so amused at her surroundings. Once a dog comes close, she will LUNGE and I am afraid of what the collar would do in that case. I've had to hold her as she squirms, yelps, cries and it is something that I do not want to make a habit of.
She does pick up on my mood very quickly. She knows when she has done something that bothered me or my brother. Yesterday is the first day she is finally starting to show her true colors because she grabbed her Kong ball and started jumping on and off the couch all throughout the living room and kitchen waiting to be caught. She also got so excited she tried jumping on the bed and knocked her head on the side frame but she didn't even notice. She did that about 3 times over the evening and just never runs out of energy. Today we had 20 minutes of tug or war in my living room and she just wants more and more. She is very good with playing if I move the rope slowly to her mouth she will bite it very gently but if I swing it aggressively she will jump and snap at it aggressively. She makes sure to go easy on me so I have a chance to pull a few times during out match.
Something interesting I am noticed is yesterday and today, she started licking my arms for LONG periods of time. I mean, she would go on for 5+ minutes if I don't stop her. Is this some sign of affection/submission or a sign of anxiety/OCD? It only started yesterday and usually after she started licking my ears and nose out of excitement.
She is getting more and more comfortable as the days go by and she is starting to relax a lot more. I will see how she truly is in a few more weeks when she realizes she just as lucky as we did finding each other.