athenas getting mad with kids.......

bullyluna

ok..my brothers bull terrier athena is getting aggressive  with kids i dont know why...she used to be cranky but this couple days shes getting mad to the point that no kids can get close to her..she barks and she try to attack..yesterday we when walking to the park and she try to attack a 7 year old the kid was crying so i got athena and i put her down and i said athena no...the good thing is that i never let the dogs walk with out the leash..athena is  going to be 5 months shes a miniature bull terrier like my luna...i had bullterrier before like my brindle he was nice too he used to love kids like my luna...but athena is different shes more aggressive especially with kids and im scare because my daughter play with them specially luna but when she try to get close to athena sometimes she get cranky so i have to be there to tell athena stop dont do that....what can we do to help athena to get better??? here a video    

BulliesofNC

Some Bull Terriers go through a phase where they are very nerved by children and won't tolerate them. To many dogs the quick actions and loud noises from children can set them off in a bad way. Chances are your brothers Bull Terrier hasn't been well socialized with children. If he has then he's going through stage and his temperament may not be sound. I would be cautious with him around children if he's not acting as he should and lashing out at kids.

Leslie had this issue a while back and worked through it with great results. I'm hoping she chimes in on this thread so she can provide you with some of the training she conducted to rectify the problem with her Bullie. I can tell you though that there's a big difference in the patience level of an adult BT compared to one in their adolescent age. Socialization is key to proper temperament especially with kids. Again, some BT's (especially young males) do not tolerate kids if they're not raised around them. With this said be careful if he's conducting himself out on line.

BTW - Your video is set to "Private" so it can't be viewed until to change it to "Public" from your setting on your YouTube channel.

bullyluna

ok now is public..athena is been here with my daughter since my brother got her. she see my daughter everyday and she plays with her but she gets mad when my daughter get close to her and when see other kids she gets crazy.... :-<

BulliesofNC

Ya, it's those noises and quick movements that she isn't liking. At the very beginning of the video you can hear the child make some noises and Athena reacts to it right away.

It's good that you're training her by letting her socialize with kids. However, it's a little dangerous because one snap could inflict harm to the child. If it were me I'd muzzle her and use a shock collar to train her. This way every time she snarles or does anything out of line she'll receive consequences for her derogatory actions. She'll learn quickly her behavior isn't going to be tolerated and will adjust her temperament to prevent these consequences.

Leslie

First off read " Brutus nipping aggression " it will walk you thru my hole nighmare. Second this dog has no respect for the young child in the above posted video then gets pet " reward " when showing inappropriate behavior.. Dangerous situation if you like that little ones face!!!! I'm gonna be bold and do not intend to be rude but I know exactly where you are at!!! In the video I would have put the dog on the floor the minute it raised a lip or growled and put the little one on thecouch where the dog was, its my couch not yours and this little beauty is mine also and you will respect her!!!! Ashock collar and or a muzzle are great ideas, safety alone. The reprimand needs to be loud and clear otherwise she will run you over. she apparently thinks that kid is hers and she can treat her how she wants if the punishment is not stern enough she will continue to do it more than likely it will get worse. I'm gonna take a page from Zerletts book and NILF her aka nothing in life is free not her stuff " bones toys ect. Or anything of your " couch the floor NOTHING!!!! I know this sounds harsh as I thought so toobut nothing would be worse than having a dog aggressive towards a Child in the same houseread my post and you'll get a lot of ideas through that as well Steve, Zerlett and many others helped me tremendously I wish you luck and if you have any questions you're always free to ask this is a great forumnot only to talk about our favorite breed but to help owners and dogs alike. as Steve mentioned they do usually grow out of the stage and it is a adolescents thing however I do not fully trust Brutus to this day he is much much better but still not worthy of complete and total trust.and if they think its okay to act this way why not continue right.....keep us posted!!!

Leslie

Also make sure Athena is getting appropriate exercise, pent up energy can be very bad. She needs to be shown how to act around things she fears and is nervous about... when Brutus has had enough of the noise being petted whatever he now removes himself and just goes outside or somewhere to be alone. I will take this behavior over the nasty anyday!!!!! My son can put him in a sit stay at 3 yrs old and he don't blink an eye

Zerlett

The puppy is showing all the signs of a nervous dog, then noise the child is making is escalating her behavior, as she keens in on the child when they make the noise. Grabbing the muzzle and shaking it like that person did, is the wrong signal and will escalate it too. The signals the owner is giving are not clear and not nearly firm enough. If this were my pup and at the first snap I would have slapped her hard on the rear end and picked her up and put her right on the floor, with a sharp "NO go lay down!" No puppy of mine acting like that gets the PRIVILEGE of being up on something with that attitude! Be far more strict with her from now on, as a pat to the nose is not getting through to her!

bullyluna

thank you steve, leslie and zerlett for the tips... i was reading leslie brutus aggression and its the same thing with athena she spins and she tries to be the bigger dog...today like around 9 athena try to attack my daughter and luna got mad and they got into a fight and luna was on top of her,i guess showing her shes the bigger dog and to not be agressive with my daughter..i jump in and separate them but athena bit me it wasnt bad just the fact that she bit me makes me worried..so shes going to be in the cage alone till tomorrow..and tomorrow ima talk to my brother and see if we get the collar..or if we take her to classes so she can get better because we really love her and i want her to be like luna mellow and lovable..

Zerlett

you should never put a shock collar on a dog when its a puppy, they are too young...this is something you must wait until she is older. You need to show her who is boss...she can not be on couches, beds or have any privilege like that when she is not nice. She must wait to go through doors and wait for her food. If you need help enroll her into real dog training, none of the petco or petsmart stuff but real training from a good school who will help whip her into shape. But you should never put an shock collar on a baby, it could ruin her for life.

Bull terriers fighting as youngsters are bound to have serious fights as they get older. While I think its a good thing your other bullie reacted to Athena's aggression, its destined to cause more series fights in the future. Dog's attack each other like that when one dog is not balanced, They feel things are out of control, and therefor, try to control each other to keep the peace. But bull terriers have more ON switch than they do OFF and are sometimes not capable of stopping, and letting things go. You need to prove to your dogs you are the boss and you will control everyone and keep the peace, otherwise they will continue to try to solve it on their own.

BulliesofNC

@bullyluna - Those shock collars are adjustable from a mere inaffective buzz to a sharp and startling zap. Obviously the adjustment level is factored for the dogs size, age, and stamina. They are for dogs weighing as little as 5 pounds to dogs weighing 100+ pounds. How you use them is the key to success. But Yes, a 5 month old Bull Terrier can learn from a training collar very effectively if used properly. As I'm sure you're already aware the BT is a very strong dog and as a puppy they have more strength and endurance than most adult dogs. Do some research on those training collars and you'll see they have very good reviews and are used more widely than imagined.

Regardless what training method you utilize, do not allow Athena to get away with this behavior. She's very young right now and can be trained by your actions and discipline alone.

xchairity_casex

Agree-this is nervous behavior she is showing,while at the same time being a bully breed, she is letting you know "i dont like this-if you dont make it stop, i will"

 

Its good that she is giving such clear signals,be thankfull she is not one of those dogs who seemingly snaps suddenly like some who cause serious injuries the first time.

 

Firstly, make sure the kids allow her some 'down time" and htey are not pestering her,climbing all over her or bothering her when she walks away from them-if she is walkingaway from them, she is clearly saying "im done with this-i cannot take anymore stimulation" and have the kids respect this by leaving her alone.

If you simple correct her and allow the kids to climb all over her or pester her, she is going to end up down right hating children, and one day say enough is enough.

i can see the child is quite young, so its up to you to keep them entertained and away from your pup when she needs her space, lure the child away from her and encourge the child to play else where.

You can also encourage the kids to offer her treats and throw balls or toys for her, you want posative associations around children-simply correcting is only going to cause negative ones.

I als agree with Zerlett-donot let her up on furniture anymore, show her that the children  are respected,if the children are on the couch-she is NOT, if the children are in a persons lap-she is NOT, if your petting her in your lap and one of the kids approaches you, imedietly put the pup on the floor and pay attention to the kids.

When my dogs are around children, they understand that kids are respected-NO ONE jumps up on kids, NO ONE sniffs babies faces, and if a child appraoches me-the dogs turn around and move away, if im holding a baby, the dogs understand that they will not be petted by me, they will not be acknowleged because-children get my attention, this shows them that they cannot compete with kids-kids are not there equal.

but, i also NEVER EVER allow young children to be near my dogs unsupervised-not to protect them, but to protect the dogs! My nephew tries to climb on Cesar back like a pony and i never allow it.

if the dogs are eating,sleeping or wrestling-the kids leave them alone unless the dogs approach and interact with them.

I would keep a lead on your pup when kds are around, any time you see her alert to the kids and you jsut know shes gonna try somthing-grab the leash and lead her away from the child,tell her to go lie down or a simple "go" will do.

philsergeant

I believe that our collective problem is that we all love EBTs too much. Yes, too much. If we were to love them just the right amount we would not allow our love for them make us weak. We don't want to correct them and control them enough, for fear that they will not love us back ( as much as we love them)... But we have to remember that ( even when they are young ) they are smarter than heck, and more determined than we are likely to be in our whole lives. They are quite capable of being boss . Our last girl was totally submissive but still knew how to rule the roost with her sulks, attitude and affection withholding. We have to administer the rules, and I know it's painful saying "NO!!" 5000 times per day, sounding nasty, and insisting that they respect just about everything else that exists in their world .... They rule our hearts, we can't let them rule our lives.... TOUGH LOVE! I'd hazard a guess and say that an EBT takes triple the amount of "who's boss" than any other breed.

bullyluna

OK UPDATE ON ATHENA...she is been doing good she is learning how to be with kids...i used to let her jump in the couch and run around the house but now she does not do that no more...with kids she does not get mad no more like before she barks but is not the same she knows if she start getting cranky she gets a time out...she is learning now to be around babies, kids and other persons....and thanks to brutus aggression because it helps me a lot... she plays with my daughter and with luna she is getting better thanks to you guys, she just need a lot of love because i find out the my brother got her when athena was 4 weeks and my brother used to give her the milk. so that means that she was not around her mother or her brother and thats why athena is like that with kids.. a friend told me that from week 5 to week 8 thats a very important cycle for the dog.. the dog have to be with the mom and brother because in those weeks the dog learns how to socialize with people or other animals..so athena needs a lot of love and attention..

 

\:D/

philsergeant

Oh! I am so, so glad to hear that! You've made great strides in a very short span of time... With bullies they are so tough to correct, and you have to put in SOOO much effort... Not because they are dumb, but just because they are so smart they think they know better ( like human kids huh!) ... They know exactly what you want them to do, they just take convincing that they actually need to do it for you. Like my boy, he looks at me as if to say, " I know exactly what SIT means, I'm not stupid, but you need to give me a better reason to sit than that pathetically small treat you have in your hand".... So they make you work real hard and constant.... I'm sure you're starting to feel much relieved! Great job. Keep all us learners posted.

BulliesofNC

I'm really happy to hear Athena is doing better. You're the second person I've heard of lately that explained about receiving a BT Puppy at such an early age. Your friend was correct in stating the time frame of 6 - 8 weeks is very important for puppies to develop their character and temperament through socializing with their siblings. All too often puppies that are taken from a litter too early end of with aggression and temperament problems. However, it sounds like you're making strides with training Athena and teaching her what is and isn't tolerated. That's great news!!!

bullyluna

its not 100% change but she showing that she understand that she dosent  have to do that specially around kids...and yeah sometimes they do something with the eyes like little kids....but we trying to helper its hard but its the only option i dont want her to be like that.. but thank u guys for your help and tips....

Leslie

Keep up the tough love its sometimes hard but the reward will far trump the effort =D>

bullyluna