Growling at adults in the house
I have a 5 month old male named Boss. Around 3.5-4 months he began getting aggressive over a few things. His crate, food , chew toys, and the trash can, and just being petted? Its not a constant and seems to come and go. He will hunker down and pull his ears back and growl in his most ferocious tone. I am 52 years old and had a dog(s) for at least 45 of those 52 years, all breeds including Pitt bulls. I have never observed this behavior. One second he is happy chewing on a raw hide lying beside me the next he is growling at me or my wife , ears back, hair standing up across his back and increasing his loudness. He bites my wife's feet ( aggressively when she opens the trash can ( foot peddle type). He will lay under my stool when I am on my laptop happy as a lark. I leaned down to pet him and out of the blue he will do the same thing, hair raised, ears back and viscous sounding growl.
At first I thought he needed a " who's the Boss lesson( like my Father taught me) , but refrained thinking it would worsen the problem, he's still a baby. I usually say his name and say no firmly and take the toy , or move from his bowl of food, or quit petting him. He then cowers and his tail wraps it under his back legs and he curls under my legs, but still growling? The most challenging part is when he's laying by my chair content on me petting him and with no warning displays threatening gestures. I am 5'11 and solid built and I have to say its quite intimidating ( he's built like a bank vault).
He's great with my 14 year old son and they play very rough a lot. He loves tug a war and will sometimes play fetch with a brief game of tug getting the ball out of his mouth. He is good with my Daughter mature female dog and plays with her as long as we let them play. He's great with our cats? He cant quit wagging his tail when he see's them ?
The aggressive behavior is only with myself and my wife ( he has actually bitten her!). Any suggestions will help. We knew we were taking on a rambunctious breed. But a few people we casually know have them and we liked their noted clown like behavior. We are trying to figure out what causes the behavior and eliminate it. Its progressively getting worse!
I have noted the feeding routine. He either will immediately eat as long as we are 5-10 feet away of he will circle his food looking at us both with his tail tightly wrapped under his hind legs, ears back watching to make sure we stay our distance. We never crowd him as it results in him growling and me verbally scolding him. The trash can is a mixed bag. He will actually bite feet or hands when you throw something away.
Any help is appreciated, we love Boss and half the time is a cute , fun and an entertaining puppy, however this behavior is unacceptable.
Scott
At first I thought he needed a " who's the Boss lesson( like my Father taught me) , but refrained thinking it would worsen the problem, he's still a baby. I usually say his name and say no firmly and take the toy , or move from his bowl of food, or quit petting him. He then cowers and his tail wraps it under his back legs and he curls under my legs, but still growling? The most challenging part is when he's laying by my chair content on me petting him and with no warning displays threatening gestures. I am 5'11 and solid built and I have to say its quite intimidating ( he's built like a bank vault).
He's great with my 14 year old son and they play very rough a lot. He loves tug a war and will sometimes play fetch with a brief game of tug getting the ball out of his mouth. He is good with my Daughter mature female dog and plays with her as long as we let them play. He's great with our cats? He cant quit wagging his tail when he see's them ?
The aggressive behavior is only with myself and my wife ( he has actually bitten her!). Any suggestions will help. We knew we were taking on a rambunctious breed. But a few people we casually know have them and we liked their noted clown like behavior. We are trying to figure out what causes the behavior and eliminate it. Its progressively getting worse!
I have noted the feeding routine. He either will immediately eat as long as we are 5-10 feet away of he will circle his food looking at us both with his tail tightly wrapped under his hind legs, ears back watching to make sure we stay our distance. We never crowd him as it results in him growling and me verbally scolding him. The trash can is a mixed bag. He will actually bite feet or hands when you throw something away.
Any help is appreciated, we love Boss and half the time is a cute , fun and an entertaining puppy, however this behavior is unacceptable.
Scott
Boss Man.jpg
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Comments
We have an 8mth male between 4 and 6mths he displayed some aggression towards us though not to the extent you appear to be experiencing. I work long hrs and would quite often get an emotional wife on the phone saying we had bought a bad egg.
We found water sprayers worked we had one in each room the minute he showed aggression he got a blast of water We only had to do it a handful of times then the sight of the bottle was enough to send him on his way. He is a different dog now so loving and displays no aggression issues. I like the method as it causes minimal discomfort.
We have also learnt he is also a bit of a talker and his growling is not always a sign of aggression. Good luck
If you want him to use the crate willingly as an adult, don't use it for punishment (time out). Every bull terrier I have been around loved their crate and willingly spent time in it, like hanging out in "their room".
Accept for sleep at night he gets very upset when placed in his crate and will snap at your hand when latching it. But I cant let him run loose when I am not here. He will literally destroy the entire house! His saving grace right now is he loves playing with my Son and always wags is tail and plays with him. zero aggression, knock on wood! I am exhausted. The breeder suggested a shock collar?
I encourage you to read through some of the past articles on this Forum where guidance and advice has been provided.
In the event you can't find these articles please let me know and I will link several of them for you. I'm not trying to discard your concerns it's just I've commented in various other discussions with the same information over and over.
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com
In a meantime I would recommend you the book by Cesar Millan: Be the Pack Leader. It really helped us to understand our dog better, create stronger bonds and helped to set boundaries and limitations for our strong-willed pup.
Now at 5mo old he is testing you, wait till he enters adolescence. 12 to 18 months was a nightmare for us - growling, stubbornness, disobedience, selective hearing and bratty-ness. Like a real teenager! That's why you need to take care of his issues now. It is much easier to fix puppy behavior issues than fixing grown up dog.
Good luck!
I have thick hunting gloves and have resorted to wearing them. ( realize he will associate them with something negative) but allows me to reach down and grab his muzzle and pry it off my foot and tell him NO, without getting stiches! IDK, I have a young Son who he has never been aggressive toward until tonight. Again his feet? I saw him pressuring my Sons feet and realized what he was doing. I asked Boss to come to me and he of course ignored me and pressured my Sons foot. When I got near him he snarled which scared my son. I put on the glove and reached toward him and he attacked the glove, snarling, growling and biting.
I am giving him my best for one month at that point I will decide if he is improving or worsening. Obviously I am not keeping a dog who attempts to bite the household multiple times a day. Its exhausting, un-nerving, and stresses the Dog when I discipline him.
He can be a typical puppy one minute then turn into a biting snarling maniac the next?
There are some articles which may help you to deal with food guarding and aggression to family members:
https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-behavior/food-aggressive/food-aggression-and-what-to-do-about-it
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/food-guarding
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/aggression
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-behavior-problems-aggression-to-family-members-introduction-and-safety
Seek out a Proffesionals trainer before things worsen and you have serious issue
Worse case scenario your child is injured and or you have to reboot e the dog
This is a 6 month old pup ?
He is playing and testing and you need to address it and put things in order quickly
If it were my dog I would smack his ass and say NO when he went after someone’s feet
By putting on a glove you might as well be putting on a puppy bite sleeve