Aggressive Youngster! Please Help!

MattHammer

Posted in the wrong sub forum earlier..

Hey all! I haven’t posted in awhile (posted when I picked up my pup at 5 weeks old) my pup is now 7 months old and very very very fear aggressive. He is barking and nipping at anyone that comes in his area. We live in an apartment complex (closing on a house as we speak with a huge yard!) and most people in my building seem to be afraid of dogs in general so interacting is really tough and I’m sure Hammer can sense the fear they all have as they pass him, the problem is at this point I’m afraid to even invite people over as he could nip them. He gets very excited when I get home and does nip at me in excitement (tore my T-shirt the other day). Having said all this I went for a trip to visit my brother who knew going into the situation that hammer was scared and aggressive, Hammer and I spent 8 days living with my brother his 4 male roommates and 2 other bulldogs, no issues, so I know it’s possible to help Hammer, I just need advice. Hammer also is afraid to leave our apartment complex which has made exercising him and wearing him out very very difficult. I have tried all the tricks online, I have flooded him with good treats when he sees people or to intice him to walk. Please help me I love him so much but can’t keep living completely fearful that my dog will end up seriously hurting someone.

Hammer listens to commands very well indoors, but once we are outside he could care less what I have to say he just wants to sniff around and when people are close he just wants to lunge and bark....

Djammy

I hate to say it, but this is a case that would work best in the hands of a Bull Terrier experienced trainer - ON SITE.
That being said, I can only give you some words on how the situation sounds to me. But I cannot guarantee that my assessment is correct because I have not seen anything in person and would have to ask a ton of questions to get more details.
First of all, if your dog is cooperative at home but not outside, it is obvious that you guys need way more outside training. Outside training is always harder because the level of distractions is so much higher.
But I think a frequent regimen of obedience exercises and some fun stuff (tricks or agility for example) - all starting in an environment with as few distractions as possible and then gradually raising the bar - could work wonders for you guys.
My second impression is that your dog does not really trust in you and rely on you so far.
That is not something bad or something that cannot be worked on. Even though I have worked A LOT with my girl, at 5 years now we still experience occasional situations when she wants to let fears win and rather not follow me.
The key is to work on that bond, which - happy coincidence - will also be supported by the training mentioned above.
When you speak of your dog being fearful, what exactly do you think he is afraid of? Because to be honest to me it sounds like he may be the type that is going forward to make sure nobody else does it first. That would indeed be a sign of insecurity. But to me it looks like he has just gotten through with his bold intimidation tactics and rough play too long and has hardly made the experience that there are alternative behaviors and now he thinks he's king of the castle - and he makes that clear.
Again, just an impression taken from your description.
I am usually very careful how I handle a dog's anxieties or insecurities. Because the wrong handling can put the dog under extreme stress and worsen the situation. But first of all, there HAS to be anxiety in order to be careful.
Try to find out what scares him and if you really figure our anxiety then see if you can work particularly on that - without cornering or pressuring him.
But looking at the behavior it might as well be the case that some bad behavior that was successful in the past in terms of getting his way may just have established into a bad habit that could use some counter-training. I would try and go (back) to showing him VERY CLEARLY EVERY TIME when I disapprove of a certain behavior.
Sure, they can get carried away during play. But when a dog is frequently causing wounds through nipping at that age, something has gone wrong. Bite inhibition, impulse control AND respect should at least have developed to the point at which you don't have to be afraid he will seriously hurt you or someone someday. Because then your gut feeling is probably right and it WILL happen someday. Much to his disadvantage because he will pay the ultimate price and not even know what he did wrong.
I would try asserting myself a little more (and avoid training with people who don't like dogs or are insecure around them, so it's a good thing to stay clear of those people in your community because their "chemistry" doesn't help your case). If your dog does not respond too well to positive reinforcement - which would always be my first approach - I would try and see how he reacts when the pressure rises a little, insist on a walk and I ignore him when he misbehaves for quite some time. I would proceed with caution and see if this could trigger any aggression in a stressful situation or other undesired behavior. But at the slightest sign of him giving in, that would become my strategy until we have found common ground and I can go back to working with positive reinforcement.
I really don't like to be harsh to my girl. Yet, there ARE situations when it is just the best way to show her that I am the one setting the rules, determining the route for a walk and the one not to be jumped on, for example, without any consideration of the pain that causes me.
Being firm at times does not necessarily mean that we don't love our dogs, as long as we act fair and don't hurt them. Dogs also show each other when enough is enough, sometimes with serious consequences, but often it is just a loud thunderstorm of "stop bugging me!". We can learn a little from that. I would also try and stick to the one strategy I decide for for quite a while. Because changing strategies all the time sends a wrong message of inconsistency and does not help the dog to follow your lead. Because what lead is it exactly if it changes all the time?
To me it also sounds like you already are so nervous around your dog in some situations that it translates. As soon as you guys are in an environment with more distractions - other dogs and people - things seem to work fine. That should tell you that you need to find ways to handle your dog that make you feel comfortable. So you can relax and trust in yourself that you have the situation under control. It also means that you should not enter situations you have a bad gut feeling about. Bad gut feelings are helpful because they warn us. But if we enter into certain situations despite a bad feeling we are set-up for failure.
Trust your gut feelings. They may vary and change with your training efforts.

I hope these things help a little. Still, I honestly thing the best help for you is an experienced person on site. Got my fingers crossed for you and congratz to your new home!

Brooklyn

My bullie is 2 years and 2 months old now. I was unpacking my summer clothes from last year for the season - every single top or dress has a tear from bully kiss. Now he is 2 and he does not do it anymore.
He does bumps instead